Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion derived from Jesus Christ based on the Holy Bible & acknowledged and followed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies. The Christian religion, based on the life & teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, believes that Jesus is the Christ who was prophesied to arrive as the messiah in the Old Testament. It is chronicled in the New Testament too & currently the largest religion followed in the World.
Christians believe that there is only one god but preached in 3 different forms as God the Father, God the Son & the Holy Spirit. Christianity evokes people to love god & their neighbors, as taught by Jesus. The Christian Holy Book, the Bible, is divided into the Old & New Testament. The New Testament explains that Jesus was sent as a messiah by God to save humanity from their sins due to the cruel things infested by humans, which had separated them from godliness. According to Christian teachings, Jesus Christ was treated like a criminal by the Romans & crucified on a cross (Crucifixion) but he rose from the dead (the Resurrection) after three days.
Most Christians worship in Churches, the name meaning a Holy place where Christians gather to worship. The people who lead the Churches are Priests or Ministers. A gathering of Christian followers to worship at a Church is a Communion, Eucharist, or Mass. The Christians assemble in a Church on a Sunday for prayers. Sunday is considered the first day when God created the World from darkness & matter. Sunday is also considered to be a day when the savior, Jesus Christ, rode from the dead.
Christians go to Church or otherwise assemble at a worship place to worship God. The Holy Bible says that the human being is created by God, replicating himself, for his delight & joy. Therefore, it is assumed that we come into the presence of the Lord when praying together in a Church or at a place of worship.
Other than the Churches some people prefer to meet at homes or any other buildings for Christian worship, called private worship. This allows Christians to worship God in solitude. These private worships are usually followed by Prayer, Bible Study & Meditation. Christians worship the Lord thanking him for his love, asking him to forgive their sins & also to know what God expects from them in this life.
Understanding Spirituality
There is no defined or any definite explanation for spirituality. Some scholars had predicted that spirituality is a way of reforming to self-recovery. To initiate the reforms, one aligns with the original mould of spiritual shape like the Torah in Judaism, Jesus Christ in Christianity, Buddha in Buddhism & Islam, Muhammad.
In Christianity or Biblical sense, the word spirituality conforms to being animated by god. Spirituality has acquired different meanings from its rise in the early 5th century to the middles ages to the present. In the 11th century, spirituality denoted the mental aspect of human life while by the 13th century it had started signifying the social & psychological aspect of a human being. By 18th century spirituality had acquired deeper religious meanings associated with mysticism & quietism.
Modern spirituality developed in the 19th & 20th centuries has seen the mixing of the Christian spiritualistic ideas with other elements of the Asian, especially Indian, religions. Modern spirituality other than embracing the culture of various countries in attaining spiritualism has increasingly remained disconnected from traditional religious groups.
The connection between spirituality & religion was severed soon after the 2nd World War when people started to relate to spirituality more on a subjective experience instead of an experience relating to religious beliefs.
A more effective spiritual discourse on spiritualism came into being with human psychology, blending of mystical and esoteric traditions with eastern religion. This form of the spiritual process helps in acquiring the being of one’s true self through self-disclosure, free expressions, and with meditation.
Explaining spirituality & religion
Many people mix religion & spirituality while bringing in prejudice about religion while discussing spirituality. The fact is that a person can be spiritual without being connected to his religion to find his epitome in the spiritual purpose of life.
Spiritual values & benefits can be achieved through a sense of purpose of peace & purpose in life. Spirituality for some is a trip to finding love, compassion, and even trying to know whether life exists after death. Some even try to gain knowledge about wisdom & truth in life from highly enlightened individuals or a saint in their journey towards gaining spiritual enlightenment.
The road to spirituality or the spiritual journey of an individual usually involves internal healing by renouncing the ego so that a positive state of mind is experienced. The process toward gaining spirituality requires an individual to come down to his self being through regular practice and discipline.
The spiritual awakening of an individual cannot be measured scientifically and it is never immediate but gradual. The process of spiritual development is usually similar to a person coming out of an acute illness. It is slow but where the vulnerability of life is exposed, prodding the individual to uncover the true meaning of life and find self.
Spirituality, which has existed for centuries, has undergone various incarnations. Today it co-exists in the form of Yoga, Meditation, and objective settings. In many cases where burnout, overwork, exhaustion is very common, practicing spirituality has helped tremendously in gaining back creativity & wisdom. Research has also proven the benefits of spirituality where it has mostly helped individuals in protecting against illness than medicine or anything else known to science.
Recent studies have also shown that people following spirituality & religion are much healthier. According to a recent analysis, religion & spirituality has a positive impact on people undergoing anxiety, depression, substance abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, or even heart ailments. The study further says that people are blessed with positive results of a new life when they align their spiritual process to a specific religion or faith. Studies on women have shown they recovered better and were unlikely to relapse when they practiced spirituality. This could be through meditation or even a religious prayer, unlike taking medications or consuming antidepressants. Studies have found that spirituality can co-exist with any religion or faith as it varies with each individual.
There are many spiritual practices in finding yourself
• Nature: Take technology time-out by going outdoors without your electronic gadgets. The more you are connected to nature, you feel alive and energetic reducing the risk of heart ailments, anxiety, and depression.
• Chanting: Spiritually chanting mantras can help relieve stress. Studies have shown that chanting or singing in any form will help in boosting the psychological health of an individual for betterment. Even chanting ‘Om’ has been found to help counter depression & anxiety.
• Meditation: Research has found that meditation can reduce stress levels of an individual, regulate emotions, and in enhancing immunity. Meditation is an art of focusing on your thoughts or your breath for some period helping an individual to reduce stress, improve memory, and even lower blood pressure.
• Intention: A sense of purpose & intention in everyday life is very important in reaping health benefits & even in reducing the risk of dementia. To practice intention, one has to identify & focus on anything which makes you feel good or any action, to improve health.
• Love: Spirituality helps one to understand love & the true purpose of life, even such as caring for others, which psychologically has been proven to lead to the greater well-being of that individual. The practice of love is in disregarding your alter ego and learning to forgive & love others which will help make your life more beautiful.
• Yoga: This is a spiritual practice of aligning & connecting the moment of stillness in the Asana with our breath while in meditation. Daily Yoga practice helps boost immunity, ease anxiety, even strengthen muscles, and help reduce age-related brain decline. Yoga is a practice of meditating by taking deeply relaxed breathes at regular intervals in conjunction with different bodily moments in discovering a stress-free healthier you.
What does spirituality mean in Christianity? – Christian Spirituality
Christian Spirituality is the spiritual practice of following the acceptance of the faith along with living out of a personal act of faith. Some say spirituality is a sense of belief that there is something greater than myself.
Christian spirituality in a sense is similar where the ultimate spiritual sense is God, Jesus Christ & experienced through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Christian Spirituality believes that God exists in our world & acting through people. It is defined as a way of life with beliefs & set of values taught from the holy book of Christianity, the Bible. Christian Spirituality completely believes in the power of the Holy Spirit, implying you to live as per god’s will & directions. Christian Spirituality is connected to a person’s life where he is linked to all his relationships attached to god.
Spirituality, in Christianity, in the true biblical sense is understood to touch on the relationship of God and man. This can be summarized as a practice of beliefs of Christian faith or reflecting the teachings of the Bible, the Holy book of Christianity.
