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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, a holy place of Christianity

Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. The Gospels state that Jesus is the Son of God and rose from the dead after his crucifixion, whose coming as the messiah (Christ) was prophesied in the Old Testament and chronicled in the New Testament. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with over 2.3 billion followers, comprising around 28.8% of the world population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in 120 countries and territories.

Christianity remains culturally diverse in its Western and Eastern branches, and doctrinally diverse concerning justification and the nature of salvation, ecclesiology, ordination, and Christology. Most Christian denominations, however, generally hold in common the belief that Jesus is God the Son—the Logos incarnated—who ministered, suffered, and died on a cross, but rose from the dead for the salvation of humankind; this message is called the gospel, meaning the "good news". The four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John describe the life of Jesus and teachings as preserved in the early Christian tradition, with the Old Testament as the gospels' respected background.

The three main branches of Christianity are Catholicism (1.3 billion people), Protestantism (800 million), and Eastern Orthodoxy (300 million), while other prominent branches include Oriental Orthodoxy (60 million) and Restorationism (35 million). Smaller church communities number in the thousands. In Christianity, efforts toward unity (ecumenism) are underway. In the West, Christianity remains the dominant religion even with a decline in adherence, with about 70% of that population identifying as Christian. Christianity is growing in Africa and Asia, the world's most populous continents. Many Christians are still persecuted in some regions of the world, particularly where they are a minority, such as in the Middle East, North Africa, East Asia, and South Asia. (Full article...)

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Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, seed-faith gospel, Faith movement, or Word of Faith movement) is a belief among some Charismatic Protestant Christians, originating in the United States, that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive scriptural confession, and giving to charitable and religious causes will increase one's material wealth. Material and especially financial success is seen as evidence of divine grace or favor and blessings, while the opposite (poverty) is seen as divine judgment.

