1. Christianity Christianity began life as a Jewis...

1. Christianity Christianity began life as a Jewish sect. Far from attempting to find a new religion, the first Christians viewed themselves as Jews following the teachings of the Jewish Messiah. It was only later, after many non-Jews converted, that Christianity became a religion distinct from Judaism. Although Christianity shares much with Judaism, these two faiths differ significantly with respect to such fundamental issues as God’s relationship with humanity. The central motif through which this relationship has been understood in both traditions is that of a covenant or contract. In Hebrew scriptures (the old Testament) , God offers a special relationship with his chosen people — the Jews through a contract that specifies the terms of this relationship . The details of this arrangement have been modified and expanded from time to time, in a series of covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses. The most well known of these contracts is God’s agreement with Moses on Mountain Sinai, the Ten Commandments. In the Christian understanding of covenant theology, God offers humanity a new contract — the New Testament— as revealed in the person and teaching of Jesus. Unlike previous covenants, the new covenant refers to the eternal fate of individuals rather than to the worldly fate of the nation of Israel. Also, rather than being offered only to Jews, the new contract is offered to humanity as a whole . Individual salvation and the question of how that salvation can be achieved is a dominant theme of traditional Christianity. Salvation, according to this tradition, is necessary because otherwise the individual is condemned to spend eternity in hell, a place of eternal punishment. Born into sin, the sentence of eternal damnation is the fate of every person unless she or he is saved from this fate by being“ born again ”through faith in Jesus Christ. All other doctrines are built around a warning of condemnation and a redeeming message of redemption. As the core doctrine, it would be natural that arguments over soteriology (one’s theory of redemption) would lead to religions schisms. Disagreement over competing notions of salvation led to the split between Catholicism and Protestantism. Given the stark contrast between heaven and hell as eternal abodes of the soul, serious thinkers have had to grapple with the question —What happens to people who, while not saints, nevertheless are generally good people who have never committed any major sins in their lives？ Reflection on this problem led to the development of purgatory, an intermediate realm between heaven and hell. In purgatory, souls are tortured for their sins, but are eventually released and allowed to enter heaven. 2. Which of the following statement is Not true？

A、Christianity used to a part of Judaism.

B、The New Testament focuses on the worldly fate in Israel instead of the eternal fate of individuals

C、Theme of traditional Christianity is individual salvation and how that salvation can be achieved

D、Souls will be released to enter heaven in the theory of purgatory.