As of the early 21st century, Christianity has approximately 2.2 billion adherents. (We are not alone, or even a minority, or weird, or strange, as some in our government and society would have us to believe.)
Christianity represents about a third of the world’s population and is the world’s largest religion and is the state religion of several countries. Among all Christians, 37.5% live in the Americas, 25.7% live in Europe, 22.5% live in Africa, 13.1% live in Asia, 1.2% live in Oceania and 0.9% live in the Middle East. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of sub-Saharan African and Western Civilization.
What is a Christian?
The dictionary defines Christianity as being based on or relating to a belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Messiah, and acceptance of his teachings, contained in the Gospels; belonging to or maintained by a Christian organization, especially a church; showing qualities such as kindness, helpfulness, and concern for others.
Wikipedia describes it as follows: The mainstream Christian belief is that Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine, and fully human and the Savior of humanity. Because of this, Christians commonly refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah. Jesus’ ministry, sacrificial death, and subsequent resurrection are often referred to as the Gospel, meaning “Good News”. In short, the Gospel is news of God the Father’s eternal victory over evil, and the promise of salvation and eternal life for all people, through divine grace.
Matt Slick, (President and Founder of the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry), described it as well as anyone I’ve ever heard:
Christianity is a religion based upon the teachings and miracles of Jesus. Jesus is the Christ. The word “Christ” means anointed one. (Christ is not Jesus’ last name.) Jesus is the anointed one from God the Father who came to this world, fulfilled the Old Testament laws and prophecies, died on the cross, and rose from the dead physically. He performed many miracles which were recorded in the Gospels by the eyewitnesses. He is divine in nature as well as human. Thus, He has two natures and is worthy of worship and prayer.
Christianity teaches that there is only one God in all existence, that God made the universe, the Earth, and created Adam and Eve. God created man in His image. This does not mean that God has a body of flesh and bones. Image means the likeness of God’s character, rationality, etc. Because we are made in the image of God, every person is worthy of respect and honor. Furthermore, this means that we did not evolve through random processes from a single-celled organism into rational, emotional beings.
God created Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden and gave them the freedom to choose between right and wrong. They chose to sin. Sin is doing that which is contrary to the nature and will of God. For example, God cannot lie; therefore, lying is sin. The sin of disobeying God that Adam and Eve committed resulted in them being expelled from the Garden of Eden as well as suffering the effects of death.
As a result of their sin, their children and all of us inherited a sinful nature. In other words, our offspring are not perfect in nature. Think about it. We don’t have to teach children to be selfish or how to lie. They know how to do these things naturally. This shows that we are born in a fallen state.
Christianity teaches that God is a Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not three Gods), that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead physically, and that all people are under the righteous judgment of God because all people have sinned against God. It teaches that Jesus is the only way to be saved from the coming judgment of God and that salvation is received by faith in the work of Christ on the cross and not by anything that we can do to please God.
Where all other religions in the world teach that we must do some sort of good in cooperation with God in order to achieve the right to be in God’s presence, Christianity is the only religion that teaches salvation by grace. This means that we are not made right before God by our efforts, sincerity, or works. Instead, we are made right before God by faith in what Christ did on the cross.
Christianity further teaches that once a person is “born again” (becomes saved) that the Holy Spirit lives in that person and the person is changed: “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come,” (2 Cor. 5:17). This means that God actually lives in the person and the Christian then experiences a true and living relationship with God.
Therefore, “What is Christianity?” is best answered by saying that it is a relationship with the true and living God through the person of Jesus Christ by whom we are forgiven of our sins and escape the righteous judgment of God.
I like this poem the best . . .
What is a Christian?
When I say . . . “I am a Christian,”
I’m not shouting “I am saved.”
I’m whispering “I get lost!”
“That is why I chose this way.”
When I say . . . “I am a Christian,”
I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble
and need someone to be my guide.
When I say . . . “I am a Christian,”
I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak
and pray for strength to carry on.
When I say . . . “I am a Christian,”
I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed
and cannot ever pay the debt.
When I say . . . “I am a Christian,”
I’m not claiming to be perfect,
my flaws are too visible,
but God believes I’m worth it.
When I say . . . “I am a Christian,”
I do not wish to judge.
I have no authority.
I only know I’m loved.
Phil 4:5
Let your gentleness be known to
all men, The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving, let your
requests be known to God