Some time ago, before Vatican II, God was a vengeful God, unmerciful and terryfying. Something that all parents used against their children for them to eat their vegetables and go to mass.
Not that they would understand the mass, it was in latin, and they couldn't get close to God as they was a rail surrounding the alter that only the priest could cross. [And their was little imput from him because he had his back to you the entire time. But these days things are different, Human's perspective on God changed, we came to an understanding of God being loving, understanding and merciful and a God who wants to help us and interact with us.
God loves all of us, not just those under the category of Christians. However God may impact all of our lives daily, only those who allow him to are influenced significantly.
The death and ressurection of Jesus Christ is an event that occurs in the New Testament where Jesus, God's only son, is crucified, buried, and three days later rises from the dead.
Christians accept the New Testament story as an historical account of a ressurection, which is central to the christian faith. However its impact on other religions reinforces the gravity of this event.
Non-Christians, still find meaning in its themes in which the crucifixion story is a spiritual symbol of Jesus changing forms. Muslims believe that Jesus was raised to Heaven by Allah. But it largely impacts Christians being the most important time in their liturgical year.
Christian Churches teach that Jesus died for us, to save us from sin and open the gates of heaven and save the souls in pergatry. However to the Christians themselves the most significant part is that Christ died their sins in accordance with the Scriptures.
Christians believe that Jesus willingly sacrificed himself as an act of perfect obedience, a sacrifice of love. This perfection, voluntary death, and ressurrection deafeated evil and death so humanity would no longer be bound in sin, but be free to rejoin God, through their faith in Jesus.
These events are the main influnences of the Christiain religion with the symbol of the Cross influencing their signs, blessings and greetings. So much so the Cross has become the main representation of the Christain Church as well as,
Christians themselves, who wear crosses around their neck to remember the sacrafice Jesus made them and live to the motto of taking up their own Cross and walking with Jesus.
It is mentioned at church in the mass numerous times, however most importantly in the Nicene Creed where Christians state their belief of the event "He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven".
This priniciple belief lead to the returning of Jesus at the end of time to judge the living and the dead as Jesus gives his ultimate demonstration that he has power over life and death, and therefore he has the ability to give people eternal life.
God does not just want to be all knowing, righteous, just, unstoppable in power, knowing every thought and motive, but also to be humanity's friend as well. Someone whom all of humanity can relate to: a human, with a face and a voice and a smile,
God in the person of his Son Jesus. God also wants to live IN everyone as well. He wants to change our lives, to help us ove when we live for Him and love for Him and forgive and die for Him. The nature of God and the concept of the trinity has eluded Christians since its creation, however the concept of the Trinity is not so much how God can be three and one at the same time, but how God wants to relate to us if we will let Him.
The Trinity is not a religious theory for portraying God in an obscure manner. It is God relating to us as an anonymous man states "God above us. God beside us. God within us." This is how we identify our God, to understand his mystery and present our religion to others. However easily it is for Christianity to be regarded as Polytheistic, with this theory, it is essential in becoming closer to God. In fact it is fused with jesus's sacrafice when Christians engage in prayer, making the sign of the cross.
The Christian faith does not merely stay in the church on Sundays but infiltrates the lives of those who follow Christ. It is significant enough to influence the day-to-day experiences of believers.
