Great World Religions: Christianity (The Great Courses)

As the world's largest religion, with more than two billion members, Christianity is "one of religion's great success stories," notes Professor Luke Timothy Johnson, himself a former Benedictine monk. But Christianityis more than large and popular-it is extremely complex and often highly contradictory.Christianity's Central Creeds: Difficult to FathomUniquely, Christianity asserts that its central figure, Jesus Christ, was not only a man but also God. The central elements of its creed-that there are three persons in one God, for example-are often difficult to accept or understand.It emphasizes belief rather than law and ritual practice. And it is highly susceptible to paradox: Bearing a message of peace and unity, it has often been a source of conflict and division. Proclaiming a heavenly kingdom, it has often been deeply involved with mundane politics. Rejecting worldly wisdom, it has claimed the intellectual allegiance of great minds. These apparent contradictions arise from the complex character of Christianity's claims about God, the world, and above all, Jesus of Nazareth, whose death and resurrection form the heart of the good news proclaimed by this religious tradition.