'''Jesus Christ''' is the central object of attention and worship in [[Christianity]]. He is held by Christians and [[Messianic Judaism|Messianic Jews]] to be the [[Messiah]] and Savior, as well as the physical incarnation of [[God]], the [[Son of God]]. The vast majority of self-described Christians regard belief in the divinity of Jesus to be part of what defines Christianity. Moreover, according to some [[theology|theologies]], Jesus is one of the three persons of the [[Trinity]], along with [[God the Father]] and the [[Holy Spirit]]. See [[Christology]].
The name "Jesus" was first used in [[Middle English]]. It was derived from the Late [[Latin]] Iesus, which in turn comes from the [[Greek]] Iesous, which derives from the Hebrew Yeshua, a short form of Yehoshua (Joshua), which means "the Lord is salvation" or "Jehovah saves".
Due to a mistaken calculation, it was long held that Jesus was born in the year 1 A.D. and died at age 33. It is now more often held that he was born on 4 or 5 B.C. Regardless, Christianity was of such importance to medieval Europe that the presumed birth of Jesus was used to mark the first year of the calendar (similarly, in modernity, Europe emerged to be of such political and economic importance in the world that most non-European countries have come to use the same calendar.) "A.D." stands for "[[Anno Domini]]," which means "in the year of our lord," or the number of years after the purported year of the birth of Jesus. Since many non-Christians have come to use this calendar, many have adopted the alternative notation, "C.E.," for the [[Common Era]]. (Since European domination often coincided with Christian domination, many people deem this to be the "Christian Era").
Christianity emerged from [[Judaism]] in the first century of the Common Era. Christians brought from Judaism its scriptures, and fundamental doctrines such as [[monotheism]], and the belief in a [[Jewish eschatology|messiah]] (English term for the Hebrew ''moshiach''); this term is more commonly known as [[Christ]] (Greek ''Christos''). Hence the name "Jesus Christ" means "Jesus the Christ" or "Jesus the Messiah"; since most Jews do not accept that Jesus is the messiah of Jewish scripture, they reject the use of the full (Christian) name. The [[Jewish eschatology|Jewish conception of the messiah]] is a national one, viz., the deliverer of [[Israel]], and has significant differences from how Christians understand the term.
Mainstream Christians believe Jesus was born after his virgin mother [[The Virgin Mary|Mary]] (betrothed to [[Saint Joseph]]) was [[miracle|miraculously]] caused to conceive him by the [[Holy Spirit]], and was thereby the [[Messiah]] the [[Jews]] had been waiting for. According to a prophecy in [[Isaiah]] 7:14 (a book in the Christian [[Old Testament]], or the Jewish [[Tanach]]) a young woman (often translated as 'virgin'; the correctness of that translation is controversial) would conceive a child called Immanuel (meaning "God with us"). The [[New Testament]] states that the Isaiah prophecy refers to the birth of Jesus ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 1:22-23). Many Christians understand the Isaiah prophecy as refering to both the virgin Mary at the birth of Jesus, and also to a non-virgin young woman in the time of Isaiah. Others believe his "[[virgin birth]]" to have been only metaphorical in nature.
The [[Bible|Biblical account]] recounts little about Jesus' childhood or young adulthood. By the time he reached his early 30s, he became known as a religious teacher. After teaching as a wandering [[rabbi]] and performing miracles for three years, he was convicted by the occupying Roman government of claiming to be king of the Jews, and [[crucifixion|crucified]]. During this time period, many thousands of Jews were murdered by the Romans in this manner; the complete absence of this from the New Testament is a matter of controversy, although it may simply mean that the writers felt no need to write what was obvious to their readers. According to the [[Gospels]] (the first 4 books in the [[New Testament]] of the [[Bible]]), he [[Resurrection of Jesus Christ|rose from the dead]] on the third day and appeared to his disciples; forty days later he ascended into [[Heaven]].
Jesus' teaching, as told in the Gospels, concentrates on benevolence towards other people and calls on its followers to abandon their worldly concerns, make disciples, and wait for the [[second coming]] of their [[Savior]]. According to the [[Gospel]]s, believers are promised [[salvation]], which has often been taken to mean that only those who accept Jesus as the Son of God will be resurrected from the dead and live forever in [[Heaven]]. However, "salvation" has been interpreted in many ways, and a wide spectrum of Christian viewpoints exist and have existed throughout the centuries.
The [[Islam|Islamic faith]] recognizes Jesus (Isa, in Arabic) as a wise man and a prophet, but not a savior or son of [[Allah]], except in the sense that all mankind are children of [[Allah]]. That [[The Virgin Mary|Mary]] was a virgin, and that [[Allah]] caused her to conceive, are accepted by the [[Quran|Qur'an]]. According to Islam Isa never died and he was not crucified; instead he was raised into heaven still physically alive, where he lives now. At the time appointed by Allah, Isa will physically return to the world, end all wars, and usher in an era of peace, a messianic era. The question of whether Islam has the potential to explicate [[Trinity in One God for Islam|Trinity]] is being explored as an open question.
It has been suggested that there may be a [[Christian temple in Isa]], in ?Western India, where Jesus studied in residence for part of his life. Documentation for this has yet to reach the realm of the scholarly.
The [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] believes Jesus appeared in the [[Western Hemisphere]] after his [[Resurrection of Jesus Christ|resurrection]] and taught the ancestors of modern [[Native American|Native Americans]], whom they believe to be one of the [[lost tribes of Israel]].
Apart from the [[Gospel]]s, there are very few contemporaneus accounts of the historical Jesus. The most famous reference is in [[Tacitus]] (see [[Tacitus on Jesus]]). [[Josephus]] is one of the non-biblical sources commonly mentioned (see [[Josephus on Jesus]]).
There are also numerous lines of thought that question the existence of Jesus Christ or suggest that he is merely the combination of numerous individuals who lived during that time period, or that aspects of his story were derived from earlier figures such as [[Isis]] and [[Horus]] (see [[Historicity of Jesus]]).
It has been claimed that women around the time and place of Jesus's birth who became pregnant from someone other than the husband would frequently expain the pregnancy as being the result of a visit from [[God]] or from an [[angel]].
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed in any way by the Wikimedia Foundation or any of its affiliates. In fact, we fucking despise them.
|
