LESSON 5: CHRISTIANITY

MOTIVATIONAL ACTIVITY

SUMMARIZE TWO BIBLE STORIES THAT YOU

LOVE AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU LIKE THOSE
TALES. ALSO, SHARE THE LESSONS YOU
HAVE LEARNED FROM THE STORIES THAT
YOU SELECTED. BE READY TO SHARE YOUR
BIBLE TALES AND INSIGHTS IN CLASS.
• WAS IT DIFFICULT TO FIND SOMEONE TO
INTERVIEW FOR THE TOPIC OF CHRISTIANITY?
• WAS THE INTERVIEWEE HELPFUL IN
PROVIDING ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS?
• HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE CHRISTIANITY AS
A RELIGION BASED ON THE DATA YOU
GATHERED?
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• WHAT IS THE CORE TEACHING OF

CHRISTIANITY?
• WHY IS JESUS CALLED THE MESSIAH?
• HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS LIVE THEIR LIVES
ACCORDING TO CHRISTIAN TEACHING?
 CONCEPT MAP

CHRISTIANI
TY

•
WORSHIP BELIEFS
SACRED
S AND AND SUBDIVISIO
SCRIPTURE OBSERVA DOCTRI NS
S NCES NES
1. What Christian
symbols can you find in
the picture?
2. What do these
symbols mean?
3. what is the relevance
of going to church in
 LESSON PROPER
CHRISTIANITY IS CONSIDERED THE WORLD’S
LARGEST RELIGION, A RELIGION BASED ON THE
TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST WHO IS
CONSIDERED THE SON OF GOD AND THE
MESSIAH OR SAVIOR. FOLLOWERS OF
CHRISTIANITY ARE CALLED CHRISTIANS. AS OF
2010, THERE ARE MORE THAN 2 BILLION
CHRISTIANS ALL OVER THE WORLD, WHICH
MAKE UP MORE THAN 30% OF THE WORLDS
10 COUNTRIES WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF
CHRISTIANS (2011)
 THE CROSS SERVES AS A SYMBOL OF JESUS CHRIST’S
VICTORY OVER SINS WHEN HE DIED ON THE CROSS FOR
HUMANITY’S REDEMPTION AND SALVATION. IN ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCHES, THE CRUCIFIX IS A REGULAR
FEATURE WITH THE IMAGE OF CHRIST NAILED ON THE
CROSS- EMPHASIZING CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS FOR
HUMANITY. PROTESTANT CHURCHES OFTEN FEATURE ONLY
THE CROSS WITHOUT THE IMAGE OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
TO EMPHASIZE CHRIST’S RESURRECTION AND NOT HIS
SUFFERING.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
CHRISTIANITY, REGARDED AS AN
OFFSHOOT OF JUDAISM, DEVELOPED IN
PALESTINE AROUND 100 C.E. IT WAS
FOUNDED BY JESUS CONSIDERED TO BE
THE SON OF GOD AND MESSIAH OR
SAVIOR. TODAY CHRISTIANITY IS DIVIDED
INTO THREE MAJOR SECTS- ROMAN
CATHOLICISM, GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH,
 JESUS AS THE FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY

