Christianity

Christianity is the religion stemming from the teachings of Jesus in the 1st century AD. Its sacred scripture is the Bible, particularly the New Testament. Its principal tenets are that Jesus is the Son of God (the second person of the Holy Trinity), that God's love for the world is the essential component of his being, and that Jesus died to redeem humankind. Christianity was originally a movement of Jews who accepted Jesus as the messiah, but the movement quickly became predominantly Gentile. The early church was shaped by St. Paul and other Christian missionaries and theologians; it was persecuted under the Roman Empire but supported by Constantine I, the first Christian emperor. In medieval and early modern Europe, Christian thinkers such as St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Luther contributed to the growth of Christian theology, and beginning in the 15th century missionaries spread the faith throughout much of the world. The major divisions of Christianity are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Nearly all Christian churches have an ordained clergy, members of which are typically though not universally male. Members of the clergy lead group worship services and are viewed as intermediaries between the laity and the divine in some churches. Most Christian churches administer two sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist. In the early 21st century there were more than two billion adherents of Christianity throughout the world, found on all continents.

Online resources

Articles and pamphlets

• Aspects of the Christ by Annie Besant
• Is Theosophy Anti-Christian? by Annie Besant
• Theosophy and Christianity by Annie Besant
• The Esoteric Character of The Gospels by H. P. Blavatsky
• The Roots of Ritualism in Church and Masonry by H. P. Blavatsky
• Star-Angel-Worship in the Roman Catholic Church by H. P. Blavatsky
• Theosophy in Christianity by Arthur M. Coon
• The Hidden Gospel of the Aramaic Jesus by Neil Douglas-Klotz
• Christian Ritual in Theosophical Perspective by Robert Ellwood
• What is a Christian? by Stephan A. Hoeller
• What is Christian Scripture? by Stephan A. Hoeller
• Reincarnation in the Bible by W. Q. Judge
• Theosophy in the Christian Bible by W. Q. Judge
• Things Common to Christianity and Theosophy by W. Q. Judge
• The Women of the Revelation by Zachary F. Lansdowne
• Theosophy and Christianity by Theosophical Society in America
• Christian Exclusiveness and Theosophical Truth by Jay G. Williams
• Jesus, the Lord of Pisces: Hipparchus and the Gospels by Jay G. Williams

Books

• Esoteric Christianity by Annie Besant
• Theosophy and Christianity by H. T. Edge
• Theosophical Light on the Christian Bible by H. T. Edge

Audio

• Hidden Wisdom in Christian Scriptures - Part 1 Part 2, Part 3 by Geoffrey Hodson

• The Bible as a Source of Secret Knowledge by Geoffrey Hodson
• Attaining the Kingdom of Heaven by Geoffrey Hodson
• On Earth as It Is in Heaven: What's Spirituality by Sister Gabriele Uhlein

Video

• Myth and Meaning in Christianity by Robert Ellwood
• The Red Corner: The Creative Dimension of Folk Christianity in Russia and Beyond by Cherry Gilchrist
• Cathars, the Good Christians by Holly Sullivan McClure
• Unpacking the Parables: Jesus as Wisdom Teacher by Ron Miller
• A Very Different Christian Story by Ron Miller
• The Future of Esoteric Christianity by Richard Smoley