In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
John 1:1-2
2.3 billion people from around the world, constitute the worlds largest faith. The faith I have come to understand as an important part of who I am.
Christianity has many denominations. All true Christians believe in the same Bible. There is a wide variety of adaptations to this same text and sometimes the differences look like completely different faiths (really different). The foundation of what defines a Christian was eloquently voiced by the Council of Constantinople in 381. Named the Nicene Creed it reads as follows-
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. God of God, light of light, true God of true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end. And with the Father and the son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And one holy, catholic (universal), and apostolic church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen
The Trinity – God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit defines one God. Any deviation from this construct changes the basic precept that defines Christianity.
The Hagai Sophia was once the largest church in the Christian world. Located in Istanbul, consecrated in A.D. 537, it lives now as a beautiful museum open to everyone.
Today the debate over the relevancy of religion plays out in communities across the country. We who believe and have experienced the beauty of our relationship with God have come to understand the need to honor that which is a part of what it is to be human. And realize that the absence of this relationship is much more than simply not believing, but an entire system of thinking and existing.
