Christianity began around 30 CE in Palestine, known today as Israel. God sent an angel to a woman named Mary to tell her that she was going to have a baby. In a stable in Bethlehem, she gave birth to Jesus, who would eventually become the founder of Christianity. At the age of 30, Jesus was baptized, or welcomed into the Christian faith, by his cousin John. Jesus' disciples believed that he was their “messiah,” or savior, and God in human form. However, as Jesus began to spread Christianity, his popularity threatened Jewish authorities, leading to the arrest of many Christians. Despite this, Christianity spread throughout the world. Jesus had twelve disciples who played an important role in the spread of Christianity. Jesus and his disciples taught Christianity to others. Often this was done by telling stories with spiritual meaning, known as parables. Jesus performed miracles, told people about God, fed the crowds, and healed the sick. As a result, the popularity of Christianity increased. Eventually, Christianity spread to many places, including North Africa in the 2nd century, Russia in the 10th century, and North and South America in the 16th century. Today, people all over the world practice Christianity. Another important person in the history of Christianity is a man named Saul. Saul originally hated and persecuted Christians. However, after having a vision in which Jesus came to him, he changed his name to Paul and began to believe that Christianity was the religion that God wanted everyone to follow. As a result, he built many churches and became a very important Christian leader. The Christian religion has many key beliefs. First, Christians are monotheists and believe in only one god. Second, they believe in the Holy Trinity, meaning their one god is made up of three parts. The first part is God the Father (as creator), the second is God the Son (as Jesus), and the last is God the Holy Spirit (as his presence in the world). Other Christian beliefs include "loving God" and "living life for God's purpose." Many of these beliefs are also similar to those of other religions. Almost every religion has a sacred book. The book of Christianity, the Bible, contains two parts. The first part, the Old Testament, recounts a covenant that the Jews believe God made with them through Abraham and Moses..