Dissertation on "Analzying Christianity and the Torah"

Dissertation 150 pages (47287 words) Sources: 10 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

This significance or relevance applies in new ways outside areas of theology and church such as in call for debt release for underdeveloped countries or as an ethic of nature in the face of environmental crises such as global warming[footnoteRef:12]. [12: Ibid, 244]

1.1.1 History of Christianity

Christianity is widely-believed to have begun with the birth of Jesus about two millennia ago. However, given Jesus' background as a Jewish man, some scholars date the founding of Christianity many more years back to the formative years of Judaism. To show how Christianity unfolds through the centuries, this chapter is broken down into four sections. The first section deals with the roots of Christianity between the 1st and the 3rd centuries C.E. (dating for the birth of Christ). The second section describes the growth of Christianity during the Middle Ages and the third section covers the Reformations in the 1600s and their influence on the Church today. The last section focuses on the U.S. and also highlights a number of features of American Protestantism[footnoteRef:13]. [13: Corrigan and Winthrop]

As widely agreed, Christianity started within Judaism as a movement in the 1st century C.E. During that period, Jesus of Nazareth started teaching about the coming of the Kingdom of God. As is documented in the Scriptures (the Gospel recorded in the New Testament), Jesus formed a main group of 12 Jewish disciples and also recruited many other followers. Jesus and his disciples then set out to minister to the poor and those who were ill in the areas covering present day Palestine and Israel. In 33 C.E., a provincial Roman governor arrested and later executed Jesus of Nazareth. However, the followers of Christ assert that he defeated death and rose again. This further cemented their beliefs that Jesus was the true son of God and that his resurrection absolved them of their sins. As their belief grew, the followers of Jesus named him "Christ" -- meaning the Annointed One -- according to Jewish Scriptures (contained in the Old Testament). Thus the name Jesus Christ was born along with the term Christians to denote the followers of Christ.[footnoteRef:14] [14: Chadwick]

After the death of Jesus, Christians were first identified as a Jewish sect within Judaism. "Christians," essentially Judaists at that time, believed that the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah prophesized in the Jewish Scriptures, the Messiah whose coming they had long awaited. However, as time went by, the majority of Judaists did not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, leading to the conflict between them and the followers of Christ. In spite of the disbelief among the Judaists, many gentiles came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. This led to the emergence of "Christianity" as a religion, separate and distinct from Judaism[footnoteRef:15]. [15: Coogan, 148]

Over the next few decades, the followers of Christ recorded their memories of the sayings and teachings of Jesus in various texts. These texts formed the core of the New Testament. The four best known among these texts are the 4 narratives about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus that now form the basis of the Christian Scriptures, namely the Gospels of John, Luke, Mark and Matthew. At the time these memories were being recorded, many letters were being penned to other Christian churches and communities to give them hope and to teach them how to live the new found lives the Christian way. The letters by Paul and several other writers were later to be included in the Scriptures along with the 4 narratives of the life of Jesus. The followers of Christ argued for many years over texts to include in their Bible; this debate raged on for many years. Thus it was only three centuries later in 367 C.E., that the first known Christian Bible to contain the current twenty-seven texts could appear. Some scholars assert that it may take even more time for all Christians to accept these twenty-seven texts[footnoteRef:16]. [16: Chadwick]

Since Christianity began as a sect within Judaism means that most of the religious practices in the latter formed the framework of worship in the former. However, over time the Christian practices gradually became distinct from those in Judaism. During the 1st and 2nd centuries, Christians worshiped in small congregation throughout Asia Minor and the Near East. The religious practices of these congregations were even different from each other. Furthermore, many Roman territories outlawed Christianity, resulting in many Christians being arrested or persecuted for their faith. However, at the beginning of the 3rd century, in 313 C.E. Constantine (the then Roman Emperor) converted to Christianity and made it legal, instantly stopping all persecutions. Upon his conversion, Constantine soon became aware of the disagreements among Christians on many issues, for instance, the relationship of Christ to God, and that such disagreements were bringing about confusion and unrest in the Roman Empire. Constantine called all Christian Bishops to a meeting (council) at Nicaea in the year 325 C.E. This was the first major meeting of Christian leaders and it expounded different theological points, including the holy trinity and the divinity of Christ. This meeting ended with the declaration of the Nicene Creed. Many more debates followed and a second major council was called in Constantinople in 381 C.E. In this second council, the Nicene Creed was expanded into a longer recital of faith that many Christian denominations still follow[footnoteRef:17],[footnoteRef:18]. [17: Gonzalez] [18: CRUSEMANN, 245]

Even though, more disagreements over important theological points emerged, Christians became more unified in the 4th century during the reign of Emperor Theodosius and through the works of Bishop Augustine of Hippo[footnoteRef:19]. Almost seven decades after the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire, Theodosius made it the official state religion. This led to the rapid growth of Christianity throughout the empire. Some individuals within the Empire converted solely to advance within the social and political ranks of the empire, others converted out of fear of the law, however quite a number of individuals converted willingly. These conversions led to Christianity becoming the leading religion in all Roman provinces and territories, which encompassed almost a third of the known world at that time[footnoteRef:20]. [19: Gonzalez,] [20: Chadwick]

A few years after the declaration by Theodosius, Augustine became the bishop of Hippo, a diocese in North Africa. Augustine, himself an adult convert to the religion, became one of the greatest Christian theologians of all time. During his reign as the Bishop of Hippo, many fundamental Christian beliefs were under contention. Thus, Augustine wrote his theology in reaction to the competing interpretations of certain issues both within the Church and to non-Christian faiths in the 4th and 5th centuries. Through the exploration of these issues, Augustine offered important arguments on human sinfulness, the Holy Trinity in addition to the relationship between the state and church. Augustine's works were of a great influence on Christian thought from the 5th century up to the Reformation period of the 1600s and many more years later[footnoteRef:21]. [21: Ibid]

Despite his clear articulation of issues, Augustine could not manage to put to end to the controversies within Christianity. At church councils, that occurred over 50 to 100 years[footnoteRef:22], the issues of the divinity and humanity of Jesus proved to be an ongoing point of contention. As Christians from various parts of the world drew on their own philosophical traditions to form their opinions on these issues, more differences emerged. The biggest difference of opinion was between the Christian Bishops of the Greek East and those of the Latin West. These agreements gained strength in 1054 C.E. in the "Great Schism" that split Christianity into two major factions, Eastern and Western[footnoteRef:23]. Today, Western Christianity encompasses the Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant Churches, while Eastern Christianity encompasses Orthodox Churches. [22: Ibid] [23: Gonzalez]

Western Christianity grew more rapidly in the Middle Ages. Christianity inspired architecture, music, and art. Through the works of Thomas Aquinas, Christian theology became more systemized[footnoteRef:24]. The head of the Western Christianity became very powerful and influential in European politics. During the 14th and 15th centuries, the papacy lost most of its power and moral authority because of allegations of widespread corruption in the Catholic Church, and many Christians began to doubt the authority of the pope. These doubts led to another major division in the Church that took place in the early 1600s. This split started in present-day Germany when Christians protested against the corruption in the Western church[footnoteRef:25]. [24: Louis] [25: Chadwick]

The man behind the protests was Martin Luther (1483-1543)[footnoteRef:26], a Christian monk who wrote 95 theses criticizing different corruptions of the Christian church, most notably the sale of indulgences[footnoteRef:27]. Originally, indulgences were presents/gifts offered by repentant individuals to the church as a demonstration of gratitude for the… READ MORE

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