The World of Christianity
Barely two millennia old, Christianity boasts over two billion adherents, almost a third of the world's population. With a 2,000-year history of evangelism, expansion, and renewal, the sheer number of sects, communities, and traditions it embraces can be hard to keep track of. Fortunately, Christianity has kept up with the times and found its way to the Web. You can learn about it, practice it, and keep up to date with the Christian faith daily online.
Expand All Guide SectionsThe Beliefs, Practices, and History of Christianity
Christianity comes in many forms, with such different sects as the politically minded Liberation Theologists, the evangelical southern Baptists, and the conservative Calvinists. Yet they all center on the immutable belief in Jesus Christ as the messiah; a belief based upon the Jewish Bible and conception of God. This section will explore Christian beliefs, practices and history.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Although Catholicism is part of the greater Christian faith, it has its own guide since the breadth of the institution is so comprehensive. See our findingDulcinea Catholicism Web Guide.
- There are some disinterested Web sites dealing with Christianity, but the overwhelming majority of the sites in this guide are Christian in origin and evangelical in intent. Keep this in mind as you read through these sites.
Dulcinea's Picks
To get an overview of Christianity ...
BBC hosts this religion page, which gives you a dispassionate perspective on Christianity. The site approaches explanations, news, and feature articles about many different aspects of the faith with scholarly precision and journalistic verve.
Soc.Religion.Christian is the homepage for a newsgroup of the same name. On it you'll find a straightforward and interesting overview of the faith written by an elder of the Presbyterian church. He endeavors to provide an unbiased, but also "convincing," explanation of the faith. Though that might not leave you with total confidence in the site, the author does a good job of remaining scholarly. Click on the "What is Christianity?" link on the left sidebar for this informative guide, or explore the other resources on the FAQ page and the newsgroup.
Creeds of Christendom is by no means consistent or clear-cut, but it is an excellent index of various creeds, or statements of faith, for almost all of the major Christian sects.
For indices and resources ...
The Virtual Religion Index is a manageable collection of sites on all major religions, with this specific section on the "Christian Tradition." If you can't find what you're looking for on a search engine, try its selective site list for such varied topics as Christian literature online and sites for Christian educators.
Theology from a Bunch of Dead Guys has a humorous map/timeline that allows you to navigate its useful collection of resources. You'll find a lot of good information on this site about theology through the ages of Christianity.
For help exploring Christianity ...
Church on the Net is tailored specifically to those new to Christianity. Straightforward explanations of the history, beliefs, and practices of Christianity are the base of this new site, which also features articles, community forums, blogs, and a "jargon-buster" to help you understand unfamiliar terms. All articles and explanations are followed by a number of "go deeper" links to multimedia or other sites that let you further explore the issues and topics raised.
For a focus on Jesus ...
rejesus is a funny but scholarly, open-minded, nonjudgmental, and incredibly rich look into the life of the historical and biblical Jesus of Nazareth. Run by a union of Anglican churches, this site is nondenominational and well written, though at times a number of its questions are answered with "it's up to you to decide," or "it depends on how you look at it." The number of resources here is staggering, with a great deal of solid information presented intelligently, such as the "Jesus Timeline," or the "Everyday Sayings" feature that explains many common sayings' Biblical origins. You can easily find these features by viewing the site map on the bottom of the homepage.
For Christian perspectives on specific issues ...
GotQuestions.org gives a Christian perspective on specific topics, often the controversial issues of our time. The perspective is a conservative fundamental one, based on a specific reading of the Bible. The site also allows you to submit your own questions and boasts that over 100,000 questions have been answered. These responses are provided by a number of scholars, clergy, and lay scholars.
apologia explores the main issues regarding the interaction of science, atheism, and religion-specifically Christianity.
For detailed timelines of Christianity ...
Church Timeline provides a simple and at times esoteric timeline of the Christian Church's history, from its inception to modern times.
Tredways.org hosts this Church timeline that lets you click to expand certain periods, and gives you details of the important events of the Christian church, though it does not provide a great deal of context for the layperson to interpret the information.
For Christian texts online ...
Bible Gateway is a powerful reference tool that gives you access to many versions of the holy text in several languages. You can use the quick-search tool to find a specific passage or to search for those on a certain theme. The advanced-search tool allows you more options, such as a quotation lookup, as well as a way to restrict your search to specific Bible versions or books. You can also add Bible Gateway's search tool to your own Web site.
Bible.org is an educational suite for Bible study. Browse and search an online version of the Bible, then explore the articles available on the site, covering all aspects of the text.
Who knew?
The Pennsylvania Dutch Country Welcome Center hosts this page on the Amish and Plain People. This is a fittingly straightforward and informative site about the unique Amish and Mennonite communities, their histories, and their special brands of Christianity.
Christianity News
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Connecting With the Christian Community
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Finding a Church
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Christian Blogs
With such diversity of beliefs, practice, and culture in the Christian faith, it's no surprise that ... read more »
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