Understanding

Christianity
With

Adnan Ali Muhammed

On

Sunday August 29th

2010
 What we will learn
tonight?
•Concept of God in Christianity
•Sects in Christianity
•House of Worship
•Rituals & Their Significance
•Symbolism in Christianity
World Religions Statistics
According to David Barrette, editor of World
Christian encyclopedia, there are 19 major world
religions.
According to 2002 statistics, the five major
religions of world share the adherents as:
•Christianity 2.1 Billions
•Islam 1.5 Billions
•Hinduism 0.9 Billion
•Buddhism 0.38 Billion
•Judaism 0.015 Billion
http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
World Religions Statistics
2.5

Christianity
1.5
Islam
Hinduism
1 Buddhism
Judaism
0.5

0
Religions
World Religions Statistics

http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html
Lets see once again what
we will learn tonight?
•Concept of God in Christianity
•Sects in Christianity
•House of Worship
•Rituals & Their Significance
•Symbolism in Christianity
 Christianity
Fast Facts:
Founder: Hazrat Esa A.S (Jesus Christ)
Date Founded: 33 A.D
Place Founded: Nuseria (Nazareth), Palestine
Adherents: 2.1 Billions
Major Sects: i. Roman Catholics
ii. Eastern Orthodox
iii. Protestant
Sacred Text: Bible (Old Testament & New
Testament)
 Concept of God
Christianity is one of the three Abraham
Religions that believe in Monotheism (One
God). The other two religions are Islam and
Judaism.
The primary source for these three religions
are Holy Revelations. However, the
authenticity of these revelations are subject of
debate, but yet the concept of God in these
books are alike.
 Concept of God
The ancient name used for God in
Bible was “EL” spelled as Aleph-
Lamed in Hebrew and pronounced
as “Ay-L”. This word in very much
similar to Arabic word for God i.e.
“ALLAH”.
 Concept of God

Do you know what is the

name of Jews God?
 Concept of God
Let us see what Bible says about God
•“There is only One God” Mark 12:29
•“God is Pure” John 4:24
•“He is the Creator of the World”
Hebrews 3:4
•“He is good & Holy” Revelation 4:8
•“God is All-Powerful”
Matthew 19:26
•“He is worthy of worship” Luke 2:14
•“The Lord our God is One Lord”
Source: New Testament
Deuteronomy 6:4
 Concept of God
The Christian God is the Personal God. In this
believe, Christianity is like Judaism and Islam.

This does not mean that God is a human being,

but that God has "personality”. God can be
personified to understand Him.
 Concept of God
Personification means God can be given
attributes to define Him.
Let us see some examples from Bible:

•“God is Pure” John 4:24

•“God is All-Powerful”
Matthew 19:26
•“God is self-Conscious”
Matthew 6:1
•“God is Omniscient” John 3:20
•:God is Righteous
Source: & Just”
New Testament Revelation
 Concept of God
However, Christian monotheism is Trinitarian
Monotheism. This is a unique kind of monotheism. It
holds that God is One, but that three distinct entities
constitute the one God.
 Concept of God
They also hold a peculiar statement about Trinity
that
 Concept of God

•It is not mentioned in the Bible

•It does not make philosophical sense
•It is not compatible with monotheism
•It is not necessary in order to explain the "special
ness" of Jesus
 Concept of God

