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Exploring Spirituality
The Christian Faith: an Introduction
for Newcomers
Part
1: What we Believe about God
- God the Father
Almost every culture, throughout human history,
has believed, as Christians do, that the world
and everything in it was deliberately created
by an infinitely powerful, good and purposeful
force which we call God. God is unique, all-powerful,
invisible and eternal, not created by anything
nor caused by anything. Christians believe that
God uses the natural laws of biology and physics
to bring about change and development in the
world. We also believe that human beings can
be called into a personal relationship with
God through prayer and encounter. Through human
beings too, God works out his purposes for his
creation, a process which is called Providence.
- Jesus Christ
Christians believe that the human being, Jesus
of Nazareth, who taught for a short time and
was crucified some time between 30 and 33 AD,
enjoyed a unique relationship of sonship to
God the Father. In this human form, we believe
our forbears saw as closely as could ever be
possible, the face of God. We call this teaching
the Incarnation, which literally means that
in Jesus Christ we saw God "in the flesh". The
first Christians were convinced that this must
be so by his Resurrection from the dead, which
we continue to celebrate yearly at Easter, and
every Sunday. Because of this, we pay special
attention to his teachings, as we find them
recorded, some years after his Resurrection,
in the writings of the New Testament.
- The Holy Spirit
The word "Spirit" describes the invisible way
in which God works in the world. The Holy Spirit
is associated with life and prayer. We believe
that it is the Holy Spirit who brings people
to faith, which is the yearning to encounter,
know and trust God. The work of the Holy Spirit
in human beings is to bring glory to Christ
through prayer and compassion, and also often
the voice of conscience and generosity.
- God as the Holy Trinity
During the first four centuries of the Church's
life, scholars were constantly thinking and
praying in order to understand the nature of
God. They came to the conclusion that although
there is only one God, that God can be seen
and experienced in three different ways: as
the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy
Spirit. They said that God has one "being" but
three "persons". It is these three persons that
we mean when we talk about the Trinity. All
Christian people are baptized in the name of
the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Part
2: What we Believe about the World and Humankind
- Creation
God made the world, and continually renews and
sustains it. There is no conflict between Christianity
and evolutionary science: evolution and the
laws of physics are tools which God has created
to govern change and development in the world.
The Bible teaches that it is good, and we must
not despise it. Human beings have dominion over
the created world, which means that God freely
gives us power to use or abuse what he has made.
The proper use of that power is a solemn responsibility
for all of us.
- Sin
Human beings are created with free will, which
means they have a tremendous potential for doing
good or evil by their own choice. We experience
a constant conflict between doing what is right
and doing what is selfishly gratifying, and
the tendency to make choices selfishly has been
called "original sin". It is through learning
to make the right choices that we grow as moral
beings, but at the cost that our wrong choices
may hurt both us and others. Sin is all the
choices and attitudes which separate us both
from God and from one another.
- Salvation
God does not wish us to remain mired in our
selfish sins, and so reaches out through the
sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to show us how
we can be rescued. This saving process is called
Salvation. We find much about this in the teachings
of the Old Testament (like the Ten Commandments)
and of the New. But salvation is not just a
matter of learning to be good, it is also being
drawn into a life-changing relationship with
our loving God, who cleanses us from our selfishness
and teaches usto live in love and peace with
our neighbours.
- Eternity
Christians believe that there is more to human
lives than this one existence. We do not believe
in "previous lives", but we do believe that
we continue to exist after our death. Our bodies
die, but the part which continues to live is
called the Soul. This happens because we believe
that we are made in the "image and likeness
of God", and just as God is eternal, so is the
human soul, made in God's likeness. We believe
that if human beings accept God's love and allow
themselves to be drawn into his presence, they
can become part of his eternity, which is called
Heaven. To be cut off from God by our own choice
is called Hell.
Part
3: How & Why we Believe
- The Bible
The society into which Jesus Christ was born
was Jewish, and for centuries the ancient Jews
had been compiling a collection of sacred writings
which we call the Old Testament. Because Jesus
used them himself, and because we find the beginnings
of the story of God's revelation to human beings
in these books, Christians continued to use
them. We also added books and writings about
Jesus and about the life of the first Christians.
These are called the New Testament. Together
they are called The Bible, which comes from
a Greek word meaning, "the books". Whilst we
know that these books are the work of human
hands, we believe that they embody much of what
God wants us to know about him - his self-revelation,
and are truly "inspired", meaning guided by
the Spirit of God with significance for people
everywhere. However, they are to be read with
discernment and through the community of faith,
which is the church..
- The Church
The group of Jesus's first pupils and followers
became known as the Church, and following the
teaching of Saint Paul, the Church has been
seen as the Body of Christ in the world ever
since. All who truly believe in Jesus, and live
lives in accordance with his teaching, are members
of the Church. We call our religious buildings
"churches" because that is where the Body of
Christ comes visibly together. Over time, different
groups in the Church came to fall out with one
another, forming separate "churches". Each time
this happens, there is a loss to the whole Body.
However, even within the separate churches,
we believe that the message of Jesus, the Good
News, is carried faithfully in every generation,
and we can trust in that Good News because it
has been passed to us from the first people
who encountered Jesus, and believed.
- Reason & Experience
Human beings are made in the image and likeness
of God, and they are also sensitive to the work
of the Holy Spirit in the world and in themselves.
The Spirit is there to guide us into the truth,
and sometimes that truth is new and challenging.
By using our gifts of reason and will-power,
of prayer and listening, our own reason and
experience can give us clues as to the nature
of God and his will for us. In traditional religious
language we call this "conscience" and at times
in the history of the church, the conscience
of individuals has been vital in leading the
whole Church into a new understanding of the
truth. However, individual Christians can also
get it very wrong, so the urgings of conscience
need to be tested and examined with care.
