Understanding the Core Beliefs of Christianity
The Core Beliefs of Christianity
1. Christianity is a Revealed Religion
Christianity is a revealed religion, meaning that God reveals Himself to humanity without being sought out. Revelation is the manifestation of God. Through signs and words, He reveals truths that humans could not otherwise know or could only know with difficulty. Christianity has its origins in the divine initiative. God chose Abraham and Moses. None of the prophets sought God. Jesus Christ is the center of human history. His coming into the world was announced by the prophets. He came to teach humanity the path of salvation. The Church was founded by Him and proclaims Him as the only savior of humankind.
The central truth of Christianity is the incarnation of the Son of God. Incarnation is the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine nature and human nature in Jesus, the only divine person. For salvation, Jesus became flesh, becoming human. Faith in the incarnation is the sign of the Christian faith. To find Christ, every person discovers the mystery of their own life. The Church has the mission to proclaim Jesus, true God and true man. Christianity is the only religion that professes that a man, Jesus, is God, or God made man. The incarnation has a purpose: Jesus came into the world to save humanity from all evil, especially sin. The truth of redemption is exclusively Christian. Redemption is the action taken through the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ to save humanity from sin. Jesus Christ is the model to follow. Imitation should be an interior attitude; it requires a conversion of heart, to love like Him, to think like Him. With Jesus Christ began the future of humanity. Each person should join Him.
2. The Bible is a Message to Our Faith
Faith is a gift that God concedes. Abraham had faith. The Bible calls him the father of all believers. The most perfect model of faith is the Virgin Mary: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.” Faith is believing what we do not see, based on the authority of God. Intelligence is an act of reason that should help deepen faith.
Faith is a theological virtue by which we believe in God and His revelation because God is truth itself. Reason is the intellectual power by which humans can know. Faith in God is perfectly reasonable. There are more reasons to say that God exists than to doubt it. The reasons to believe are not self-evident. God wants humans to accept Him freely. They are reasonable and true.
The Mystery of the Holy Trinity
There is one God in essence and three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We come to the Christian faith through revelation. The Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life.
Truths That a Christian Must Believe
- Believe in God and the truths that He revealed.
- Believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- All truths contained in the Creed.
- All truths contained in the written word of God.
Dogma of faith is a Church doctrine revealed by God, a truth that must be believed by all Catholics.
Living the Christian Faith is to Follow Christ
- Answer the call of faith: believe in it.
- Defend the faith against ideologies that combat it.
- Communicate the faith: announce it to everyone.
- Live according to faith.
Manifestation of the Trinity
The Trinity is manifested in the Annunciation to Mary, at the baptism of Jesus Christ, and on Mount Tabor.
Jesus Speaks of the Trinity
- Of God the Father, He says: “I think the world states that He comes from the Father.”
- He appears as the Son, sent by the Father to save and redeem the world.
- He speaks of the Holy Spirit: His mission is the sanctification of the Church and of Christians.