Christianity
1)Story of Jesus.
2)New Testament World and the Romans
3) Constantine before and after
4) 4th-11th cent CE
5) Middle Ages/Eastern Orthodox
6) Protestants
7) Enlightenment
8) Who was Jesus?
9) Major Christian Concepts
10) Roman Catholic Church/Seven Sacraments
New Testament/Jesus
Much like Buddhism, Christianity has to start with the biography of the founder so we will begin there.
There are two birth narratives in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. These are in the Bible in the part called
the New Testament. In the New Testament, there are four Gospels which are parallel stories describing the story of Jesus
but with different themes and styles. There is also a book called Acts of the Apostles which is a description of what
happened with Jesus’ disciples after he died in Jerusalem and Judea. There are also letters from Paul to various Christian
communities he started in places like Greece (Corinth, Phillipi, Galatia), Turkey (Ephesus) and Italy (Rome).
Birth Narrative of Matthew: Chapters 1-3
•
Jesus/Joshua of Nazareth born 4 BCE. His father was Joseph from the tribe of Judah. His mother was Mary. Both of them were living in
Bethlehem in Judea at this time. One day, Mary is visited by an Angel named Gabriel. At this time, the Holy Spirit impregnates her. The
Holy Spirit is like the energy or spirit of God. God is the father of Jesus. At this time, King Herod has heard of this special child so he hires
3 Magi (Magician/Wisemen) to find the child so that “he can worship him as well” which was a lie and the Magi know it. The Magi find Baby
Jesus, give him Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh and go home another way without telling Herod. However, the angel Gabriel warns Joseph
and Mary that Herod is still after them so they run away to Egypt to hide until Herod dies. However, since Herod’s son was king at that
point, Joseph and Mary run away to the north to Galilee where they settle in Nazareth. At this point, Judea and Galilee were separate
regions with different Governors so they would be relatively safe.
Birth Narrative of Luke: Chapters 1-2.
•
In this story, the birth story of Jesus is parallel to the birth story of his second cousin John the Baptist. In this story, Mary is visited by
Gabriel who tells her she is “highly favoured” because she will give birth to the savior. At this point, the Holy Spirit impregnates her and once
again, God is the father of Jesus, not Joseph. Mary remains a virgin even though she is pregnant. Mary and Joseph had been living in
Nazareth but had to go back to Bethlehem in Judea for a census because Joseph was originally from Judea. Because everyone was
coming back to Judea, there was no room at the Inn so Mary had to go to a barn/manger to give birth to Jesus. At this time, there were
shepherd in the fields and they saw a star in the sky. Angels told these shepherds to go to the manger and see the Lord. So, the shepherd
did. There were no Magi in this story and Mary and Joseph and the baby never were in danger or had to go to Egypt. After staying there for
the census, Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus eventually went back to Nazareth in the north to their home.
•
The main doctrine is the INCARNATION which is the belief that Jesus was FULLY GOD and FULLY HUMAN at the same time due to this
birth narrative. After this, we know relatively little of Jesus’ childhood or teen years. We know he was raised a Jew and was a carpenter. He
also seems to be aware that he is the son of God but he doesn’t act on this until he is an adult. At the age of 30, when most adult men are
raising a family and going off on their own for their own business, Jesus embarks on a 3 year mission to preach a new message. His
ministry is mainly around the Galilee area in Northern Israel until he goes to Jerusalem in Judea in the south for his eventual death. He
gathers 12 disciples for his ministry who travel with him.
What Did Jesus Do?
•
He challenged religious authorities: BOTH Roman and Jewish.
In the Gospels, the Sadducees are called Priests, the Pharisees are called Teachers/Rabbis and the
Romans are called Herodians. All of them complain about Jesus’ actions. Why?
•
ANSWER: (from Smith) He did good things; healed people, fed people, performed miracles, defended
those who were on the fringes of society and were considered unclean, had conversations with
prostitutes, tax collectors, those with leprosy, those who were sick and bleeding, etc. He accepted
everyone. Why? Because he knew the KINGDOM OF GOD was coming and when it did, it didn’t matter
who was poor, unclean, sick, Jewish, Christian, etc. When, the Kingdom of God comes, everyone who is
just and good will be raised and everyone will be equal. All they have to do is believe in him and God. It
is when Jesus will come again and there will be a new social order that will rejuvenate this world. His
basic message in his teachings was “Love your Neighbor” and fundamentally was nothing new
theologically. However, his use of the Parable was unusual and unique. The parable was a short story
with a moral lesson and Jesus was particularly good at this style of teaching. He also was excellent and
diverting any challenges brought to him.
•
The Jews didn’t like him because those who followed him called him the Messiah and the Son of God.
