Prayer

Prayer

Prayer is an essential party of all religions, and similarly this is also the case with Christianity. Christians view prayer as a form of communicating with god, and this they believe is carried out through either an individual of the trinity or in the fullness of god. Prayers in Christianity vary among Christian dominations. Prayer in Christianity can be viewed through a hierarchy consisting of the following:

1) Vocal Prayer

2) Christian Mediation

3) Contemplative Prayer

A popular prayer and a central prayer used among Christians is the Lord’s Prayer. The Gospel states this prayer was utilised by Jesus himself to help teach his disciples to pray. When praying Christians generally don’t believe in merely asking God to bestow upon them their wishes, and instead the conversation they have with god serves the purpose of firstly praising, thanking, asking, seeking forgiveness and finally looking for guidance. The Gospel teaches Christians to pray in the privacy of their rooms, and make a close relationship with god and that they will be greatly rewarded for the praying they do in privacy as opposed to publicly.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Mathew 6: 5-8

Prayer is seen as a mandatory part of Christianity and is believed that it is required by God, and it is a vital aspect of sanctification. Additionally, Christians believe that those who do not participate in prayer are not fulfilling God’s will but also throwing away a precious gift from God one that involves talking on a personal level with him one to one.

Confession

Confession

Confessing one’s sins is considered an important aspect of Christianity. In Many churches confessing one’s sins is seen as a perquisite for becoming a Christian. The Catholic refer to this is sacrament, and utilised by the church in allowing individuals to confess their sins following baptism and have the priest absolve their sins. The Roman Catholic Church believes that Jesus himself and God have given the authority to the priest to carry out a confessional and forgive the sins of the believers on earth. Although it’s not mandatory among Catholics confessions are performed in a confessional box or booth, to achieve forgiveness of sins granted by a priest exercising the right to do so. It is believed that an individual is sentenced to hell if the sins committed by them are left un-forgiven upon death. Orthodox Christian performs confessions to a chosen spiritual guide who’ve been given the right to perform such acts by the authority of a bishop. The spiritual guide not only has the task of listening to confessions, but also providing advice.

Serious sins are referred to as Deadly sins and are a serious matter; such sins include adultery, blasphemy and murder to name a few. It is strongly believed if a sinner dies committing any of these sins without receiving the sacrament or the perfect intention of wanting to confess to the priest, they will be forever damned. Sacrament for such Deadly sins is only received three vital points and it involves more than simply confessing their sin to the priest. These include:

1) For All Deadly sins committed, the sinner is truly sorry.

2) Have a strong intention to never commit this sin ever again

3) Carry out the penance demanded by the priest

Confessionals brought forth to Catholic priests are seriously taken into confidentiality and under no circumstances is the priest permitted to disclose any information and is recognised as the seal of the confessional

Sermon

Sermon
A sermon is the preaching brought forth by a preacher on religious and moral subjects based on the passages from the bible. Christians believe that a sermon is the result of letting the bible speak for itself, and its biblical meaning be brought to bear on the lives of contemporary listeners. Christians believe that sermons are god’s primary means in communicating with his church today. The sermon moves from the first century in an example based on a new testament and then transfers this truth into the 21rst century so that an audience can rightly understand and apply god’s word. So sermon derives its big idea, its meaning, its structure, and also its immediate application from the biblical text. Sermon on the Mount by Jesus of Nazareth is considered one of the most famous sermons, and is said to have been preached around 30 AD.

Matrimony

Matrimony

Holy Matrimony is a ritual done to take the relationship of man and women and join them as husband and wife, together as one flesh. The catholic and orthodox Christians believe this ritual as sacrament whereas Protestants believe it to be fundamental to faith. Marriage is spoken of throughout the bible and The New Testament speaks against the sins related to marriage such as adultery. According to the New Testament sex before marriage is frowned upon and viewed as a form of adultery when committed outside the sacred institution of marriage, and is labelled as a sin of fornication.

The role of the man and wife in the marriage according to the Christian faith vary among the three principle groups. Where Christian egalitarianism believes that both the man and women have an equal status in both the family and the church, however Biblical patriarchy prescribes a more male-dominated hierarchical structure in marriage. Biblical patriarchy believe that the Holy Trinity, and god was revealed as a “HE”, and therefore it’s the woman’s role to obey the head of her house, the husband.

