salvation

Salvation means eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. Calvinism believes that through salvation we will be born again and keep following God in order to have our judgment day and go to heaven. Our salvation is assured because Jesus gave up his life for the forgiveness of sins.

predestination

Predestination is the belief that God has already decided what will happen in our lives before we are even born. It is the idea that all decisions made by man were actually made by God and that we have no way of changing what will happen in our lives. The other part of predestination is that no matter what we do in our lives our afterlives will be determined without us being able to do anything about it.

Minister

In the protestant church a minister is someone that is set apart from the rest of the congregation and is the pastor. The pastor is the individual that gives the sermon and teaches the others the beliefs of a religion. To become a minister you have to attend seminary and find a strong belief and God, the bible and a religion.

Lent

Lent is the forty day period that lasts from Ash Wednesday,the seventh wednesday before Easter, to Easter sunday. The six sundays leading up to easter are excluded from the period of lent because Christ rose on a sunday and it would therefore be inappropriate to fast and regret sin. Lent represents the time that Jesus spent in the desert being tempted by satan. It is a period of repentence and fasting. However,The fasting has relaxed throughout time.

http://www.kencollins.com/holy-04.htm

Communion

In the christian church, communion is the forgiveness of sins by the passing of bread and wine. The bread symbolizes the body of christ and the wine symbolizes the blood of christ given for all people.

http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/f/whatiscommunion.htm

John Calvin

John Calvin was a french theologian that was raised in a wealthy catholic family. He later became protestant because of frienships formed in college. He became a large part of the protestant reformation when he developped the way of thinking known as Calvinism. Calvinism is the belief that there is one God that rules over all other things.

Baptist

Baptists are a branch off of protestantism formed mainly to seperate from the Church of England. They are different than most other forms of christianity in that they do not believe in baptising children at birth but instead wait until the person can understand the conditions of being a member of the baptist church. The beliefs of the baptist church are basically the same as most other christian faiths in that there is one God, Jesus is the son of God and the Bible is the holy book.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02278a.htm

Monotheism

Monotheism is a beief in one God. Along with other Christians, Protestants believe in one God, one God only, and that is God. People may get mixed up with Jesus, and if he is looked upon like God. To answer any confusion, he is God in human form, that can perform "Godly tasks" but is not actually God. God did send Jesus to the world, but God is the only God for Protestants and other Christians.

Easter

Easter is considered one of the most joyous occasions for Protestants and other Christian beliefs. For kids, it’s a time for the Easter bunny to come and hide eggs and baskets filled with candy. However, the true meaning of it all is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus three days after his death on the cross. It is also the ending of Lent. Lent is a period of 40-day and 40 night where it has been said that Jesus was put in a desert with the devil to be tempted to eat and drink. He refused the temptation, therefore Christians use that time to give something up and to refuse temptation just like Jesus did. On Good Friday (three days before Easter Sunday) Jesus was nailed to the cross and died for our sins. Three days later, it is Easter Sunday and he resurrected from the dead. People think of it as Jesus opening the gates to heaven, and our souls can be saved. Easter is different every year. It always falls between March 22nd and April 25th. The actual date is determined on the full moon, which is always the week before Easter Sunday.




http://www3.kumc.edu/diversity/ethnic_relig/easter.html
http://www.carmelita-delmis.org/images/mysglo1.jpg

Messiah

A messiah in Christianity is a savior. That is why people refer to Jesus Christ as their Messiah, or savior.

Christian

To be a Christian is to believe in and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, our Savior. There are many different forms of Christianity, all of whom have their seperate beleifs and interpretations. However, the fact that each form believes in Jesus Christ, unites everyone through Christianity.

Baptism

Baptism is a sacrament of the Christian religion. It is the event in which a person enters the community of the church and faith in God. Holy water is poured on the recipients head and from that moment on, the individual has hte ability of forgiveness in sins.

The History

The development of the Protestant religion began as an opposition to the Roman Catholic Church. People were not satisfied with the Popes and believed the religous teachings were often mistaken. Martin Luther began the reform by developing beliefs based on faith and the law of scripture. This would become Lutheranism. Protestants branched off from the Lutheran reform by "protesting" authorities of the Church. John Calvin was the leading reformer for Protestants. He kept many Lutheran beleifs but also developed new ones. Geneva was a Protestant city known as "the most perfect school of Christ."

