Christianity – 2.1 Billion Believers, monotheism (Roman Catholic 48%, Orthodox 12%, Anglicans 6%, Protestants 20%, Others 14%) one of the Abrahamic faiths along with Judaism and Islam.
31 AD – Christianity begins after Jesus of Nazareth is crucified by the Romans in Jerusalem. He taught love, non-judgement, forgiveness and humility. His followers were persecuted by the Romans until Emperor Constantine decreed Jesus as the one and only Son of God in 325 AD after he assembled the Nicaean Council.
Belief - “We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” – Nicaean Creed
Symbol – The Latin Cross (crux ordinaria) is a symbol of Christianity even though it was used as a pagan symbol for millennia before the foundation of the Christian Church. It is thought to be the type of cross Jesus was crucified on.
Sacred Text – The Bible
Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philipians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, Peter, John, Jude, Revelation
God – is a Germanic word. The English word derived from the Proto-Germanic gudan, meaning “to call” or “to invoke”. The Germanic words for god were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the word became masculine. Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bible there are many names for God that portray his nature and character. Elohim – “God”, El Shaddai – “God Almighty”. El Elyon – “The Most High God”, Adonai – “God Most Loved”.
The 10 Commandments – Exodus, Chapter 20.
‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’
‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.’ ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.’
‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’
‘Honor your father and your mother.’
‘You shall not murder.’
‘You shall not commit adultery.’
‘You shall not steal.’
‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.’
‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
The Lord’s Prayer - Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses(debts), as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom,the power and the glory,for ever and ever. Amen
Egyptian/Christian Calendar - first it was a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months, each of which began on the first day in which the old moon crescent was no longer visible in the East at dawn. A thirteenth month was added to maintain a link to the helical rising of Sopdet, the planet Sirius which also marked the summer solstice This calendar was used for religious festivals. A second calendar was used for civil purposes, and was based on the observation that there was usually 365 days between the helical rising of Sirius (365.25 to be exact). This civil calendar was split into twelve months of 30 days with an additional five days attached at the end of the year to again match the 365 days. These additional five days were considered to be unlucky. This calendar is known as a wandering calendar, since it slowly gets out of synch with the solar year. The third calendar, which dates back at least to the fourth century BC was used to match the lunar cycle to the civil year. It was based on a period of 25 civil years, which was approximately equal 309 lunar months. An attempt to reform the calendar to include a leap year was made at the beginning of the Ptolemetic dynasty in, 239 BC, but the Egyptian priesthood was too conservative to allow such a change. In 46BC Julius Caesar created the “Julian” Calendar in Rome, after the defeat of Cleopatra and Anthony by the Roman General Augustus in 31 BC the Roman senate decreed that the Egyptian calendar should include a leap year. In 1582 AD Pope Gregory XIII created the “Gregorian” calendar which most of the world still uses today.
Meaning and Gods the months are named after
January – Janus, the god of doors and gates
February – Februalia, a time period when sacrifices were made to atone for sins
March – Mars, the god of war
April – Latin for “to open” (buds)
May – Maia, the earth Goddess
June – Goddess Juno
July – Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.
August – Augustus Caesar in 8 B.C.
September – “seven”
October – “eight”
November – “nine”
December – “ten”
Days of the Week
Sun – Sunday
Moon – Monday
Mars – Tuesday
Mercury – Wednesday
Jupiter – Thursday
Venus – Friday
Saturn – Saturday
Cosmology – 4 winds “catholikos” and the holy trinity
South – Michael – Fire
West – Gabriel – Water
north – Uriel – Earth
East – Raphael – Air
Below – Holy Ghost – Spirit
Above – God – Heaven
Within/Center – Jesus – Light
