Christianity is regarded as a universal religion with the largest number of followers around the world(estimated over 2 billion). It is also regarded as one of the great Abrahamic faiths. Although the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) claim to share the same root in the great Patriarch Abraham, Christianity as a religion is unique in its own right. The following illustration of Christianity is noteworthy.

"Christianity arose out of the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed to be "the Christ." During Jesus' lifetime this claim was admitted by a circle of adherents, in whose view, afterwards, it was triumphantly vindicated by His resurrection from the dead. By resurrection He "was declared to be the Son of God with power" (Rom 1:4). With this was united from the first the recognition of Christ as the God-sent Redeemer, through whom has come to the world forgiveness, reconciliation with God and Divine spiritual power."[1]

Scriptures play an integral part in Christianity as the life and deeds of Jesus is said to have been recorded in the Christian scriptures. 

Christian Scriptures
Bible as it is known to the Christians contains the Old Testament (taken from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Tanakh) and the New Testament (Christian writings.) The New Testament(NT) canon comprises of 27 books (4 Gospels, the book of Acts, 14
Pauline Epistles, 7 general Epistles and the book of Revelation.) Gospels are considered to be the most important part of the NT as they record the words and deeds of Jesus. Christians believe that both New Testament and the Old Testament are the
words of God. Besides accepting Bible to be the Word of God most Christians also ascribe to a formal/informal creed which is thought of as "a concise, formal, and authorized statement of important points of Christian doctrine..”[2]

Christian Creed
There are three most popular Christian creeds namely Old Roman Creed developed in the second century C.E., Nicene creed formalized in 381 C.E. and Athenasian Creed formalized in fifth century C.E. We will review the key points in the Old Roman Creed that are accepted by virtually all denominations of Christianity. They are the following:

• God the Father alone is Almighty.
• Jesus is born of Virgin Mary.
• Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who died for the salvation of mankind.

The Athenasian creed is the most extensive of all and contains explicit references to what is known as the Trinitarian formulation of God. The following section explicitly states that God is one who has three different manifestations in the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

"And the Catholic Faith is this that, we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity....So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not Three Gods, but One God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not Three Lords but One Lord."[3]

There are disagreements among the Christians as to whether someone must believe in Trinity in order to be counted as a Christian. However Christians across all denominations believe that one can not be a Christian without believing that Jesus
died for his/her sins. One of the most fascinating aspects of Christianity is the tremendous diversity of beliefs among different sects.

Christian Sects
There are primarily three sects in Christianity and they are Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant. Catholics are the largest group among the Christians. The Christians around the world can be divided into Trinitarians (those who believe in Trinity) and Unitarians (those who believe that the Father alone is God Almighty in proper sense of the word). Irrespective of the disagreements about the true nature of God the common denominator that unites all Christians is the central figure Jesus and his sacrifice for the salvation of mankind. The love and veneration displayed by Christians to Jesus is indeed something to behold.

References

1. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Under Christianity.
2. Cross, F. L. Livingstone, Elizabeth A. Oxford Dictionary of Christian Church, Page 433.
3. Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol II. Under Athanasian Creed
   

“Through life’s rush
never forget compassion”