This first post is about the central tenets of Christianity. Read this, if anything else in this thread. The second and third discuss how Catholicism, Mormonism, and Jehovah's Witnessesism differ from biblical teaching, and you may choose to read them, or not. But at least read the first.
Firstly, Christianity is based on the notion presented in John 3:16, that God cared about the world, and so to save the world, sent Christ as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, just as lambs were used as sacrifices to atone for the sins of the Jews.
Secondly, Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. Text
He is the only true way, he is the source of life, and he is the true God. Noone may enter Heaven except through Christ.
What does "through Christ" mean? See the first link - "whosoever believes in him shall not perish".
Now, here is another issue of semantics. What does "believes in him" mean? Obviously, it doesn't just mean that you believe God exists, because, as it says in James 2:19, "even the demons believe", but yet the demons are not going to go to heaven, since they were doomed to Hell upon their betrayal of God.
Before Christ came, the Jews had been instructed by God to provide blood sacrifices to him, to atone for their sins. The nature of sin was just so - they had to be punished, and blood must be spilled. However, to keep from killing off all humans, God allowed the sacrifice of an innocent (e.g. a lamb, or a goat) to atone for the sins of the one who offered the sacrifice (hence, "scapegoat").
Christ came so that none of this had to be done anymore. When Christ was crucified, he was the sacrificial Lamb of God, who died so that our sins could be forgiven by God. Remember, God does not allow sin in His presence - he is God. When the blood of Christ was spilt, it absolved us of our sin, and it is our choice whether or not to accept this sacrifice. When a lamb was sacrificed by a priest in the name of all who came to the temple, it could only absolve those who went to the temple, and it is the same way with the sacrifice of Christ.
This is all that is central to Christianity. This is the one pillar which holds Christ's church up - that Christ was the sacrifice for all humanity, innocent of all sin (since sacrificing someone not perfect would just be like sacrificing a lousy, mangy rat to God). The only tenet is that Christ is the way through which we enter Heaven.
Firstly, Christianity is based on the notion presented in John 3:16, that God cared about the world, and so to save the world, sent Christ as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, just as lambs were used as sacrifices to atone for the sins of the Jews.
Secondly, Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. Text
He is the only true way, he is the source of life, and he is the true God. Noone may enter Heaven except through Christ.
What does "through Christ" mean? See the first link - "whosoever believes in him shall not perish".
Now, here is another issue of semantics. What does "believes in him" mean? Obviously, it doesn't just mean that you believe God exists, because, as it says in James 2:19, "even the demons believe", but yet the demons are not going to go to heaven, since they were doomed to Hell upon their betrayal of God.
Before Christ came, the Jews had been instructed by God to provide blood sacrifices to him, to atone for their sins. The nature of sin was just so - they had to be punished, and blood must be spilled. However, to keep from killing off all humans, God allowed the sacrifice of an innocent (e.g. a lamb, or a goat) to atone for the sins of the one who offered the sacrifice (hence, "scapegoat").
Christ came so that none of this had to be done anymore. When Christ was crucified, he was the sacrificial Lamb of God, who died so that our sins could be forgiven by God. Remember, God does not allow sin in His presence - he is God. When the blood of Christ was spilt, it absolved us of our sin, and it is our choice whether or not to accept this sacrifice. When a lamb was sacrificed by a priest in the name of all who came to the temple, it could only absolve those who went to the temple, and it is the same way with the sacrifice of Christ.
This is all that is central to Christianity. This is the one pillar which holds Christ's church up - that Christ was the sacrifice for all humanity, innocent of all sin (since sacrificing someone not perfect would just be like sacrificing a lousy, mangy rat to God). The only tenet is that Christ is the way through which we enter Heaven.