I Am a Christian

By George Habash

The author is a scientist and not a Bible scholar or teacher. His conversion from a churchgoing Christian to real Christian lasted years, if not decades. The transformation was completed in 1983 when he bought NIV Bible for £4.50. In the 1990s, he was impacted by many Christian TV channels that he regularly watched, in addition to regular Christian literature. On 7 October 1992, he started reading his Bible from cover to cover and cycle after cycle. The fruit of that transformation is his first book about the Christian faith. It is a book for everyone, Christians and the ones on the road to become Christian. In this book, he talks about Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. He highlights the core Hebrew Bible and Jesus Christ’s ministry. Many quotations about the Christian faith are given in addition to a large section of Christian dictionary to define every aspect related to a Christian person.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781398427778

George Habash

The author is a scientist by profession and not a theologian. He was born near the end of WWII in the Middle East in the town of Baretly in the heart of the historical Assyrian Empire. He is an Antiochian Syriac Catholic by family and church attendance but believes that all Christians follow Christ. Following his postgraduate studies in the West he studied the Bible and Christianity through his own personal expedition and endeavour without any theology. This is his second book about the Christian faith also by Austin Macauley Publishers.

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Verses

About the Author

The author was born towards the end of World War II to Middle Eastern Christian parents in the historical Assyrian heartland. His family is denominationally Catholic and liturgically Syriac, an offshoot of the Church of Antioch that was founded by Saint Peter, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.

In his boyhood and during early primary school, he had served in the Church as an altar boy and certainly was destined to become a deacon. However, his family moved to another town and this caused his church involvement to change.

His whole life, he was not fully Christian but most times a churchgoer with no deep conversance with the Holy Scriptures. This was the norm for most of his generation due to cultural impact, except for those close to or relative to clerics who managed to get acquainted with parts of the scriptures. His parents, especially his father, instilled in him the high moral codes that would remain with him throughout his whole life—always modest and always honest.

In the early 1970s, the author ordered his first copy of the Holy Bible via his priest, written in the common language of the land. He started from the first cover then the Book of Genesis but going through the first chapter, he found it difficult to grasp what he read; it was a formidable task to scale. In later years, he realised that a beginner must not start reading the whole Bible from cover to cover but by selecting easier books of the Bible to digest and tune with the text. Once acquainted with some knowledge of the Bible, then go for the whole Bible from cover to cover.

In the late 1970s, he departed from his town of birth to obtain western education and upgrade his postgraduate degree, and it was then that his Christian sphere started to widen with links to both Catholic Chaplaincies and Christian Unions. He had a good circle of Christian friends and it continued even after he had finished his courses and went into academic life in the 1980s, 1990s and beyond. Now, his faith in Jesus is sealed and complete.

Dedication

To the memory of my father, Habash Anton, and my mother, Farida Yacob, for instilling in me the love and fear of God.

Copyright Information ©

George Habash (2021)

The right of George Habash to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528911511 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398427778 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2021)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Acknowledgement

This work did not spring out from anything and was hardly dependent on my own wit and would not have been possible without the contributions, efforts, kindness and love of many others.

Sincere thanks are given to my immediate family; Idris, Ameen, Anees, Messon, Ismail, Mauona (deceased), Hosni and Malgorzata. Friends and acquaintances through the years who have an indelible impact. Acknowledgement of special thanks and gratitude are extended to my longtime friends and colleagues, especially Arnold J Smith and John R Helliwell for years of academic and post-academic collaboration and friendship.

I thank many Christian ministries for their literature, many Christian television channels and many Christian preachers/ teachers on those channels who fed me with ‘The Word of God’ on a daily basis.

Finally, I exalt and honour the noble people of my hometown, Baretly, near the historic Nineveh in the Assyrian heartland.

I Am a Christian

What does it mean?

I believe in Jesus Christ (the Christ), prophesied in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament. I follow him in faith and work and believe the Gospel and I am saved by his sacrifice on the cross.

Anyone can become Christian as is pointed out in Acts 2:38: Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

What Is Christianity?

Christianity is a faith that God became man in Jesus Christ (through Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit) to redeem the human race (all humanity) from mortal sin inherited from Adam and Eve.

It affirms that Jesus Christ died by shedding his blood on the Cross for the atonement of humanity’s sins as an act of love. It affirms that Jesus Christ was resurrected to life as an act of power. It affirms that Jesus Christ ascended to the Father. It affirms that Jesus Christ sent his Holy Spirit to his church. And it affirms that Jesus Christ will