Keslar 1

Madelyn Keslar
Professor Shem Miller
REL 1300
18 February 2014
Word Count: 1495
The Most Important Characteristics of Christianity
Christianity always seems to be under speculation, for good reason. It is a very difficult
religion to define; there are so many different forms of Christianity and so many different
interpretations of the several factors that best represent it. Despite these many differences and the
criticism that it is a broad religion, however, in order to understand it in the simplest of fashions,
Christianity can be best defined by these characteristics: a recognition of Jesus of Nazareth as
Christ the Savior, a need to evangelize people or nations through missions, a reverence of the
Bible whether as a holy book or as a historical resource, traditions, and commandments, because
these ideas shape Christianity more than any other aspects of the religion.
There are countless ideas about Jesuss role here on earth and in Christianity. For
example, in modern Protestant Christian culture, a relationship with Jesus is the most important
aspect of their faith. (This is a modern idea, however, because for ages people were taught that
forgiveness and entrance into Heaven was not solely determined by ones faith, but by works that
came by result of that faith, as well.) The word Christianity itself describes, basically, what the
premise of the religion is: Christ. Christians see Jesus as the manifestation of divine nature and
purpose in a human life and believe that in him God reached out to conquer humanitys
weaknesses... To identify oneself as a Christian is to declare Jesus lord and saviour of the world
(Oxtoby and Segal 141). People who identify as Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth was

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and is Christ the Savior. However, there are differing views on his divinity and his relationship to
God. For example, the Nestorians believed that Jesus was two separate persons, one being divine
and one being human. The Roman Church, however, proposed that God himself is one essence,
who has always had three different aspects to him, these being the Father, the Son (Jesus), and
the Holy Spirit; this view of the Trinity is the one that won out at the Council of Nicaea and led
to the global spread of this belief. This council, where Christians who had differing opinions on
Jesuss divine nature, came to bring their ideas together in order to make Christianity more
assimilated and simpler but would not have required a position on the matter of Jesuss divinity if
Jesus were not the center of the religion. If he were not, the Trinity would have been irrelevant,
and there may not be as much of a unified, agreed upon view of Jesus in todays world.
Another characteristic of Christianity is the importance of missionary work, and the need
to evangelize other people in order for other people or nations to be made Christians too, and to
become saved through Christ. Within a generation of his death, the Christians decided that
their message was not for the Jews alone -- that anyone could be a Christian. In that decision lay
the seeds of Christianitys development as a missionary religion (Oxtoby and Segal 143). In
Luke 15:4, Jesus tells a parable about lost sheep: And he spake this parable unto them, saying, /
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and
nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he finds it?
The Bible is yet another important part of Christianity. There are differing opinions on
how important, how literal, or even how reliable, the bible is. The manner in which different
groups of Christians have included or excluded certain books in their canons reflects on how
much importance their bible is. The Catholic Church, for example, includes certain books in their
bible, whereas the Protestant bible does not, and the Protestant bible also contains certain books

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that the Catholic bible does not contain. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches include as
part of the Old Testament a number of books from the Septuagint that Protestants set apart as
Apocrypha. In addition, Roman Catholics hold the teaching office (magisterium) of the Church
to be authoritative (Oxtoby and Segal 143). Regardless of the immoral implications of editing,
adding to or removing parts of a holy book, the fact that groups bother to do so shows that they
value that book at least enough to be mindful of what it consists of.
Also, just because there are errors in the bible, (and even if certain Christians believe the
bible to be partially or wholly untrue,) does not mean that they cannot believe in Jesus Christ or
use the bible as a way to learn more about this savior of theirs. There are several contradictions
in the bible - (Bart Ehrman points several examples in his debate with Craig Evans). The fact that
some of the Bible seems unreliable, however, does not mean that all of it is false. For example,
while there are several parts of each of the gospels that contradict one another, there are also
parts that all of them agree on. Historical scholars are always trying to find out more about
Jesuss life, and to unravel the history of their translations and transformations the books of the
bible went through. There are many Christians who are open to whatever the truth is behind
Jesuss life and in order to unravel this truth, history has to be examined the Bible, and
more specifically, the New Testament; is not just a source of Holy scripture, but a historical
resource that can be respected despite of ones opinion on its sacredness. A Christian does not
have to believe the bible to be full of all truth in order for the bible to be an important aspect of
Christianity.
Traditions are yet another extremely important aspect of the Christian religion. One
Christian tradition is that of the Eucharist the simulation of Jesus sacrifice of himself by
having bread and wine, much like Jesus ate at the Last Supper. At most (especially Catholic)

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churches, the Eucharist is the most important part of the service. The mass or Eucharist is
Christianitys central rite: a symbolic meal, offered at worship services throughout the year, that
recalls or re-enacts the self-sacrificing death of Jesus (Oxtoby and Segal 142). Also, Christianity
itself stems from Judaism, and because of this there are also several traditions that have lasted in
the Christian world. This is exemplified in a story in the New Testament in which Jesuss
disciples believe they cannot take grain from the grain field they are passing on the Sabbath
(Mark 2:23-28). The concept that certain actions or activities are prohibited on the Sabbath was
one object of debate; however, Jesus told his disciples that the Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28). Jesus
himself was a Jew, and lived his life surrounded by and participating in several traditions, while
also correcting his followers from participating in traditions that he believed were wrong or
unnecessary.
The fifth and final most important aspect of Christianity is the commandments, or words
of Jesus. The word logos literally means word and refers to the word of God, in the most
mystic, powerful and divine sense. The idea that Jesus is the son of God and even God Himself
aids the idea that everything Jesus said was the divine word of God. If Christians did not believe
Jesus was God, they would not care about what he said to such an extent; Jesuss words served as
Christian believers guide to how to deal with certain things in life but also as commandments
and un-negotiable doctrines. For example, the Christian Bible and tradition provide Christians
with a fundamental orientation against violence as a form of sin (Oxtoby and Segal 198).
Another great example of Jesuss commands is that of Matthew 5: If someone slaps you on the
right cheek, turn and offer him your left. Once the more important aspect of the religion, Jesus

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being the Son of God, is established, the things that he says and commands are then deemed
nearly as important.
In conclusion, while Christianity is a broad religion and there are such diverse forms of it
throughout the world, the religion can be best defined by these aspects and the different ways of
interpreting these aspects. Once these factors are named and considered, it is simpler to identify
the differences between different forms and denominations of the religion. If Christianity had to
be defined by any five characteristics, they would have to be perception of Jesus of Nazareth as
the Son of God and their Savior, a need to Christianize the nations of the world through
missionary work and sharing of the faith, an awareness of the bible, its contents and ones own
interpretation of it, traditions, and a respect for the commandments of God through Jesuss words
in his time on earth.

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Bibliography
Oxtoby, Williard G., and Alan F. Segal. A Concise Introduction to World
Religions.

Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.