Part
4: Belonging to the Church
- Baptism
Whilst all who truly believe are members of
the Church, as the Body of Christ, from the
beginnings of Christianity baptism has been
used as a sign of membership. It involves a
symbolic washing with water, in which we renounce
whatever is at odds with our faith, and are
claimed publicly as belonging to God. At first
this mainly involved adults, but very soon children
and babies were also baptized. This added a
new symbolism to the action: that we are celebrating
God's love for all his children, freely given
and received without bargaining.
- Prayer & Worship
Prayer is the language of our relationship with
God. We can pray at any time and in any place.
Because we share our faith with other people,
and have much to learn from them, Christians
gather to pray together. It is fashionable for
people to say "I believe in God, but I don't
feel the need to go to church". Christians would
say that this means they are missing out on
some of the experience of faith, and that private
prayer needs to be enriched by public worship.
Churches have services in many different styles,
and we find that different styles are good for
us at different times. The important thing is
making the effort to engage with other Christians.
- Holy Communion
Before he was crucified, Jesus had a last meal
with his disciples, and during it spoke about
the bread and wine as symbols of his own body
and blood. His disciples continued to eat together
and repeat the words and gestures that Jesus
used, after his death and resurrection, and
this event came to be called Holy Communion.
In some churches it is also called, the Liturgy,
the Mass, Lord's Supper or Eucharist, but all
describe the same "sacramental" event, in which
we use words and symbols to convey a deep spiritual
truth, which is that Jesus gave himself for
us, and faith in him nourishes our souls in
the same way that food and drink nourish our
bodies. In the Church of England it is usual
for Christians to be invited to Holy Communion
after a course of preparation and a service
called Confirmation, in which the local Bishop
formally and publicly welcomes them into the
fellowship of the Church.
Part
5: What difference do Christians make?
- Prayer
Above all, Christians are called to lives of
prayer. Prayer is not a mysterious thing, it
is the language of our relationship with God.
We may speak aloud or silently, we may choose
not to use words at all. Some use repetitions
of short forms of prayer form public worship,
some use rosaries or prayerbeads to help them
concentrate. Prayers may be of confession for
things done wrong, or intercession, for help
either for ourselves or others, or of praise
for God, in thankfulness, or in silent contemplation.
There are as many different ways to pray as
there are people, and often we hardly realise
we are praying, because it is such a natural
part of being human. Faith helps us to focus
our prayers, and to grow closer to God.
- Loving & Giving
Jesus taught that the most important thing we
must do is to love God and to love our neighbour.
Our neighbour means everyone we meet, and even
people we don't know. Loving our neighbour means
willing and contributing to what is best for
them. Giving away material possessions to those
whose need is greater than ours has always been
an important part of the Christian faith, and
the word "charity" comes from a word which in
the Bible means generous love. We can do this
in confidence that God loves us, and will take
care of us, so we can sit light to material
things.
- Forgiving
Forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian
story because God forgave human beings for what
they had done to Jesus, his son. He himself
had taught about the importance of learning
to forgive one another. We find that if we learn
to let go of grudges and the desire for revenge,
of anger and pride, we are led into the abundant
life that God promises for those who love him.
In the Lord's Prayer we pray that God will forgive
us what we have done wrong, and so we must forgive
what wrongs others have done to us.
- Selflessness
The worst sin is the sin of Pride, which is
about selfishness, putting ourselves first,
and thinking too much of ourselves. Often it
is about insecurity as much as arrogance, but
both get in the way of faith in God and love
of our neighbour. Christians are called to find
the solutions to problems which work out for
the common good, not our own best interests,
and are called to behave in ways which allow
others space to grow, rather than indulging
our own moods and tempers. Sometimes this means
standing up for what we know to be true, at
other times it means keeping silence. Learning
to tell the difference is a part of the Christian
life.
Part
6: How do I take this further?
- Come to a service
If you are interested in the Christian faith,
the best thing you can do is to come and see
it in action at a service in a church one Sunday.
The service times here are advertised on the
notice board and in the monthly newsletter.
Come with an open mind, and be patient with
what you find. Sometimes it can be difficult
to follow for newcomers, but there will usually
be someone nearby to help you. If you find that
the service is helpful and interesting, you
may have found the right place, but if not,
don't give up: churches come in many different
styles and types, and you may have to look around
for the one that helps you grow in faith.
- Call the clergy & ask questions
Never be afraid to ask questions! Clergy are
there to help you find the answers you need,
and are happy to answer questions either in
person or by telephone or e-mail. Sometimes
people reject the Church because they make assumptions
about what Christians believe. Clergy should
be able to discuss the range of ideas that Christians
have about many aspects of life and belief.
The Church of England is a broad church, and
there is a lot of space for people with different
opinions.
- Pray about it
If you are unsure whether you really believe
or not, or whether joining a church is the right
thing for you to do, pray to God and be honest
about it. Sometimes we are given clues and signs
about what to do next, sometimes it is simply
a feeling of certainty that begins to grow through
prayer.
- Consider baptism and/or confirmation Baptism
is the beginning of the Christian's formal journey
within the Church.
It is a celebration of our acceptance of God's
love for us, and marks us out as members of
the Church whose sins are forgiven. Confirmation
often comes later, in the Church of England,
and is a celebration of our response to God's
love, and commitment to serve him in the Church
and in the World. Adults should be prepared
for both of these services through teaching
and prayer, and any interest should be discussed
with the clergy.
To find out more, contact
us.
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