Origin and Evolution of Christianity - Research Paper Example

?Contents Contents Origin and Evolution of Christianity Introduction Aspects of Christianity such as religious beliefs had been in existence even before the birth of Christ. The Old Testament, which was written before the birth of Christ has several prophecies on coming of Messiah whom Christians believe, is Christ. The history of Christian teachings became clearly spelt from the first century and is recorded in the New Testament. Christianity borrowed heavily from Judaism and other pagan concepts. A feature such as observation of Sunday as the Sabbath day was borrowed from non-Christian Romans while Christmas concepts were borrowed from Babylonians. Temples previously used by pagans were also turned into Christian places of worship referred to as churches. Christianity is currently the largest worldwide religion that is based on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ who is believed to be the son of God. This paper focuses on the origin and history of Christianity and lays emphasis on Catholicism and Protestantism, which are the major Christian groupings. Non-Christians first used the term Christians as a form of mockery to refer to followers of Jesus in Antioch. Descriptions of the early church are recorded in the gospel and epistles within the New Testament. The life and teachings of Jesus are also recorded in the New Testament while the prophecy of His birth is recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible, a book used by Christians for spiritual guidance. Jesus of Nazareth is believed to be the pioneer of Christianity. However, Jesus’ disciples and other followers such as Mark and Paul established concrete Christianity. Paul prayed a vital role in establishing the basis of Christianity and he preached not only to Jews but also to Non-Jews. Paul wrote the epistles in an appealing manner to make it more acceptable to the gentiles. In Acts 21 to 23, Paul declared himself a Pharisee to make the Pharisees accept Christianity. Acts 2:41 posits that the first Christian community comprised of about three thousand believers. Christianity was initially founded in Palestine but spread rapidly to other regions of the world such as Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor and Europe. Initially Christianity was a single religion that was monolithic but was characterised by tensions, which eventually led to its splitting to form several groupings. Factors leading to the split were related to theological disputes especially on doctrinal issues. The major three groupings include Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. The Early Church The early Christian church comprised of Jewish Christians who followed Judaism and the Hellenistic Christians who were liberal and were not strict observers of Judaic laws. Early Christianity can be divided into apostolic period and the post-apostolic period. The early church greatly followed Jewish traditions. Circumcision was considered a prerequisite for gentiles to be accepted into Christianity. However, the early Christians disagreed on aspects such as the nature of Jesus and on whether to follow Mosaic laws (Jackson Web; Esler 22-25). Apostolic Period The apostolic period was the time that followed Jesus’ death. The Christian Church in this period was referred to as the apostolic church and was led by Jesus’ apostles and relatives who were fundamentally Jews. Jesus was also a Jew and had started a ministry of teaching and performing miracles at the age of thirty after his baptism by John the Baptist. After His death, the apostles continued with his work. He travelled throughout Judea preaching in synagogues, which made him to be referred to as a teacher (Ahmad Web). While doing his ministerial work, Jesus chose twelve disciples to assist Him in His teachings. The Disciples followed His teaching strictly, as they believed that He was the Messiah prophesied about in the Old Testament. During His ministry, several people became His followers, which frightened the Jewish political readers. He worked for three years after which the Romans who were opposed to his teachings crucified Him and He died on the cross. Jesus’ resurrection after three days strengthened his disciples who preached the gospel fearlessly. Christians viewed Jesus’ death and resurrection as a sign of God’s love since they believed that He had died to save the world (Jackson Web). The rapid rise of Christianity in the first and second centuries is attributed to a number of factors. Christians argue that the vast and rapid growth was because of backing of the Holy Spirit thus nothing would stop the fast spread. Another factor was because of the readiness of the Christians to die for their faith, which made pagans admire Christianity. The Christian teachings promised improved livelihood as well as eternal life (Jackson Web; Ahmad Web; Esler 155-157). After Jesus’ death, his followers feared persecution and scattered but their fright ended three