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DECEMBER 2014
PRABUDDH JEEVAN
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teaching gave birth to a new religion and he was treated as the founder and prophet of that religion. He repeatedly asserted that he had come not to destroy the old faith but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He accepted a Messiahnic role to restore and purify the Jewish faith in God. In this sense Christianity may be considered an elevated and extended form of Judaism. Jesus called himself the Son of Man'. Christians consider him to be the Son of God'. They believe that in Jesus, God's Word became flesh. (In Judaism and Islam, God's word became the Book (The Torah / Koran)). Jesus is regarded as the true image of God, as his representative and his Messiah (a person who in anointed and sent by God to the Jews to set them free or as saviour to them). Christianity as it exists today is not entirely the gift of Jesus alone. It is the most influential missionary religion and has a large following in the werstern world. There have been a host of others, saints, mystics and thinkers who have contributed towards its development. At least the impact of St. Paul who immediately followed Jesus cannot be ignored. Christianity took definite shape as a eligion at the hands of St. Paul who explained and interpreted the message of Jesus with the help of his own wide range of knowledge and expanded the riligion to the far ends of the then Roman empire. Both St. Paul and St. Peter look upon Christianity as a universal religion open to all nations. 4.2 Basic Features 1. Christianity is a monotheistic religion believing in
one and only one God. 2. God is person. It means he has got the power of
interpersonal relationship. He has conciousness
and will and is of the nature of Pure spirit. 3. God has an internal trinity. This Trinitarian dimen-
sion consists in his being the Father (creator), the Son (redeemer/saviour) and th Holy Spirit (the eter
nal Guide). He is three in one. 4. Jesus is considered to be th Messiah of God whom
the Jews were expecting. He represents the true image of God and he is considered to be the
founder of this religion. 5. God has many metaphysical and ethical attributes
(like omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence), but
essentially he is of the nature of a loving father. 6. God is the Creator, sustainer and destroyer of the
world. He has created the world out of nothing (ceatio ex nihilo) and may destroy it any time ac
cording to his sweet will. 7. Man is created in the image and likeness of God.
So man is potentially great and his existence is
dignified. But misusing the freedom granted to him by God man committed sin. Committing Original Sin by the first man Adam is the root cause of man's
suffering. Sin is nothing but disobedience to God. 8. God is kind and loving. Hence he wants to save
man. Jesus is sent as the redeemer of man. 9. True religion consists in nothing but loving God,
oneself and one's fellow men in utmost sincerity
and humility. 10. Redemption or liberation is ultimately the fruit of
God's grace. Man has to enhance and accept the
divine grace in freedom by a sincere moral life. 11. Christianity believes in immortality of soul, the res
urrection of the dead, the final day of judgement and life after death. The good will enjoy the happiness of heaven and the bad will be sent to eternal hell for punishment. Many Christians believe in a purgatory also where the souls undergo purification before they enter the eternal heaven for happiness and rewards. Hell is eternal damnation and heaven is eternal immortal life in constant fellow
ship and bliss with God. 12. Christianity also believes in heavenly angles both
good and bad. Satan or devil is the chief of the evil spirits and he instigates people to sin. God always
wins over the Satan and his kingdom. Sacred Scriptures of Christianity (The Bible)
The word 'bible' is derived from the Greek word biblia' which means 'books'. It refers to the sacred writings of judaism and Christianity. The bible of the Christians consists of 2 parts, namely The Old Testament and the New Testament. Along with the Jews the Protestants etc. take 39 books to be the Old Testament whereas the Catholic group takes 46 books as constituting Old Testament and 27 books to constitute the New Testament. The New Testament consists of 4 Gospels, which are accounts of Jesus' life, works and teachings, the letters and writtings of St. Paul, St. Peter, St. James etc and the book of Revelation. ISLAM
Islam is a prophetical religion, its prophet being Mohammad who was born in 570 A.D. to whom the new religion was revealed while meditating in the cave of Mount Hira. He is taken by his followers as the messenger (Rasul) of God (Allah). Though Islam accepts other prophets like Abraham, Moses and Jesus, it takes Mohammad as the last and the mightiest among the prophets. His teachings are regarded as final and they are to be observed and followed by all. Against polytheism, idolatry and sheer ritualism that prevailed in
