I do not mean to imply that Christians have adopted the liberal assumption, so prevalent in Hinduism, that all religions are merely different paths to the same summit.

Schweitzer found many New Testament references to apparently show that 1st-century Christians believed literally in the imminent fulfillment of the promise of the World's ending, within the lifetime of Jesus's original followers, He noted that in the gospel of Mark, Jesus speaks of a " tribulation ", with his coming in the clouds with great power and glory " ( St Mark ), and states when it will happen: " This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled " ( St Matthew, 24: 34 ) ( or, " have taken place " ( Luke 21: 32 )): " All these things shall come upon this generation " ( Matthew 23: 36 ).

In the Methodist Church, saints refer to all Christians and therefore, on All Saint's Day, the Church Universal, as well as the deceased members of a local congregation are honoured and remembered.

After Constantius ' death in 361, his successor Julian the Apostate, a devotee of Rome's pagan gods, declared that he would no longer attempt to favor one church faction over another, and allowed all exiled bishops to return ; this had the objective of further increasing dissension among Christians.

* Christian perfection – According to Wesley's teaching, Christians could attain a state of practical perfection, meaning a lack of all voluntary sin by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, in this life.

It also remained the spoken tongue of the indigenous Assyrian / Babylonian citizens of all Mesopotamia under Persian, Greek and Roman rule, and indeed well into the Arab period it was still the language of the majority, particularly in the north of Mesopotamia, surviving to this day among the Assyrian Christians.

The New Testament verses typically referenced are Matthew 26: 30 ; Acts 16: 25 ; Romans 15: 9 ; 1 Corinthians 14: 15 ; Ephesians 5: 19 ; Colossians 3: 16 ; Hebrews 2: 12, 13: 15 ; James 5: 13, which reveal a command for all Christians to sing.

Unlike the Israelite worship assembly, which was only able to look on during Temple worship as the Levitical Priest sang, played, and offered animal sacrifices, in the New Testament, all Christians are commanded to sing praises to God.

Jews, Protestants, and Catholics all use the Masoretic text as the textual basis for their translations of the protocanonical books ( those which are received by both Jews and all Christians ), with various emendations derived from a multiplicity of other ancient witnesses ( such as the Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Dead Sea Scrolls, etc.

In the Ottoman Empire, the Patriarch of Constantinople, for example, had de facto administrative, fiscal, cultural and legal jurisdiction, as well as spiritual, over all the Christians of the empire.

The first 39 chapters prophesy doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God, while the last 27 prophesy the restoration of the nation of Israel and a new creation in God's glorious future kingdom ; this section includes the Songs of the Suffering Servant, four separate passages referring to the nation of Israel, interpreted by Christians as prefiguring the coming of Jesus Christ.

There were not, in antiquity, as there are today, single-volume collections of all of Sacred Scripture which most Christians have in codex form in their homes and places of worship.

The use of the definite article before the word " Christ " and its gradual development into a proper name show the Christians identified the bearer with the promised Messiah of the Jews who fulfilled all the Messianic predictions in a fuller and a higher sense than had been given them by the Rabbis.

Among all Christians, 37. 5 % live in the Americas, 25. 7 % live in Europe, 22. 5 % live in Africa, 13. 1 % live in Asia, 1. 2 % live in Oceania and 0. 9 % live in the Middle East.

Jesus ' death and resurrection are commemorated by Christians in all worship services, with special emphasis during Holy Week which includes Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Catholics maintain that the " one, holy, catholic and apostolic church " founded by Jesus subsists fully in the Roman Catholic Church, but also acknowledges other Christian churches and communities and works towards reconciliation among all Christians.

With more than 1. 1 billion baptized members, the Catholic Church is the largest church representing over half of all Christians and one sixth of the world's population.

As far back as the early 2nd century, there is evidence that the codex — usually of papyrus — was the preferred format among Christians: in the library of the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum ( buried in AD 79 ), all the texts ( Greek literature ) are scrolls ( see Herculaneum papyri ); in the Nag Hammadi " library ", secreted about AD 390, all the texts ( Gnostic Christian ) are codices.

Many, but not all, Christians believe:

Thus, Abraham, Moses, David, and all Christians today are saved by the same faith.

The Latin term Corpus Christianum is often translated as the Christian body, meaning the community of all Christians.

And yet, the connection of all Christians is also asserted, albeit in a way that defenders of this view usually decline, often intentionally, to elaborate more clearly or consistently.

In practice, all Christians East and West addressed the papacy as the See of Peter and Paul or the Apostolic See rather than the See of the Imperial Capital.

Supporters of this view believe that “ to a hypothetical outside reader, presents Christianity as enlightened, harmless, even beneficent .” Some believe that through this work, Luke intended to show the Roman Empire that the root of Christianity is within Judaism so that the Christians “ may receive the same freedom to practice their faith that the Roman Empire afforded the Jews .” Those who support the view of Luke ’ s work as political apology generally draw evidence from the facts that Christians are found innocent of committing any political crime ( Acts 25: 25 ; 19: 37 ; 19: 40 ) and that Roman officials ’ views towards Christians are generally positive.

* Modern Christians typically believe it is acceptable to play instruments or to attend weddings, funerals, banquets, etc., where instruments are heard.

Though God is never explicitly mentioned in the Book of Esther, some Christians believe that his influence during the story is implied.

The Jewish people still await the Messiah's first coming, while Christians await his second coming, when they believe he will fulfill those parts of Messianic prophecy left unfulfilled in the first century AD.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, referred to as the " Old Testament " in Christianity.

Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as saviour of humanity, and hold that Jesus ' coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.

While there have been many theological disputes over the nature of Jesus over the earliest centuries of Christian history, Christians generally believe that Jesus is God incarnate and " true God and true man " ( or both fully divine and fully human ).

In contrast Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Arminian Protestants believe that the exercise of free will is necessary to have faith in Jesus.

Many of the debates among Christians have roots in questions about the sources of authority different Christians believe represent God's purest or most definitive message.

Many Christians believe that marriage is defined by the union of a man and a woman, and that any sexual act outside of the marriage relationship is inherently sinful.

Some Christians believe that the book of Leviticus contains prohibitions against male-male sexuality.

As an alternative to a school-sponsored Day of Silence opposing bullying of LGBT students, conservative Christians organized a Golden Rule Initiative, where they passed out cards saying " As a follower of Christ, I believe that all people are created in the image of God and therefore deserve love and respect.

Some Christians believe that marriage is the union of two people and that homosexual behavior is not inherently sinful.

Some Christians believe that Biblical passages have been mistranslated or that these passages do not refer to LGBT orientation as currently understood.

It is especially important in the Catholic Church, but is also used in Orthodox and Eastern Catholic, as well as Anglican, and Lutheran churches, ( though less often in other Protestant churches ), and it emphasizes Jesus ' sacrifice — his death by crucifixion, which Christians believe brought about the redemption of mankind.

Some Christians believe that gender equality is appropriate for Christian marriages and that the spouses share equal responsibility within the family.

Some Christians believe that husbands and wives have differing, complementary roles.

Christians believe that marriage is considered in its ideal according to the purpose of God.