Beliefs, customs, and constraints in Christianity

Among the religious faiths in Christianity are Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox. Christianity has ruled over customs, beliefs, and limitations. The Christian Science religion is founded on biblical beliefs and the teachings of Jesus. The religion believes in spiritual healing, which requires the use of prayers for various needs among the disciples. According to Christianity principles, each believer has a unique spiritual path. Furthermore, Christians believe in monotheistic, or the worship of a single God. The worship of one God was emphasized in Jesus’ teachings. He insisted on his disciples having complete faith in God. For example, in John 9:35-38, Jesus highlighted to his disciples the importance of developing complete confidence in God. Similarly, the ten commandments stress on the worship of one God. In Deuteronomy 5:7, God indicated, ’You shall have no other gods before Me’’ (Koenig, King & Carson, 2012).

Also, Christian Science recognizes Jesus Christ as the son of God. Christians consider Jesus teachings which outlines that he was sent to fulfill God’s plans to humankind. His main task was to deliver mankind from death and sins. Jesus explained to the multitude that he was the son of God. John 5:1 states, `` Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well’’(Magesa, 2004). This means that Christians should obey God’s commands in order to express their will to God. Moreover, they believe in the existence of the holy trinity, that is God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christians believe in God’s works today through the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as demonstrated in the actions of followers. Besides, Christians that there is life after death. They argue that Jesus died on the cross and resurrected on the third day. It is through his death and resurrection that mankind nature was delivered from sins. As result, Christians believe that there is an everlasting life after death (Koenig et al., 2012).

Christianity has various traditions or celebrations which include Easter and Christmas. The bible does not specify if the celebrations should be celebrated as not. Despite the fact that most of these celebrations are manmade, they should not conflict with the biblical concepts. Most of the man-made traditions are related to the biblical concepts. For instance, Christians consider Sunday as a holy day. Similarly, in the New Testament, Sabbath is regarded in the same manner. In the New Testament, believers meet in the synagogue on the sabbath day. Likewise, currently, Christians meet in the church on Sunday. As stated Luke 24:1, ``On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb’’ (Buckser & Glazier, 2003). This means that Sabbath day was regarded as the first of the week whereas Christians refer to Sunday as the initial day of the week.

Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus their tradition. Since 4th century AD, Christian religion initiated 25th of December as the Christmas day. The date was set as a result of matching with the pagan festival Saturnalia and the winter solstice. The early churches offered the individuals a Christian substitute to the pagan commemorations. As a result, the early churches adopted most of the pagan practices as well as symbols of Christianity. The celebration acts as a reminder that Jesus came into the world. On the other hand, Easter is celebrated to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and as a result, it was adopted by the Christians. Also, the commemoration reminds Christians of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection as a way of strengthening their faith (Buckser & Glazier, 2003).

The bible restricts Christians on which foods to eat. In Leviticus 11, God outlined all types of foods that Israelites were not allowed to consume. Some of the animals that were restricted include those that chew cuds and those without split hooves for example pigs and rabbits among others. The sea creatures that lack fins and scales and birds that consume fresh such as raptors. Besides, he restricted the Israelites from consuming winged insects apart from those that jump and swarm. Additionally, Christians are restricted from taking blood from any animal. In Genesis 9:4 God provoked Noah from taking the blood of any animal. Also, Christians value life and as a result, they do not encourage abortion practices. The Christian Science only allows the practice when mother’s life is in a critical condition. They argue that human’s body symbolizes temple of the holy spirit. Also, they were created in God’s image and likeness (Koenig et al., 2012).

Part 2

Topic: Christianity Beliefs, Traditions and Restrictions

Purpose

The main purpose of the lesson plan is to deliver a comprehensive range of innovative- level enrichment experiences of every student.

The lesson involves student’s replies to Christian’s experiences as a stepping stone for pertinent to look into.

Materials

Internet

Word Processing

Books

Articles

Magazines

Library

Interviews

Learning Styles

Think look

Feel

Talk

In the lesson, I will test the student’s brain growth and development. I will brainstorm the students by asking them ``What are the practices and beliefs of Christians in the contemporary living?’’ The students will watch a video that illustrates various Christian’s practices and beliefs. Afterwards, the students will receive article explaining Christian’s beliefs, traditions, and restrictions. Also, I will allow the students to conduct extensive research in class textbooks, internet, and library. It is essential for educators to include numerous incentives or spurs for the accommodation of multiple intelligences in the classroom. The educators should allow should employ multiple intelligence upgrading centers to encourage participation of all students in the classroom. The most appropriate multiple intelligence centers include intrapersonal intelligence and interpersonal intelligence. First, intrapersonal intelligence will ensure that every student explores the topic through individual research and reflection. Secondly, interpersonal intelligence enables the students to acquire cooperative skills. The aspect permits to solve challenges and answer the questions correctly (Armstrong, 2009).

The teachers should encourage cooperation and collaboration of learning tool. The students should be allowed to select Multiple Intelligence Enrichment Center of their interest. This will encourage and boost their learning potential. The learners can either decide to conduct research individually or in the pair. Group discussion allows the students to comprehend the research topic well because they are able to discover individual’s thoughts. The students will then represent their findings through gallery walk. This type of semi-formal presentation is fantastic because it reduces students’ stress and fatigue. The use of formal presentations is usually hectic to most of the students (Armstrong, 2009). Besides, the teacher should employ the use of self-reflection through questions such as:

What did you find most interesting in the research?

What was fantastic in the paper?

What did you learn in the research?

What are the traditions, beliefs, and restrictions of Christianity?

References:

Armstrong, T. (2009). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Ascd.

Buckser, A., & Glazier, S. D. (Eds.). (2003). The anthropology of religious conversion. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Koenig, H. G., King, D., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of religion and health. Oup Usa.

Magesa, L. (2014). African religion: The moral traditions of abundant life. Orbis Books.