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Christianity is based of the teachings of Jesus Christ, a Jew who lived about 2000 years ago in the Roman province in what we now call Israel.

The followers of Jesus called him Christ. Christ is a Greek word that means, "chosen one." They believed he was the son of God. In time followers of Jesus became known as Christians. Early Christians taught that the sins of the people would be forgiven if they became Christian.

Some years after Jesus died, Christians combined the stories of the life and wisdom of Jesus into four books known as Gospels. Gospel means "good news." The holy book of Christianity is known as the Bible and has two parts. The Old Testament consists of the sacred writings of the Jewish people, and was written mostly in Hebrew long before Jesus. The New Testament of the Bible includes the Gospels, along with letters by Christian writers. The Bible has been translated into more than 1,500 languages and has been read by more people than any other book.

As time progressed, Christianity divided into many denominationswhich are a part of three major branches. The Roman Catholic branch of Christianity is the successor of the church established in Rome soon after Christ's death. About half of the world's Christian population is Roman Catholic. Roman Catholicism was originally predominately practiced in Ireland, Poland, France and Spain. The Catholic church is lead by a Pope, the Vicar of Christ. Catholic is a Latin word that means "universal."

During the fourth century, the Roman Catholic church split and the Christians in Eastern Europe broke away from the Roman Catholics and formed the Eastern Orthodox branch. The split was primarily a political one due to the division of the Roman Empire into western and eastern components. The two churches became officially separate in 1054. Orthodox churches are largely national, each associated with a particular country. Orthodoxy is common in Russia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, and Armenia.

Many European leaders, including Martin Luther and John Calvin, challenged the authority of the Pope in a period known as the Reformation, a sixteenth and seventeenth century series of church reforms in doctrine and practice. The churches they started became known as Protestant sects. This movement became popular in Scandinavia, England, and the Netherlands.

Protestantism eventually divided into many denominations which arose in response to disputes over doctrine, theology, or religious practice. Some of the large denominations today are Lutherans, Methodists and Baptists.

Christians worship in churches led by ministers and priests. Most Christians practice acts of religious significance called sacraments.

The Tool's Quarrel

The carpenter's tools had a conference. Brother Hammer was in the chair. The meeting had informed him that he must leave because he was too noisy, but he said, "lf I am to leave this carpenter shop, Brother Gimlet must go, too. He is so insignificant that he makes a very little impression."

Little Brother Gimlet rose and said, "All right. But Brother Screw must go also. You have to turn him around and around again and again to get him anywhere."

Brother Screw said, "If you wish, I will go, but Brother Plane must leave also. All his work is on the surface; there is no depth to it."

To this Brother Plane replied, "Well, Brother Rule will also have to withdraw if I do, for he is always measuring folks as though he were the only one who is right."

Brother Rule then complained against Brother Sandpaper and said, "I just don't care. He is rougher then he ought to be and he is always rubbing people the wrong way."

In the midst of those discussions, the Carpenter of Nazareth walked in. He had come to perform His day's work. He put on His apron and went to the bench to make a pulpit from which to preach the Gospel to the poor.He employed the screw, the gimlet, the sandpaper, the saw, and the hammer, the plane and all the other tools.

After the day's work was over and the pulpit was finished, Brother Saw arose and said, "Brethren, I perceive that all of us are laborers together with God."

Oh, how many of us Christians are just like those tools, fussing at others because they don't do things the way we think they should. There was not an accusation against one of those tools but what was absolutely true; yet the Carpenter, who was Jesus Christ, used every one of them, and there was not a place where He used anyone where any of the others would have done at all. How careful we should be in finding fault with one of God's tools.

Author unknown

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