Religion and Theology

Introduction
Western Christianity is the terminology that refers to Catholicism and other factions that were established from it. Roman Catholic and the factions that developed from it have very many similar characteristics that originated from their medieval traditions (Witte Jr.  Alexander, 2006).  From that period, western Christianity developed a lot and was adapted in most of Europe, south of Africa, Australia and in the west. Western Christianity thus refers to Roman Catholic and protestant (Witte Jr.  Alexander, 2006).  Orthodox Christianity is the kind of Christianity that offers right worship to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This form of Christianity is believed to have originated from the patriarchs, prophets and priests in the bible. It is a faith that is based on the belief in the Holy Spirit (Herman, 1997). The Orthodox Christianity began after the separation of the eastern and the western Christendom. The two faiths developed in different parts of the world and thus are different in a number of aspects (Lowe, 2008).  The paper seeks to establish the similarities and differences between the Western Christianity and the Orthodox Christianity.

The development of teaching
In the orthodox Christianity, there is the belief that the teachings of Jesus Christ remain constant. This means that since the time that Christ brought faith to his disciples nothing has changed (Wermuth, 2007). This faith is exactly as it was the moment it was delivered to the disciples. This does not mean that they do not appreciate that things around them are changing (Herman, 1997).  They do believe that they are, but this is not allowed to affect or change their Christianity. According to their faith, nothing has been added or deducted (Lowe, 2008).  The environmental transformations have been viewed as having only one reason which is to facilitate the faith in new environments. For example, the Bible was translated to accommodate converts from other places around the world. But all in all, the doctrine remains one faith, one God, one baptism. On the other hand, western Christianity believes in the idea of doctrinal development (Al- Rawi, 2008). This has been so because of the need to accommodate new doctrines especially in the last century. So as to justify their accommodation of changes, most theologians started to argue that what Christ laid was a foundation of faith that was supposed to be developed. They argue that this seed continued to flourish over generations (Al- Rawi, 2008). They also assert that the Holy Spirit augmented the faith as the environments transformed and the needs of the church changed. In western religion, the faith has been developing in stages as to more delineated and higher stages of knowledge (Al- Rawi, 2008).  They view the teachings of the fathers as significant as they are, as being on a lower stage of knowledge than the incoming teachings. All the levels are significant and resourceful and their doctrines are referred to but they are not as crucial as the incoming knowledge (Witte Jr.  Alexander, 2006).  Just as their teachings are different their view on God is different

God
Both faiths believe in a supreme god who is all powerful and is in control over all the aspects of our lives (Witte Jr.  Alexander, 2006).  Western Christianity teaches that God is real. They teach that god is very real and that people are imperfect models of Him. Their teaching shows that human reason can verify who God is. Western Christians place a high value on reason. It is through this reason that they are able to conceive the presence and nature of God in their lives (Al- Rawi, 2008). This is in contrast with orthodoxy that takes the understanding of God as being embedded in their nature and that this is the way they know that He exists. They also believe that unless God communicates to people, their reason cannot reveal much. Having a different view on God, the two faiths have a different understanding of the reason Christ was sent to the world (Lowe, 2008).    

Jesus Christ
Both the western Christians and the orthodox Christians believe in Jesus Christ and that He was the son of man who was born of a virgin. They believe that after His death and burial, He rose again after three days. What differs is the reason for his death. Orthodox believes that His death was a ransom for mankind. This means that man was redeemed from the devil through the death (Lowe, 2008).  The ransom is paid to Satan who has the authority over hell and death. This shows that just as death had no power on Jesus, so it has no power over the people. They have been made free by Christ from sin and the devil (Romanides, 2008).This means that they became like God and earn a place with him in eternity. According to the Western Christianity, especially Catholicism, Jesus came to pay the debt of sin committed by Adam. They believe that due to human sinful nature, they could not be used to make amends for the sin of Adam (Al- Rawi, 2008). The Western Christians believe that the sin of Adam was passed on to people and that a child is sinful right from birth. It is because of this fact that they believe Jesus was sent (Al- Rawi, 2008). By his death, there is a remedy to the sin that Adam had committed, and God is no longer annoyed with man. The orthodox tend to focus on the divine element of Christ while the western Christians focus mostly on his earthly nature (Witte Jr.  Alexander, 2006).  Christ was born of Mary who was a virgin.

The mother of god
In both faiths there is the belief that Jesus was born of a virgin, known as Mary. The catholic faith reveres Mary for being blessed and chosen of God to sire the savior. They believe that she was privileged to have the chance to bring forth the savior of mankind on earth (Romanides, 2008).
This theory is discarded by the orthodox faith. They believe that Mary was a human being like any other person. The idea of Mary as a saint as well as the belief in other saints has no basis in orthodox faith. Like all other people, they believe that she inherited death that came as a result of the fall of man. God only prepared Mary for a role that could be performed by any other human being (Witte Jr.  Alexander, 2006).

