- Question
- What do Christians believe?
- Position1 of 7›
- Beliefs held in common by Christians
The core of Christianity, no matter what particular sect or region of the world, dictates the fundamental beliefs of Jesus’ birth and crucifixion. They run consistently throughout the teachings of early Christians and the Gospel incorporates them as essential aspects of the Christian faith.
The argument
Mary was Jesus’ mother. She was a virgin when the angel Gabriel appeared to her to tell her she was carrying the son of God (the immaculate conception) and she gave birth to Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on a cross to offer the forgiveness of sins and was resurrected three days after his death before ascending to heaven. Christians contend that Jesus will return to earth again in what’s known as the Second Coming. Christian beliefs about the afterlife are based on Jesus’ resurrection and ascension in to heaven, which shows that Jesus’ sacrifice was a victory over sin and death. Although physical death still happens, those who believe in Christ and live good lives will be given eternal life in Heaven. Many Christians believe that after death, they will be taken into the presence of God and they will be judged for the deeds they have done or failed to do during their lifetime.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Critics reply that the entry misnames a doctrine and misplaces several of the beliefs it lists. The Immaculate Conception is not the virginal conception of Jesus: it is the Catholic teaching, defined in 1854, that Mary was herself conceived without original sin — a doctrine Protestants reject and the Eastern Orthodox do not hold in that form. The virgin birth is the doctrine the passage is describing, and confusing the two puts a distinctively Catholic belief into a position reserved for beliefs held in common. The same problem affects the closing claim. That believers will be judged on deeds done or left undone is one account among several: the Reformation turned on justification by faith rather than works, so a summary of common Christian belief cannot settle a question that divided the churches. Critics add that the entry is a set of narrative assertions rather than a description of belief — the stable at Bethlehem is a detail of the nativity accounts, not a tenet — and that the genuinely shared material is the creedal core the passage never names: the Trinity, the incarnation, and the authority of scripture. The question already carries separate positions for each tradition, which is where the distinctive items belong.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] The term is misapplied: the Immaculate Conception is the Catholic doctrine, defined in 1854, that Mary was herself conceived without original sin — not the virginal conception of Jesus, which is the virgin birth — and it is rejected by Protestants and not held in that form by the Orthodox, so it is not a belief in common. [Rejecting P2] Judgement on deeds done or left undone is one account among several: the Reformation turned on justification by faith rather than works, so this cannot stand as common ground, and the question already carries separate positions for each tradition where such distinctives belong. [Rejecting C] The passage lists narrative details from the nativity and passion accounts rather than the creedal core that is genuinely shared — the Trinity, the incarnation and the authority of scripture go unmentioned.