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, but not all, Christians believe:

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.

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, interest in Aristotle revived and Latin Christians had translations made, both from Arabic translations, such as those by Gerard of Cremona, and from the original Greek, such as those by James of Venice and William of Moerbeke.

Thus, over the past 1, 500 years, some Christians have used the term Arian to refer to those groups that see themselves as worshiping Jesus Christ or respecting his teachings, but do not hold to the Nicene creed.

Pastor and theologian Dr. Brian Abasciano claims " What Paul says about Jews, Gentiles, and Christians, whether of their place in God ’ s plan, or their election, or their salvation, or how they should think or behave, he says from a corporate perspective which views the group as primary and those he speaks about as embedded in the group.

Following the rebellion, those Christians who survived continued to practice their faith in secret, despite persecution.

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.

* Evangelism – practice of sharing about Christianity to those who are not Christians.

His ministry affirms the divine inspiration of the Bible, the authority of Tradition, and says "... that there is a place within the full life and ministry of the Christian Church for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Christians, both those who are called to lifelong celibacy and those who are partnered.

Others state that for those who accept that Christians can be homosexual, the sexual ethic aspired to corresponds to the model indicated in scripture and the tradition of the church for heterosexuals ; this entails commitment and fidelity expressed through monogamy and lifelong partnership or union.

His research shows that those GLBT Christians who stay at homophobic churches " kill the messenger " by attacking the minister's knowledge about homosexuality, personal morality, focus on sin instead of forgiveness, and motivations for preaching against homosexuality.

While all good Christians should be unafraid of death, Clement condemns those who actively seek out a martyr's death, arguing that they do not have sufficient respect for God's gift of life.

According to Jean Daniélou, this schema is inherited from a Judaeo-Christian esotericism, followed by the Apostles, which was only imparted orally to those Christians who could be trusted which such mysteries.

Some Christians agree that Jews who accept Jesus should still observe all of Torah, see for example Dual-covenant theology, based on warnings by Jesus to Jews not to use him as an excuse to disregard it, and they support efforts of those such as Messianic Jews ( Messianic Judaism is considered by most Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity ) to do that, but some Protestant forms of Christianity oppose all observance to the Mosaic law, even by Jews, which Luther criticised as Antinomianism, see Antinomianism # Antinomian Controversies in Lutheranism and Luther # Anti-Antinomianism for details.

Catholics also believe in a purgatory for those who are going to heaven, but Christians in general believe that Hell is a fiery place of torment that never ceases, called the Lake of Fire.

Some of them claim to be the one true Catholic Church from which, in their view, other Christians, including those in communion with the Pope, have fallen away.

Many of those who apply the term " Catholic Church " to all Christians object to the use of the term to designate what they view as only one church within what they understand as the " whole " Catholic Church.

Some Christians also share concerns similar to those of the secular anti-cult movement.

Since at least the 1940s, the approach of traditional Christians was to apply the meaning of cult such that it included those religious groups who use other scriptures beside the Bible or have teachings and practices deviating from traditional Christian teachings and practices.

The term deuterocanonical is sometimes used to describe the canonical antilegomena, those books of the New Testament which, like the deuterocanonicals of the Old Testament, were not universally accepted by the early Church, but which are now included in the 27 books of the New Testament recognized by almost all Christians.

Two representatives of those assembled were appointed to carry the news of the union to all the churches: John Rogers, for the Christians and " Raccoon " John Smith for the reformers.

Though an egg appears to be like the stone of a tomb, a bird hatches from it with life ; similarly, the Easter egg, for Christians, is a reminder that Jesus rose from the grave, and that those who believe will also experience eternal life.

Later councils included bishops of only parts of the Church as previously constituted, leading the Christians who do not belong to those parts to reject the actions of those councils.

and to Mrs. Rozella Switzer, regional director of The National Conference of Christians and Jews, who asked them to serve as a committee for the fund.

There were several on the Council who tried to live like Christians.

Catholics who were truly Christians longed for the simple penance of days gone by.

The contemporary ecclesiastics recorded with wonder many instances of the Visigoths ' clemency: Christian churches saved from ravage ; protection granted to vast multitudes both of pagans and Christians who took refuge therein ; vessels of gold and silver which were found in a private dwelling, spared because they " belonged to St. Peter "; at least one case in which a beautiful Roman matron appealed, not in vain, to the better feelings of the Gothic soldier who attempted her dishonor.

In Tabriz, André de Longjumeau met with a monk from the Far East, named Simeon Rabban Ata, who had been put in charge by the Khan of protecting the Christians in the Middle-East.

Other scholars have even said that Luke wrote this apology in order to support Christians who were becoming allies with local Roman officials.

Many who side with this view disagree that Luke portrays Christianity or the Roman Empire as harmless and thus reject the apologetic view because “ Acts does not present Christians as politically harmless or law abiding for there are a large number of public controversies concerning Christianity, particularly featuring Paul .” For example, to support this view Cassidy references how Paul is accused of going against the Emperor because he is “ saying that there is another king named Jesus .” ( Acts 17: 7 ) Furthermore, there are multiple examples of Paul ’ s preaching causing uprisings in various cities ( Acts 14: 2 ; 14: 19 ; 16: 19-23 ; 17: 5 ; 17: 13-14 ; 19: 28-40 ; 21: 27 ).

Thus far the only people who have been attested with a high level of genetic, historical, linguistic and cultural research to be the descendants of the ancient Mesopotamians are the Assyrian Christians of Iraq and its surrounding areas in north west Iran, north east Syria and south eastern Turkey.

All Christians who have a genuine relationship with God through and in Christ are part of the " true Church ", according to exemplary statements of evangelical Protestant theology, notwithstanding condemnation of the Catholic Church by some Protestants.

Those powerful families were supported by Iberians who were openly or secretly Christians and had acted with the rebels.

Similar to the traditional view in Judaism, conservative Christians view the Book of Daniel as written by the prophet Daniel, who they claim wrote the book around 536 BC after having been in captivity for about 70 years.

:"" There are there ," he said, " many great and powerful gods, and in former time a church was built there, and there are many Christians there who worship Christ --"" ( Chapter XIX )

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.

The God who raised Jesus from the dead would also give new life to the " mortal bodies " of Gentile Christians, who had become with Israel the " children of God " and were therefore no longer " in the flesh ".

Some groups of individuals who hold basic Protestant tenets identify themselves simply as " Christians " or " born-again Christians ".

By the 12th century, the Mishneh Torah ( i. e., Rabbi Moses Maimonides ) was criticizing Christianity on the grounds of idol worship, in that Christians attributed divinity to Jesus who had a physical body.

The first Christians were, like Jesus, Israelites resident in Roman Israel who worshiped on occasion in the Temple in Jerusalem and weekly in local synagogues.