What makes a Christian a Christian? The definition of the most practiced religion in the world, of what Christianity is and who qualifies as a Christian, varies from person to person and denomination to denomination.

Many agree, however, that the core of Christianity centers on the teachings of the Bible, as well as the belief in a one true God in three parts — the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit, also known as the Trinity.

“Try to think of all three in the Trinity as having a perfect relationship, more perfect than anything we can imagine on Earth, ... all separate but yet the same at the same time,” said senior Tommy Han, a Baptist Christian.

The term Christian comes from “Christ follower,” and Christ means “savior.” So “Christian” refers to those who follow Jesus. The basic teaching is that people can’t save themselves, so Jesus came to earth to be a sacrifice, or to pay the price for the sin of the world.

Jesus, a Jew, summed up all the Jewish laws into two commands: love of God and love of others. Being Christian entails loving your fellow man and leaving judgment up to God.

“God is love, and that Jesus died for us is God’s representation of his love for us,” said Stephen Locey, a Roman Catholic and cantor at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Sammamish, Wash. “Love can be one of the greatest conversions.”

So, instead of pulling out a Bible and trying to convert someone, Christians love people to death, so to speak, Locey said.

Christians try to live Christ-like lives through humility, charity and forgiveness.

“It’s re-establishing the broken relationship with God,” Han said. “When Adam and Eve ate that fruit, ... we ‘died,’ or became separated from God, and Jesus coming to Earth was a way for us to rebuild that broken relationship.”

The key of Christianity is the sacrifice of Jesus — what Christians see as proof of God’s love.

Differences

Although the Roman Catholic Church has a history of splitting and reuniting, the differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants is the most potent.

In an attempt to reform Christianity, Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church in the 15th century during the Reformation, sparking the Catholic-Protestant debate. The name “Protestant” comes from the word “protest.”

Protestantism caused several denominations of Christianity to pop up. One way these denominations arose was through doctrinal disagreements that would cause rifts in churches, thus forming new ones. This often occurred when controversial leaders spearheaded new movements.

Denominations often work together, and Christians typically don’t feel bound to any denomination. Disagreements range from responses to homosexuality to complex views of predestination or how the Trinity works.

Faith, works and scripture

Reformation leader Martin Luther taught that salvation comes from faith alone. However, Protestants say good works should be the result of faith.

“We still promote a certain way of living will get you to heaven,” said Locey, a Catholic. “Faith alone will save you, but faith should lead you to a certain way of living.”

Luther also taught a defining doctrine of sola scriptura, Latin for “scripture alone.” Luther denied the pope’s authority over the church by saying scripture alone had authority.

The largest difference between Catholic and Protestant Bibles is what Catholics call the Deuterocanonical texts.

“Deuterocanonical text means second canon,” Locey said. “Martin Lurther meant to include that when he broke off from Catholicism and calls them the hidden texts and attached them somewhere else.”

The reasons why Protestants don’t include the hidden texts, or Apocrypha, are complicated. They question both the inspiration of the Apocrypha — whether God is behind them — and their historical accuracy.

The Sacraments

Protestants have two sacraments: baptism and communion. Baptism, where the believer is submersed in water, is usually done only once. This is a representation of Jesus’ death (being under water) and resurrection (being raised up from the water).

Communion, or Eucharist, is the consumption of bread and wine as the representation of Jesus’ body and blood. This representation comes from the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples.

Details differ on this depending on whether the denomination. However, most Protestants believe the bread and wine are only representative of Jesus.

Catholics believe in transubstantiation, meaning Christ is literally in the Eucharist.

“We believe that according to Jesus, as said in the Last Supper, ‘This is my body, this is my blood, do this in remembrance of me,’ instituted the idea of communion,” Locey said. “It is the body and blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine.”

Some Christians would say communion, or Eucharist, and baptism are essential for salvation. Most Protestants will say the only thing that’s important is having faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died for the forgiveness of sins.

Catholics have an additional five sacraments.

Their seven sacraments include baptism, reconciliation or penance, Communion, confirmation, matrimony or marriage, holy orders and the anointing of the sick.

Catholics baptize infants, as do many Protestants, including Lutherans.

“Baptism [is the] parents agreeing to raise the child as Christian,” Locey said. “Confirmation is your adulthood choice to say, ‘Yes, I am going to indeed be a Christian.’ [It] is the child’s or young adult’s or convert’s acceptance of their baptismal vows.”

Reconciliation is the forgiveness of sins.

“We say penance to a priest,” Locey said. “A lot of Protestants don’t like that we have to say it to a priest.”

With matrimony and holy orders, which is the sacrament by which someone becomes a priest, it is usually only possible to get one or the other because priests do not marry. The anointing of the sick used to be known as last rites or extreme unction, but is usually not referred to as this anymore because it can be given more than once rather than just at death.

The sacraments are one meaningful component of Christianity, but prayer is also central.

“Prayer is an important aspect of Christianity,” Locey said. “Christian prayer takes many forms. Jesus himself taught his disciples what is known as the Lord’s Prayer. Catholic Christians also pray to saints and to Mary, the mother of God [and the first Christian],” “They do this because the saints are people known to have lived as Jesus taught and are considered to be, without a doubt, in heaven.”

Catholics also use a rosary, a chain of beads, when praying. “While praying the rosary, Catholics meditate on certain Christian mysteries like the ascension of Christ after the resurrection,” Locey said.

The rosary is made up of five sets of 10 beads; each bead represents at least one prayer. A complete rosary is made up of more than 50 prayers.

“It is not rare for Catholics to pray the rosary every day,” Locey said. “A great many more pray the rosary every week.”

Given some of the differences, there are often conflicts between Christian denominations.

However, the core concepts that all Christians share is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God and the goal of living a life like Jesus — that is, to love God, love your fellow man, be humble and live non-judgmentally.

[Reach reporter Doris Wu at features@thedaily.washinton.edu.]