...What's the meaning of life?
...Does anybody care?
...What can church offer?

Many people in the world are looking for answers to big questions. Even here in Newark many feel there has to be more to our existence than the things that keep us busy in our daily lives.

Christianity offers answers to the big questions. In Christianity people can find meaning, fulness and inner contentment on a level deeper than everything else that life offers.

But what is a Christian? What do Christians believe? And what do Christians in the Church of England believe? Here are some simple, to-the-point answers, followed by suggestions of good web sites that will take you deeper...

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?

A Christian is someone who has made a decision to believe in God and be totally changed by Him. A Christian is not just someone who...

There is much more to it than this. Briefly, the things that make someone a Christian are:

WHAT DO CHRISTIANS BELIEVE?

There are many millions of Christians in the world, who belong to many different groups or churches. These often focus on slightly different things. However, the following beliefs are common to the vast majority, and are the 'core' of mainstream Christianity:

GOD

• God created the world and everything in it.
• God is perfect, and is fair in everything he does.
• God is actually three people in one: Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit.

JESUS

• Jesus is God, yet he was born a man 2000 years ago to a woman who was a virgin.
• He was killed like a common criminal.
• Jesus came back to life again, showing that God is more powerful than death.
• One day Jesus will come back in a way that everyone can see him.

SALVATION

• Salvation is a word which means what Jesus's death has done for us. Jesus's death was planned by God. It was the only way to stop the separation between us and God. Our inner 'wrongness' stops us being close to God (since he's perfect) and it means that when we die we spend eternity cut off from him in Hell. But Jesus's death has taken the place of the eternal death we deserve. Jesus has provided a 'bridge' to God. Belief in salvation means knowing we can be close to God and have eternal life in heaven.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

• The Holy Spirit is a person (like Jesus) who we can't see but is given to Christians as a help to become better people in God's eyes.

THE BIBLE

• The Bible tells us about God and about the life and message of Jesus.
• The Bible is used by God to reveal Himself, so we know that what we read in it is true.

WHAT DO CHRISTIANS IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND BELIEVE?

The Church of England is the established national church of England. It is one of many Anglican churches throughout the world. The beliefs of Anglicans are summed it in its creeds, or statements of faith. Click on the link, left, to find out more about the Church of England.

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?

The following web sites explain more about the message of Christianity, and how you can respond: