Understanding Christianity

Christianity can be categorized into two major groups: Unitarian and Trinitarian. The former follows the belief that God is One and that Jesus (A.S.)ʿAlayhi as-salām, Arabic for "Peace be upon him", Muslim honorific. is not a God but is the Messiah. The latter, on the other hand, believed Jesus (A.S.)ʿAlayhi as-salām, Arabic for "Peace be upon him", Muslim honorific. as the Messiah and is a God, and follows the doctrine of Trinity which states that, the Father, the Son --- Jesus (A.S.)ʿAlayhi as-salām, Arabic for "Peace be upon him", Muslim honorific. --- and the Holy Spirit are Gods, co-equal, distinct and are one.

Trinitarians justify the concept of the Trinity through verses like Genesis 1:26 and Matthew 28:19. Further, they also justify the divinity of Jesus (A.S.)ʿAlayhi as-salām, Arabic for "Peace be upon him", Muslim honorific. through the miracles depicted in the New Testament, and through the statement "I am" from John 8:58, which they say is a fulfillment of the Exodus 3:14.

Unitarians, on the other hand, justify their claim of Oneness of God through verses like Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:5-6, etc. In addition, they also support this with New Testament verses like John 17:3, Mark 12:28-34, etc.

Trinitarian Christians emphasizes heavily on the role of sin. In particular, they believe in the concept of Original Sin, which states that we are all sinners because we inherited this from our first ancestor, Adam and Eve (may peace be with them), who committed the first sin. This sin, accordingly, are present from the day we were born, and can only be removed through atonement.

Christianity justifies their belief by emphasizing that the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) that was given by God the Father are difficult to put into practice. No one can put it into practice without having shortcomings on some of the items. These shortcomings are then sins, since having shortcomings means not fulfilling the items, making everyone a sinner. These sins then can only be removed by atonement.

Sins can be atoned through blood sacrifice only, according to Trinitarians. This is the ruling, accordingly, in the Old Testament (see Leviticus 17:11). Moreover, in order to atone all the sins of all humankind, someone should sacrifice a blood. Not blood of the animals, but someone who is sinless. According to Trinitarians, only Jesus (A.S.)ʿAlayhi as-salām, Arabic for "Peace be upon him", Muslim honorific. was appropriate for the job. Thus, the crucifiction, accordingly, meant to do just that --- to atone all of us.

The crucifiction of Jesus (A.S.)ʿAlayhi as-salām, Arabic for "Peace be upon him", Muslim honorific., accordingly, is an act of obedience of Jesus (A.S.)ʿAlayhi as-salām, Arabic for "Peace be upon him", Muslim honorific. to his Father. Sacrificing himself for all sins of humanity, which in turn makes us all righteous, or have a ticket already to get close to God the Father, who is the Most Righteous.

Christianity has the most number of denominations among all other religions. It started with Catholic, then splitted to Protestant, then within Protestant there were several further splits. One key emphasis on the belief of the Trinitarian Protestant is that, they justified their belief from the fact that righteousness is not based on work but based on faith (see for example Philippians 3:9), which is not emphasized by the Roman Catholics, accordingly.

The Holy Books used by the Christians, is the Bible, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The said compilation of books were written by either Prophets and Writers, who were divinely inspired, accordingly. The Old Testament is used by the Christians as reference for the fulfillment of their claims in the New Testament.

The difference between Christian denominations can arise from the Nature of God, like Trinitarian or Unitarian. However, some key differences are in seen in their practices, like in worship, in food (eat pork or not?), in dressing, in Christmas (celebrate or not?), in day of sabbath (Saturday or Sunday?), etc.

St. Paul is by far the most popular Christian convert, his writings are heavily used as reference by Christians. Most Christians nowadays are referred to as Pauline Christians, since the other movement in the early days of Christianity, such as Nazareth Christians, Gnostic Christians, etc. were considered heretics and was overwhelmed by the popularity of Pauline teachings.