The monotheistic religions define salvation as entering a state of eternal communion with god, which means that personhood will not be abolished but perfected. These are in addition to documents produced by church councils. Woman was created purposefully to fill a major gap in the life of a man. Concept of god in christianity my religious basics.
This document tries to summarize christian beliefs and practices. All three religions, including christianity, have been called ethical monotheism. Christian teachings of the immanence and involvement of god and his love for humanity exclude the belief that god is of the same substance as the. Teaching and preaching upon such issues must be done with an understanding that a plethora of biblebelieving, god fearing, passionate evangelical christians have a wide array of beliefs on these issues. Today as the belief in god has many challenges to face, it is necessary that we should make a fresh study of the biblical concept 9f god. Christianity religious literacy project harvard university. While plato left us dialogues on the ethics of deity, aristotle left us files. You need to accept jesus as your lord and savior to go to heaven. They quote it when sharing christ with their unsaved friends. Atr african traditional religion introduction three religions dominates african continent.
The subtitlethe case against godhas a twofold meaning. God of the old testament was an evil god who created the material world and that jesus was sent to teach special knowledge, or gnosis, that would allow people to reach the spiritual world. Plato provided a radical new concept of god later adopted and adapted by christianity, when he asserted that the ultimate god must be good and must be one, perfect, separate from creation, and unchanging. In this paper an attempt has been made to reassess the cardinal theistic concept of the bible. A monistic concept of god will inevitably disregard sin and evil, affirming all natural desires, whereas the christian understanding of god views god alone as good, desiring to manifest his character of goodness in his creation in place of the fallen, natural, evil tendencies of mans desires. To place legal barriers to equal participation in the economic realm was to thwart gods plan. In christianity, god is the eternal being who created and preserves all things. For example, christians believe that god is tripersonal, that there are in the one god three persons whom we call the father, son, and holy spirit. Having salvation means you will go to heaven and have eternal life and live with god forever. There is a distinction between belief in a set of propositions and a. His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things. At the very beginning of creation, god knew that it was not good for a man to be alone. For example, christians believe that god is tripersonal, that there are in the one god three persons whom we call the father, son, and holy. Christianity proclaimed the equal moral worth of all persons in the eyes of god.
God s light lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and the religions of egypt and babylonia illustrate the words of the evangelist. The giving heart of god god so loved the world that he gave john 3. Fundamental concepts of christianity salvation is the saving of your spiritual life. Christian beliefs in god, jesus christ, the trinity, the bible and. God for christianity means jesus as the full revelation of what god is, god as father, god as love that forgives. The major difference between islam and christianity is the christians insistence on the supposed divinity of christ pbuh. Christianity originally developed as a part of judaism. Most important of all, satan has injected into mainstream christianity a whole series of totally false ideas about the origin and destiny of man, of what god is like, of what gods awesome purpose is, and how we are to achieve that great purpose. Gutierrez 11 defined theology as a critical reflection on praxis in the light of the word of god. According to christianity this is not enough and the role of jesus christ as savior is essential. One may ask, if both muslims and christians love and respect jesus pbuh, where exactly is the parting of ways. Pdf this article provides a concept of god in the christianity.
Judge, loving father and so on, at present christians say god is jesus. Christianity is a theistic religion and belief in god is its important tenet but instead of saying that god, according to christianity is one, creator, sustainer. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link. It blends the theology of pantheistic eastern religions with practices from western occultism. Muslim turks further assimiliated tengri, the personification of the eternal heaven, with the islamic concept of god. Pneumatomachians believed that jesus was divine, and part of god, but refused to accept the holy spirit as divine.
Without hesitation, the apostles disobeyed and defied the sanhedrin. For false christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders. Concept of god in major religions english zakir naik. The concept of god in islam and christianity reasonable faith. The one true god is a reflection of the unique concept that islam associates with god. Abstract the concept of god in the traditional religion of akan and ewe ethnic groups compare to the bible by godwin kwame ofosuhene i am going to focus this writing, on how the akan and ewe ethnic groups of ghana, understood god in their traditional. Christians believe god to be both transcendent wholly independent of, and removed from, the material universe and immanent involved in the world. The theological underpinnings of the attributes and nature of god have been discussed since the earliest days of christianity. The concept of god in the traditional religion of the akan. Islam and christianity have different doctrines or teachings about god that make them irreconcilable. Thomas aquinas, like aristotle, taught that the soul was the form of the body. My intention is not to give a biblical case for traditional christian theism.
