Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region IV-A CALABARZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BATANGAS
LAIYA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LAIYA IBABAO, SAN JUAN, BATANGAS

INTRODUCTION TO WORLD RELIGION AND BELIEF SYSTEM

Content Standards:
Examine the brief history, core teachings, fundamental beliefs, practices and related issues of Christianity.

STAGE 1: BEGINNING WITH THE END IN MIND

Hey there faithful ones! Welcome to our second quarter, your Expected Output (EOs) is a written creed of some the
basic teachings of Christianity.

Essential Question:
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to answer this question:
1. What is the definition of Christianity?
2. What are the different sects of Christianity?

Objectives:
You should be able to acquire the following at the end of this chapter:
1. Recount the history of Christianity.
2. Explain the core teachings and practices of Christianity.
3. Relate Christianity with present human experiences and practices.
4. Identify the varieties of Christianity.

STAGE 2: ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE OF LEARNING

Your Expected Output (Eos) will be graded based on the following criteria:
a. Content (40%) – The student made a personal creed expressing some of the principles, beliefs, thoughts, and teachings
s/he held or embraced.
Guide question:
1. Is the creed you made based on the various Biblical texts?
2. From those Bible verses, were you able to find the central theme, topic or idea, command or principle, teachings,
belief acceptable to a sound Christian faith.
b. Length (40%) – The students personally made a creed of up to ten (10) sentences, or phrased/fashioned like or
similar to the Nicene Creed or the 10 commandments (See Exodus 20: 1-17). Every creed begun with the phrase “I
believe in ... , Do not… or Thou shall…”
c. Materials (10%) – The students wrote the creed on a scroll form or type paper and recycled materials which exhibited
creativity.
d. Grammar (10%) – The output follows sound sentence constructions, subject-verb agreement, use of
punctuations, and other technicalities of grammar.

Be reminded that in this chapter, you will be asked to answer on every succeeding activities.

STAGE 3: THINGS TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND TO GET TO THE END

STAGE 3A: EXPLOREBefore we start with our topic, let us first test your prior knowledge about Christianity
Put a check before the line if a term or word represents a specific religion.

_____1. Baptist _____.2 Methodist _____ 3. Jehovah’s Witness ______4. Islam

_____5. Lutheranism ______6. Calvinism _____ 7. Roman Catholic ______8. Protestant

_____8. Aglipayan ______8. Iglesia ni Cristo ______9. Pentecostal ______10. Oneness

_____11. Born-again ______12. United Church of Christi in the Philippines. _____13 . Protestant
 _____14. Iglesia Filipina Independiente. ______15. The Seventh’ Day Adventist

STAGE 3B: FIRM UP

Christianity

Christianity is considered the biggest religion in the world, which reached 2.2 billion in a survey in 2010. There are
hundreds of buildings called churches in which people who called themselves Christians gather periodically to pray, sing,
eat, together, get married, prepare the dead, instruct each other in the Bible, do catechesis, and listen to sermons and
preaching or homilies. Often these churches carry a cross and a tower. In these churches, people swallow small quantities
of bread or wafer and sip tiny amounts of wine, and at other times they sprinkle babies and children with water or
immerse adults or teenager in special pool. Some of these buildings are enormous, while others are smaller. In some of
these church edifices, people would kneel, prostate themselves before images, sit in rows, dance in the aisles and leap for
joy with their hands extended over their heads.

In the Philippines alone, there are more than 500 separate and distinct forms of Christianity. Some groups, such as
Catholicism, Anglicanism and Iglesia ni Cristo are very large with millions of members. Many more are quite tiny with
members ranging from a few thousands to even a few hundreds. There are also local Christian churches that are
independent.

Despite the differences, what unites Christians is a faith based on an otherwise obscure Jewish teacher and prophet
who lived for only about 30 years in a remote outpost of the Roman empire 2000 years ago—Jesus of Nazareth. Some
hold that Jesus of Nazareth was –and is –the Son of God or the incarnation of God. Others believe that He is the bearer of
the Gospel, the message about the coming of God’s reign of justice and peace. Still, others see Him as the exemplar of
God’s will for all people—an ideal of what ought to be. Thus, Jesus Christ is pivotal and indispensable to Christianity.

