Ironically, the Jews rejection of Jesus as Messiah was the catalyst for the leaders of the church to take the message to the Gentiles. This growing movement threatened the foundation of the Roman Empire. Although controversial, the Bible is used as a primary source document to understand the beliefs and customs of Judaism and Christianity. For the majority of Christians, the Bible is seen as historically accurate and is fundamental to their faith. The difficulties that the early church faced such as racism, tradition, and immorality are the same struggles we face today.
During that time period, Stoicism became extremely influential in the Roman Empire. It was no longer just a Greek school; it became a semi-official Philosophy for the Roman elite. Throughout this time period, Christianity also began to emerge. Through influential missionaries, like Saint Paul (10-67 CE), Christianity began to spread and gain recognition, despite the fact that the Roman Empire was predominately pagan during the first century. Ironically, many early Christian writings often seem, on the surface, to reflect Stoic philosophy.
Teicher, S. A. (1999, July 19). Debate Heats up over same sex marriages. The Christian Science Monitor. Teicher, S. A.
In its forays into the political system, more recently through its Christian Coalition, the Religious Right, like Christian misogynists, interprets scripture to support its movement to meet... ... middle of paper ... ...at Robertson's Agenda for America: a Marriage of Religion and Politics." USA Today. July 1996. 30. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret.
In 313 AD the Emperor Constantine formally recognized the Christian religion. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, this event affected the way people thought and lived their lives. Had a great impact on how rulers viewed their power and used their powers. Such influence was portrayed in Christian art as we know today. Although Christianity was initially practiced within Semitic populations of the Roman Empire, by the 4th century A.D the Christian religion had a huge impact to the Greeks and also the early Byzantine Empire.
It was believed that the Christian God was the one true God, so the Romans couldn’t understand why this God didn’t protect them like he shoul... ... middle of paper ... ... Martin Luther had trouble controlling his tongue, and John Calvin was believed to fight the battle of faith with weapons of the world. However, all three of these men will always be remembered for their ideas, beliefs, and philosophies set forth to transform Christianity as a religion. Each one of these men transformed Christianity in a particular and unique way. Augustine taught salvation from God with Luther’s ideas on the Word and Calvin’s ideas on Scripture. These men transformed Christianity during their time and shaped Christianity for Christians for years to come.
The establishment of Christianity began in Palestine by followers of Jesus of Nazareth (Bryan, 2007, p. 38). Jesus professed to be the Son of God, the promised Messiah who would establish the kingdom of God and remove all wickedness. His work and the results of his ministry were opposed by the Jewish clergy whom he exposed as false teachers (King James Version, Matthew 23). The Jewish religious leaders charged Jesus with crimes against Rome, the ruling power over Palestine, and Pontius Pilate acting as governor pronounced the death sentence in 36 C.E. Jesus followers used the scriptures to preach about his death, resurrection and future kingdom and began a campaign to spread the faith.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Religious Tolerance: http://www.religioustolerance.org/rfra.htm Sacirbey, O. (2007, December 4). Does U.S. tolerate anti-Muslim speech? Retrieved May 30, 2010, from The Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1204/p02s02-usgn.html THE U.S. GOVERNMENT vs INDIVIDUAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE U.S. (n.d.).
The Church of the Third Millennium (Carlisle) Paternoster Press, 1999 Lee, R.M. Modernization, Postmodernism and the Third World in R. Brym (ed) Current Sociology; Vol 42, #2. Lyon, David. Jesus in Disneyland: Religion in postmodern times (Malden, MA) Blackwell Publishers Inc., 2000 Veith, Gene. Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary thought and culture (Wheaton, Illinois) Crossway Books, 1994 White, Heath.
However, without the occurrence and account of Jesus’ resurrection, the Christian faith would, arguably, not exist (Wright, 2003, P.625). Therefore, the creation and continuation of the Christian faith can be viewed as the historical evidence for the Biblical account of the resurrection of Christ. Following on from this, many religious events are challenging to prove but if all Biblical events could be historically proven religion would be fact, not faith. Therefore, the lack of logical explanation regarding the resurrection of Jesus provides believers with the opportunity to take a leap of faith, which is what makes religion unique: it