Christ

Christ in the Protestant faith is also known as Jesus, or Jesus Christ. They view Christ as an image of God, but not actually God Himself. However, He is not a normal human being. He could heal the sick, feed the hungry, and forgive sins. The Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus at about 3 BC. He was considered a miracle that was sent from God. It is believed that he was sent here to prophesize God and his doings. Throughout the thirty years he was alive he taught, healed, and baptized. Although he was Jewish, Christians still follow him and listen to his teachings. Today Christians still celebrate Jesus and what he had done for mankind. By celebrating Christmas for the day of his birth and Easter for the day of his resurrection, it shows that Protestants still praise and honor Jesus Christ.



http://geneva.rutgers.edu/src/christianity/major.html

John Wesley

John Wesley was born in Epwoth, which is just northwest of Lincoln in 1703. He was early methodist leader and Christian theologian, eventually becoming the founder of the Methodist church. His greatest theological acheivement was what he named the "christian perfection" or holiness of head and heart. He believed that people could come to a state where the love of God is superior to everything else in your heart. He also believed that God transformed believers through prayer and grace. Through out his life, Wesley worked within the church of England but his teachings spread much wider. Wesley' beliefs started controversy in the church but he was highly respected after death in 1791. Many still follow Wesley's teachings today.

http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/wesley.htm

sacrament

The sacraments are the entrusted to us to which divine life is bestowed upon us. Although the sacraments are not seen as necessary for salvation, each sacrament brings you closer to God and forgiveness for sins. The sacraments nourish and strengthen faith. The sacraments are arranged into 8 groupinds. The first group is labeled Sacraments of Christain initiation which includes baptism, conformation, and eucharist. Next is sacraments of healing, including penance and reconciliation and anoniting of the sick. There is also the sacraments of Vocation, including Holy Orders and Matrimony. Other sacraments include St. Thomas Aquinas, liceity of administracion of the sacraments and ordinary and extraordinary ministers of the sacraments.


http://www.kencollins.com/sacrament-02.htm

original sin

Christians believe in an old fable that when God first created humans, he started with a man and woman named Adam and Eve. It is said that God put them in a beautiful garden and allowed them to have everything they wanted but one forbidden fruit. It is also said that there was a snake who roamed the garden with them that represented temptation. One day, the snake tempted Adam into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree and thus creating the original sin. Now our sin is a consequence of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Many protestants hold the doctrine of orignal sin to be necessary in philosophy but not as prominent in the explination of evil. The declaration that one man transmitted sin onto the whole human race is a little far-fetched for some. However, almost every christain believes in what it Adam and Eve represent, that people inevitably inflicted sin and suffering upon themselves. The original sin is the defect we all share, the one thing that seperates us from God.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm

Amish

Amish was originated by the protestant, however are considered two different points of views today. The Amish only become acquainted with one another, and avoid contact with those outside the Amish World. They live on farms to live on the bare necessities keeping life as simple as they can.


http://people.howstuffworks.com/amish.htm
http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/images/amish.jpg

mennonites

Mennonites are a group of Christians who are devoted to non-violence and pacifism. They were named after Menno Simons although his influence of the actual group was limited. There are over 1.5 million mennonities denominations all over the world. They believe in volentary service. There are many different committees that provide immediate and long term responses in disaster relief, international development programs and other services through out the world. In the past, many government and religious leaders considered volentary Church membership to be dangerous and joined together to fight the movement. Despite their efforts, the movement spread and Menno Simons left the Catholic church to join the movement. After migrating to America, they put up mennonite churches that mainly focused on disagreements on theology and punishment between the catholic church. Some of these churches still exsist today, although the practices have changed. Today mennonites are devoted to fallowing in Jesus' footsteps and keeping peace in everyday life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonite

Trinity

According to www.dictionary.reference.com, Trinity is defined as the unity of three persons: Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. Like other Christian beliefs, Protestants believe that the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost are one. However, unlike other religions, the sign of the cross (the Trinity) is not emphasized before each prayer, which became existent during the reformation.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sign_of_the_cross
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/trinity%20