It is true that all Christians agree on the centrality of Jesus Christ. But there is a widespread disagreement on who
Jesus was and is, and on how the moral significance of His life is supposed to be brought to bear. Some try to follow His
way of life as disciples. Others look to His teachings. Still others look at His death as an atonement for human
wrongdoing. Most Christians hold to a mixture of all of these interpretations. “Still, Christians agree that without Jesus
Christ, the faith they identify themselves with would not exist. All worship, revere, follow, admire, and emulate Him in
some say. And this provides a clue to anyone who is interested with Christianity but puzzled about its endless variety and
complexity.”

Christianity is a religion that was meant to be universal, Jesus Christ’s evangelical command, “Go to the world and
preach the good news to all nations” to his disciples (Mark 16:15), shows that Jesus intended his teachings not just for the
Jews but for all the world. Christianity is a religion that developed from Judaism: some of its followers were originally
Jews. What distinguishes Christianity from Jews is that the former accepts Jesus as the Messiah, or the Saviour, while the
latter considers Jesus as just another prophet of God. And the real Messiah is yet to come.

As such, the Christian Bible includes the Hebrew Bible as their Old Testament, but the bulk of its early history is
recorded in the New Testament. The N.T. is divided into four parts: the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostle, the Epistles or
Letters and the Revelation. These are the 27 books. The gospels follow the life and teachings of Jesus, and they were
written by the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Acts of the apostles describe the spread of early
Christianity, after Jesus’ ascension at the end of Gospel stories. The Epistles are letters to the early Christians. Most of
which are written by Paul. The Revelation ”foretells in symbolic language the triumph of Christianity.”
(Molloy2005,355)

Table 1.3.2: Timeline of Significant Events in the History of Christianity

Time Event
c.4 B.C.E.- c.29 C.E. Life of Jesus
c.4-c4. C.E. Life of Paul
313 C.E. Issuance of the Edict of Toleration by Constantine making Christianity legal
354-430 C.E. Life of Augustine
476 C.E. Collapse of the Roman Empire of the West
c. 480-c.547 C. E. Life of Benedict
638 C.E. Muslim Conquest of Jerusalem
 1054 C.E. Split between Eastern and Western Christianity
1099 Conquest of Jerusalem during the First Crusade
1347-1351 Black Death
1453 Conquest of Constantinople by Muslim forces
1483-1546 Life of Martin Luther
1492 Expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain
1509-1564 Life of John Calvin
1517 Beginning of the Protestant Reformation
1534 Founding of the Church of England by King Henry VIII
1565 Christianity enters the Philippines
1805-1844 Life of Joseph Smith
19xx Founding of Iglesia ni Cristo
1948 Founding of the World Council of Churches
1962-1965 Modernization of Catholicism by the Second Vatican Council.

See the History of Denominations of Christianity on the picture below:

The Philippines ranked as the 5th largest Christian country on Earth in 2010, with about 93% of the population being
adherents. As of 2019, it was the third largest Catholic country in the world (the first two being Brazil and Mexico) and is one
of two predominantly Catholic nations in Asia (the other being East Timor).[2]
 According to the National Statistics Office's national census for the year 2010, an estimated 90.1% of Filipinos are
Christians which consists of 80.6% Catholic, 2.7% Evangelical, 2.4% Iglesia ni Cristo, 1.0% Aglipayan, and 3.4% other
Christian groups including other Protestant denominations (Baptist, Pentecostal, Anglican, Methodist, and Seventh-day
Adventist) as well as Orthodox.

The 6 Major Christian Beliefs:

1. One God (revealed in three persons: The Father , the Son and he Holy Spirit.)
2. Uniqueness of Jesus (the virgin birth) 5. Inspiration of the Scripture.
3. Necessity of the cross (Salvation) 6. Life after death.
4. Resurrection and second coming of Christ.

Activity:
Identify to which Christian practices does the pictures belong. Put the number inside a box beneath each picture that
corresponds to the specific practice.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Prayer Communion Preaching of Wedding Water baptism Worship

the Gospel
STAGE 3C: DEEPEN

The essential Christian beliefs are recorded in creeds, and there are different versions of such creeds. The common
element, however, is the acknowledgement of the Holy Trinity- belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
It was the Father who created the world, and Jesus often speaks about Him in the Gospels. Jesus is the only son of God,
sent to save the world from sin. The Holy Spirit appeared in the Baptism of Jesus, and was also sent down to the disciples
to guide them in spreading Christianity. The Spirit is believed to guide all believers. While the God of Christianity is
agreed to as having one entity, there are a greater majority of Christians who believe that this one God is a Trinitarian one:
Father, Son and Spirit. (Molloy 2005, 361-363)
Given below is the Nicene creed (Traditional Wordings) and a checklist you may use as you prepare for your personal
creed. You may opt to put a check mark on the checklist as you go along with your reading.
We believe (I believe) in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible
and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. (God of
God) light of light, true God of true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were
made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and of
the Virgin Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and
the third day rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father,
and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose Kingdom there shall be no end.
And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son),
who together with the Father and the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets. And one holy,
catholic, and apostolic Church. We confess (I confess) one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for (I
look for) the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen."