The Jews considered this a breaking of the Covenantal law because there was only God/YHWH and to
declare Jesus as the Messiah would be breaking God’s law. In addition to that, Jesus appeared to be
deliberately breaking traditional Jewish laws over and over and many Jews found his influence
threatening to their already tenuous situation in Roman society. This brought unnecessary unwanted
attention to the Jewish community because of Jesus’ activity.
•
The Romans didn’t like him because they considered him a Zealot who were people in the Jewish
community that rebelled and led insurrections against the oppressive Roman rule. They believed Jesus
was a threat because his teachings about the potential revolutionary Kingdom of God and language like a
future social upheaval were threatening to the Roman rule. They were used to the Jews being under their
control. Now Jesus, who the Romans considered Jewish, was getting followers and preaching this new
message of hope. That was considered anti-government and needed to be stopped according to the
Romans.
•
The Passion Week
•
As a result, Jesus is arrested after he comes to Jerusalem for Passover. This week in his life is called the
Passion Week: which is the last week of his death/Palm Sunday to Easter.
•
Jesus KNEW he had to die and even warned his disciples as the time grew closer that he and they were
going to be under a period of trial and tribulation. Even knowing this, Jesus enters Jerusalem before
Passover when the city would be on high alert and the most crowded with Jews not under the dark of
night but with great visibility and crowds laying down palm fronds in honor of his entry into the city. Jesus
does this deliberately to ensure that both the Jews and the Romans know he is in the city and to set into
motion his eventual death. He ensures he is arrested and put on trial when, on the second day, he
trashes the Temple court by turning over the tables in the market. He is then put on trial both by his own
Jewish Court called the Sanhedrin Council (which were mostly Sadducees} and then by Pontius Pilate,
the Roman Governor of Judea in the Roman Court. In both situations, he could have potentially been
released but he said nothing in his defense and was convicted at both courts.
•
The punishment of Death by Crucifixion was a direct result of conflict with Jews and Roman powers.
This was a very common method of execution by the Romans because it was slow, painful and a very
public reminder to any other citizen that “THIS COULD BE YOU”. Victims of Crucifixion would be nailed
up on a cross and often rows of crucifixions would line the entry road into a city as a reminder of what
going against the Roman government could entail. One does not die of blood loss. Actually, one dies of
congestive heart failure and it would take 4-10 days for someone to have their heart weaken to the point
where blood and water would back up in one’s lungs resulting in a victim drowning in their own fluids due
to lack of oxygen. Because Jesus was beaten and tortured, his broken body only took three days to die.
•
In order to reconcile the death of their leader and savior, Christians claim his death as sacrifice for them
because this was actually something Jesus had foretold them. According to Jesus and these early
Christians, Jesus took on the sins of the world so he could introduce the new Messianic age, a new
social order. At the end of this age, Jesus said he would come again and he would judge the living and
the dead. When this happens, those who believe in him and have faith will be saved and will be
triumphant over their enemies. If we give ourselves over to Christ, we will have Resurrection, life after
death and by doing so, Jesus promises victory over death. This was a very attractive option to those
Jews and gentiles suffering under Roman oppression because it meant one had power over one’s
enemies and one didn’t have anything to fear, not even death.
After Death of Jesus and the Roman World
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
In the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES in the New Testament of the Bible, the activities of the Disciples and Paul are
described.
After Jesus dies, the 12 Disciples and the followers go into hiding since they are aware that Romans are after them.
Pentecost: is the event that is 50 days after the Resurrection. At this point the disciples are in Jerusalem and the Holy
Spirit comes to find them and tell them to define new church. The Holy Spirit gives them “tongues of fire” which gives
them the ability to speak many languages. With this, the Holy Spirit tell them to go spread the WORD or GOSPEL of
Jesus Christ.
The Disciples all go to spread the message into the
DIASPORA-the dispersed communities of Jews and
Gentiles (non-Jews) in North Africa, Turkey, Greece,
Italy and into Europe. (see map to RT)
At This time the Romans were in charge. Roman Policy:
Emperor is like a God. Anyone who does not swear
allegiance to the Emperor is a traitor and should be
persecuted. Christians AND Jews are persecuted for
their beliefs.
66-74 CE: Jewish Wars occurred which
were the Romans’ attempt to eradicate all Jews (and by
extension Christians). Part of the destruction was the
II Temple in Jerusalem which was a symbol for God for
both Jews and the early Christians. This was destroyed in
70 CE. This was devastating to both Jews and Christians
And both sides blamed each other for the Roman Persecution.
