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History of Christianity essay
History of Christianity essay
History of Christianity essay
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Christianity Begins
On a late afternoon, in about the year AD 33, two men were walking from Jerusalem to the nearby village of Emmaus. Their conversation centered on events that had occurred the previous week. As they journeyed, a stranger who seemed ignorant of these events joined them. Surprised, they asked him: "Are you the only person staying in Jerusalem not to know what has happened there in the last few days?" So they explained to him about a certain Jesus of Nazareth, "a prophet powerful in speech and action before God and the whole people. Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to the Roman authorities to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. But we were hoping that he was the man to liberate Israel." Even more amazing, they went on to say, were reports from some women who visited his tomb that he was alive again, raised from the dead. Suddenly the stranger spoke: "How dull-witted you two are! And how slow to believe all that the prophets said. Was not the messiah bound to suffer thus before entering upon his glory?" Then he went on to clarify from the Hebrew scriptures all the passages that referred to himself. For the stranger was Jesus of Nazareth, of whom the two had been speaking.
Based on the life, death and coming to life again of Jesus Christ there has developed the world's largest religion, Christianity.
Expectation and Reality
The two men on the road to Emmaus were not simple common folk. They were a selected group of twelve followers, called disciples or learners, of Jesus who had known him for at least three years. During this period they had listened to all he said and had witnessed his amazing actions, such as healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf and even bringing people back to life. They had become convinced that he was the Messiah who was to redeem Israel.
Israel wanted and expected redemption. This small Jewish nation, located in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, had for centuries looked forward to a time when their God would, through some decisive action, free them from outside oppression and establish Israel as the preeminent nation in the world.
The word messiah means "the lord's anointed," someone God has set aside for a specific task. Christians believe that Jesus, from the small town of Nazareth in Galilee, was that Messiah.
A messiah is a rather ambiguous term. It mainly means an anointed one; usually a messiah is considered to be a son of David and would reestablish Israel to what it once was. Because messiahs are anointed ones they would typically be Jewish priests, prophets and kings. However, a Messiah can also be a warrior, or a man of peace. (CITE) A messiah was to reestablish unity among the Jewish people and navigate through the hardships and oppression that they went through during early Judaism and bring a sense of freedom and relief. An array of messianic claimants came forth during the two peaks of Jewish rebellion, the death of King Herod the Great and the first Jewish war against the Romans.
People can spot this place for miles and miles because the church sits upon a hill, where people can hear the bells ring every hour, and where people can go to see this majestic site; Sacred Heart Catholic Church stands in the middle of the rural town of Schnellville, Indiana. Sacred Heart, one of many churches located in Dubois County, including the following: St. Celestine, St. Ferdinand, St. Mary’s, and St. Joe’s still stand to this current day. After Schnellville received its church in 1874, Sacred Heart Catholic Church has endured two fires, a complete rebuilding of the church in 1914, numerous priests, and changes to parts of the church throughout time.
Israel was created as a haven for persecuted Jew as a result of the Holocaust, however, it was soon run by the military. “The new Israel seemed to be a nation where the military ruled ignoring the will of the countr...
From birth, Jesus of Nazareth was known to be special, something the world had never seen. The legendary birth, his mother being the Virgin Mary, that night in the manger in Bethlehem presented the world with the man who would become known as the Messiah, the one who, according to Christianity, would rescue the world and offer it everlasting life. Jesus knew of his calling and his holy purpose on Earth. While Mary and her husband, Joseph, a carpenter, raised Jesus as a child, much is not known of the early life of Jesus through scripture, or accounted for through historical evidence. It is not...
This highly-charged atmosphere reached a fever pitch in Galilee, which produced a host of eccentric figures – many of whom amassed sizable followings. As the peasantry anticipated the arrival of the promised Messiah to deliver them from Roman oppression, a number of social bandits were inspired to pretend to this mantle of "king of the Jews." Others assumed the role of prophet, attempting to recreate the miracles of Joshua or predicting an impending judgment. Also circulating in the area were various Jewish holy men revered as miracle-workers, allegedly capable of influencing natural phenomena. It is in this milieu that the figure of Jesus Christ emerged.
