Cornerstone follows the Christian faith. The Christian faith centres on beliefs regarding the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While it started with a small group of adherents, it is now the faith with the largest number of followers in the world.
Some basic Christian concepts include:
- Christians are monotheistic, i.e., they believe there’s only one God, who created the heavens and the earth. This divine Godhead consists of three parts: the father (God himself), the son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Through tradition and the constraints of the English language God is referred to as He though there are both masculine and feminine characteristics in his interaction with us.
- The essence of Christianity revolves around the life, death and Christian beliefs on the resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe God sent his son Jesus, the messiah, to save the world. They believe Jesus was crucified on a cross and was resurrected three days after his death before ascending to heaven, in order to offer the forgiveness of sins and to repair the broken relationship between God and humankind.
- Some Christians contend that Jesus will return to earth again in what’s known as the Second Coming.
- The Holy Bible includes important scriptures that outline Jesus’ teachings, the lives and teachings of major prophets and disciples, and offer instructions for how Christians should live.
- The emphasis of Jesus’ teaching and way of life was the love of God for all his creation and as a response individuals and the community of followers are encouraged to show love in return in the form of reverence to God and respect to self, others and the whole of God’s creation.
- Both Christians and Jews follow the Old Testament of the Bible, but Christians also embrace the New Testament.
- The cross is a symbol of Christianity.
- The most important Christian holidays are Christmas (which celebrates the birth of Jesus) and Easter (which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus).
- Many Christians worship in churches while some groups meet in homes and other buildings. 'Church' means the gathering of Christians as well as the building in which Christians worship.
- Many churches hold a service called Communion known to Catholics as Mass, in which bread and wine are shared together, just as Jesus did with his followers before his death.