Portal:Christianity

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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, a holy place of Christianity

Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. The Gospels state that Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the dead after his crucifixion, whose coming as the messiah (Christ) was prophesied in the Old Testament and chronicled in the New Testament. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with over 2.3 billion followers, comprising around 28.8% of the world population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in 120 countries and territories.

Christianity remains culturally diverse in its Western and Eastern branches, and doctrinally diverse concerning justification and the nature of salvation, ecclesiology, ordination, and Christology. Most Christian denominations, however, generally hold in common the belief that Jesus is God the Son—the Logos incarnated—who ministered, suffered, and died on a cross, but rose from the dead for the salvation of humankind; this message is called the gospel, meaning the "good news". The four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe the life of Jesus and teachings as preserved in the early Christian tradition, with the Old Testament as the gospels' respected background.

The three main branches of Christianity are Catholicism (1.3 billion people), Protestantism (800 million), and Eastern Orthodoxy (300 million), while other prominent branches include Oriental Orthodoxy (60 million) and Restorationism (35 million). Smaller church communities number in the thousands. In Christianity, efforts toward unity (ecumenism) are underway. In the West, Christianity remains the dominant religion even with a decline in adherence, with about 70% of that population identifying as Christian. Christianity is growing in Africa and Asia, the world's most populous continents. Many Christians are still persecuted in some regions of the world, particularly where they are a minority, such as in the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia, and South Asia. (Full article...)

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"Lisa the Skeptic" is the eighth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on November 23, 1997. On an archaeological dig with her class, Lisa discovers a skeleton that resembles an angel. All of the townspeople believe that the skeleton actually came from an angel, but skeptical Lisa attempts to persuade them that there must be a rational scientific explanation. The episode's writer, David X. Cohen, developed the idea after visiting the American Museum of Natural History, and decided to loosely parallel themes from the Scopes Monkey Trial. The episode also makes allusions to actual hoaxes, such as the Cardiff Giant.

It has been discussed in the context of ontology, existentialism, and skepticism; it has also been used in Christian religious education classes to initiate discussion about angels, science, and faith. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Christianity-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Father, The Holy Spirit, and Christ crucified, depicted in a Welsh manuscript c. 1390–1400 (from Trinity)
Image 2Representation of the Trinity in the form of the mercy seat (epitaph from 1549) (from Trinity)
Image 3The Adoration of the Trinity by Albrecht Dürer (1511).
From top to bottom: Holy Spirit (dove), God the Father and Christ on the cross. (from Trinity)
Image 4Nativity at Night, by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, c. 1490 (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 5Christ on the Cross, 1870, by Carl Heinrich Bloch, depicting Jesus's crucifixion (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 6A painting depicting the Trifacial Trinity by an anonymous author from the Peruvian Cuzco School (but disavowed by the Catholic Church). (from Trinity)
Image 7A representation of the Trifacial Trinity, as a three faced head, sometimes used in Renaissance iconography (but disavowed by the Catholic Church). (from Trinity)
Image 8The Trinity by Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev, early 15th century (from Trinity)
Image 9Three doors representing the trinity at a cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio (from Trinity)
Image 10The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a holy site in Jerusalem believed by most Christians to encompass the tomb of Jesus and the site of his crucifixion and resurrection. (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 11The Communion of the Apostles, by Luca Signorelli, 1512 (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 12Depictions of the Resurrection of Jesus are central to Christian art (Resurrection of Christ by Raphael, 1499–1502). (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 13The "Heavenly Trinity" joined to the "Earthly Trinity" through the Incarnation of the Son–The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities by Murillo (c. 1677) (from Trinity)
Image 14First page of Mark, by Sargis Pitsak (14th century): "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God". (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 15The Holy Trinity in an angelic glory over a landscape, by Lucas Cranach the Elder (d. 1553) (from Trinity)
Image 16The Trinity by Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev, early 15th century: this portrayal of the three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-8) (from Trinity)
Image 17A 'Jesus Saves' neon cross sign outside of a Protestant church in New York City (from Salvation in Christianity)
Image 18Depiction of Trinity from Saint Denis Basilica in Paris (12th century) (from Trinity)
Image 19Many Christians use the crucifix to symbolise Jesus' sacrificial death and as a focus for devotion. (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 20God the Father (top), and the Holy Spirit (represented by a dove) depicted above Jesus Painting by Francesco Albani (d. 1660) (from Trinity)
Image 21A Gospel of John, 1056 (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 22Attributed to the circle of Pieter Claeissins II, A Christian Allegory of the Salvation of a Christian Soul (c. 1570–1600) depicts the triumph of virtue over death and Satan. The Bowes Museum. (from Salvation in Christianity)
Image 23A Shield of the Trinity diagram, illustrating relationships between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (from Trinity)
Image 24The Good Samaritan by James Tissot. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the parables of Jesus. (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 25Jesus' Farewell Discourse to his eleven remaining disciples after the Last Supper, from the Maestà by Duccio (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 26God, in the person of the Son, confronts Adam and Eve, by Master Bertram (d. c. 1415). (from Trinity)
Image 27God the Father (top), the Holy Spirit (a dove), and the child Jesus, painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (d. 1682) (from Trinity)
Image 28Detail of the earliest known artwork of the Trinity, the Dogmatic or Trinity Sarcophagus, c. 350 (Vatican Museums).
Three similar figures, representing the Trinity, are involved in the creation of Eve, whose much smaller figure is cut off at lower right; to her right, Adam lies on the ground. (from Trinity)
Image 29Pope Clement I prays to the Trinity, in a typical post-Renaissance depiction by Gianbattista Tiepolo (d. 1770). (from Trinity)
Image 30A Greek fresco of Athanasius of Alexandria, the chief architect of the Nicene Creed, formulated at Nicaea (from Trinity)
Image 31The Glory of Saint Nicholas, by António Manuel da Fonseca; Nicholas of Myra, a participant in the First Council of Nicaea, achieves the beatific vision in the shape of the Holy Trinity. (from Trinity)
Image 32The Holy Trinity on the stained glass windows of the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Brockdish (from Trinity)
Image 33An artistic depiction of the Trinity, with the hand representing the Father, the Chi Rho and ichthys representing the Son, and the dove representing the Holy Spirit (from Trinity)
Image 3413th-century depiction of the Trinity from a Roman de la Rose manuscript (from Trinity)
Image 35Atypical depiction of the Trinity where the Son is identified by a lamb, the Father an Eye of Providence, and the Spirit a dove (from Trinity)
Image 36The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 15th century (from Trinity)
Image 37Jesus healing the paralytic in The Pool by Palma il Giovane, 1592 (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 38A depiction of the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, at which the Deity of Christ was declared orthodox and Arianism condemned (from Trinity)

