Evolution of Christianity
Evolution of Christianity
Evolution of Christianity
In about 2000
B.C., many displaced tribes were wandering through Middle East throughout the
Middle East because of the political upheavals that accompanied the collapse of
Akkadian kingdom and coming of the Babylonians. These patriarchal tribes, under
guidance of the oldest and most respected male members, founded communities
united by bloodlines, economic interests, and folk traditions. One of these
tribes known as Hebrews, led by Abraham settled in the territory called Canaan,
a region identified loosely with ancient Israel. These tribes believed that
Abraham was guided by supernatural force, and this supernatural force made a
covenant, or solemn agreement with Abraham to protect his family and bring
prosperity to his offspring if they agreed to obey his divine commands. These
Hebrews enjoyed many prosperous decades in Canaan, and in 1500 B.C. moved to
Egypt at time when it was overrun by Hyksos until Egypt reconquered their land
and enslaved them. In about 1250 B.C. a leader, Moses led Hebrews to Exodus
from Egypt. These events were recorded on Hebrew scriptures, and it described
Moses as a savoir sent by God. Their religion valued human life as sacred,
because it was given by God, who created and owned all things. The core of Mosaic
law was the Ten Commandments, which set forth the proper behavior of human
beings. Hebrews were called Jew later, and they started to incorporate two new
features into their religion which are eschatology, or the concern with the end
of the world, and apocalypse or prophecies about the coming of God and a day of
judgment. This future world would be led by a Messiah, or Anointed One, who
would bring peace and justice to all. Christianity takes its roots from
Judaism, and it gained much of its power from tremendous moral force of its
central beliefs and values. The surviving sources for the origin of
Christianity are writing in Greek by early believers who were openly partisan.
According to them, Christianity began within the Jewish believers of Jesus. The
outline of Jesus’ life is described in books called Gospels. The writers of
these Gospels were Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and only two these evangelists
who are Matthew and John, were witnesses of Jesus life on earth. There was a
belief at that time that in order to become Christian you first had to become a
Jew. This view of course was changed by Paul, a Jew converted to Christianity
after Jesus’ death. He welcomed led a group who welcomed gentile, or non-Jewish
members. Mark’s Gospel was written in part to support Paul’s gentile faction.
Paul was a citizen of Rome, and therefore he was able to preach freely
Greek-speaking Jew, and Jewish converts scattered across the Roman Empire. Paul
addressed theological concerns in epistles, or letters which he directed to
churches he either founded or visited across Roman Empire. Paul interpreted
Jesus’ life as “Suffering Servant” who was noble and guiltless but
misunderstood and punished on behalf of others. He said that Jesus suffered for
our sin we inherited from Adam and Eve. He also said that human redemption
could be obtained only through believing in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. The
New Testament which was created after Jesus’ coming to earth, started from
Gospels, which talked about Jesus’ life and his teachings, and ended with
Revelation, that talked about the end of the world, and the Judgment Day.
Adoption of Christianity.
Christianity was
adopted by Emperor Constantine of Rome in 313 A.D. as a official religion of
the Roman Empire. The adoption of Christianity enabled most priests to join
army units, and bishops to attend imperial courts, because they didn’t want to
join or attend before. Emperor Constantine restored faith, returned confiscated
property to the church, built new churches, and gave tax exemptions to bishops
during his reign. He dedicated an entire city to Christianity and named it
after his name Constantinople. Constantine’s successors supported the spread of
Christianity, and by 395 A.D. most of the population was Christian. Christianity
adapted to Rome’s values, promising victory to Roman armies and a bountiful
life to believers. There were many controversies in Christianity. Distressed by
these controversies, Constantine tried to end major controversy over
relationship of Jesus to God. The first group, who were followers of priest
Arius, said that Jesus wasn’t the Son of God, and that he was a %100 man.
Another group lead by bishop Athanasius argued that Jesus was %100 divine. In
325, under the guidance of Constantine this issue was settled at a church
council at Nicaea in Asia Minor in favor of Atrhanasius. Even though Arianism
was condemned, it divided the church for decades and remained strong in
church’s ruling hierarchy. Many believe that the adoption of Christianity by
Constantine lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire. The fall of Rome came
when a leader of troop of German called Odoacer, defeated a Roman army in 476,
and later the entire Roman Empire was divided into small Germanic kingdoms. The
Roman Empire was already weak by this time because, after the Roman Empire was
divided into two parts with two rulers on each side, it was reunited as one
Empire. And this of course didn’t last long.
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