General Description of Christianity

Christianity started out as a breakaway sect of Judaism nearly 2000 years ago. Jesus (Yahushua ben Yosef), the son of Mary (Miriam) and her husband Joseph, was bothered by many of the laws and practices of his native Jewish faith and began preaching his own message of God and religion. During his travels he was joined by twelve others who became his disciples and followed him in his journeys and learned from him. He performed many miracles during this time and related many of his teachings in the form of parables. Among his best known sayings are to "love thy neighbor" and "turn the other cheek." At one point he revealed that he was the Son of God sent to earth to save mankind from our sins. This he did by being crucified on the cross for his teachings. He then rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples and told them to go forth and spread his message.

Since Christianity and Judaism share the same history up to the time of Jesus, they are very similar in many of their core beliefs. There are two primary differences. One is that Christians believe in original sin and that Jesus died in mankind's place to save mankind from that sin. The other is that Jesus was the Son of God and part of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. All Christians believe in heaven and that those who sincerely repent their sins before God will be saved and join Him in heaven. Belief in hell and satan varies among groups and individuals.

There are a multitude of forms of Christianity which have developed either because of disagreements on dogma, adaptation to different cultures, or simply personal taste. For this reason there can be a great difference between the various forms of Christianity they may seem like different religions to some people.