CHRISTIANITY STARTED WITH A PROPHECY

IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT GOD WILL
SEND HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON TO SAVE
HUMANITY FROM ETERNAL DAMNATION.
JESUS, THROUGH HIS PREACHING AND
HEALING, WAS SEEN BY HIS FOLLOWERS TO
BE THE MESSIAH THEY WERE WAITING FOR.
 RELIGIOUS
THE LEADERS CHURCH
CATHOLIC FOLLOWS A
CERTAIN HIERARCHY BASED ON THE CANON
LAW OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. AT THE TOP
OF THE HIERARCHY IS THE POPE, CONSIDERED
AS PETER’S SUCCESSORS. THE HIERARCHY
ALSO INCLUDES THE CARDINALS,
ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS, PRIESTS, AND
DEACONS. EACH MEMBER OF THE HIERARCHY
HAS HIS OWN FUNCTION FOR THE EFFICIENCY
 POPE
THE POPE IS THE HEAD
OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH AND THE
BISHOP OF ROME. THE
POPE IS ALSO THE HEAD
OF THE SOVEREIGN
CITY-STATE, VATICAN
CITY. WHAT THIS MEANS
ON A DAILY BASIS IS
THAT THE POPE, IN THIS
 CARDINALS
NEXT TO THE POPE ARE
THE CARDINALS, WHO
ARE ALSO APPOINTED BY
THE POPE. THE PRIMARY
RESPONSIBILITY OF A
CARDINAL IS TO ELECT A
NEW POPE WHEN A POPE
DIES OR ABDICATES THE
PAPACY. OTHER
CARDINALS HAVE
 BISHOPS
BISHOPS ALONE
HAVE THE RIGHT TO
CONFIRM AND
ORDAIN MEMBERS OF
THE CLERGY, AND
THEIR MAIN DUTY IS
TO SUPERVISE THE
CLERGY WITHIN
 ARCHBISHOP
A BISHOP WHO MOVES TO
THE LEVEL OF CARDINAL ISN'T
ORDAINED, BUT HANDPICKED
BY THE POPE, WHO ALSO
APPOINTS BISHOPS. A BISHOP
OVERSEES A DIOCESE, WHICH
IS A COLLECTION OF LOCAL
PARISHES; AND
AN ARCHBISHOP ADMINISTE
RS AN ARCHDIOCESE, WHICH
IS JUST A REALLY LARGE
DIOCESE.
 PRIEST
IN
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
, A
PARISH PRIEST(ALSO
KNOWN AS A PASTOR) IS
A PRIEST APPOINTED BY
THE BISHOP TO
REPRESENT HIM TO THE
LOCAL PARISH, WHICH IS
A COLLECTION OF
 DEACON
DEACONS ARE ORDAINED AS
A SACRAMENTAL SIGN TO
THE
CHURCH AND TO THE
WORLD OF CHRIST, WHO
CAME "TO SERVE AND NOT
TO BE SERVED.“ THE ENTIRE
CHURCH IS CALLED BY
CHRIST TO SERVE, AND THE
DEACON, IN VIRTUE OF HIS
SACRAMENTAL ORDINATION
 DEITY/ GOD

CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, THEREFORE

CHRISTIANITY IS A MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION. GOD IS
SEEN AS THE CREATOR AND MAINTAINER OF THE
UNIVERSE, AND IS BELIEVED TO BE OMNIPOTENT(ALL-
POWERFUL), OMNISCIENT (ALL-KNOWING), OMNIPRESENT
(ALL-PRESENT), AND OMNIBENEVOLENT (ALL-GOOD).
GOD IS ALSO SACRED, MORAL, UNCHANGEABLE,
COMPASSIONATE, GRACEFUL, AND TIMELESS.
 CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN THE HOLY TRINITY,
HOLY TRINITY
WHICH MEANS GOD IS COMPOSED OF THREE
PERSONS: GOD THE FATHER, THE SON (JESUS
CHRIST), AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. IN MATTHEW
28:19, IT IS STATED THAT: “GO THEREFORE AND
MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING
THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE
SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.” IN 2
CORINTHIANS 13: 1: “THE GRACE OF THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST AND THE LOVE OF GOD AND THE
 HOLY TRINITY

FOR SOME CHRISTIANS, THE CONCEPT OF THE

HOLY TRINITY IS NOT EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
THUS, SOME CHRISTIAN CHURCHES REJECTED
IT, SUCH AS THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, JEHOVAH'S
WITNESSES, CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS,
UNITARIANS, IGLESIA NI KRISTO, AND
ONENESS PENTECOSTALS, AMONG OTHERS.
 SACRED
SCRIPTURES
THE BIBLE IS CONSIDERED THE
SACRED SCRIPTURE OF
CHRISTIANITY. IT IS A
COLLECTION OF SONGS,
STORIES, POETRY, LETTERS,
HISTORY, AS WELL AS
LITERATURE. IT IS COMPOSED
OF TWO BOOKS, THE OLD
TESTAMENT AND THE NEW
TESTAMENT. THE OLD
TESTAMENT IS CONSIDERED
THE ORIGINAL HEBREW BIBLE,
WRITTEN BETWEEN 1200 AND
 THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE OLD TESTAMENT IS THE FIRST PART OF
CHRISTIAN BIBLES, BASED PRIMARILY UPON
THE HEBREW BIBLE, A COLLECTION OF
ANCIENT RELIGIOUS WRITINGS BY THE
ISRAELITES BELIEVED BY MOST CHRISTIANS
AND RELIGIOUS JEWS TO BE THE SACRED
WORD OF GOD. THE SECOND PART OF THE
CHRISTIAN BIBLE IS THE NEW TESTAMENT.
THE NEW TESTAMENT IS MADE UP OF TWENTY-SEVEN
NEW TESTAMENT
DIFFERENT BOOKS ATTRIBUTED TO EIGHT DIFFERENT
AUTHORS, SIX OF WHOM ARE NUMBERED AMONG THE
APOSTLES (MATTHEW, JOHN, PAUL, JAMES, PETER, JUDE)
AND TWO AMONG THEIR IMMEDIATE DISCIPLES (MARK,
LUKE).THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS NOT WRITTEN ALL AT
ONCE. THE BOOKS THAT COMPOSE IT APPEARED ONE AFTER
ANOTHER IN THE SPACE OF FIFTY YEARS, I.E. IN THE
SECOND HALF OF THE FIRST CENTURY. WRITTEN IN
DIFFERENT AND DISTANT COUNTRIES AND ADDRESSED TO
PARTICULAR CHURCHES, THEY TOOK SOME TIME TO SPREAD
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE OF CHRISTENDOM. IT
DISCUSSES THE TEACHINGS AND PERSON OF JESUS, AS
 BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES
BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES SERVE AS MORAL
GUIDELINES FOR THE CHRISTIANS. THEY
SHOULD FOLLOW THESE TEACHINGS
STRICTLY IF THEY WANT TO REDEEM GOD’S
PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE. NOT
FOLLOWING THEM WOULD LESSEN THEIR
CHANCES OF BEING CALLED TRUE
CHRISTIANS AND REDUCES THEIR CHANCES
 TEN COMMANDMENTS