Brain Break. Woah, that must be tiring and exhausting! Anyway, I suggest that you take a break to smile and get ready for
some pics that your teacher might ask in the days to come. Why we need to smile? “Smiling not only offers a mood boost but
helps our bodies release cortisol and endorphins that provide numerous health benefits, including: reduced blood pressure,
increased endurance and reduced pain. Reduced stress. And strengthened immune system.” Did you try? One habit worth
keeping, isn’t it? Besides, I am serious to seeing all of you smiling in your next picture.

STAGE 3D: TRANSFER

Welcome to the last part of this module, faithful believer! As mentioned in Stage 1, your Expected Output (EO) is a
creed you will personally make and write. Your EO will be graded based on the following criteria:
a. Content (40%) – The student made a personal creed expressing some of the principles, beliefs, thoughts, and teachings
s/he held or embraced.
Guide question:
1. Is the creed you made based on the various Biblical texts (see Checklist below)?
2. From those Bible verses, were you able to find the central theme, topic or idea, command or principle, teachings,
belief acceptable to a sound Christian faith.
b. Length (40%) – The students personally made a creed of up to ten (10) sentences, or phrased/fashioned like or
similar to the Nicene Creed or the 10 commandments (See Exodus 20: 1-17). Every creed begun with the phrase “I
believe in ... , Do not… or Thou shall…”
c. Materials (10%) – The students wrote the creed on a scroll form or type paper and recycled materials which exhibited
creativity.
 d. Grammar (10%) – The output follows sound sentence constructions, subject-verb agreement, use of
punctuations, and other technicalities of grammar.

Checklist

Read the following Bible text. Use these verses as your guide
when you make your creed. (You may opt to get other Bible
verses as long as you cite proper reference/s.) As you read
look for a theme, idea, thought, command or principle and try
to write them in one word/ in short phrase/or a sentence.

Theme/idea/thought/principle

_̸__1. John 1:1-34 ____________________________________

___2. Philippians 2:5-10._______________________________

___3. Luke Psalm 100: 1-5, John 4:23-24. _________________

___3. Genesis 3:1-24, Romans 3:1-23.____________________

___4. Ephesians 2:2-10, John3: 1-21._____________________

___5. Romans 5:5-11, I John 4:7-19. _____________________

___6. John 15: 1-16. __________________________________

___7. Ephesians 6:1-3, Exodus 20:12. ____________________

___8. Ephesians 6:10-20. ______________________________

___9. 2 Timothy 2:1-13. _______________________________

___10. Matthew 24:3-14. _____________________________

***

And you are done! Congratulations for finishing our lesson for the period! Should you have questions or
clarifications, please do not hesitate to reach your teacher through the following:

Gmail: gabriel.pena@deped.gov.ph
Celphone # 09995875114 / or through our class messenger .

References

Cornelio, J. S. et al. , Introduction to WorId Religions and BeIief Systems. 2016, Rex Printing, Company, Inc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_Philippines
https://groveonline.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/the-history-of-christian-denominations
https://sites.google.com/site/christianitywr/worship-practices
https://baby.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Baptism_Etiquette
https://united-church.ca/blogs/round-table/baptism-st-lawrence
https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/popes-2019-preaching-gospel-globally-dealing-scandals
http://indchurch.org/wp/preaching-the-gospel-in-the-villages/
http://catholicnewsherald.com/faith/101-news/faith/364-the-nicene-creed-and-its-origins
https://www.google.com/search?q=Benefits+of+smiling&oq=Benefits+of+smiling&aqs=chrome..69i57j35i39l2j
https://frostburg.campuslabs.com/engage/event/5054041

Prepared by:

GABRIEL H. PEÑA
Teacher II

Checked for Content:

JULIET J. SILANG
Teacher III

Checked for Language:

MELVIN L. VIAÑA
Teacher III

Approved by:

JOSEPHINE D. ROSALES
Principal III