After the Destruction of the II Temple, the Sadducees/Priests were gone since their loci of control was gone. In addition,
the Zealots—the target of the Jewish Wars are gone, The Torah/Text based Pharisees make a deal with the Romans.
Finally, the Christians who had turned and ran, come back and continue to wait for Christ's return. The Jews and the
Christians then blame the other for this Roman persecution. SO, it’s not a great situation for EITHER Jews or Christians.
Pre-Constantine
Pre 4th Century;
•
•
From the 1st-4th centuries, Christianity spread throughout the Mediterranean areas due to the efforts of people like the
Disciples AND Paul who was not one of the original 12 disciples but who converted many communities and encouraged
their faithfulness by writing these communities letters to remind them to keep their Christian faith.
Nevertheless, during this time period, the Roman Empire, which had a religion that was pagan and polytheistic
continued to persecute the Jews and Christians for their beliefs in YHWH and Jesus. As a result, Christians were
martyred and persecuted for their faith.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
They had to practice in secrecy in household churches
Christian communities were far apart throughout the Mediterranean area with no chance to communicate with each
other
There were many different kinds of Christianities around because each missionary had their own perspective and
each community had their own understanding of the teaching plus there was no centralized church that had a
uniform theology to impart.
Women had an increased role because of a) churches met in household churches which were people’s living
rooms where it is the traditional domain of women and b) because they believed Jesus was coming again soon so
traditional social norms about gender inequality was not applicable. They were all in in together.
Christians were one of many minority religions in the Empire
Constantine was the Roman Emperor at the time. The Roman religion
was on the decline and Constantine was looking for another option.
The story is that he had a dream where Jesus appears and tells him
to put a cross on his shield for his battle the next day. He wins the
battle and converts to Christianity. He then writes the Edict of Milan
in 313 CE which is a document declaring Christianity the formal
religion of Roman Empire. However, he still tolerates other religions
but overnight, Christianity goes from being a persecuted minority
religion to the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Post-Constantine
After the Edict of Milan, Christianity becomes the majority religion in the Roman
Empire.
1.
Now, Christians are no longer persecuted because there are now Roman
Christians.
2.
Christian Churches become public, no longer practiced in the home. Public
churches are modeled on roman public buildings.
3.
Because the church services are now in public, they are no longer in the home. As
a result, women get pushed out of the church leadership/men take over public
worship.
4.
After hundreds of years, Christians realize Jesus is NOT coming like he said.
Begin to realize they are there for the long haul so…
5.
They try to have a common statement of faith regarding basic Christian doctrines
because they realize there are conflicting ideas about Christianity especially with
regards to the concept of the INCARNATION. Christians cannot agree if Jesus is
half-man/half-God, fully Man and fully God, etc.
6.
Councils are formed in different locations like Nicea, Constantinople, Chalcedon.
These councils are gatherings of church leaders to find a common system of
beliefs for all Christian churches. Creeds, or statements of faith are written at each
of these councils to outline what exactly they should believe.
https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/creeds/nicene-creed
7.
Christianity starts to spread.

4th-11th Century CE
•
•
•
•
•
Between the 4th and the 11th centuries, Christianity moves westward and most of Europe converts to Christianity except the northernmost countries which had
their own Nordic/Germanic religions. They eventually become Christian from the 12th to 114th centuries but not after Christianity appropriates many of their
“colder” temperature traditions i.e. reindeer, Santa Claus, North Pole, Snow, Christmas trees, etc.
Christianity also moves eastward from Rome to return to reclaim their holy land of Israel. Islam, which begins in the 7th century is in the way and much of the
Middle Ages is struggle against Muslim rulers to take over areas of the Mediterranean.
What Roman Christians found was that in the East,
Christianity had ALREADY been flourishing there heavily
influenced by the various diverse cultures. There were
Churches in Russia, Armenia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, etc.
Christianity becomes divided when the Western church
tries to get the Eastern church on the same page but the
EO already had established practices on how they did
things and they didn’t need the Roman Christian Church
telling them what to do. Also, their practices were too
diverse since there were so many different kinds of
Christianity in the East.
Great Schism of1054: This is when the Division between
the Eastern churches and the Western churches happen.
Other Activity Between 380-1054 CE:
•
Christian Missions and conversions:
1) St. Patrick converts Ireland in the 5th century
2) King Clovis of the Franks (France) is converted in 496 CE
3) England is converted by St. Augustine-597 CE
4) Germany is converted by St. Boniface-8th cent.
5) Russia is converted in the 10th cent- and was often
considered the third Rome
• Statement of Faiths were written:
1) Council of Nicea-325 CE: This council was Constantine's attempt to get all the western churches to agree on the same set of doctrines—institutionalizing the
church. MAIN POINTS? Incarnation and the other “heretical” Christian sects that were on the same page as the Roman church should be kicked out.
