A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years

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According to Rajak, the essence of diaspora lies in powerlessness more than in power, and "the early Christian communities shared many of the same experiences." [53] The Roman province of Judea in the 1st century AD Roman Empire [ edit ] St. Lawrence (martyred 258) before Emperor Valerianus by Fra Angelico The earliest writers emphasized the unity of Christianity. [124] [94] 'Core beliefs' on doctrine, ethos, fellowship and community as well as many doctrinal tenets such as monotheism, Jesus as Christ and Lord, and the Gospel as a message concerning salvation were seen as based on apostolic authority. [173] [82] [97]

In A.D. 64, Emperor Nero blamed Christians for a fire that broke out in Rome. Many were brutally tortured and killed during this time. In 416, the Germanic Visigoths had crossed into Hispania as Roman allies. [206] They converted to Arian Christianity shortly before 429. [202] An important shift took place in 612 when the Visigothic King Sisebut declared the obligatory conversion of all Jews in Spain, contradicting Pope Gregory who had reiterated the traditional ban against forced conversion of the Jews in 591. [207] Scholars refer to this shift as a "seismic moment" in Christian history. [208] Justinian I and Eastern influence [ edit ] In Eusebius' church history, he claims Constantine campaigned against the temples as well as sacrifice, however, there are discrepancies in the evidence. [244] Temple destruction is attested to in 43 cases in the written sources, but only four have been confirmed by archaeological evidence. [245] The narrative begins with Paul of Tarsus making his way from Antioch to Jerusalem, probably in 49 AD, to meet with the remaining followers of Jesus. [3]

Part 2. From Martyrs to Inquisitors (250 AD to 450 AD) – Diocletian's persecution, Constantine's conversion, first official Church, Arianism, Pelagianism, Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine. In A.D. 313, Constantine lifted the ban on Christianity with the Edict of Milan. He later tried to unify Christianity and resolve issues that divided the church by establishing the Nicene Creed.

In all cases, Christianization meant "the Germanic conquerors lost their native languages" as these languages became Latinized. [204] At least one historian of the time, Orosius, wrote that conversion made the barbarians milder and set limits on their "savagery". [205] A seismic moment [ edit ] Amy-Jill Levine says "there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus' life. Most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John, debated with fellow Jews on how best to live according to God’s will, engaged in healings and exorcisms, taught in parables, gathered male and female followers in Galilee, went to Jerusalem, and was crucified by Roman soldiers during the governorship of Pontius Pilate (26–36 CE)". [39]How did an obscure personality cult come to be the world's biggest religion, with a third of humanity its followers? This book, now the most comprehensive and up to date single volume work in English, describes not only the main facts, ideas and personalities of Christian history, its organization and spirituality, but how it has changed politics, sex, and human society. The early Christian community in Jerusalem, led by James the Just, brother of Jesus, was singularly influential. [160] [161] According to Acts 9, [162] they described themselves as "disciples of the Lord" and [followers] "of the Way", and according to Acts 11, [163] a settled community of disciples at Antioch were the first to be called "Christians". [note 12] The Church of Saint Peter near Antioch (modern-day Antakya), the city where the disciples were called "Christians". [167] Gentile Christianity [ edit ]

Gerd Theissen writes that church leadership in primitive Christianity transformed from itinerant preaching into resident leadership (those located in a particular community over which they exercised leadership) laying the foundation for the church structure that followed. [134] Johnson argues that Christianity is self-correcting, with an "outstanding moral merit to invest the individual with a conscience, and bid him to follow it." "[I]t is thus no accident that all the implantations of freedom throughout the world have ultimately a Christian origin."(p.516) Indeed, "Europe was a Christian creation not only in essence but in minute detail."(p. 515) The apotheosis that Christianity has provided, Johnson writes, "has reflected an effort to rise above our frailties... [and, to] that extent, the chronicle of Christianity is an edifying one."(p.517) [6] Reception [ edit ] The religious, social, and political climate of 1st-century Roman Judea and its neighbouring provinces was extremely diverse, and often characterized by socio-political turmoil, [1] [42] [43] with numerous Judaic movements that were both religious and political. [44] The Jewish Messiah concept, promising a future "anointed" leader (messiah or king) from the Davidic line, had developed in apocalyptic literature over the previous centuries. [45] [1] Jewish diaspora [ edit ] Panorama view of the reconstructed Southern Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, 6th century BC, Babylon, Iraq The Epilogue focuses on the papacy of John Paul II, his role in the fall of Communism, the Post-Soviet recovery of the Russian Orthodox Church; and describes the history of Christianity as a matrix for "a constant process of struggle and rebirth – a succession of crises, often accompanied by horror, bloodshed, bigotry and unreason but [with] evidence too of growth, vitality and increased understanding." The book "has necessarily stressed [Christianity's] failures and shortcomings, and its institutional distortions" [5] but in the context of "its stupendous claims and its unprecedented idealism."(p.515–16) Most historians believe that Jesus was a real person who was born between 2 B.C. and 7 B.C. Much of what scholars know about Jesus comes from the New Testament of the Christian Bible.

