Originally posted by: 0
Christianity started in Genesis. The Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) were united as one God from the beginning. Jesus was God made man to show us how to live our lives, and how to serve others, and how to take death. The new testament is about Jesus' life, teachings and much more (revelation etc). If you are a Christian, you believe that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was payment for all the sins of mankind, for all time (future and past).
Not sure which version of the Bible you are reading, but please point me to the section of Genesis, or the entire Old Testament for that matter, which refers to the Holy Trinity...from what I understand, its simply never mentioned. Interpreting its presence is the source of many an argument, but at least regarding ink (or other medium) to paper (scroll whatever)...it's never mentioned. IN FACT, I will take this one step further...can you point me to any section of the New Testament which mentions the "Holy Trinity"?? I am quite sure it's not there either. (i.e. Man decided this was the case)
In my readings on the subject, it was man who came up with the concept to accomodate the fact that certain sects of Christianity (Arianism for one) were worshipping Jesus (man/prophet) and God as seperates (oops idolatry). In fact, the Council of Nicea (Emperor Constantine says to the parties involved "You guys are ruining my empire with all this in-fighting...figure it out..and NOW") was convened to hash out these differences (among others). The dogma of Jesus being "begotten" (not made....Nicene creed) from the father was officially committed as canonical in 325.
Regarding the OP :
Christians central belief is that of Jesus Christ being the son of God, part of the Holy Trinity (essentially son of god, and god...one in the same). Those that want to be attain salvation through the lord must accept Jesus Christ as their savior and recognize he is one in the lord. The different iterations of Christianity stick to this concept with varying amounts of fervor (Baptists are much more about being "saved" than Catholics etc.) so to speak, but the central message is pretty much the same. The differences lie in the hierarchy of the human church, who is in control etc (Pope vs Ministers vs Congregation etc). Also keep in mind that those who believe in Christianity (at its core) believe that those who do not accept Jesus as their savior are destined to spend an eternity in Gods absence (hell so to speak).
This history of the bible is quite a complicated one, so the question you pose is prone to open the proverbial "can-o-worms"...you will get differing versions from pretty much every post. From what I have read, the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) is the basis of the old testament, and consists of 3 parts
Torah (Teachings)
Nevi'im (Prophets)
Ketuvim (Writings)
However, the Christian Old Testament differs slightly from the Hebrew Bible in that the books are in a slightly different order. The interpretations therein are obviously different as well. The fundemental difference with Christianity is that it added the New Testament to the Hebrew Scriptures, which centered around the life, and death, of Jesus...his teachings, and the writings of his apostles. It contains 27 books, originally written in some form of Greek, with Jesus as its central character.
The Catholic Encyclopedia itself challenges the notion that the New Testament existed during apostolic times...admitting it has no foundation in history. The canon therein was developed over time (Ecumenical Councils) until it was made into how it stands today. However you feel about how these teachings came about will ultimately shape your belief system, whatever that ends up becoming.
My suggestion..READ READ READ READ READ READ...
It blows my mind that some (most?) people who follow these teachings have no real grasp of where they came from (or "who" made them)...which to me is absolutely mind boggling. If you chose to follow the teachings after you have knowledge of how they came about, thats much more admirable than doing so because you were told to do so...but thats a topic in and of itself. I have zero problem with those who are religious (you will likely find the exact opposite oddly enough of them to me) as its inherently a peaceful set of guidelines to follow. The attrocities of the past carried out in the name of religion are not religion itself, but people abusing it for their own personal gain. My daughter and son go to church with their grandparents all the time, I have zero problems with this. They will, however, be able to make up their own minds when they are of sound mind to do so (they are 3 and 1 respectively).
For reference, I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic grade school and high school...and consider myself an atheist
EDIT: Spelling and edited a bit.
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