Early Christianity Essay examples - 822 Words

The earliest recorded text teaching Christianity has its roots buried deep within Judaism. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, created a new ideology of worship. The Messiah is the savior for all people and of all sins. Paul carried the message of the Messiah to the Gentiles. His missionary journeys and establishment of churches enabled the spreading of the message throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity grew in acceptance; those that believed in the Messiah separated and began to worship on their own. This marked the beginning of the split of Judaism and Christianity. Christianity experienced many pitfalls along the path to fulfillment. As in history, today we find ourselves learning Christ’s lessons†¦show more content†¦Imperial persecution became wholesale throughout the Empire. Initially the Jewish community was the instigators of this persecution of Christians. The book of Acts outlines several incidents involving such persecution. During the decade of 60 A.D., periods of Roman persecution occurred, however this persecution was sporadic. For example, Nero was ruler of the Roman Empire, under his reign Rome was set on fire and burnt to the ground. Christians became the scapegoat for this cowardly act. Tasitus wrote that perhaps Nero himself started the blaze, as an excuse to persecute the Christians. Nero’s acts of persecution were contained within the confines of Rome. In contrast to the persecution experienced by early Christian followers, Christianity today does not experience the level of outward persecution. Christianity is practiced in an atmosphere nearly void of violence. It was not until the reign of Constantine when Christians were authorized to practice their chosen faith. The â€Å"Ediet of Milan†(313 A.D.), gave official recognition to the Christian faith, thus ending persecution within the Roman Empire. Before Constantine’s rule, there were many rulers eager to drive out the Christians. The Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.) established the first official policy relating to Christians and how they should be dealt with. Diocletion and the Apologists were the last of the persecutors in this era before Constantine. This marked the end of open persecutionShow MoreRelatedThe Christianity Of Persecution Of The Early Church2528 Words   |  11 PagesFor Christians, the persecution of the early church is generally accepted as fact. So much so that we rarely seem to consider the possibility that this is not the case. The martyrdom of saints for their faith is taken for granted as historically accurate. Furthermore, we admire them, looking up to the strength of their faith during the most challenging of times. But are we believing in a false history? Are we taking the truth of Christian persecution for granted when it is, in fact, not true at allRead MoreWho Marcion Is Important For The Development Of Early Christianity1220 Words   |  5 PagesNot all would call him a Christian scholar, but he was the most interesting second century Christian and also the most detrimental to the development of early Christianity and his name was Marcion. In this essay I will be explaining who Marcion is and why he was so important for the development of early Christianity. To start off my research paper my first resource was by Peter Head, The Foreign God And The Sudden Christ : Theology And Christology In Marcion s Gospel Redaction, in which he talksRead More The Decline of Womens Roles in Early Christianity Essay2270 Words   |  10 PagesThe Decline of Womens Roles in Early Christianity Suddenly Jesus met them and said, `Greetings! And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. (Matthew 28:9)# Near the end of each of the four Christian gospels, it is women who first discovered that the body of Jesus was missing and who were the first to report seeing him after his death. Certainly then, this is a major indication of the high involvement of women in early Christianity. With such high status undoubtedly mustRead MoreChristianity : The Early Church And The Dawn Of The Reformation1203 Words   |  5 Pages Since its inception, various leaders have contributed to the overall development of the Christian Church, thereby effecting change and defining the trajectory of the Church as it stands today. In The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, Justo Gonzà ¡lez points to two apostles—Peter and Paul, or Saul—as exemplars of such leadership, and the evidence suggests that both of these men had a considerable in fluence on the evolution of the Church. Concerning credentialsRead MoreLoans with Interest in Early Christianity and Islam Essay1075 Words   |  5 PagesRami Ibrahim 0641174 BADM 4370 – History of Business Instructor: Michael Morrone Individual Assignment Loans with Interest in Early Christianity and Islam February 7, 2012 When an individual thinks of religion, the first thing that comes to a believer’s mind is the nonnegotiable worship of a supreme being(s) as a source of tranquility whenever he/she is in distress. On the other hand, to a pro-secularization individual, religion only causes pricey conflicts between different cultures andRead MoreRobert Louis Wilken Writes Of Early Christianity From The1961 Words   |  8 PagesRobert Louis Wilken writes of early Christianity from the perspective of Roman historical accounts, focusing on five major critics of the religion, and ultimately drawing the conclusion that these critics were instrumental in helping Christians more clearly define their faith through self-examination and defense of their own beliefs. With the exception of Pliny, whose opinions and actions were of little consequence throughout the Roman Empire, true dialogue began to take place as Christian philosophyRead MoreThe Spread Of Early Christianity917 Words   |  4 PagesAfter close examination of the historical article provided, this document appears to be a letter containing a firsthand account relating the procedures of the interrogation and persecution of Christians during the spread of early Christianity. The author addresses the recipient of the letter by proclaiming, â€Å"my lord† and further referring to his lord as his authority throughout the remaining four paragraphs through the use of second person such as â€Å"you,† â€Å"your name,† and â€Å"your instructions† (1, 3-5)Read MoreChristianity And The Early Stages1468 Words   |  6 PagesHave you ever wondered how Christianity was spread in the early stages? and what influenced it? Rome held a huge part in both of these things. The Roman emperors, culture, and the Roman religion all were things that influenced early Christianity very much. The time period in which Jesus was on earth was probably the best time he could have come. It was a time of Hellenization, right after Rome had taken over Greece. Most of the world was in the Greek empire before it was taken over by Rome, soRead MoreThe Early Disagreements Within Christianity1091 Words   |  5 PagesI believe this is one of the reasons Christianity thrived because people needed some shrivel of hope. 7. Outline some of the early disagreements within Christianity. See (Christianity for the First 3,000 Years) for details. Consider the nature of Jesus, the Gnostic gospels, the Council of Nicaea etc. The resurrection of Jesus himself is a concept that is hard to believe. How can a man come back to life, and why is this the first time this has happened? Jesus was not written about till after hisRead MoreAdam and Eve Essay 31412 Words   |  6 Pageswe are counted sinful because of Adam’s sin, but Adam sinned because he lusted after Eve and because of this all women must be condemned in the churches. â€Å"Seeing women as flesh, as potentially dangerous to men, made easy the incorporation into Christianity of all the older beliefs and practices surrounding women’s bodies and reproduction. Drawing especially on Hebrew traditions of the old testament, Christian writers gradually asserted that women’s bodies had the power to pollute.† (Anderson Zinsser