Hello everyone, i'm Cody, an Atheist just interested in learning about Christianity. I would like to learn all about it.
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Hello everyone.
- Thread starter IntensityOf10Cities
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just...start where it all starts i guess.
drich0150
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Genesis 1:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
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drich0150
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here is a link to the bible starting at Genesis 1:
Genesis 1 NIV - The Beginning In the beginning God - Bible Gateway
Genesis 1 NIV - The Beginning In the beginning God - Bible Gateway
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S
StormHawk
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True Christianity is Christ in a person by them receiving His Spirit ("born again"). This began in Acts 2 and continues the same today.
I thought I knew what "church" / "Christianity" were but when I met people that were living this new life I realised it was all just man's religion.
You can't learn it, you need to experience it and God has set up his church with meetings where you will get his gifts, fruit and ministry which you need.
I intellectually believed, but I didn't *expect* or *desire* God to do what he actually says until I met people that were living this new life.
You NEED to meet with such people, websites CANNOT do this for you, but they are a cheap way of pointing the way. We meet in many countries.
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ViaCrucis
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First and foremost traditional, orthodox, and mainstream Christianity is about the conviction that God has revealed Himself and made Himself known in and through a human person. Jesus of Nazareth, whom we confess is the Christ or Messiah.
The Incarnation is central to traditional Christian thinking; without it, nothing else makes sense in Christianity.
The Incarnation, literally the "en-flesh-ment", refers to Son and Word ("Logos" in Greek) of God uniting Himself to human nature, becoming truly human while still being true God. This means that in Jesus we perceive God Himself teaching, acting, preaching, helping the poor and the needy, befriending prostitutes and the underprivileged. This is God Himself doing these things. When Mary gave birth to Jesus she gave birth to God (this is why we call Mary the Mother of God, or Theotokos).
Among Christians in the West (Catholics and Protestants) we recite a very brief summary of Christian faith called the Apostles' Creed. In fact it is read every or nearly every Sunday in every Roman Catholic and in most Protestant churches during the service:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
And 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, dead, and buried:
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall 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.
This is the most condensed and simple summary of Christian teaching that one is likely to find.
If there is any point in the Creed you'd like expanded, I'd be happy to help work through it, or if you're curious about the Incarnation and how/why it's so central to Christianity or if you have further questions bring 'em up.
-CryptoLutheran
The Incarnation is central to traditional Christian thinking; without it, nothing else makes sense in Christianity.
The Incarnation, literally the "en-flesh-ment", refers to Son and Word ("Logos" in Greek) of God uniting Himself to human nature, becoming truly human while still being true God. This means that in Jesus we perceive God Himself teaching, acting, preaching, helping the poor and the needy, befriending prostitutes and the underprivileged. This is God Himself doing these things. When Mary gave birth to Jesus she gave birth to God (this is why we call Mary the Mother of God, or Theotokos).
Among Christians in the West (Catholics and Protestants) we recite a very brief summary of Christian faith called the Apostles' Creed. In fact it is read every or nearly every Sunday in every Roman Catholic and in most Protestant churches during the service:
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth:
And 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, dead, and buried:
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall 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.
This is the most condensed and simple summary of Christian teaching that one is likely to find.
If there is any point in the Creed you'd like expanded, I'd be happy to help work through it, or if you're curious about the Incarnation and how/why it's so central to Christianity or if you have further questions bring 'em up.
-CryptoLutheran
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ViaCrucis
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As a bonus, here's some standard Christian lingo clarified.
"Amen" - This word is originally Hebrew, but entered the Christian tradition through Aramaic and being non-translated in the Greek of the New Testament. If translated it would mean something like "May it be" or "Let it be so", it's used as an affirmation after something is said, usually prayer. It's also used by Jesus in the Gospels in a similar way, often when the English text says, "Truly I say to you..." the Greek has the word un-translated and says something like "Amen, amen, I say to you" using a double affirmation asserting the trustworthiness of what He is going to say.
Alleluia/Hallelujah - The second form is truer to the original Hebrew, it literally means, "Praise Yah", with "Yah" being a shortened form of the Sacred Name of God YHVH (usually pronounced "Yahweh"). The first form, "Alleluia" is simply the same word after going through Greek and Latin before entering English. A usual translation would be, "praise the LORD".
Messiah - From the Hebrew meshiach, which means "anointed" as in one anointed with oil for a designated purpose. The word could describe kings or really any official anointed with some specific purpose. Though over time a concept of a The Messiah arose as a person promised by God to set things right for Israel and the world; whose coming would mean the end of evil and war and a final age of peace for the whole world where all people would worship God. Christians believe Jesus of Nazareth is this promised Messiah.
Christ - From the Greek word christos, which is a literal translation of the Hebrew word "meshiach", and stems literally from chrio, a verb meaning to "anoint" or rub with oil.
Christian - According to the New Testament it was in the city of Antioch when followers of Jesus were first called "Christians". The Greek word is Christianoi, literally, "those of Christ" or "Christ-people". Prior to this, and still afterwards, different terms were used among the earliest followers of Jesus. They usually simply referred to one another as "believers" or as "disciples", and they described their movement simply as "the Way".
Church - This one, at least etymologically, is rather complex. In the Greek of the New Testament the word "ekklesia" is used, which is left untranslated into Latin as "ecclesia". The word has a precedent in the ancient democracy of Athens, where the people of Athens would gather outside of the city to vote in matters of importance. The Greek word can literally translate as "a called out gathering". Over time the places Christians met ("churches") were referred to as "the Lord's house" or kyriake oikia in Greek, usually shortened to just kyriake. This passed on into Germanic and other languages which is where the German word "kirke" comes from and, subsequently, the English word "church". Ultimately this came to refer to not only the places of meeting where Christians gathered for worship, but as a translation of the Greek ekklesia.