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Scottish religion in the eighteenth century includes all forms of religious organisation and belief in Scotland in the eighteenth century. This period saw the beginnings of a fragmentation of the Church of Scotland that had been created in the Reformation and established on a fully Presbyterian basis after the Glorious Revolution. These fractures were prompted by issues of government and patronage, but reflected a wider division between the Evangelicals and the Moderate Party. The legal right of lay patrons to present clergymen of their choice to local ecclesiastical livings led to minor schisms from the church. The first in 1733, known as the First Secession and headed by figures including Ebenezer Erskine, led to the creation of a series of secessionist churches. The second in 1761 led to the foundation of the independent Relief Church.

In 1743, the Cameronians established themselves as the Reformed Presbyterian Church, remaining largely separate from religious and political debate. Of independent churches from England that were established in the seventeenth century only the Quakers managed to endure in to the eighteenth century. Baptist chapels were re-established in the middle of the century and, although Scotland initially appeared fertile ground for Methodism, it failed to expand as quickly as elsewhere in the Great Britain and Ireland. A number of minor Scottish sects developed, such as the Bereans, Buchanites, Daleites and Glassites. (Full article...)

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A rendering of the Last Supper made from salt, Wieliczka salt mine, Poland

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... that anti-racism campaigner Kamal Chunchie converted to Christianity from Islam during the First World War when serving in the British Army?
... that John Allen Chau illegally travelled to North Sentinel Island in an attempt to convert its inhabitants to Christianity?
... that a reviewer said that the musicians on the Christian music compilation 4-Way Noise Explosion would prompt a wave of people leaving Christianity?
... that a former management consultant who coined the framework of "The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism" was described by The New York Times as "a kind of Malcolm Gladwell of conservative Christianity"?
... that anti-racism campaigner Kamal Chunchie converted to Christianity from Islam during the First World War when serving in the British Army?
... that although the Jesuit missionary He Tianzhang despised his "sad Chinese appearance", it allowed him to circumvent the Qing's ban on Christianity and enter China?

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And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

— Book of Revelation, Revelation 5:1-7, King James Version

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