Christianity
Today the word is ambiguous. It conjures up in our minds a variety of thoughts and memories, different for each person. For some, it brings to mind certain historical events, such as the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, or the Salem Witch trials. Others may think of church, worshiping God, or going to Heaven. For still others, it may be a reminder of the recent scandals among television evangelists. However it is that we perceive Christianity, our perceptions are based on our experience and knowledge of it. For many people, this experience may include hearing about it through the media (e.g., TV, newspapers), attending church, talking with friends and relatives, or observing people who call themselves “Christians”. However, many people do not have any knowledge about Christianity from reading the Bible. Since this is considered by most everyone to be important to Christianity, gaining an understanding of what it says is helpful in forming a more complete view of Christianity. It is therefore my intention to present and discuss various topics that may not be known other than through the Bible.
I want to emphasize that for someone to better understand Christianity through a knowledge of the Bible, it does not matter whether or not that person considers the Bible to be true. Indeed, just as in gaining an understanding of any religion, it is only important to understand that its followers take their holy books to be true. Thus, the topics presented are meant to be informative, and not persuasive, in nature. That is, they only discuss what the Bible says, without attempting to persuade one to believe that the Bible is true.
The Basic Message of the Bible
“Many people visualize a God who sits comfortably on a distant throne, remote, aloof, uninterested, and indifferent to the needs of mortals, until, it may be they can badger him into taking action on their behalf.”(1)
This is certainly not the God that the Bible portrays. This section will discuss the basic message of the Bible, and obviously God is a part of this basic message. Man is the other essential element that the Bible continually mentions. (Note that man here is the mankind, including both men and women). However, the Bible is not simply about man and God, but it is about the relationship between man and God. Presented very simply is the Bible’s story about this relationship.
