Faith In Christianity
The faith in Christianity is a central notion taught by Jesus Christ himself in reference to the Good News (cf. Mk 1:15). In the understanding of Jesus it was an act of trust and of self-abandonment by which people no longer rely on their own strength and policies but commit themselves to the power and guiding word of him in whom they believe (cf. Mt 21:25p,32; Lk 1:20,45). Since Protestant Reformation the meaning of this term has been an object of major theological disagreement in western Christianity. The differences have been largely overcome in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999). Most of the definitions in the history of Christian theology have followed biblical formulation in the Letter to the Hebrews (11:1): the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. As in other Abrahamic religions, it includes a belief in God, a belief in the reality of a transcendent domain that God administers as His Kingdom from His Throne and in the benevolence of God's will or plan for humankind and the World to Come.
Christianity differs from other Abrahamic religions in that it focuses on the ministry of Jesus, and on his place as the prophesied Christ, as substantiated by his Passion and Resurrection. It also includes a belief in the New Covenant. According to most Christian traditions, Christian faith requires a belief in Jesus' resurrection from the dead by God the Father through The Holy Spirit.
The precise understanding of the term "faith" differs among the various Christian traditions. Despite these differences, Christians generally agree that faith in Jesus lies at the core of the Christian tradition, and that such faith is required in order to be a Christian. The Christian tradition is sometimes called "the faith", since faith in Jesus is so central to the tradition. Faith and the word "belief" are often treated synonymously, which has led to Christians being called 'believers'.
Read more about Faith In Christianity: New Testament, Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism
Famous quotes containing the words faith in, faith and/or christianity:
“Of the best rulers The people only know that they exist; The next best they love and praise The next they fear; And the next they revile. When they do not command the people’s faith, Some will lose faith in them, And then they resort to oaths! But of the best when their task is accomplished, their work done, The people all remark, “We have done it ourselves.””
—Lao-Tzu (6th century B.C.)
“...I still have faith occasionally in the brotherhood of man, and in spite of all the tragedies that have intervened since [1945], believe that sometime, somehow, all the nations of the world can work together for the common good.”
—Virginia Crocheron Gildersleeve (1877–1965)
“What’s the greatest enemy of Christianity to-day? Frozen meat. In the past only members of the upper classes were thoroughly sceptical, despairing, negative. Why? Among other reasons, because they were the only people who could afford to eat too much meat. Now there’s cheap Canterbury lamb and Argentine chilled beef. Even the poor can afford to poison themselves into complete scepticism and despair.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)