day when Jesus rose from the dead. The first Century was characterised by rapid growth of Christianity especially after Jesus’ death. A Christian named Paul was one of the most instrumental people in the spread of Christianity. Paul roamed the whole of Roman Empire where he started several churches and preach about Christ. Paul also wrote several letters of encouragement to the Christian, which were later adopted as part of the New Testament. Paul mainly preached in the West. Another initiator of the early church was James who preached in Jerusalem where Christians adhered to Mosaic laws, recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and were opposed to Paul’s views especially on salvation through faith. At the end of the first century, non-Christians started persecuting the Christians (Ahmad Web). Post-Apostolic Period Post apostolic period started at the end of the first century and was characterised by rampant persecution of Christians especially in the Roman Empire. The nastiest persecutions happened during the reign of Emperor Nero. In the second century, several gospels began circulating and included Paul’s Gospel, Peter’s Gospel, and oracles of Christ. In spite of these persecutions, Christianity still grew profusely. In the post apostolic church, the hierarchy of clergy became established. Positions of episkopos, presbyters, and deacons were created to aid in running of the church. However, the bishops in the Roman Church were considered more superior as compared to bishops in other areas such as Greek. During the second and third Centuries, Christian leaders developed several doctrines including the doctrine of Trinity, which later became a dogma amongst Christians. However, persecution of the church stopped in the fourth Century AD when Constantine, a Roman emperor converted to Christianity. Constantine hoped to use Christianity to strengthen his authority over the Roman Empire. Constantine also had leadership roles within the church and called the first Ecumenical council to aid in resolving the Arian controversy (Ahmad Web). During Constantine reign, Christian became like a national cult, those who attempted to reject Christian dogmas, and doctrines were stigmatized by being expelled from the Roman Empire or even being killed. Christianity grew rampantly and Roman Empire became Christendom. In the middle of the 4th Century AD, differences arose between the Western and the Eastern Christendom on political as well are religious issues. During the post apostolic period, several ecumenical councils were held and attempted to resolve Christological disputes. Some of the most important ecumenical councils were the council of Nicaea, which was opposed to Arian ideas while the Council of Ephesus expressed disapproval of affirmation of Mary as mother of God. The Council of Chalcedon of 451 asserted that Christ was both human and God. Some of these councils resulted in further divisions within the early church such as division of the Assyrian church of the East from Roman Church over the Council of Ephesus (Ahmad Web). The fall of the Roman Empire in the west following Arab attack in the seventh century led to decline of Christianity. However, the collapse favoured Roman Church bishops since the Arabs who now occupied the Western Roman were pagans and posed little challenge to the papal authority. The shift of the Roman Empire’s Capital to Constantinople also caused change in the Roman Church and the leadership somehow shifted eastwards (Ahmad Web). Middle Ages This was the period between 476- 1299. This period was characterised by shift of church powers to rural areas. Most Christian developments occurred in the West Latin though majority of Christians remained in the East. The Western Roman Empire lost it dominance and the authority shifted to Germanic kingdoms. Missionary activities started in regions such as France (Herring 45-47; Jackson Web). Division of the Christian Church In the 4th century, there were clear discrepancies between the East and West on political, cultural, and linguistic issues. This followed the relocation of the Roman capital from Rome to Constantinople. By the seventh century, the Greek East and Latin West were rivals. The two Christendom disagreed on superiority of bishop of Rome and on certain clauses in the Nicene Creed. In the 9th Century AD, disagreement between the Western (Orthodox) and Eastern (Roman Catholic) was amplified by Pope John VII rejection of Photius I appointment as patriarch of Constantinople. The first chief division was in 1054 AD when the Christian religion was fully divided into the West “Roman Catholic” and the East “Greek Orthodox” (Herring 52-255; Esler 104,167-170). The Eastern Christians were more philosophical and abstract thinkers while the Western Christians were realistic and legal minded. The immediate cause of the separation was excommunication of Patriarch Michael Cerularius, which occurred at a period characterised by great rivalry between the East and the West (Jackson