Free-will

Christians believe that God knows all our choices before we make them. They believe that God can actually determine your choices as well. However, while God knows what choice you will make, He still gives individuals the power to actually choose. This means that christians describe God as omniscient and omnipotent. This means that He has the power to know everything and an infinate amount of power, but he gives indivuals some that power to make their own decidions. In Christian theology, it is believed that people will choose between everlasting life or everlasting death. If Christians become so focused on human decision, they can lose sight of the dependence on God but if Christians are too emphasized on their dependence on God, they lose sight of the importance of thier own decisions. Although there is a lot of controversy over God's role in free will, most christains believe that the responsibility is shared between God and the people.

http://allphilosophy.com/topic/2637

Bible

The bible is viewed in the protestant faith as a guide for living a well-mannered life, similar to the Catholic Faith. Not only can the two religions compare with their importance, but it is compared with its content as well. Unlike the Catholic Bible, the protestants believe that everything within the bible contains no errors, or inerrant. The Catholic Church believes that the bible does contain errors; however, there is debate on this particular issue. Another difference is the content of the Bible. The Catholic Church contains all 73 books, including the Apocrypha. On the other hand, the Protestant Bible does not contain the 7 books of the Apocrypha.


http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_capr.htm

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was born in 1483 as a devote Catholic. He grew up wanting to be a monk, which lead him to study the Old and New Testament. Throughout his years of studying, he started to question his own faith. Through his own confusion with God and other acts of faith, Martin Luther created a doctrine which was a basis for the Protestant Reformation. Not only did he write on protestant Reformation, but he wrote the 95 Theses, which were 95 things wrong with the Catholic Church. He was the first to go against what the church has been teaching, and the religious leaders were far from pleased with his work. Martin Luther pioneered the split of Catholics into two divisions: 1. Catholicism 2. Protestants. Thanks to Martin Luther and his stubborn personality, the Protestant faith exists today along with other Christian beliefs.


http://obits.eons.com/obits/tributes/martin_luther/10836-1-photo.jpg
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/REFORM/LUTHER.HTM
http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/martin-luther.html

christmas

Christmas is an annual holliday that is celebrated on December 25th according to the Christian calender. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ and essentially the begining of Christianity. However, Christ's birth can actually be dated back to 4 B.C. in the spring. During Christmas time, decorations like the naviety scene, christmas trees, christmas lights, holly, ect. are placed in Christian's homes. Tradionally, presents are given out on Christmas to celebrate the gift of Jesus. All of the Christmas traditions that are now more family oriented came from old pegan rituals. For instance, Santa Clause was derived from "a visit from St Nicholas" and the christmas tree was a sacrifical tree to the gods that hung brightly colored dead animals.


http://www3.kumc.edu/diversity/ethnic_relig/christms.html

born-again

Born-again christians are christians that have been spiritually reborn in the religious community. It is said that you can't truly see God until you have been born-again. When someone is born-again, they enter a new spiritual life where they have put all faith in God to save them from eternal life in hell. The bible says that whoever has faith in God will have everlasting eternal life. Likewise, born-again christians believe that when they are "saved" they will receive eternal life in heaven. In order to be born again, you must completly believe that you need Jesusa and he will bring the life of God into you, allowing you to live a life of joy, happiness, peace, and belief.

http://www.users.bigpond.com/rdoolan/bornagain.html

Advent

Advent is the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. The first Sunday marks the beginning of the year according to the church’s calendar and leads up to the coming of Christ on Christmas. Advent is a solemn period that is represented by the color purple and no festivities take place during this period. Fasting was observed as a part of the season of advent but is no longer required.

http://go.grolier.com/

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the first day of lent before easter, according to the Christian calender. The date is dependant on the date of Easter so it changes every year. On this day, the priest dips his thumb into blessed ashes and marks a cross on the partisipant's foreheads. The ashes are created from burning the remains of the palms used on Palm Sunday from the previous year. Then holy water is spread over the ashes and sterilized with insense. As the priest does this, he says "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return."

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01775b.htm