What do Christians believe?
Christians, like Jews and Muslims, believe in one creator God who cares deeply about the universe and all its inhabitants. Unlike them, Christians believe that God came to our world in Jesus Christ. Jesus demonstrated God’s love for us in giving his life on the cross as a payment for our sins and rising from death three days later.
What is the Church of England?
The Church of England was established in the 16th century when the Pope refused to give Henry VIII a divorce. There had been a movement for change in the Roman Catholic church for some time. For example, the Bible translation was restricted to Latin, and there were some ways that those who paid up could be excused time in purgatory.
The Church of England was formed, no longer under the authority of the Pope, though in some ways similar to what it had been before.
England is split into Parishes and everyone has the right to be baptised (christened), married, and buried in their Parish church. Churches are not state funded.
Westerfield, Tuddenham and Witnesham
Parishes in less populated areas are often joined together in Benefice groups under the same priest/vicar. Westerfield, Tuddenham and Witnesham are joined into a benefice. We are still able to have a service in each of our three churches every Sunday.
What’s the Church for?
Worship: we don’t worship God as a response to who he is, and because we believe he deserves our respect and love.
Teaching: in church we read passages from the Bible, and the sermon is used to comment on and apply those passages to our lives.
Fellowship and support: we are e a community of people who support and strengthen each other. Part of Christian teaching is about compassion for others, and the Church gives support to those in need, and promotes social justice.
Can’t I be a Christian in private?
You can believe in God, have faith in Jesus Christ, and be led and guided by the Holy Spirit without coming to church, but being part of a fellowship with other people means that you can share with and be supported by others in your faith.
Why do Christians believe that Jesus is God’s son?
He spoke of himself in those terms and demonstrated his authority through his teaching and his works of healing. His life and death were foretold in the Old Testament in the Bible, but people were expecting an earthly ruler who would fight the Roman occupiers and make Israel powerful. And yet, without once commanding an army or holding material wealth, Jesus became the most influential person in recorded history.
Finally Jesus rose from the dead shortly after his execution, and appeared to hundreds of his followers before returning to God.
What did Jesus teach?
Jesus taught that the universe and everything in it is the work of a purposive, loving God. He brought a new relationship with God. He said that Father God has very high standards – we can’t live up to them, but he is ready to forgive, and loves us nonetheless.
What is the Bible?
The Bible is the record of humanity’s gradually increasing knowledge of (and failure before!) God. Christians share the earlier writings with Jews, and some of our early history with Muslims, but the “New testament” part of the Bible centres on Jesus Christ and our relationship and future with him.
There are different views about whether the Bible is literally true (7 days of Creation, the Flood, etc.) or whether it contains truth. The Bible itself says that “all Scripture is inspired by God”.
Is Christianity compatible with science?
Science is a based on what we observe and how we can apply this. Proof is a basic concept of scientific practice. Christianity is based on faith rather than proof, which is a commitment. In very general terms, science looks at what and how, and faith is more concerned with why. Science and Christian faith are not in contention with each other.
What about life after death?
Christians believe that while the earthly body dies, the spiritual element, that is, our identity in Christ remains and we take on an eternal heavenly body (see this link to a section of St. Paul’s letter to a new Church in Greece). We will have a permanent existence in the presence of God, in a form fuller and richer than our current physical one.