Web). In the 1400’s, some Christians from the West began to challenge several aspect and practices in the Roman Church. They were also opposed to certain believes such as the issue of purgatory. They started fighting for reforms but had minimal success as they faced persecution. However, they kept on fighting for reforms and in 1517, Martin Luther who was a German monk and a great reformer posted 95 criticisms (Ahmad Web; Murdock Web). The complaints focused on the issue of selling of indulgency within the Western Church. This led to Luther’s excommunication from the church but his ideas spread vastly leading to emergence of more reformers. His ideas also lead to emergence of Protestantism, which was opposed to some of the Catholic teachings and practices. In the 1500’s, the European reformation led to formation of other numerous churches that objected papal authority. Disagreements between Catholics and Protestants led to Christian persecution, which resulted in series of wars. Up to today, the Eastern Orthodoxy does not uphold primacy of pope while the West Catholics maintains ecclesiastical authority of the Bishop of Rome also referred to as the Pope (Murdock Web; Ahmad Web). The Renaissance This was a period between 1375- 1520 AD characterised by cultural changes as well as architectural magnificence that greatly affected the Papacy. Episcopal offices including Papacy were taken over by rich Italian families who focused on building luxurious churches. It was during this period that the greatest reformations in the Church occurred. The result was rejection of the authority of the pope by some reformers who formed protestant churches (Herring 183-187; Renan Web). The protestant churches formed were also opposed to a roman tradition, which supported mediation of priests on behalf of Christians. Protestantism advocated for development of personal relationship between Christians and God (Ahmad Web; Esler 201-204; Wise 324-330). Christian Reformations and Counter-Reformations In the early 16th Century, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrych Zwingli started movements whose aim was to make doctrinal reformations within the Christian Church. Martin Luther compiled ninety-five theses that condemned sale of indulgency within the church. In addition, Zwingli began a reformation movement in Switzerland. Other reformations that occurred in this period include reformations in the Church of England, Church of Scotland as well as in Presbyterian churches. Luther was excommunicated from the Church by the pope, which further intensified the differences between the west and East (Murdoc Web; Horsley 200-203). The reformations heightened doubts on the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy. The reformation and other factors such as collapse of Eastern Roman Empire led to formation of Protestantism. The earliest protestant churches included Lutherans and other smaller reformed churches (Herring 230-235; Jackson Web; Ahmad Web). In the seventeenth century, diverse ideologies on Christianity were evident. Around this period, the issue of dogmatization was scrutinized with suspicion. The Catholic Church responded to these reformations with a counter-reformation hoping to reunite the Christian church (Renan Web). Modern Christianity Modern Christian churches view Christianity as a personal relationship with God. Being a member of a denomination does not automatically make one a Christian. The major three groupings include Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. However, several denominations exist within the protestant group. Modern Christianity is faced by challenges such as decreasing church attendance. Numerous denominations have emerged due to increased liberal theologisers who question many doctrines of Christianity. There have been attempts to reunite the major protestant churches such as Anglican with the Roman Catholic but they have not been fully successful though practices in the two groups are more similar than in the middle ages (Ahmad Web; Horsley 103-105). Catholicism Catholicism is used to refer to Roman Catholic Church or the Western Church formed after the 1054 AD split of Christian church. Catholic Church is the largest Christian church and still respects papal primacy. It is also characterised by several dogmas and doctrines. It comprises of the Western Church and Eastern Catholic churches that synonymously refer to themselves as Roman Catholics. Catholic Church organization was initially developed under the patriarchs of Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria. Constantinople and Jerusalem became patriarchs later but the papal authority was centred in Rome due to its connection to Saint Peter, the first pope. However, movement of the political capital from Rome to Constantinople was a challenge to the papal authority (Ahmad Web; Horsley 103-105). Catholic Church offers special devotion to the Virgin Mary the mother of Jesus. The Council of Ephesus rejected the devotion to Mary, also