•It is taught indirectly in various statements in the

Bible
•It explains the divinity of Jesus and the Holy
Spirit while affirming monotheism
•It would not be expected that the nature of God
would make sense to human minds
 Sects in Christianity
There are reported to be approximately 38,000
Christian sects but many of them have so
insignificant number of believers that their
existence cannot be verified. Others are very
much similar to each other in beliefs.
However there are three major denominations of
Christians. These are:
i. Roman Catholic
ii.Eastern Orthodox
iii.Protestants
 Sects in Christianity
i. Roman Catholic:
Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian group that
exists today, with more than a billion adherents.
ii. Eastern Orthodox:
The Orthodox Church became a distinct branch in the
11th century. It is prominent in Russia, Greece and
nearby areas.
iii. Protestant:
Protestantism encompasses numerous denominations
and embraces a wide theological spectrum, but all
share certain distinctive.
House of Worship
 House of Worship
Different denominations of Christians call their
worship place by different names. Like,
•Church Building
•Chapel
•Cathedral
•Basilica
•Meeting Hall
 House of Worship
Church Building:
The literal meaning of the word “Church” is “ The things
belonging to God”. The Church Building is the primary
and most common worship place of most of the Christians
which is now also known as Church due to convenience
of tongue.
Chapel:
Chapels are informal churches, i.e. a chamber in a house,
or the atrium of the house adapted for the purpose of
worship. These are often referred as the small place of
worships in hospitals, prison, funeral homes etc.
 House of Worship
Cathedral:
The literal meaning of the word “Cathedral” is “ The
Seat”. Cathedral is a Christian church that contain a seat
for the “Bishop” a rank of religious scholar. It is more
like “Darkhana Jamat Khana” in Ismailism because
Cathedral has a jurisdiction which encompasses many
churches
Basilica: under it.
Basilica was originally not a religious building. It served
as a public building for legal affairs of Roman Empires.
However when Roman Empire embrace Christianity,
they used these buildings for religious purposes as well.
Basilica is a large roofed hall with divided chambers.
Rituals & Their
Significance
 Rituals & Their
Significance
Many Christian rituals and religious practices vary
between denomination, individual church and individual
Christian, but some practices are common to virtually all
forms of Christianity.
Some of them are:
•Baptism
•Confirmation
•Communion
•Sunday Services
•Prayer
•Bible Study
•Evangelism and Missions
•Ordination
•Marriage
•Healing
 Rituals & Their
Significance
Among the previously mentioned practices, the sacred
and oldest ritual is Baptism.

Baptism is a ritual in which a person is being baptized

to become the Christian member of the Church by
washing him with water.
Anciently the ceremony involves the dipping of the
person completely or partially into the water.
Later it was carried out by making the person to stand
on water and water was being poured upon him.
Now the ceremony of baptism is made simple by
sprinkling water three time to the forehead of the
person by a religiously ranked person.
http://www.fisheaters.com/baptism2.html
Rituals & Their
Significance
 Rituals & Their
Significance
Because Baptism is done only one time
 Rituals & Their
Significance
A ceremony in which we are sprinkled
by water and done normally once in our
life time….

A ceremony which is necessary for us

to be entered in our religious society
just like in Christianity…
 Rituals & Their
Significance
Christians regard baptism as the very first thing to
arrange after the birth of the child.
Baptism is not a simple ceremony. It is a long and
complex
ceremony.
It consists of four parts with different sub-parts.
1. Outside the Church
2. Admission into the Church Building
3. In the Nave
4. At the Font
 Rituals & Their
done in the firstSignificance
As we cannot see all the four parts, let us see what is
part only.
Priest first asks some questions:
Priest: What do you ask of the Church of God?
Sponsor: Faith.
Priest: What does Faith offer you?
Sponsor: Life everlasting.
Priest: If then you desire to enter into life, keep the
commandments. ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
thy whole heart and with thy whole soul and with thy
whole mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.'
http://www.fisheaters.com/baptism2.html
 Rituals & Their
Significance
The priest then breathes 3 times on the candidate
in the form of a Cross, recalling the Spirit of God.

Priest says:
Priest: Go forth from him (her), unclean spirit,
and give place to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
 Rituals & Their
Significance
The priest now makes the Sign of the Cross with
his thumb on the candidate's forehead and chest.

Then the priest places his hands on the candidate's

head and prays.

