I’m sitting at a starbucks reading about the history of the
church, listening to Shane and Shane on my earphones and thinking to myself how
can I live a life of significance. Psalm 23, I will wait on you. I want to
worship but I’m sitting here alone?
Tradition has traced
apostles to far-flung parts of the world. Christians of south India trace their
Christianity back to the apostle Thomas, who they believe is buried near
Madras. John was believed to have been at the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor
(Efes in modern Turkey). Mathew may have been active in Ethiopia. Pilgrims
still climb mountain passes to the legendary burial place of the apostle James
at Compostela in northern Spain. (p. 4 of A History of The Church In The
Middle Ages by F. Donald Logan)
What is certain is that Peter and Paul both died at Rome and
a fairly early tradition links them as ‘founders’ of the Roman church. (p.5)
Christianity differed from other eastern religions for it
alone was monotheistic. At its center was
not a mythological person but an actual historical person. In Tertullian’s
familiar phrase ‘See the Christians: how they love one another’ – provided a
powerful attraction to souls in search of a religion which affected their whole
lives. (p.7)
By 112 Pliny the Younger, once consul in Rome, wrote from
Asia Minor that Christianity was reaching even into the villages. By the end of
that century Christianity had reached remotest Britain. And by the conversion
of Constantine in 312, perhaps as many as six or seven million Christians lived
within the Roman empire and an untold but no doubt smaller number beyond its
borders.
In A.D 64 emperor Nero singled out Christians for
persecution for the burning of Rome setting a precedent that would permitt the
persecution of Christians as Christians. For the next two hundred years after
Nero’s scapegoating, Christians were persecuted sporadically but only in
specific locations. (p.8) the early Christians were afraid for their lives but
it was the blood of martyrs that acted as a seed for the growth of the
Christian religion as Tertullian put it.
After Constantine’s conversion in 312 the church was free
from persecution. In 392 Christianity became the official religion of the Roman
state.
From apostolic times the movement had some organization: the
unit was the local church (ecclesia). The local community at Corinth was known
as the church of Corinth, and so it was with other local Christian communities.
At each church some person presided; he was called by different names but has
become known as ‘bishop’. They all worshipped together in private homes at a
Eucharist (‘thanks-giving’) that memorialized the Last Supper of Christ with
his apostles. By the time of Constantine the ‘bishops’ of the great churches at
Antioch, Alexandria and Rome exercised authority beyond their local churches.
History occurs within the context of culture. Sociologists
say a culture is the way of life characteristic of a group. A culture includes
the physical creations of a people and their learned and shared behaviors and
beliefs. When Christianity moved into a new culture, it often adopted the
beliefs and symbols of that culture, at least in modified forms. Christianity
developed from Judaism and shares much with it.
Christianity, like Judaism, presents a linear view of history, which means that history has a definite
beginning and will reach a definite end.
The Prophets
After the death of
Solomon, the nation of Israel separated into two kingdoms. This period of the
divided kingdom ran from 922 to 722 B.C.E when Assyria conquered the north and
destroyed Israel. There arose many prophets during this time. The most
important were Elijah (850 B.C.E), Elisha (825 B.C.E), first Isaiah (742-695),
Jeremiah (627-580 B.C.E), Ezekiel (593-570 B.C.E), second Isaiah (540 B.C.E),
and third Isaiah (515 B.C.E).
The word prophet roughly means “speak for.” Prophets
assumed a special authority because they claimed to speak for God. They criticized
both the religion and culture of their day, usually by claiming they were
recalling a straying people to keeping the covenant of Moses.
True religion involved having a pure heart, not just
following set rituals.
The prophets held that Israel was not special to God because
God loved her above others, but because she was chosen to be a witness about
God all nations.
When Israel ceased to exist in 722 B.C.E, Judah survived as
the “bearer of the covenant.” This southern kingdom gave its name (Judaism) to
the religion traced to Abraham. The people who practice this faith were
eventually called Jews because at one time most of them were citizens of Judah.
(p.9,11-‘A Concise History of Christianity by R. Dean Peterson)
In 586 B.C.E Judah was conquered by Babylon. The Babylonian captivity
lasted until 538 B.C.E. when Cyrus, a Persian who had recently defeated the
Babylonians, permitted Jewish captives to return to their homeland.
Many scholars claim that during the Babylonian captivity the
practices and beliefs associated with Judaism actually emerged. Judaism became
radically monotheistic, which means the Jews developed a strong belief that
there was only one God. From this point
on faith in one God became the identifying mark of Jews. (p.11)
The Torah was written in its present form during the
captivity. The Torah is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Because these
books contain the “Law of Moses,” they also were called simply the Law. Obedience
to the Law became central features of Judaism.
One of the most important rules that developed during the
Babylonian captivity was observing the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a time of rest
and worship.
The synagogue, a local congregation where believers gathered
for worship and study, also appeared during this time. Rabbis emerged along
with the development of synagogues. They were teachers of the Jewish law who
settled disputes regarding the Law or rituals and performed other duties such
as weddings. Often the rabbis were the heads of local synagogues. Later the
term was applied by disciples to their teachers. It was in this sense that the
word rabbi was applied to Jesus.
After the Jews returned to their homeland they rebuilt the
walls of Jerusalem and the temple but they were still dominated by the
Persians. After Alexander the Great, a Greek, conquered the middle east, Judah
was captured from the Persians and placed under the control of a series of
Greek rulers. The Hellenestic (Greek) era ran from 332 to 167 B.C.E. Greek
culture and thought was now introduced to the region.
The Jews were briefly free from 167 B.C.E. to 63 B.C.E. when
Judah Maccabee led a successful revolt against Greek rule. General Pompey, a
Roman took control of Jerusalem from then on.
The Roman empire
stretched north to south from England to North Africa and east to west from
Syria to Spain when Jesus was born. Pax Romana (“peace of Rome”) was enforced
during this time. Highways were constructed for the army linked the empire.
Greek was the language of commerce and was spoken throughout
the empire. Christian missionaries were allowed to travel safely throughout the
empire and permitted to communicate the
gospel (good news) of Jesus wherever they went because of this.
The new church had to turn to both the Jewish and the Roman
worlds to understand itself and explain its faith to outsiders. This same
process operates today as each new generation of Christians tries to apply the
traditional faith to the world in which it lives.
Jesus taught about
ethics (ideas of right and wrong). The center of these ethics was an intense
love of God. Sincere love would lead to automatic obedience to God’s laws.
Jesus taught that a life focused on God would eliminate worry and give way to
contentment.
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