referred to as Nestorianism in 431, which contributed to the first division in the Christian Church. Those opposed to Neostorian theology formed the Assyrian Church of the East (Herring 223-225). Another doctrine in the Catholic Church is Monophysitism, which posits that Jesus was fully God and fully human. Monophytism led to the Council of Chalcedon of 452 AD, which resulted in split of Alexandrian Church from Roman Church since they opposed this doctrine. The primacy of pope is another aspect that distinguishes Catholicism from Protestantism (Horsley 15-20). The disagreements over supremacy of pope led to the East-West Schism which divided the Church into the Western Church (Roman Catholic) and the Eastern Church (Protestant and the reformed Christian churches). Another division occurred after the first Vatican Council, which dogmatized papal infallibility. Some Catholics from Netherlands and Germany were opposed to this dogma and split from the Roman Catholic to form Old Catholic Church. Catholic churches administer seven sacraments to members, which include Baptism, Anointing of the sick, Holy orders, Matrimony, Penance, confirmation, and Eucharist. These sacraments are considered as vital signs of God’s presence amongst His followers (Ahmad Web; Renan Web). Protestantism The protestant churches arose after Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Catholic Church due to his endeavours to reform the Roman Catholic Church. Other controversial issues that led to formation of protestant churches were doctrines such as the devotion of Catholics to Mary, Clerical celibacy, Papal authority as well as issues related to purgatory and sacraments. However, after the split of reformers from the Catholic Church, they started to disagree on doctrinal issues, which eventually resulted into formation of denominations. Some of the first protestant churches included Lutheran church, the Puritans, the Reformed church, and Presbyterian Church. These churches gave rise to more denominations such as the Anglican Church formed from Lutheran Church (Ahmad Web; Wise 444; Renan Web). Modern day Protestants distinguish themselves from other religions using their ant catholic features. Most of these features arose in the middle ages when the Catholic started selling indulgencies such as the Peter indulgency to make funds for funding church activities. Martin Luther is believed to be the chief pioneer of Protestantism. Luther believed that it is only by God’s grace and ones faith that salvation can be attained and not through purchasing indulgency, which is also a key belief of present day Protestant churches. Other practices that distinguish Catholicism include veneration of saints, the Rosary, Celibacy of priests, frequent celebration of the Eucharist as well as use of crucifix (Ahmad Web; Renan Web). Conclusion Christians are people devoted to worship of Jesus Christ who is believed to be the Son of God who died to redeem the world. Divisions started as early as in the first centuries with disagreements on nature of Jesus and on whether to follow mosaic laws or not. Christianity started in the First Century and is connected to the birth of Christ as well as Judaism. The initial stages of Christianity focused on modifying Jewish religion through introduction of Christian doctrines such as the doctrine of Trinity. Jesus preached amongst Jews and won the first followers among whom He chose his twelve disciples who continued with His ministerial works after his crucifixion. The first Christian converts were Jews though apostles like Paul later moved to different parts of the world such as Asia to preach the gospel. In the second century, there was rampant persecution of Christians by roman Emperors but this came to a stop when Constantine converted into a Christian and made Christianity legal in Roman Empire. Christianity spread fast due to its appealing nature as it advocated for equality of all people irrespective of their social or economic status and promised eternal life. The major cause of division in the Christian churches was due to doctrinal difference. Protestant churches opposed several doctrines that the Roman Church declared dogma. Works Cited Ahmad, Mirza. Christianity: A Journey from Facts to Fiction. 2012. Web. 9 June 2012 . Esler, Philip. The Early Christian World, Volumes 1-2. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print. Herring, George. An Introduction to the History of Christianity: From the Early Church to the Enlightenment. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006. Horsley, Richard. Christian Origins. Philadelphia: Fortless Press, 2010. Print. Jackson, Wayne. The Origin of Christianity. 2012. Web. 9 June 2012 . Murdock, Acharya. The Origins of Christianity and the Quest for Historical Jesus Christ. 2012. Web. 9 June 2012 . Renan, Joseph. A History Christianity. 2005.Web. 9 June 2012 . Wise, Isaac. The origin of Christianity: and a commentary to the Acts of the Apostles. New York: Bloch, 2007. Print. Read More