What is Christianity???
Christianity is one of the few monotheistic religions or systems of belief and practices present since ancient society. Christianity is based on the teachings of not only the Old Testament, but that of Jesus (who is embodied in the New Testament as savior).
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is a Jew that founded this religion. He was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem and grew up to worship god and follow Jewish law. Large crowds always gathered to hear his teachings, especially since he was known with his miracles of healing. Jesus believed in one God, accepted the Ten Commandments, and taught people to obey the laws of Moses. According to his followers, Jesus called himself the son of god. He taught the need for justice, morality, and forgiveness. Viewing him as a threat to leadership and as a troublemaker, the Romans ordered Jesus's crucification. After this act, some people claim to have seen him 'rise from death', and from there he 'rose into heaven'.
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is a Jew that founded this religion. He was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem and grew up to worship god and follow Jewish law. Large crowds always gathered to hear his teachings, especially since he was known with his miracles of healing. Jesus believed in one God, accepted the Ten Commandments, and taught people to obey the laws of Moses. According to his followers, Jesus called himself the son of god. He taught the need for justice, morality, and forgiveness. Viewing him as a threat to leadership and as a troublemaker, the Romans ordered Jesus's crucification. After this act, some people claim to have seen him 'rise from death', and from there he 'rose into heaven'.
The Spread of Christianity...
After Jesus's death, Christian communities formed, and people began to spread his teachings. Slowly, the Jews began accepting his teachings; and they later came to a conclusion that Christianity was a sect of Judaism.
Paul, a Jew from Asia Minor, played the most influential role in the spread of this religion. This was surprising, considering that Paul was one of the Jews that persecuted Jesus's followers. After Pual had a vision where he saw Jesus talking to him, he quickly converted to Christianity and started to spread the religion. He journeyed around the Mediterranean and set up churches from Mesopotamia to Rome. He expanded Christian teachings by writing long letters, which are now part of the new testament.
The reason why Christianity spread as fast as it did was because it welcomed all people, especially the poor and powerless. What also aided the spread of Christianity was when Paul added ideas from famous Greek Philosophers into his argument. Even with the persecution of Christians, people were willing to convert to Christianity as they witnessed people that were willing to die for this religion.
Paul, a Jew from Asia Minor, played the most influential role in the spread of this religion. This was surprising, considering that Paul was one of the Jews that persecuted Jesus's followers. After Pual had a vision where he saw Jesus talking to him, he quickly converted to Christianity and started to spread the religion. He journeyed around the Mediterranean and set up churches from Mesopotamia to Rome. He expanded Christian teachings by writing long letters, which are now part of the new testament.
The reason why Christianity spread as fast as it did was because it welcomed all people, especially the poor and powerless. What also aided the spread of Christianity was when Paul added ideas from famous Greek Philosophers into his argument. Even with the persecution of Christians, people were willing to convert to Christianity as they witnessed people that were willing to die for this religion.
A person joins a Christian community by renouncing evil in the rite of baptism. They believe that through baptism, all sins are forgiven by god. Every Sunday, Christians gathered to thank God or everything they had, and had a meal called the Eucharist (which they did in memory of Jesus). There, women usually led the way to Christianity, as they served as teachers and administrators. However, only men were allowed to become members of the Christian clergy. Thus, Priests (men) became the authority of the churches. These men were called bishops, and the more important the city a bishop served in, the more power he had. The bishops of Rome, for an example, had absolute power/authority over the people in their area. They even came to hold more power than the emperors of the country itself! This caused a lot of problems as the popes clashed with the emperors. Thus, the Church greatly interfered with the country's politics. To a point in time, popes had the power to excommunicate emperors, but the Church's power didn't last as long (not until after the Crusades were done).
The Crusades were holy wars that normally fought for the rights or safety of Christian communities. In 1096-1204, a series of Crusades took over Europe and it was mainly a war between the Muslims, Christains, and Jews. Even though the Crusades seemed as a horrible series of wars that did nothing but spread hatred amongst the people of Europe and the Middle East, it really did Europe a favor. Because of the Crusades, trade expanded and the economy improved. In order to finance the fighting, countries that supported the Crusades imposed a tax to collect money; they built ships that were later used in trade; and resulted in the spread of ideas and products from the Middle East to Europe. Another benefit of the Crusades was that peasants were allowed to pay rent in money, rather than labor, which undermined serfdom.
As a result of European contact with the Muslim world, Christains came to realize that there are many regions out in the world that they had no idea about. This, of course, led to a series of expeditions and explorations that were to the advantage of Europe. This will eventually lead to the spread of Christianity to even more regions of the world, and the incorporation of different traditons to the Christian culture.
Since the building of Churches began, stonemasons carved sculptures that portrayed scenes from the Bible and other religous themes. They also included carvings of animals and plants. The creation of stained-glass windows (which became part of what is now known as the Gothic style) that depicted pictures of Jesus was also a big part of churches. This was significant because it formed as a form of religious education to those whom were illiterate.
Over time, Christians began to produce work on Judeo-Christian theology (talk about god). Some popes even combined Greco-Roman learning with Christian Doctrine.
The Crusades were holy wars that normally fought for the rights or safety of Christian communities. In 1096-1204, a series of Crusades took over Europe and it was mainly a war between the Muslims, Christains, and Jews. Even though the Crusades seemed as a horrible series of wars that did nothing but spread hatred amongst the people of Europe and the Middle East, it really did Europe a favor. Because of the Crusades, trade expanded and the economy improved. In order to finance the fighting, countries that supported the Crusades imposed a tax to collect money; they built ships that were later used in trade; and resulted in the spread of ideas and products from the Middle East to Europe. Another benefit of the Crusades was that peasants were allowed to pay rent in money, rather than labor, which undermined serfdom.
As a result of European contact with the Muslim world, Christains came to realize that there are many regions out in the world that they had no idea about. This, of course, led to a series of expeditions and explorations that were to the advantage of Europe. This will eventually lead to the spread of Christianity to even more regions of the world, and the incorporation of different traditons to the Christian culture.
Since the building of Churches began, stonemasons carved sculptures that portrayed scenes from the Bible and other religous themes. They also included carvings of animals and plants. The creation of stained-glass windows (which became part of what is now known as the Gothic style) that depicted pictures of Jesus was also a big part of churches. This was significant because it formed as a form of religious education to those whom were illiterate.
Over time, Christians began to produce work on Judeo-Christian theology (talk about god). Some popes even combined Greco-Roman learning with Christian Doctrine.