Prosperity theology is considered heretical by almost all other Christian denominations; it has been criticized by leaders from various Christian denominations, who maintain that it is irresponsible, promotes idolatry, and is contrary to the Bible. Secular as well as Christian observers have also criticized some versions of the prosperity theology as exploitative of the poor. The practices of some preachers have attracted scandal, and some have been charged with financial fraud. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Christianity-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Depiction of Trinity from Saint Denis Basilica in Paris (12th century) (from Trinity)
Image 213th-century depiction of the Trinity from a Roman de la Rose manuscript (from Trinity)
Image 3The Communion of the Apostles, by Luca Signorelli, 1512 (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 4The Father, The Holy Spirit, and Christ crucified, depicted in a Welsh manuscript c. 1390–1400 (from Trinity)
Image 5The Trinity by Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev, early 15th century (from Trinity)
Image 6The "Heavenly Trinity" joined to the "Earthly Trinity" through the Incarnation of the Son–The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities by Murillo (c. 1677) (from Trinity)
Image 7God the Father (top), the Holy Spirit (a dove), and the child Jesus, painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (d. 1682) (from Trinity)
Image 8Pope Clement I prays to the Trinity, in a typical post-Renaissance depiction by Gianbattista Tiepolo (d. 1770). (from Trinity)
Image 9The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a holy site in Jerusalem believed by most Christians to encompass the tomb of Jesus and the site of his crucifixion and resurrection. (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 10An artistic depiction of the Trinity, with the hand representing the Father, the Chi Rho and ichthys representing the Son, and the dove representing the Holy Spirit (from Trinity)
Image 11A Gospel of John, 1056 (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 12A Shield of the Trinity diagram, illustrating relationships between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (from Trinity)
Image 13A depiction of the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, at which the Deity of Christ was declared orthodox and Arianism condemned (from Trinity)
Image 14God, in the person of the Son, confronts Adam and Eve, by Master Bertram (d. c. 1415). (from Trinity)
Image 15God the Father (top), and the Holy Spirit (represented by a dove) depicted above Jesus Painting by Francesco Albani (d. 1660) (from Trinity)
Image 16A representation of the Trifacial Trinity, as a three faced head, sometimes used in Renaissance iconography (but disavowed by the Catholic Church). (from Trinity)
Image 17Nativity at Night, by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, c. 1490 (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 18Detail of the earliest known artwork of the Trinity, the Dogmatic or Trinity Sarcophagus, c. 350 (Vatican Museums).
Three similar figures, representing the Trinity, are involved in the creation of Eve, whose much smaller figure is cut off at lower right; to her right, Adam lies on the ground. (from Trinity)
Image 19First page of Mark, by Sargis Pitsak (14th century): "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God". (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 20The Glory of Saint Nicholas, by António Manuel da Fonseca; Nicholas of Myra, a participant in the First Council of Nicaea, achieves the beatific vision in the shape of the Holy Trinity. (from Trinity)
Image 21The Holy Trinity on the stained glass windows of the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Brockdish (from Trinity)
Image 22Jesus healing the paralytic in The Pool by Palma il Giovane, 1592 (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 23The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 15th century (from Trinity)
Image 24Many Christians use the crucifix to symbolise Jesus' sacrificial death and as a focus for devotion. (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 25Three doors representing the trinity at a cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio (from Trinity)
Image 26Jesus' Farewell Discourse to his eleven remaining disciples after the Last Supper, from the Maestà by Duccio (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 27The Holy Trinity in an angelic glory over a landscape, by Lucas Cranach the Elder (d. 1553) (from Trinity)
Image 28Christ on the Cross, 1870, by Carl Heinrich Bloch, depicting Jesus's crucifixion (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 29Attributed to the circle of Pieter Claeissins II, A Christian Allegory of the Salvation of a Christian Soul (c. 1570–1600) depicts the triumph of virtue over death and Satan. The Bowes Museum. (from Salvation in Christianity)
Image 30Representation of the Trinity in the form of the mercy seat (epitaph from 1549) (from Trinity)
Image 31Atypical depiction of the Trinity where the Son is identified by a lamb, the Father an Eye of Providence, and the Spirit a dove (from Trinity)
Image 32Depictions of the Resurrection of Jesus are central to Christian art (Resurrection of Christ by Raphael, 1499–1502). (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 33A Greek fresco of Athanasius of Alexandria, the chief architect of the Nicene Creed, formulated at Nicaea (from Trinity)
Image 34The Trinity by Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev, early 15th century: this portrayal of the three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-8) (from Trinity)
Image 35A painting depicting the Trifacial Trinity by an anonymous author from the Peruvian Cuzco School (but disavowed by the Catholic Church). (from Trinity)
Image 36The Good Samaritan by James Tissot. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the parables of Jesus. (from Jesus in Christianity)
Image 37A 'Jesus Saves' neon cross sign outside of a Protestant church in New York City (from Salvation in Christianity)
Image 38The Adoration of the Trinity by Albrecht Dürer (1511).
From top to bottom: Holy Spirit (dove), God the Father and Christ on the cross. (from Trinity)

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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Widney in 1931

Joseph Pomeroy Widney, M.D. D.D. LL.D (December 26, 1841 – July 4, 1938), was an American doctor, educator, historian, and religious leader.

After the American Civil War led him to medicine, he followed his brothers to California where he received his medical degree. He saw southern California as a "Garden of Eden". In Los Angeles he was a founder of the Los Angeles Medical Society. He was a strong proponent of the new University of Southern California, and became its second president and the founding dean of its school of medicine. The Los Angeles Public Library was one of his major interests. (Full article...)

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A Christian martyr is a person who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness." At first, the term applied to Apostles. Once Christians started to undergo persecution, the term came to be applied to those who suffered hardships for their faith. Finally, it was restricted to those who had been killed for their faith. The early Christian period before Constantine I was the "Age of martyrs". A martyr's death was considered a "baptism in blood," cleansing one of sin, similar to the effect of baptism in water. Early Christians venerated martyrs as powerful intercessors, and their utterances were treasured as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Did you know (auto-generated) -

... that a reviewer said that the musicians on the Christian music compilation 4-Way Noise Explosion would prompt a wave of people leaving Christianity?
... that the birth of Christianity in Minahasa, Indonesia, is celebrated annually on June 12, the day that Johann Friedrich Riedel set foot in Manado?
... that anti-racism campaigner Kamal Chunchie converted to Christianity from Islam during the First World War when serving in the British Army?
... that anti-racism campaigner Kamal Chunchie converted to Christianity from Islam during the First World War when serving in the British Army?
... that a former management consultant who coined the framework of "The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism" was described by The New York Times as "a kind of Malcolm Gladwell of conservative Christianity"?
... that John Allen Chau illegally travelled to North Sentinel Island in an attempt to convert its inhabitants to Christianity?