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Christianity Explained
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Does God Exist?
(For an explanation of 'Religion' in general, click here).
Frequently Asked Questions
Jesus is called 'Christ' which is the Greek word for 'chosen or anointed one' because Christians believe that Jesus was chosen by God as his solution to the problem of evil in the world, followers of Jesus are therefore called 'Christians'. Jesus was considered a threat by the authorities when he was in Jerusalem so he was executed by being nailed to a cross of wood and left to die, the cross has therefore been adopted by Christians as a symbol of their religion. (Return to top)
| Our ancestors believed there's something superior to us that's in charge. They imagined beings they called 'gods' who had great powers that enabled them to control powerful things they didn't understand which frightened them - like the sea, forests, and storms. They built-up superstitions around those gods to describe the things they couldn't explained any other way. (Return to top) |
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Scientists are amazed at the complexity yet simplicity of creation and many believe that that can't have happened by chance, the odds are just too great, and even today they still can't explain much of how creation works. But there must be a purpose, and if there's a purpose there must be a designer, and the designer is the one we call 'God'. (Return to top)
We all need to separate the truth from superstition and the different world faiths do that in different ways. Gradually many have come to realise there’s only one God, who creates and sustains everything, including the power of the seas, forests and storms.(Return to top)
| The Bible is a collection of 66 books written by many authors over hundreds of years and bound into the one volume.
The Bible was created when Greek was the language preferred by educated people, so Greek was used when gathering it all together. Although the words were written by people, they're thought to have been inspired by God, so it’s often called The 'Holy Bible'. (Return to top) |
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Evidence for God exists in many ways but much has conveniently been gathered into the Christian Holy Book called 'The Bible'. The first part, the 'Old Testament', is an account of God's early revelation of himself to humanity and the development of his relationship with his 'chosen people', the Hebrews, so most of it was written in Hebrew. (Return to top)
The second part, called the 'New Testament', is an account of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ and the formation of the first Christian churches by his early followers. The New Testament was written at a time when Greek was the preferred language of educated people so most of it was written in Greek. The overall title 'Bible' is also Greek and just means 'Books'. (Return to top)
Each book is named after its author or its principal content, eg: the first book is called 'Genesis' which is Greek for 'Beginnings' - the beginning of the universe, of humanity and of faith in the one true God. (Return to top)
| If there’s a design, then there must be a designer, that’s whom we call 'God'. Science can explain much of how God’s creation came about and how it works, the ('Big Bang, atoms and genetics) – the How? But it can’t explain why it happened or what it’s for – the Why? (Return to top) |
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Science tells us it all began with a 'Big Bang' and has been expanding outwards ever since. Initial gases condensed into stars and planets and the many elements from which everything is made. It's so simple and yet so complex that it couldn't all have happened by chance, there must be a design and therefore a designer. (Return to top)
| If there’s a design, then there must be a designer, that’s whom we call 'God'. Science can explain much of how God’s creation came about and how it works, the ('Big Bang, atoms and genetics) – the How? But it can’t explain why it happened or what it’s for – the Why? (Return to top) |
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John's Gospel at the beginning of The New Testament also begins with a description of creation, but John attempts to explain God; he begins "In the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1-3). The 'Word' was a major plank of Greek philosophy, it meant more than the spoken word, it included thought, logic, reason. John is saying "In the beginning was the thinking, the mind, the essence of God." Nothing else existed except God who has always existed, we can't explain that, we have to 'believe it in faith'. (Return to top)
| But remember, God isn't likely to help us if we ask for unreasonable things, like help to pass an exam if we haven't done the work, then ask him to help us at the last minute! (Return to top) |
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However, it's not unusual for those who've asked God for something to find their request has been answered – although not always in the way they'd expected. (Return to top)
| The Bible tells us that we're not gods but we're made 'in the image of God'. So if God is perfect love, then we must be loving too.
(Genesis 1:26-28). We can deduce therefore that the universe was created for us to live in and that we exist to be in loving relationship with God and with each other. (Return to top) |
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God didn't need to create people because he needed to form a loving relationship with us – that would have made him less than perfect before he did it. He made people because his love is so great it overflows and he wants to share it. It's because this force of love is so fundamental that both our ancestors and us are forced to seek it. If they don't acknowledge God, then many people 'worship' other things instead, like money or possessions. (Return to top)
| Gen 1:5 'Gen' means the book called Genesis. '1' refers to chapter 1 and '5' means verse 5. Gen 1:1-28 means the book called Genesis, chapter 1, verses 1 to 28 inclusive. (Return to top) |
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Book, Chapter : Verse
A list of abbreviations for each book's name, and its starting page, is usually given in the 'Contents' section at the front of most Bibles. (Return to top)