All About Christianity

Everything about Christianity

Christian history begins with Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew who was born in a small corner of the Roman Empire. Little is known about his early life, but about 30 years, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and had a vision in which he received God's blessing. After this event, he began a ministry of education, healing and miracle-working. He talked about "the kingdom of God" condemned religious hypocrites and interpreted the Mosaic Law in new ways. He spoke before crowds of people, but also chose 12 disciples whom he taught privately. They eagerly followed him, believing him to be the long-awaited Messiah who would usher in God's kingdom on earth.

After just a few years, however, opposition mounted against Jesus, and he himself was executed by crucifixion by the Romans. Most of Jesus' followers scattered, are shocked by such an unexpected result. But three days later, women who went to anoint his body reported that the tomb was empty and an angel told them Jesus had risen from the dead. The disciples were initially skeptical, but later came to believe. They reported that Jesus appeared to them several times and then ascended into heaven before their eyes.

The remainder of the first century AD As the number of Jesus' followers, who were soon called "Christians" is growing rapidly. Contributed to the spread of Christianity was a man named Paul, a zealous Jew, who had persecuted Christians, then converted to the faith after experiencing a vision of the risen Jesus. Take advantage of the extensive system of Roman roads and the time for peace, Paul went many missionary journeys throughout the Roman Empire. He started churches, and then wrote letters back to them to offer further advice and encouragement. Many of these letters would become part of the Christian scriptures, the "New Testament."

In the second and third century AD, Christians struggled with persecution from outside the church and the doctrinal debates inside the church. Christian leaders who are now called "church fathers" wrote the defense of the false accusations against Christians (excuses), and arguments against false teaching spread in the Church (controversy). Doctrines were explored, developed and solidified, the canon of the New Testament was formed, and the concept of "apostolic succession" established a system of authority to guard against false interpretations of Christian teachings.

A crucial turning point in Christian history came early in 4th Century AD, when Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. The Christian religion became legal, persecution ceased, and thousands of pagans now find it advisable to convert the Emperor's faith. Allied with the Roman Empire, Christianity gradually grew in power and hierarchy, until it became "Christendom" that would encompass the entire Western world during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Emperor Constantine Christianity had hoped would be the uniting force of his kingdom, so he was distressed to hear about a dispute Arianism, which held that Christ was more than a man, but less than God himself. In 325 AD, Constantine called the Council of Nicea so that bishops could work out their differences. They condemned Arius and Arianism and declared that the Son (Christ) to be of "one substance" with the Father. After the Council continued St Athanasius of Alexandria to fight for the Arians, but the orthodox view that ultimately won out for good. The church turned to the issue of Christ's divine and human nature, which were essentially resolved by the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD).

In the meantime, very religious, cultural and political differences between the eastern and western churches increasingly apparent. Religiously, the two parts of Christendom had different views on topics such as use of icons, the nature of the Holy Spirit, and the date on which Easter should be celebrated. Culturally, the Greek east always had a tendency to be more philosophical and abstract in his thinking, while the Latin West, a trend towards a more pragmatic and legal-minded approach. As the old saying goes: "The Greeks built the metaphysical systems, the Romans built roads." The political aspects of the split began with Emperor Constantine, who moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople (in modern Turkey). After his death the kingdom was divided between his two sons, one of which ruled western half of the Empire from Rome, while another said the eastern region from Constantinople.

These various factors, which finally came to a head in 1054 AD, when Pope Leo IX excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople, head of the Eastern Church. Patriarch condemned the pope in return, and the Christian church was officially organized in the West (Catholic) and Eastern ( "Greek Orthodox") ever since.

In the 1400s began, some Western Christians publicly challenge aspects of the church. They spoke against the abuse of power and corruption in Christian leadership. They called for a return to gospel and a stripping off of traditions and customs as purgatory, veneration of saints and relics, and the detention of the communion wine from non-clergy. They began to translate the Bible - which exists only in Latin - the common language of the people.

But these early reformers did not have widespread success, and most were executed for their teachings. The legend says that when Jan Hus, a Czech reformer, whose surname means "goose," was burned at the stake in 1415, he shouted: "The day you roast a goose, but in 100 years, will sing a swan!"

In 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther (who bore little resemble a swan) posted 97 complaints about the practice of selling indulgences on the church door. He had experienced a personal conversion to the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and also shares many of the ideas of the early reformers. Growing German nationalism and the invention of the printing press ensured that Luther would have more protection than his predecessors and his teachings would spread quickly. He was excommunicated and barely escaped with his life more than once, but Luther lived his life spreading the Reformation, and died a natural death. His thoughts were already scattered across Germany, and similar reform movements sprung up in England and Switzerland. Soon much of Europe was involved in a civil war with Protestant nationalists struggling Catholic imperialists for religious and political freedom.

In the 17th century, Christians in many ideologies embarked on the dangerous journey across the Atlantic for the promise of religious freedom and economic prosperity in the New World. Quakers came to Pennsylvania, Catholics in Maryland, and the Dutch Reformed in New York. Later came the Swedish Lutheran and French Huguenots, English Baptists and Scottish Presbyterians. With exception of a puritanical society, there was no attempt to impose religious uniformity in the Americas.

The period from about 1648 to 1800 was a time when the earth (as opposed to revelation and dogma) became more and more important, but it did religious revival. Benjamin Franklin exemplified his time general approach to religious issues, and he noted a few weeks before his death:

As Jesus of Nazareth ... I have ... no doubt his divinity, "is the question I do not dogmatize have never studied it .... I see no harm, but to be believed, if that belief has good effect ... to make his doctrines more respected and better to comply.

At the same time that religious skepticism and tolerance are increasing in the west, so also were a revival movement that tried to return to the masses to a genuine faith in Christ and the gospel of salvation. George Whitefield arrived in the colonies from England in 1739, and experienced great success with his revival sermons. Jonathan Edwards was famous for her fiery sermons, which he described in detail the torments of those who do not have personal faith in Jesus Christ. John Wesley was the revival preacher and a personal friend of Whitefield, but he differed sharply from his friend Presbyterian doctrine of predestination. Wesley founded a small group of pastors and Bible students who focused on living holy and came to be called "Methodists."

Today, Christianity is the world's largest religion, with around 2 billion followers. It is the most religious in Europe and America, and there are churches in almost every nation in the world. There are perhaps thousands of Christians who all believe in the fundamental doctrines established in the Council of Nicea but differ in other matters of doctrine and practice. In recent years there has been a growing movement among these denominations to work together as a unit for the benefit of the world. In 1948 the World Council of Churches formed for this purpose.