[WikiGem] Christianity

Christianity is a religious dispensation based on the teachings of Jesus Christ (c. 4 BC — c. 30/33 AD) as they are reported in the New Testament of the Bible. Adherents consider Jesus to have fulfilled the prophesies of the Old Testament promising the coming of a Messiah to the people of Israel. Jesus attracted adherents by working miracles, particularly miracles of healing, while teaching a message of love and faith. The most prominent disciples of Jesus were Peter, the brothers James and John and Mary Magdalene.

Jesus was crucified for His teachings. His body was removed from the cross and placed in a tomb. Three days later the tomb was found empty. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and asked her to tell the other disciples that their Master is alive. Christians believe that Jesus' crucifixion is the atonement for mans' sins.

Within a few centuries Christianity spread from Israel into Africa and Europe. The Roman empire saw Christianity as a threat and persecuted the Christians. During this time many Christians practiced their faith secretly under the threat of death. Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in Rome in the year 312 A.D. In the year 392 Theodosius declared Christianity to be the state religion of Rome and outlawed other faiths.

Soon after Jesus' death disputes among his followers caused the early Christians to form sects. Early Christians disagreed on the meaning of Jesus' resurrection, the divinity of Jesus, and the validity of divine revelation experienced by individual believers. They also questioned the validity of many laws of the Old Testament as well as the role of secular government.

Today Christianity encompasses a thousands of denominations with various doctrines and interpretations of Biblical scripture. Differences of opinion on baptism, divorce, Jesus' resurrection from the dead, sin, salvation, holy communion, the role of works in salvation, the role of women, the holy trinity, the future of Israel, the future of the church, rapture and others have motivated the founding of new Christian denominations and churches.

In 2009 there are an estimated 2.1 billion Christians world-wide, making Christianity is the largest and most widespread of the world's religions.

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