The Christian religion is one of the biggest religions in the world. While it has had some different goals at times, and for awhile the doctrine of the church was not settled, it has had a good 1,700 years or so since the leaders of the church finally got together and hammered out what the official stances of the church would be. Since then there have been different goals of the church, and the beliefs have been modified to change with the times, and to fit the politics of the day. While the church has changed through the centuries, what is orthodox in the Christian church?
One of the main tenets of the Christian church is that Jesus Christ is the Lord and savior of all mankind. He died on the cross for our sins, and he was the one son of God. He came to the Earth to rid mankind of all of our sins, as he was the only one holy enough to do so. It was said that Jesus went his whole life without sin. Jesus was persecuted by the Romans for being a religious leader, and was perceived as a threat to the Romans, who felt that he was going to lead a revolt.
Another main tenent of the Christian church is that God made us in his own image, and that we are to hold sway over the entire world. Adam and Eve were created so that they may have children, and have dominion over the entire world. God first only created Adam, but then he created Eve so that Adam wouldn't be lonely. He left them in the Garden of Eden, where they would eventually fall to Satan, and would be the original sin of man. That sin is why all Christians need to be baptized like Jesus was.
Christians believe that sex before marriage is a sin, and that sex is only to be enjoyed between a married man and woman for the sake of having children. Any other type of sex is forbidden, and is considered one of the harsher sins to commit. However, Christians also believe that if you repent of your sins, that God will forgive you and you can continue your path to heaven.
Christians believe that there will be a rapture sometime in the future. Basically this means that one day Jesus is going to come back and defeat Satan. God will then raise the dead of all time and judge them for the last time. They will either spend eternity in heaven, or go to hell for all eternity to be with Satan. Although it says in the Bible that no man will know when this happens, most generations of scholars have tried to pin down some sort of date.
The Christian church has been ever changing in its views towards God, people, and the role that each has in the world. As centuries have passed, the followers of Christ have had differing views on what exactly is meant by the teachings of the Bible. However, there are a few things that are tenets of the Christian church, and are in the mainstream, or orthodox views.