The Holy Spirit
The two faiths believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, but the faith that is keener on the principle is the orthodox (Romanides, 2008).The Holy Spirit plays key role on orthodox. This is evidenced by the liturgy where they start by praying to the Holy Spirit. This is also shown by the words said before the sacraments that address the Holy Spirit. Western Christianity believes that Jesus and the Holy Spirit came from God and that they are one and the same thing (Lowe, 2008).  

The nature of man
The two faiths believe that man was created by God and that he is a sinner.  Man was made in the likeness of God. Man was created first and later the woman as the helper. The two were supposed to live in unison (Al- Rawi, 2008). Western Christianity believes that the sin of the first parents is the origin of sin one earth. For western Christianity, this sin has passed on to every person when heshe is born (Wermuth, 2007). On the other hand, Orthodox believes that this sin was the origin of death on earth. Every person being a descendant of Adam and Eve inherited death from the two. In this case, death means the end of life on earth, and also it causes sins, diseases and growing old. Orthodox has advocated for mastery of sin through prayer and fasting (Lowe, 2008).

The church
The two faiths believe in the church. The church represents the body of Christ. The two differ in the constitution of the church. In Catholicism, one religion that represents the Western Christianity, the pope is the head of the church. They believe that he is the successor of Peter, one of the apostles (Wermuth, 2007). This doctrine is borrowed from the fact that Christ commissioned Peter as the rock on which his church would be established. This is why they believe that Peter was given that post by God himself. All the churches around the world with the pope as the head make up the church that was commissioned by Jesus Christ (Wermuth, 2007).  It is believed that the pope is holy as the Holy Spirit does not allow him to make mistakes. He is the authority over the Catholic Church. He also interprets the Christians traditions for the church. On the other hand, orthodox do not believe in having a holy figure as the head of the church. The teachings of the Orthodox Church are that all the bishops of the church are the same. However, there are different levels of authority, but the fact is that a bishop is a bishop (Romanides, 2008).The differences are brought about due to the administration and not the nature. The orthodox believe that every bishop together with the flock that is under him, makes a church. All the churches either in orthodox Christianity or western Christianity have cannons or rules that govern them. They all believe in the bible, but in addition to the bible, the orthodox believe in the deliberations of the seven ecumenical councils of Peter (Romanides, 2008).

The rules
Every church in both orthodox Christianity and western Christianity has rules that govern the church. According to the Western Christianity belief, the canons were developed by the apostles, the fathers or the ecumenical councils (Wermuth, 2007). These laws were enforced by the bishops. In Western Christianity, the canons are not constant. They have always come up with new ones replacing the old ones. These laws are usually changed to keep up with and accommodate the changes in the environment (Romanides, 2008).It comes up with new laws to keep up with the changing time. Not long ago, Rome revised its cannon law to keep up with changing times.  In orthodox Christianity, canons are not viewed as laws (Lowe, 2008).  They are seen as a way of creating a new being in obedience. The rules are only for training the believers to be virtuous and to strive to achieve holiness. In the Orthodox Christianity, even if they come up with new canons, they do not discard the old ones. This is because of the belief that even the old rules are an inspiration by the Holy Spirit. They also believe that human issues and needs do not transform (Witte Jr.  Alexander, 2006).

The mysteries
In the two faiths, there is the belief in sacraments or mysteries. As concerns the sacraments, the orthodox believe that their physical concepts like bread, wine and water become full of grace by the call to the Holy Spirit (Wermuth, 2007). The Roman Catholics believe that these elements become on the action of the father who is supposed to be working on behalf of Jesus Christ (Romanides, 2008).The Western Christians believe in sacraments in a legal and philosophical manner. They believe that by use of the correct physical elements, bread and wine, and by uttering the right words, the elements are automatically transformed into the blood and body of Christ (Witte Jr.  Alexander, 2006).These elements are simply of the presence of the Lord. The Eucharist is referred by the orthodox as the mystery supper. The elements that are used by the believers during that super are mysteriously the body and blood of Jesus Christ (Lowe, 2008).

Baptism
The two faiths believe in baptism by water. One becomes a member of the Roman Catholic Church by getting baptized. This way, the original sin is washed away (Wermuth, 2007). The orthodox also believe in baptism, but the idea of the original transgression is not included. The orthodox also believe in being filled by the Holy Spirit on getting baptized. Baptism prepares one for the ultimate destiny of their souls (Lowe, 2008).  

After death
Both faiths believe in the end of life in death. After death there is destiny for souls, both for the believers and the sinners. Roman Catholics believe that after a person dies the soul goes to purgatory (Wermuth, 2007). In the Roman Catholic faith, the souls that are meant to go ton heaven are delivered to purgatory for purification. The others go to hell. The orthodox faith claims that after death, the souls go to Hades. This is a place for awaiting the judgment day. On the Day of Judgment the souls will join Christ to be judged. The faithful and obedient will be taken to heaven with the sinners getting thrown into the everlasting fire (Lowe, 2008).  

Conclusion
The Western Christianity and Orthodox Christianity have very many similarities as well as differences. The western Christianity is more philosophical, and mystical in their way of thought. In fact, it emphasizes on human reason. On the other hand, the Orthodox Christianity on the other hand is more practical and good at following rules just the way they are laid down.