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Christianity was founded by Prophet Jesus on whose teachings the beliefs of Christians are based.
Christianity is now made up of three main denominations:
- Roman Catholicism
- Eastern Orthodoxy
- Protestantism
The Christian Bible
The purported teachings of Prophet Jesus are codified in the New Testament. However, the Christian Bible, which is the foundation of their belief, also includes the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible.
The New Testament is made up of four books, all originally written in Greek, not the language of Aramaic which is believed to be the language of Prophet Jesus:
- The Gospels
- Acts of the Apostles, which is the history of the early Christian Church and work of the Apostles, the twelve followers of Prophet Jesus
- Epistles, which are letters that contained Gospel interpretations, solutions to local problems and advice on how to live Christian lives
- Revelation, which has to do with the end of the world and the events that take place before the end comes
The Gospels
The Gospels are testimonies of belief about Prophet Jesus and each Gospel is believed to have been authored by one of the Apostles, the twelve followers of Prophet Jesus, or by one of their disciples.
There are four Gospels:
- Mark
- Matthew
- Luke
- John
The first three are collectively called the Synoptic Gospels, because they are very similar in form and content. The Gospel of John differs materially from the Synoptic Gospels because it contains information not found in the latter and presents a different history of the ministry of Prophet Jesus.
The Epistles
Epistles are letters that contained Gospel interpretations, solutions to local problems and advice on how to live Christian lives. They were mainly written by Paul and given such names as I and II Timothy.