Catholic - This also comes from the Greek, katholikos. It is an adjective meaning "according to the whole", often translated as "universal". While not used in the New Testament itself, it became widely used very early on, no later than the second generation of Christians. It referred to the entire Christian Church, rather than local communities themselves. One could speak of the "Church in Rome" or the "Church in Jerusalem" or the "Church in Corinth", but if one wanted to speak of the universal or entire community of Christians, the whole Church, one would speak of the "Church catholic" or "catholic Church". Christians of all kinds, Roman Catholics, Protestants and Eastern Orthodox alike all confess in the Christian Creeds a belief in "one holy, catholic and apostolic Church". This is the meaning behind that word.
Bible - In the ancient world there was a particular city in Egypt which in Greek was called Byblos, which was renown for its production of papyrus. As a result scrolls made from papyrus came to be known by the name of that city, in the singular the word is biblion, in the plural it is biblia. Eventually Christians began referring to their collection of sacred writings as "the books" which eventually came into English as the word "Bible", not a reference to a single book, but a collection or library of books.
Those are a few for now at least.
-CryptoLutheran
"Amen" - This word is originally Hebrew, but entered the Christian tradition through Aramaic and being non-translated in the Greek of the New Testament. If translated it would mean something like "May it be" or "Let it be so", it's used as an affirmation after something is said, usually prayer. It's also used by Jesus in the Gospels in a similar way, often when the English text says, "Truly I say to you..." the Greek has the word un-translated and says something like "Amen, amen, I say to you" using a double affirmation asserting the trustworthiness of what He is going to say.
Alleluia/Hallelujah - The second form is truer to the original Hebrew, it literally means, "Praise Yah", with "Yah" being a shortened form of the Sacred Name of God YHVH (usually pronounced "Yahweh"). The first form, "Alleluia" is simply the same word after going through Greek and Latin before entering English. A usual translation would be, "praise the LORD".
Messiah - From the Hebrew meshiach, which means "anointed" as in one anointed with oil for a designated purpose. The word could describe kings or really any official anointed with some specific purpose. Though over time a concept of a The Messiah arose as a person promised by God to set things right for Israel and the world; whose coming would mean the end of evil and war and a final age of peace for the whole world where all people would worship God. Christians believe Jesus of Nazareth is this promised Messiah.
Christ - From the Greek word christos, which is a literal translation of the Hebrew word "meshiach", and stems literally from chrio, a verb meaning to "anoint" or rub with oil.
Christian - According to the New Testament it was in the city of Antioch when followers of Jesus were first called "Christians". The Greek word is Christianoi, literally, "those of Christ" or "Christ-people". Prior to this, and still afterwards, different terms were used among the earliest followers of Jesus. They usually simply referred to one another as "believers" or as "disciples", and they described their movement simply as "the Way".
Church - This one, at least etymologically, is rather complex. In the Greek of the New Testament the word "ekklesia" is used, which is left untranslated into Latin as "ecclesia". The word has a precedent in the ancient democracy of Athens, where the people of Athens would gather outside of the city to vote in matters of importance. The Greek word can literally translate as "a called out gathering". Over time the places Christians met ("churches") were referred to as "the Lord's house" or kyriake oikia in Greek, usually shortened to just kyriake. This passed on into Germanic and other languages which is where the German word "kirke" comes from and, subsequently, the English word "church". Ultimately this came to refer to not only the places of meeting where Christians gathered for worship, but as a translation of the Greek ekklesia.
Catholic - This also comes from the Greek, katholikos. It is an adjective meaning "according to the whole", often translated as "universal". While not used in the New Testament itself, it became widely used very early on, no later than the second generation of Christians. It referred to the entire Christian Church, rather than local communities themselves. One could speak of the "Church in Rome" or the "Church in Jerusalem" or the "Church in Corinth", but if one wanted to speak of the universal or entire community of Christians, the whole Church, one would speak of the "Church catholic" or "catholic Church". Christians of all kinds, Roman Catholics, Protestants and Eastern Orthodox alike all confess in the Christian Creeds a belief in "one holy, catholic and apostolic Church". This is the meaning behind that word.
Bible - In the ancient world there was a particular city in Egypt which in Greek was called Byblos, which was renown for its production of papyrus. As a result scrolls made from papyrus came to be known by the name of that city, in the singular the word is biblion, in the plural it is biblia. Eventually Christians began referring to their collection of sacred writings as "the books" which eventually came into English as the word "Bible", not a reference to a single book, but a collection or library of books.
Those are a few for now at least.
-CryptoLutheran
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Hi Cody.
Learning Christianity is not some book knowledge, philosophy, message or lesson. The Bible is really for existing Christians and not a good teacher of non-Christians.
The way God set it up is for you to see Christ one on one, eyeball to eyeball, spend time together, share, let Him listen to you, let him help you and learn from questions. A true Christ like person (Christian) is to come along side you to help you. That true Christians has the actual Spirit of Christ living in him and through him and so you are to meet and see Christ.
God/Christ is Love so it is the unique Godly type Love you are to be introduced to. After you get to see, experience, feel that love you can decide if that is the way you want to be love and would like to love others that way (totally unselfishly).
The problem is and since you have come to this board, you have not experienced a true Christ like person first hand (unfortunately they are few and far between). They are around but you may have to look among really needy people to find them since they are not hiding in church buildings.
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