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, ALSO KNOWN AS

THE DECALOGUE, ARE A SET OF BIBLICAL
PRINCIPLES RELATING TO ETHICS AND WORSHIP,
WHICH PLAY A FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN THE
ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS. THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS APPEAR TWICE IN THE
HEBREW BIBLE, IN THE BOOKS OF EXODUS AND
DEUTERONOMY.
THERE
SEVENARE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE
SACRAMENTS
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, WHICH
ACCORDING TO CATHOLIC THEOLOGY
WERE INSTITUTED BY JESUS AND
ENTRUSTED TO THE CHURCH.
SACRAMENTS ARE VISIBLE RITES SEEN AS
SIGNS AND EFFICACIOUS CHANNELS OF
THE GRACE OF GOD TO ALL THOSE WHO
RECEIVE THEM WITH THE PROPER
 BAPTISM
HOLY BAPTISM IS THE
BASIS OF THE WHOLE
CHRISTIAN LIFE, THE
GATEWAY TO LIFE IN THE
SPIRIT AND THE DOOR
WHICH GIVES ACCESS TO
THE OTHER SACRAMENTS.
THROUGH BAPTISM WE
ARE FREED FROM SIN AND
REBORN AS SONS OF
GOD; WE BECOME
MEMBERS OF CHRIST, ARE
 CONFIRMATION
CONFIRMATION IS MEANT
TO COMPLETE BAPTISM
AND BRING THE
BAPTIZED THE GRACES
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT
WERE GIVEN TO THE
APOSTLES ON PENTECOST
SUNDAY. IF BAPTISM IS
THE SACRAMENT OF RE-
BIRTH TO A NEW AND
SUPERNATURAL LIFE,
 EUCHARIST

HOLY EUCHARIST
ENTAILS THE
RECEPTION CHRIST’S
BODY AND BLOOD
WHICH HELPS
CHRISTIANS GROW
IN THE LIKENESS OF
JESUS CHRIST.
 CONFESSION