Word of god and the consequent multiplication of christian. Christianity christianity characteristic features of the christian concept of god. In christian theology the name of god has always had much deeper meaning and significance. The dogs god is a living being, who normally feeds his canine worshipper, punishes him physically on occasion, and, if worthy of. Christians believe there is only one god, this belief in one god is known as monotheism, so christianity is a monotheistic religion. God is one but has revealed himself in the bible as three persons the father, the son and the holy spirit. In the 2nd century irenaeus addressed the issue and expounded on some attributes, e. Read by itself, each essay opens a valuable window into the particular tradition represented. Teaching and preaching upon such issues must be done with an understanding that a plethora of biblebelieving, godfearing, passionate evangelical christians have a wide array of beliefs on these issues.
Jesus christ pbuh never claimed divinity one may ask, if both muslims and christians love and respect jesus pbuh, where exactly is the parting of ways. The concept of god in islam and christianity reasonable. A history of god by karen armstrong the new christian west during the middle ages introduction as a child, i had a number of strong religious beliefs but little faith in god. The lumber was the body, and the architectural plan was the soul. Zakir naik explains the concept of god in christianity. Among christian beliefs, the death and resurrection of jesus are two core.
Though christian doctrines often differ, faith in jesus christ, in addition to following his teachings, is the center of christianity christian schools may attempt to display christian intent from a crafted mission statement or from biblical integration in the classroom. Many nuances of christian theology and history tend to remain in the background of how christianity is perceived and practiced in the united states. All of chapter three in the gospel of john states the. In order to accomplish this, we will cover the following.
The concept of salvation is present in almost all religions in its own. This means that christians know nothing about god except through the life, teaching, death and the resurrection of jesus. The christian concept of god names a category with surprisingly heterogeneous contents. In particular, the concept of god in islam and christianity is so different that both religions cannot be right. God, so it must come from men, and their ideas about god, with of course the the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of christ, who is the image of god, should shine unto them. Concept of god in christianity by dr naik islam 101. Islam and christianity have different doctrines or teachings concerning what god is like. The boisi center papers on religion in the united states an introduction to christian theology thoughtful, constructive interreligious dialogue depends not only upon the openness of the dialogue partners to diverse perspectives, but also upon a reliable foundation of correct information about the various beliefs being discussed. God is an impersonallife force,consciousness or energy. To deny or keep silent about the deity and messiahship of the living lord would have been disobedience to god, disloyalty to christ and to the cause of mans salvation. For the worlds religions conceive of god or gods in so many different contradictory ways that they cannot all be true. This is why i have refrained from using the usual salutation of peace be upon him and his family.
Within the christian perception and experience of god, characteristic features stand out. It is interesting to notice that allah is the personal name of god in aramaic, the language of jesus and a sister language of arabic. Satans ultimate lie, ultimately aiming at the seduction of christianity. However, they differ greatly on the way one can be saved and on the role jesus christ has in it. There is a distinction between belief in a set of propositions and a faith which enables us to put our trust in them. Equality before the law came to mean that there should be no legal barriers to economic activity that did not apply equally to everyone.
Everyone has got the right to follow his own path and to approach god in his own way. But the islamic concept of god is less personal than in the judeochristian tradition, and is known only from natural signs and can only be spoken about in parables. They form, as it were, the background and preparation for judaism and christianity. Thus clearly islam rejects the concept of trinity and presents a direct theological challenge to christianity. The boisi center papers on religion in the united states an introduction to christian theology. He was the director of the santa cruz bolivia christian learning center from 1981 to 2000, and he was awarded the highest medal of honor that the government of bolivia gives to an. Bowlby 1969, from which most psychologists of religion now study the god images davis 2010.
Christianity is the fulfilment, not of the law only, but of all that was truest and best in the religions of the ancient. The term new age itself refers to the age of aquarius, which. Hinduism never claims that a particular prophet is the prophet and a. African traditional religion has grown out of the african soil. This subject translated into 9 this page translated into 8. The second greek word used for love is eros, love between a man and a woman. Selected chapters from a history of christianity by kenneth scott latourette vol. But the writer makes no claim that the paper is an exhaustive survey of. Christianity characteristic features of the christian. It is described as the product of thinking and experience of african forefathers and mothers of. Integrating math and the bible tom hilgeman is the office manager and administrative assistant to the acsi europe regional director. Christianity is an abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of jesus of. Islam and judaism alike reject the trinity of christianity.
A christian understanding of god christ in you ministries. A dog tries to appease his gods anger, as men do, by humility and fawning and he will fight for his god, even at the risk of his own life. He is a graduate of the universities of sydney, london, and cambridge, and earned his ph. This term emphasizes the belief in one god, and the fact that following this god commits us to a number of specific ethical rules or principles. This book is written primarily for openminded nonmuslims.