What is Christianity?
Christianity takes its name from Jesus Christ and refers to those who believe that Jesus is God’s one and only Son, the ‘Christ’ or Annointed One, another word from the Bible is Messiah - God’s annointed Saviour of the World.
A Christian has core beliefs...
...in God, that God is three loving persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that make up one tri-une being, or Trinity.
...in Jesus, that he was truly human and truly God, God's one and only Son. He was crucified and died on a cross for the sins of the world to restore our relationship with the Father, then was resurrected after three days and lives today.
... in the Holy Spirit, the gift of God to every believer. God makes himself known personally to each believer through the work of the Holy Spirit.
...and the World, that God loves us and longs for a relationship with each one of us ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’ John 3:16
What we believe
Belief in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is at the heart of our faith. Christians believe that Jesus is God’s Son. Jesus reveals to us that God is our Father, and that God is available to us through the Holy Spirit.
You won’t ever be asked if you completely understand all this. But you are asked whether you believe and trust. This is called faith. It is a different sort of knowledge. It is the knowledge of being known and loved, and of loving in return.
The Christian faith is not a human invention. There are signs of God’s existence and handiwork in creation for anyone to read (Acts 14.15–17). But we believe in the way we do because God has come to seek us out and has made himself known to us.
God has revealed himself through the Bible.
God has revealed himself most clearly through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ.
God makes himself known personally to each believer through the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Apostles' Creed
From the earliest days of the Church, Christians developed short, simple summaries of the faith. These short statements became known as creeds.
The word ‘creed’ comes from the Latin word credo, meaning ‘I believe and trust’.
Two creeds in particular were developed in the early centuries of the Church, which have remained important to the Church and are regularly used in our worship today.
People who were preparing for baptism in the early centuries of the Christian Church learned a short summary of what Christians believe. One version became accepted as the Apostles’ Creed, because it was thought to include the essential teaching of the 12 apostles, Jesus’ earliest followers. It was into that faith of the apostles that Christians were, and are, baptized.
The Apostles’ Creed is therefore a summary of what the Church teaches, and of what Christians together believe, rather than a detailed statement of individual and personal belief. Saying the Creed binds Christians together as a believing community, across different traditions and practices.
As we say the Creed, we join Christians past and present, and from all over the world, in proclaiming our common faith.
Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Becoming a Christian
Becoming a Christian...
... is a decision to day by day trust and follow Jesus, the Saviour. To accept the free gift from God of love, light and life and turn from the hate, darkness and death that has been part of the world we live in. We cannot be good enough to enjoy the love, light and life that God has for us, no matter how hard we try we will always fail. We need to turn from the way the world has led us and turn to God and embark on a relationship of getting to know God and His ways.
God delights in freely giving us this gift of a shared relationship with Jesus and His Father through the Holy Spirit, and this relationship leads us to God's love, light and life.
Once the decision has been made to embark on a relationship with God there is a need to build upon this relationship by investing time getting to know God through the Bible. God has revealed Himself through the life, death and ressurection of Jesus, so one of the best places to start is by reading one of the Gospels in the New Testament. John's Gospel is a great place to start. You don't even need a Bible, there are many online resources; but one that is recommended is Bible Gateway. This website includes many translations, many in modern English. If you don't have time to read there are audio versions with many different people reading, so you can listen when doing houshold chores, travelling to and from work or just relaxing.
More about our faith
Our faith...
... is a series of 13 short films looking some of the basics of the Christian faith.
The videos were made by The Church of England Digital Team.