CONFESSION IS
MEANT TO
RECONCILE
CHRISTIANS WITH
GOD BY CONFESSING
THEIR SINS.
 MATRIMONY

THIS SACRAMENT IS
THE UNION OF MAN
AND WOMAN FOR THE
PURPOSE OF
PROCREATION AND
MUTUAL SUPPORT.
 HOLY
ORDERS

CONSIDERED AS THE
CONTINUATION OF
CHRIST’S PRIESTHOOD
WHICH HE PASSED ON
TO HIS APOSTLES.
 ANOINTING OF
THE SICK

IS ADMINISTERED TO
THOSE WHO ARE ON
THE VERGE OF DEATH
OR ARE SERIOUSLY ILL,
OR ABOUT TO UNDERGO
A SERIOUS OPERATION,
FOR PHYSICAL AND
MORAL STRENGTH .
 EIGHT
BEATITUDES
THE BEATITUDES
COMPRISE WHAT IS
KNOWN AS THE
“SERMON ON THE
MOUNT” RECORDED IN
MATTHEW 5-7. THE
BEATITUDES REFER TO
THE EIGHT SAYINGS OF
JESUS AT THE
 APOSTLES’ CREED
THE APOSTLES' CREED IS TRINITARIAN IN
STRUCTURE WITH SECTIONS AFFIRMING
BELIEF IN GOD THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST
HIS SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.
THE APOSTLES' CREED WAS BASED ON
CHRISTIAN THEOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING
OF THE CANONICAL GOSPELS, THE
LETTERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT AND TO
CREATION STORY (GENESIS 1)
Day 1 - God created light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light "day"
and darkness "night."
Day 2 - God created an expanse to separate the waters and called it "sky."
Day 3 - God created the dry ground and gathered the waters, calling the dry ground
"land," and the gathered waters "seas." On day three, God also created vegetation
(plants and trees).
Day 4 - God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern
and separate the day and the night. These would also serve as signs to mark seasons,
days, and years.
Day 5 - God created every living creature of the seas and every winged bird, blessing
them to multiply and fill the waters and the sky with life.
Day 6 - God created the animals to fill the earth. On day six, God also created man and
woman (Adam and Eve) in his own image to commune with him. He blessed them and
gave them every creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate.
Day 7 - God had finished his work of creation and so he rested on the seventh day,
 BIG BANG THEORY

The big bang is how astronomers

explain the way the universe began. It is
the idea that the universe began as just a
single point, then expanded and stretched
to grow as large as it is right now (and it
could still be stretching).
 CREATION STORY AND BIG BANG THEORY

BIG BANG
CREATION THEORY
 WORSHIP AND OBSERVANCES

CHRISTIANS HAVE CERTAIN RELIGIOUS

OBSERVANCES IN WHICH THEY
COMMEMORATE PARTICULAR EVENTS IN
THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. SOME
OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHRISTIAN
OBSERVANCES ARE ADVENT, LENT,
EASTER AND PENTECOST.
 ADVENT
ADVENT IS
A SEASON OBSERVED IN
MANY CHRISTIAN
CHURCHES AS A TIME OF
EXPECTANT WAITING AND
PREPARATION FOR BOTH
THE CELEBRATION OF THE
NATIVITY OF JESUS AT
CHRISTMAS AND THE
RETURN OF JESUS AT THE
SECOND COMING. THE
 LENT
LENT, IN THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH, A PERIOD OF
PENITENTIAL PREPARATION FOR
EASTER. IN WESTERN CHURCHES
IT BEGINS ON ASH WEDNESDAY,
SIX AND A HALF WEEKS BEFORE
EASTER, AND PROVIDES FOR A
40-DAY FAST (SUNDAYS ARE
EXCLUDED), IN IMITATION
OF JESUS CHRIST’S FASTING IN
THE WILDERNESS BEFORE HE
BEGAN HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY.
 EASTER
EASTER IS ONE OF THE MOST
FESTIVE EVENTS AMONG
CHRISTIANS WORLDWIDE. IT
COMMEMORATES JESUS
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION
FROM DEATH, AS WRITTEN IN
THE CHRISTIAN BIBLE.
EASTER
SUNDAY COMMEMORATES
JESUS' RESURRECTION FROM
DEATH.
 PENTECOST
THE DAY
OF PENTECOST IS
NOTED IN THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH AS THE DAY ON
WHICH THE SPIRIT
DESCENDED UPON THE
APOSTLES, AND ON
WHICH, UNDER PETER'S
PREACHING, SO MANY
 PRIOR TO
SUBDIVISIONS THE REIGN OF EMPEROR
CONSTANTINE WHO DECLARED HIMSELF A
CHRISTIAN IN 312 A.D., CHRISTIANS WERE
PERSECUTED UNDER ROMAN EMPERORS.
CHRISTIANITY WAS ONLY LEGALIZED IN 313 A.D.
UPON CONSTANTINE’S DECLARATION OF THE
EDICT OF MILAN, WHICH DECLARED EQUALITY
AMONG ALL RELIGIONS. LATER ON, EMPEROR
CONSTANTINE MADE CHRISTIANITY THE OFFICIAL
RELIGION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND SOUGHT
Emperor Constantine the
Great
 SUBDIVISIONS

