9781422279700

There are stories about Jesus quieting a storm when his disciples were afraid and of healing a paralyzed man after telling him his sins were forgiven. Jesus used miracles as a demonstration of God’s power. There have been many healers before, during and since Jesus’s time. Today many Christians claim to use the power of Jesus to heal, and some people do seem to have been healed. What Jesus claimed was that he had the power to forgive sins. Some of his healings imply that the person’s ill- ness was caused by the sinful acts of that person. So by cur- ing the illness, Jesus was forgiving the person’s sins. The Jewish authorities, however, believed Jesus’s claim was C hristians use the word “church” in four main ways. It can mean the building in which Christians meet to worship. It can refer to the people who worship in that building—the congregation. The word “Church” can also mean the members of a specific branch of Christianity, such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Methodist Church. There are three main branches of Christianity—Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches. Churches with slightly different beliefs within one of these branches are called denominations—for example, Lutherans and Methodists are Protestant denominations. The word “Church” can also be used to refer to the entire community of Christians throughout the world. What Does “Church” Mean?

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Christianity