What's a Christian?

Christianity has been around for just about 2,000 years! That's a pretty amazing thought. The earliest Christians were Jewish, though Judaism at the time of Christ was quite different from Judaism today.   Eventually, Christianity became an offical religion in the Roman world and Christianity as we know it was born.

The Bible is the Christian holy book, yet it is not one book, more of a library as it contains 66  individual books.  Most of the books are those which are revered by the Hebrews/Jewish people. The books of the Old Testament (the Jewish 'Bible')  are a testament to the the relationship between God and his people, which is, from time to time, very tricky.  Some of the books are written like history, others like love poetry, others like hymns.  The New Testament (Christian Scriptures) contain 4 pen portraits of Jesus (The Gospels), a report about the development of the early church, and lots of letters from St Paul and other people to churches around the Mediterranean. The final book is a strange vision of the end of time as we know it, and which was written at a time when the churhes were being persecuted.  

The bible is important to Chritians because it tells the story of the faith journey of Jewish and Christian people, and also helps us to understand something of the way that Jesus practiced  his own faith, and of what he believed about the relationship between God and human beings. 

Why do we read the bible in church? 

  • It reminds us of how we came to be Christians
  • It  is something we share with all Christians in the past, present and future  
  • it is the main way in which we come to know Jesus (some say the only way)

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