IN 330 A.D., CONSTANTINE TRANSFERRED THE CAPITAL OF

THE ROMAN EMPIRE FROM ROME TO BYZANTIUM (INSTANBUL)
AND RENAMED IT CONSTANTINOPLE. AS TIME WENT BY,
CONFLICTS AROSE BETWEEN THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE
BYZANTIUM EMPIRE, RESULTING IN THE INEVITABLE SPLIT
BETWEEN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE GREEK
ORTHODOX CHURCH. THE OFFICIAL SPLIT HAPPENED IN 1054
A.D. WITH THE “GREAT SCHISM” WHICH DIVIDED THE WESTERN
LATIN ROMAN CHRISTIANITY FROM THE EASTERN GREEK
BYZANTINE CHRISTIANITY.
 SUBDIVISIONS
ABUSES AND CORRUPTION IN THE CHURCH LED
ANOTHER SECT TO BE FORMED AROUND THE 16 TH
CENTURY. MARTIN LUTHER, A TEACHER AND A MONK,
POSTED HIS LIST OF NINETY-FIVE PROPOSITIONS TO THE
DOOR OF THE CHURCH AT WITTENBERG IN SAXONY IN
1517, WHICH SIGNALED THE BEGINNINGS OF ANOTHER
CHRISTIAN SECT CALLED PROTESTANTISM. ONE OF THE
THINGS HE OPPOSED WAS THE SELLING OF
INDULGENCES (THE PARDON GRANTED BY THE POPE TO
PURGATORIAL PUNISHMENT TO CHRISTIANS WHO PAY A
CERTAIN AMOUNT FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF THEIR
 ECUMENISM

ECUMENISM
REFERS TO THE
EFFORT OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH TO
SPONSOR ACTIVITIES
AND INITIATIVES TO
PROMOTE MUTUAL
UNDERSTANDING AND
 SEXUALITY REFERS TO SEXUAL ORIENTATION,
SEXUALITY
SEXUAL ACTIVITY, AND SEXUAL FEELINGS.
CHRISTIANITY ADVOCATES THAT THE GOAL OF
SEXUAL UNION BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IS
PROCREATION, THUS ANYTHING THAT MIGHT
HINDER THIS IS CONSIDERED IMMORAL
(CONDOMS, BIRTH CONTROL, PILLS, AND IUD’S,
AMONG OTHERS). CHRISTIANITY ADVOCATES
NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING METHODS SUCH AS
THE RHYTHM METHOD. ABORTION IS ALSO
 HOMOSEXUALITY REFERS TO ATTRACTION TO
HOMOSEXUALITY
MEMBERS OF THE SAME SEX. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
STATES THAT WHEN GOD CREATED HUMANS HE
CREATED MALE AND FEMALE ONLY, AND THAT THEIR
UNION IS MEANT FOR PROCREATION. THE CHURCH
DOES NOT ALLOW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND IS VOCAL
IN OPPOSING HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS. THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH SAYS BEING HOMOSEXUAL,
HOWEVER, IS NOT WRONG OR SINFUL IN ITSELF, WHAT
IS SINFUL IS THE HOMOSEXUAL ACTS (SEXUAL
ACTIVITY). HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS MUST BE ACCEPTED
 FAMILY AND DIVORCE

THE CHRISTIAN VIEW ON MARRIAGE IS BASED ON

MATTHEW 19:16, “FOR THIS REASON A MAN WILL LEAVE
HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE UNITED TO HIS WIFE,
AND THE TWO WILL BECOME ONE FLESH’? SO THEY ARE
NO LONGER TWO, BUT ONE FLESH. THEREFORE WHAT GOD
HAS JOINED TOGETHER, LET MAN NOT SEPARATE.” THUS,
DIVORCE IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH,
SINCE IT BELIEVES IN THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE WHICH
IS A LIFETIME BOND BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN.
 ANNULMENT

AN ANNULMENT IS A DECLARATION BY A
CHURCH TRIBUNAL (A CATHOLIC CHURCH
COURT) THAT A MARRIAGE THOUGHT TO BE
VALID ACCORDING TO CHURCH LAW
ACTUALLY FELL SHORT OF AT LEAST ONE OF
THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS REQUIRED FOR A
BINDING UNION.
 For a Catholic marriage to be valid, it is
required that: (1) the spouses are free to marry;
(2) they are capable of giving their consent to
marry; (3) they freely exchange their consent;
(4) in consenting to marry, they have the
intention to marry for life, to be faithful to one
another and be open to children; (5) they intend
the good of each other; and (6) their consent is
given in the presence of two witnesses and
before a properly authorized Church minister.
Exceptions to the last requirement must be
approved by Church authority.
 CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
CAPITAL
PUNISHMENT OR
DEATH PENALTY
WHEREIN A PERSON IS
PUNISHED BY DEATH
FOR HIS CAPITAL
CRIME GOES AGAINST
THE CHRISTIAN BELIEF
THAT LIFE IS GIVEN BY
 EUTHANASIA
EUTHANASIA OR
MERCY KILLING IS
ALSO CONSIDERED
IMMORAL SINCE IT
ENTAILS TAKING AWAY
WHAT HAS BEEN
GIVEN BY GOD, AND
THAT HUMAN BEINGS
SHOULD NOT