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In the second and third centuries, conflicts over the degree and type of Christ's divinity and humanity emerged. [80] The belief in Jesus Christ as the incarnation of the pre-existent and creative 'logos' (word of god), held by many Christians of the east, fueled the later Arian controversy. [81] In the Christian ‘mainstream’, the apostles, those who had known them, and the apostolic tradition were the basis of response. [82] Alan Brien in The Sunday Times called it "vivid, colourful, clear and often at once impassioned and witty", a history "not be left to students and scholars" and "a treat for the general reader." The third thing about it is that it’s just delightful. Christian history had been going for six centuries or so; there were little fragments of history in some big books. But Bede is really readable. He has wonderful stories, human interest stories, and he talked to people – very old men who remembered things before his time. He was careful about getting documents, and there are all sorts of little ways in which he feels a bit like a modern historian. I find that very engaging and exciting – that you can meet someone from this very remote place, this very remote world, and still feel, ‘Yes – I could talk to this person.’

Many scholars have emphasized differences between Palestinian Jews and diaspora Jews, but it is likely they still had a common Judaism. Being Jewish had both ethnic and religious elements, and the basic aspects of Jewish faith - circumcision, the Sabbath, and other central practices prescribed by the Torah - were most likely carried out by the individual within the context of home and family no matter where they lived. [49] Tessa Rajak writes in the Cambridge History of Christianity that "The crushing of the revolt in [AD 70–73], ...resulted in a degradation of the standing of Jews everywhere”. [51] In AD 115/16, diaspora Jews revolted, and it was only in the second half of the second century that Judaism entered a less turbulent era. [52] Main articles: Proto-orthodox Christianity, Diversity in early Christianity, and Early Christian heresies The essence of Christianity revolves around the life, death and Christian beliefs on the resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe God sent his son Jesus, the messiah, to save the world. They believe Jesus was crucified on a cross to offer the forgiveness of sins and was resurrected three days after his death before ascending to heaven. Heresy was the first version of Christianity to arrive in some regions, however, there is also unambiguous evidence in other regions (such as Ephesus and western Asia Minor) that heresy was neither early nor strong, that it was preceded by orthodoxy, and that orthodoxy was numerically larger. [174] [90] Early Beliefs and practices [ edit ] One of the oldest representations of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, made around 300 ADThere is no archaeological evidence of Christianity in Egypt before the fourth century, however, Birger Pearson writes in the Cambridge History of Christianity that the literary evidence of Christianity's presence there before the fourth century is "massive". [85] [note 6] The most plausible explanation comes from papyrologist Colin Roberts who concludes that the earliest Egyptian ‘Christians’ were not a separate community but were instead an integral part of the Jewish community of Alexandria. [90] The Holy Bible includes important scriptures that outline Jesus’s teachings, the lives and teachings of major prophets and disciples, and offer instructions for how Christians should live. You’ve studied Christianity’s course over the past couple of thousand years. What’s your prognosis for the future? Is it on the rise? The earliest followers of Jesus were apocalyptic Jewish Christians. [1] Christianity remained a Jewish sect for centuries, diverging gradually from Judaism over doctrinal, social and historical differences. [2] Christianity spread as a grassroots movement that became established by the third century. [3] [4] [5] [6] The Roman Emperor Constantine I became the first Christian emperor and in 313, he issued the Edict of Milan expressing tolerance for all religions thereby legalizing Christian worship. [7] Various Christological debates about the human and divine nature of Jesus occupied the Christian Church for three centuries, and seven ecumenical councils were called to resolve them. [8] Further information: Christianity and paganism, Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, Theodosius I, and Religious policies of Constantius II