A 16th-century movement in Western Europe that aimed at reforming some doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the establishment of the Protestant churches. The world of the late medieval Roman Catholic Church from which the 16th-century reformers emerged was a complex one. Over the centuries, the church, particularly in the office of the papacy, had become deeply involved in the political life of Western Europe. The resulting intrigues and political manipulations, combined with the church’s increasing power and wealth, contributed to the bankrupting of the church as a spiritual force.
The story of the state of Israel began with a man named Abraham, and a promise that God made to him. God told him to leave his homeland, promising Abraham and his descendants a new home in the land of Canaan, known as present day Israel(Rich, 1). Abraham was a firm believer in God, and decided to carry out his commands, since he knew God would be able to fulfill His promise to him. It was here, that God gave Abraham a unique homeland for his descendents to form a model nation. In the Torah, The Land of Israel was claimed to be the only place on the earth where the Jewish people could create the model nation(Spiro, 1). Jews desired to fulfill God’s plan to create the model nation, forming a strong connection between the land and the people for all eternity. Nonetheless, the Jews have not always been in political control of Israel; foreign nations had always been attacking the land...
...thousands of years from times of nomadic tribes to kings that ruled over millions. While the land covered has been vast and the people many, one thing has been a constant in the history of the Jewish people, conflict. The conflict the people of Israel has faced has caused much destruction and horror in the lives of many, however, Israel has turned the history of conflict into a positive light in order to create a nation unified behind it. Israel has created a fast military force that gives thousands jobs both in factories and within the military itself. They have also created an economic system that creates vast productions of quality goods in order to compete with other countries in the Middle East and around the world. Israel has turned the devastation of war and the worries of continual conflict into a constructive action that has kept Israel alive and powerful.
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
Jesus’ teachings created the religion of Christianity. Though Christians were persecuted during the beginning of time in which they began to spread, many factors helped to shape Christianity into the popular religion it is today. Christianity was able rise from just a Jesus ministry to a popular religion with the help of martyrdom, missionaries, governmental support and Jesus himself.
From the beginning of the establishment of the Christian church there have always been controversies about how the organization has been run. The Da Vinci code and The Secret Supper deal with an alternative interpretation of early Christianity and the gospels, far different from that of the orthodox Catholic Church, both novels also deal with mysteries behind some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous paintings.
Christianity has the largest population worldwide and has been able to continue to develop over the centuries. “Christianity is the name given to a religion based on the first century CE life and ministry of Jesus”. His followers claimed Jesus to be “The Jewish Messiah”, a person sent to the people of Israel to bring salvation and hope. However, during the first century, Christianity spread throughout the regions controlled by the Roman Empire and as Jesus’ followers began to separate from Judaism they established this living religion. Thus, the core foundation of Christianity is based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, which can be found today in the Bible.
Jesus had 12 disciples, disciple means follower or pupil, even long after the death of Jesus these disciples would continue teaching about Jesus. The first four books of the bible were written by the Disciple these books are called apostles they are as follows Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus became famous, because he appealed to the rich and poor alike, he had few or no possessions and he traveled all over what was then considered to be the world. Jesus attracted attention from both Jewish and Roman leaders.
Church History in Plain Language is written by Bruce L. Shelley. This work focuses on the history of Christianity from 6 B.C. to the current period. It covers some of Christianity’s greatest events, theologians, and the various subsection of Christianity. Other than the events leading up to the death of Jesus, I had very little knowledge of Christianity’s history. After reading through the book, I have gained understanding on the Christian Councils, scholasticism, Christendom, and modern trends of Christianity.
Christianity is the world’s most prominent religion, with more than six billion people practicing worldwide. Although Christianity has come to dominate the world of religion, it began as a small and mysterious cult in Ancient Rome. Small, and poorly understood, Christianity soon became an enemy of Rome, marked with persecution, martyrdom, and murder. By the end of the third century CE, tens of thousands of Christians had been arrested and killed for their beliefs.