The Trinity and Jesus Christ
The Holy Trinity is one of Christianity's most important beliefs - that God exists as three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) who are all God but not each other. It's mind-bending but central to Christian faith, as stated in the Nicene Creed.
The Incarnation means God became human in Jesus. "The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14). This made God relatable whilst remaining fully divine - Jesus was 100% God and 100% human simultaneously.
Jesus's crucifixion wasn't just an execution - it was God experiencing human pain and death. After three days, Jesus resurrected and spent 40 days with his disciples before ascending to heaven, promising they'd continue his work.
Key Point: The resurrection proves that death isn't the end and gives Christians confidence they'll have an afterlife too.
God's Nature and Creation
Christians believe in one God (monotheism) with four main characteristics: omnipotent all−powerful, omniscient all−knowing, omnibenevolent all−loving, and omnipresent (everywhere). God is also transcendent - beyond our physical world.
Creation happened when God made everything in six days and rested on the seventh. "Let there be light and there was light" shows God's power through words alone. The Holy Spirit was active during creation, "hovering over the waters."
However, Mackie's inconsistent triad challenges these beliefs - if God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving, why does evil exist? This remains a major theological question Christians wrestle with.
Christians trust in God as creator and believe everything God made was originally good - suffering entered through human sin, not God's design.