Biblical Studies/Christianity/The essence of Christianity

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The essence of Christianity is this: Jesus of Nazareth was a person who fulfilled the prophecies of the Jewish expectations of a Messiah, one Anointed by God to bring about the salvation of mankind and establish the reign of God. He lived his life in Judea, performing miracles, while declaring his own divinity, which was also attested to by His disciples, other eyewitnesses and the Bible. His message is best summarized in the words of the gospel writers, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." Jesus Christ died on the cross and three days later He rose again. Paul the Apostle who wrote much of the New Testament wrote that this is the summation of true Christianity: that Christ died according to the scriptures, that He rose again on the third day, and subsequently was seen by many. According to the gospel, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus' death took the sins of His people on Himself at the cross, that those who believe in Him might have salvation, eternal life and peace with God. Some say there is no essence, that Christianity was formed in a different paradigm than the primarily-Greek paradigm that uses the language of 'Essence'. In the early Christian church, the 'essence' was reported by some as simply "Jesus is Lord." Creeds were formed to replace this, and over the centuries countless theologians, mystics, and monks have added to and argued about what the essence of Christianity is. It can be quite clearly seen that the basic love of Jesus was not of a majority point of view, even down to the present day, but he distinguished himself from others by his concern for the gospel truth and the evidence for the hereafter he presented.

The Christian religion is specially distinguished from other religions in this, – that no other has given equal prominence to the salvation of man.

— Ludwig Feuerbach from The Essence of Christianity, 1841