Module 01: What Christianity Claims to Be

Christianity belongs to the family of religions that trace important parts of their sacred history back to Abraham, an ancient patriarch described in the Bible. Religions that trace significant parts of their sacred history back to Abraham are often called Abrahamic traditions. These traditions include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.ory back to Abraham, an ancient patriarch described in the Bible. Religions that trace significant parts of their sacred history back to Abraham are often called Abrahamic traditions. These traditions include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Christianity is often described as a religion, worldview, moral system, or historical movement. All of those descriptions can be useful, but Christianity describes its central message as gospel.

Christianity can be studied from more than one angle. Some people study Christianity as believers who want to understand God, Scripture, doctrine, worship, and Christian living. Others study Christianity as historians, scholars, political scientists, sociologists, or students of comparative religion. These approaches are often connected to the difference between theology and religious studies.

Christianity is a religion centered on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At its most basic level, Christianity teaches that there is one God, that God created the world, that human beings are morally accountable to Him, and that God has acted in history to rescue humanity from sin, evil, and death. Christians believe this rescue comes through Jesus Christ, whom they understand to be the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Savior of the world.

Module 1 introduces Christianity as a religion centered on Jesus Christ and the claim that God acts through Him to save humanity from sin, evil, death, and separation from God. It explains Christianity as gospel, revelation, and history: a faith rooted in real historical events, especially the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The module also shows how Christianity can be studied both theologically and academically, while avoiding common misconceptions such as reducing Christianity to Western culture, moral behavior, politics, or personal spirituality.