Christianity : The New Testament

The book Mere Christianity was derived from a series of radio talks by C.S. Lewis during World War two. The book is divided into four other small books each one providing one of the overall tenants of Christianity within its chapters.

Christianity centers on a teacher and preacher named Jesus of Nazareth, who was said to be the Son of God. Jesus began ministering to the public at age 30 which consisted of him doing things like:

The son would also go before Jesus to turn disobedient to the wisdom of the just and the hearts of fathers to children. He was also to prepare people for the coming of the Lord.

Divinity is the very character of God. Therefore, Jesus’ divinity is made known repeatedly throughout the New Testament. In the very first words of the Gospel of Mark 1:1, Mark writes “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” It establishes him as the manifestation of God in human form. Then later in Mark 1:14, scripture says that the time had come for worldwide repentance because the “Kingdom of God” was coming soon. Jesus is not who they imagined; the people of Israel were expecting a king who would establish an earthly kingdom and rescue them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. The Jewish community did not understand nor did it resonate that God’s deliverance would be for all people (108-109).

Have you ever wondered how Christianity was spread in the early stages? and what influenced it? Rome held a huge part in both of these things. The Roman emperors, culture, and the Roman religion all were things that influenced early Christianity very much.

In Mark’s gospel, God speaks to us and tells us “this is my son”. Many people believed that the messiah that was sent was the son of god. By God saying this to us, he presents Jesus as the Messiah. Yet, many people still didn’t believe he was who he was said to be. Through Mark’s gospel, we are able to see how Jesus was sent to help the christian religion and people of Christianity as not only the Messiah but the suffering servant.

The Christian religion finds its foundation on the Word of God and the work of Jesus Christ. Christianity finds its beginnings with Jesus Christ about 2,000 years ago, when he, the Son of God, came down to earth to teach, heal, and die for the sins of humanity. After God created man, man openly rebelled against Him, causing a rift in their relationship. Since humans cannot save themselves, a perfect and completely innocent sacrifice was necessary in order to purify and restore mankind. Christianity comprises and emphasizes Jesus’ death and resurrection, as well as denying oneself and following Christ.

Overall, there seems to be a very high Christology in the New Testament. However, due to the various authors of the books that comprise the anthology, there is an inherent variation of the level of Christology found between the different books. In order to examine the Christology of a religious text, one must first understand the notion of Christology. Christology refers to the level of divinity that Jesus is portrayed to have, and can be understood as a spectrum with an extremely high Christology at one end and an extremely low Christology at the other. The highest possible Christology refers to texts in which Jesus is described at being equal to God, while the lowest possible Christology refers to texts in which Jesus is described as being completely human. These extremes are typically never fully realized in the New Testament; a position on the spectrum between them is usually taken. When analyzing the Christology of the Gospel of Mark, the Book of Revelation, and the Pauline Epistles, it becomes apparent that there is in fact a difference in the Christology of the three. Mark seems to have a lower Christology than the Pauline Epistles, which have a lower Christology than the book of Revelation, which has a very high Christology.

Jesus became proof that the bible can be trusted and that it’s rational. In the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) , It presents an accurate description of the life of Jesus and all the miraculous things that he did, making him an argument for the Bible to be the truth. In John 10:35-36 it says “And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God's message were called 'gods, 'why do you call it blasphemy when I say, 'I am the Son of God'? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world.” Jesus said that the scriptures cannot be altered, in other words, what the Bible records about Jesus, including what he says about God, human nature, salvation and the Old Testament ideals, can then be trusted and is

This paper will highlight some of the historical points of division in Christianity and reflect on ways the church succeeded and failed in practicing professed beliefs. Christianity has become so diverse that some theologians have called it “Christian Pluralism”(Melton, 2007). In 1982 Anglican theologian David Barrett estimated that there were 20,800 denominations in Christianity across the globe (McGavran, 2012).

Are the copies in existence today an accurate representation of the original copies of the New Testament? There are many facts and studies that prove this claim to be true contrary to popular belief by non-Christians and other religions alike. There are at least three reasons that it can be know with certainty that the New Testament in existence today is an accurate representation of the originals. Including the amount of copies, age, and determining that the variants within the Bible do not make a difference.

Christianity is a popular religion that saw its beginnings around two-thousand years ago in the Middle East. There are many forms of Christianity that have spread throughout the world and have shaped our history in many ways. In fact, according to year 2000 version of the World Christian Encyclopedia there are “33,820” different denominations of Christians around the world (1). The differences within the faith come from divisions between one group, or another and are defined by their doctrine and church’s spiritual authority. Issues such as who Jesus was as a person, the esteem of apostolic succession, eschatology, and papal power also separate one denomination from another. Some groups do not consider themselves to be a denomination

We begin our survey of the biblical theology of the New Testament with the Gospel of Matthew and his focus on the Lordship of Christ and our need for repentance. Christ’s identity is the focus of this Gospel because His identity holds the key to His claim to the throne of the kingdom. This question of Christ’s identity is a recurring theme in all of the Gospels, but it is especially poignant in Matthew’s account as he is asking the specific question: What proof is there that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah?

In the gospel of Mark, Jesus is described as Jesus Christ the only Son of God. By analyzing the response Jesus gives towards his followers, the direct knowledge of the commandments and the divine power he uses to proclaim his status are all notations that demonstrate and validate his position of Son of God.

Jesus, the Son of God, came in the flesh. He did not come for His own glory, but to save a world in need. Again, Isaiah prophesied, “For to us a child is born, a son will be given to us, and the government will be upon His shoulder. His Name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, My Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace” (9:5 TLV). This prophecy and others like it were given 740 years before Jesus was born, yet they were fulfilled perfectly (Douglas 25). Though He was born as a baby, Messiah’s birth was totally different than any other human being; for He was conceived supernaturally through the Ruach ha-Kodesh, or the Holy Spirit. When an angel informed Mary that she would bear the Son of God, Mary was shocked and asked, “How can this be, since I am not intimate with a man?” (Luke 1:34-35 TLV). The angel responded to Mary, “The Ruach ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) will come upon you and the power of Elyon (God) will overshadow you” (TLV). Yes, Jesus came to earth as a man, but even from the moment of conception, His life was drastically different than any person who ever existed. Though He was the King of Kings, He came as a servant of all.