Now the priest puts a little blessed salt in the

candidate's mouth. Salt is the symbol of that
wisdom which gives a relish for the sweetness
of divine nourishment.
This is the end of part 1 of the ceremony. The
rest of the ceremony takes place inside the
 Rituals & Their
Significance
Let us see what Bible says about Baptism:
•“Whoever believes and baptized will be saved” Mark
16:16
•“And this water symbolizes baptism that now
saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the
body but the pledge of a good conscience toward
God” Peter 3:21
•“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in
the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of
theSource:
Holy Spirit”
New Testament Acts
 Rituals & Their
Significance

•Accepting the faith of Christianity

•Submission to God
•Forgiveness of all sins
•Life is regenerated, new birth of soul
•Grace of God, supernatural gifts and virtues
•Salvation
Symbolism in Christianity
Although Christianity is a very vast religion with
so much symbolism which open many esoteric
windows in itself. Here we will discuss a few
symbols and their interpretation as per me.
We will see the symbolism in
•The Water
•The Cross
•The Numbers
Symbolism in Christianity
The Water
Water is one of the four elements of life.
Rest of three are fire, earth and air.

Water due to its characteristics is opponent of

fire, which is considered as the symbol of evil.
To extinguish fire, we need water. As to
extinguish evil from ourselves we need purity of
water.
Symbolism in Christianity
The Water
Water has a central place in the practices and
beliefs of many religions for two main reasons.
Firstly, water cleanses. Water washes away
impurities and pollutants, it can make an object
look as good as new and wipe away any signs of
previous defilement.
Water is used in many rituals of Christianity
including Baptism.
Symbolism in Christianity
The Water
Here are some reasons that why water has such an
importance in rituals.
•One of the Attribute of God is Pure. Water is symbol of
purity.
•Water cleanses the things. It cleans our heart
symbolically.
•It fills in anything it is poured in. When our heart is
cleaned and set for God to reside in, love for God is filled
in our heart like water fills the empty glass.
•Water is the symbol of life. We need water to survive
Symbolism in Christianity
The Cross
The cross is the widely used symbol in
Christianity. Its symbolism is beyond the scope
of our lecture but we will see some of the
possible meaning of it.
 Symbolism in Christianity
The Cross
Up
2 1

Righ Left
t
4 3

Dow
n
Symbolism in Christianity
The Cross
The number four represents a perfect Number (Perfect
Square) in Greek Philosophy.
The four corners of The Cross can represent the four
elements of life.
Up can represent the Fire because fire always ascends.
Down can represent Earth (Sand) which always descends
(Fall).
The remaining two corners that are neither directed
downward neither upward represent Water and Air due to
their ability to flow and being intermediate between fire
and earth by lightness.
Symbolism in Christianity
The Cross
These four corners can also represent the four corners of
the Earth. As earth was considered flat according to Bible.

Besides that, Cross also represents and memorializes

Christ's crucifixion.
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
There is nothing more significant and symbolic
than numbers in Christianity. Christianity has a
wide range of interpretations regarding
numbers.
Let us see some of the significance of numbers
in Christianity.
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
One
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the
LORD is One”
Deuteronomy 6:4
“One Lord, One faith, One baptism”
Ephesians 4:5
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
One
•One is the number of Unity, so it represents God.
•Number One is pure and has no factors other that itself.
•One is a perfect square and its root if also 1. It
represents that God has no roots but Himself is the root
of all causes.
•One is present in all numbers as the common
denominator of all numbers. That can represent that
God is present in all creation.
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Christians consider it as the number of Divine
Perfection.
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Trinity consists of Three entities.
1. Father
2. Son
3. Holy Spirit
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Three qualities of Universe
1. Time
2. Space
3. Matter
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Time consists of three elements.
1. Past
2. Present
3. Future
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Space consists of three dimensions.
1. Length
2. Width
3. Height
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Matter is categorized into three primary
states.
1. Solid
2. Liquid
3. Gas
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Human is made up of three parts.
1. Body
2. Soul
3. Spirit (Intellect)
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Three human abilities.
1. Thoughts
2. Words
3. Deeds
Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
Three testimonies in Bible.
1. Testimony of Spirit
2. Testimony of Water
3. Testimony of Blood

New Testament: John 5:8

Symbolism in Christianity
The Numbers
Three
In fact we are living in trinity of trinities.
 Christianity
Conclusion:
•Christians believe in Trinitarian Monotheism.
•Many sects but three are significant sects.
•They have several houses of worships.
•All Christians believe in and offer Baptism of newly
born child.
•There is a lot of symbolism in Christianity.
•Water is symbol of purity.
•Cross memorizes crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
•Symbolism in some numbers.