Same sex marriage views are not shared among the different Christian denominations, where some believe it is impossible to apply the hierarchical structure of marriage to the union given the same sex of both partners., and furthermore their belief that such unions are prohibited. Only a small number of denominations for example the United Church of Christ, Episcopalians and some non-Trinitarian institutions perform sex-sex marriages. These marriages however are not recognised or carried out by the Orthodox Christian Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the vast majority of Protestants.

Interestingly in certain Christian sects whilst it is banned in Western society, still practice polygamy. They believe that examples of how to live one’s life is given in the Old Testament as many of the messiah’s and important figures mentioned had more than one wife. This practice is mainly adopted by Mormons who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Divorce is something, which is frowned upon among Catholics, and even though individuals may legally be divorced, as long as they remain living they are seen as married in the eyes of the church. Catholics consider the vows taken in front of god sacred and binding. However, Protestant churches are more accepting of divorce and remarriage.

Communion

Communion

Depending on the denomination there are several different terms used to describe what is known as the Holy Communion. For example, the Roman Catholic Church refers to it as the Mass, the Orthodox Church calls it the Divine Liturgy. Despite the different names given by these churches both believe that the bread and wine that is consecrated by the head of church known as the priest, become the blood and body of Jesus. It is believed by these Church’s that at the Holy Communion when this act is carried out that once again the sacrifice made by Jesus to forgive their sins is repeated. It is believed that both the wine and bread help to gain eternal life and forgiveness of god for those taking part.

Furthermore, the Free churches who also believe in the Holy Communion refer to it as the Lord’s Supper, or the Breaking of Bread. These names draw upon Jesus and his disciples during the last supper, where Jesus was the host. Therefore the followers of the Free Church’s believe that when the Holy Communion takes place that they are guests of Jesus for the Lord’s Supper. Additionally during the Lord’s Supper and emphasis is placed on sharing a meal with fellow followers and placing an importance on fellowship. They believe that through these actions and remembering the sacrifices of Jesus their faith is strengthened.

The Salvation Army and Quakers however don’t believe in the ritual of the Holy Communion. They argue there is no need to celebrate this and hold the belief that God is brought through the inner gift of the Holy Spirit and there is no outward physical action needed. Additionally, the hold the belief that every meal should remind fellow Christians of the Last Supper and that Jesus is always present in the hearts of the believers.

Baptism

Baptism

Baptism is a crucial part of the Christianity faith as it is a ceremony which enables individuals to enter the faith and become a member of its religious institution. Christians believe when an individual is baptised it marks the beginning of their life as a Christian. Christians do baptism as was directed by Jesus who was also baptised in the River Jordan by his cousin, John the Baptist and he asked that his fellow believers follow in his footsteps. Baptism is also known as christening and normally occurs when the baby is an infant. However, in Baptist and Pentecostal churches believe this choice should be made by the individual and is known as the believer’s baptism and often happens when people are teenagers.

In the infant baptism parents place a promise to the church and god to ensure the child faithfully follows the Christian faith. The priest then makes a cross sign with hand gestures over the childes forehead, and holy water is then poured from the front of the head onto the baby’s head three times. Each time the water is poured it is mean to symbolise the trinity; which are the father, son and Holy Spirit. Water is symbolic in the process of the Baptism as Christians believe that humans are born as sinners and these sins are removed through spiritual cleansing. In the Roman Church, the child is fully immersed in the water three times and also anointed with oil on the head and chest.

The views regarding the importance of Baptism differ among Christians. For example, the Churches of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church believe that the importance of baptism is to fulfil the requirement of salvation whereas for Anabaptist and Evangelical Protestants believe purpose is to achieve forgiveness and grace. However, baptism is not practiced by all Christians such as Quakers, Salvation Army and Hyper-dipensationlism don’t take part in this ritual. Quakers, justify that it is not vital to carry out a baptism as its purpose was already fulfilled through the spirit of Christ. Whereas Hyper-dipensationlism believe that the ritual has its roots in the Jewish-Christian church and therefore don’t practice it.

Sacraments

Sacraments

Christians believe life to be almost a pilgrimage in which the journey involves a series of steps in order for you to receive a rite of passage. It is believed life is given by god and they will eventually in the end return back to him. The rites of passage are completed once important life journeys are successfully fulfilled. These include baptism, confirmation, marriage and lastly death. Baptism, confirmation and marriage are also referred to as sacraments, and it is believed that one receives special blessings from god when they experience them.