Christianity Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God and the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents in 2001, Christianity is the world's largest religion. It is the predominant religion in the Americas, Europe, Philippine Islands, East Timor, Australia, New Zealand and large parts of Africa (see Christianity by country at 'source'). It is also growing rapidly in Asia, particularly in China and South Korea and North Africa with approximately 6 million converts from Islam in Africa every year. Christianity began in the 1st century AD as a Jewish sect, and shares many religious texts with Judaism, specifically the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament (see Judeo-Christian at 'source'). Like Judaism and Islam, Christianity is classified as an Abrahamic religion. The name "Christian" was first applied to the disciples in Antioch, as recorded in Acts 11:26. The earliest recorded use of the term Christianity is by Ignatius of Antioch. Source: Wikipedia. |