2) Council of Constantinople-381 CE: this was a gathering of the Eastern church in Constantinople and the Western Roman church was not invited. It was the
Eastern Church’s attempt at establishing their own Statement of Faith with the Western church’s blessing which it did not receive.
3) Council of Chalcedon-481 CE: since many of the early councils were wrestling with the idea of the Divinity of God, this council discussed the humanity of
Christ. With this focus on his humanity, more attention was given to the role of Mary. The idea that she is called the Virgin Mary came from this council in
addition to the Assumption of Mary, or the belief that she went to heaven without dying because God loved her so much and the Immaculate Conception,
or the idea that Mary was conceived without sin in her mother’s womb so that she could be without sin her whole life and carry Jesus in her sinless womb
without any stain on Jesus.
•
Islam on the Rise
Islam begins in the 7th Cent in Saudi Arabia and quickly becomes the main religion of the Middle East. It begins to spread north and west and is a constant trheat to
Christianity from the 8th-16th centuries.
Eastern Orthodox Church and the Middle Ages
After 1054 CE and the split between the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholics, the
Middle Ages from the 11th-15th centuries was considered the Classic period of Western
Catholicism. At this time in Europe, the Church was VERY powerful.
a) The Pope, who was the head of the Roman Catholic Church was like an Emperor. Many
kings owed their spiritual allegiance to him and depending on who was in power, the Pope
could easily be someone’s brother or cousin.
b) The bishops of the church were like princes, administering the property of the church.
c) The institution of the church were major landowners because of all the donated properties
and land that the nobility would donate to take advantage of the tax-free non-profit status of
the church.
d) Because the Roman Catholic church was wealthy, many men and women joined the church
in Religious orders like the Franciscans, Augustinians, Dominicans, Jesuits, Benedictines.
e) These men and women became religious scholars and theologians.
f) Many studied Philosophy and became Mystic poets
g) Because the church had so much money, there were many building enterprises especially
cathedrals, schools, and affiliated buildings.
BUT, with great power comes corruption. There was tons of political favors and religious
absolution granted here and there and many of the poor and disenfranchised found
themselves at the losing end of salvation from the money hungry church. As people began to
study and examine the teachings and structure of the church, many begins to see the cracks
and flaws and wanted to reform the church from it’s corruption. These scholars and
theologians PROTESTed the church and demanded that it fix itself. These people were
called Reformers and Protestants.
Protestants and the Reformation
•
•
•
Before this point, many “reformers” had been writing and trying to fix the church. BUT, the Reformation begins with
Martin Luther, a devout German Roman Catholic posting his 95 Theses in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. The 95
Theses was a list of 95 Things that were wrong with the Roman Catholic church. Martin Luther posted it, not as an
attack against the church but as an attempt to point out what needed to be fixed. However, he was very angry and
frustrated and the church rejected his attempts at reform. https://www.luther.de/en/95thesen.html
After this, Other reformers started to speak out: Czech reformer John Huss, English reformer John Wycliffe and John
Wesley, Swiss reformer Zwingli, and French reformer John Calvin. Eventually, though these reformers were dedicated to
the Church, followers of their teachings started to form churches around their theology.
BUT we don't have a separate Protestant Branch until King Henry VIII-1534 forms the Church of England in order to get
a divorce from Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn. As soon as there is a separate Anglican church, we have a Protestant
branch of Christianity.
Fundamental Protestant Ideas:
At this point, the Roman Catholic church had developed a very sophisticated liturgical and sacramental system. In other
words, there were many things one had to do in order to be saved. For example, there were 7 mandatory sacraments in the
Roman Catholic Church in addition to donations for forgiveness of sins, various prayers and bodily positions and appropriate
priestly vestments (clothing), etc.
1)
Jean Calvin, a Swiss/French reformer disagreed with all this and wrote about the Protestant Principle which said the
Pope has no authority and that the Bible is the closest thing to God. Everything else is created by man. One can
participate in as much ritual as you want but ultimately it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have faith in Jesus Christ
through the Bible.
2)
Justification by Faith: this is the belief that God saves us through faith and not works. If we have faith in Jesus Christ,
he will save us. We are essentially “Justified by Faith”. This comes from Martin Luther. Why did Martin Luther insist on
this Protestant idea? Because it was a direct reaction to the corrupt practice of Indulgencies which were guaranteed
spots in heaven in exchange for money, goods, land, etc. This was a common practice in the church and the reformers
found this extremely corrupt. Why? Because with Indulgencies, only rich people or those who can pay can get into
heaven. Many poor people found their recently deceased loved ones trapped in Purgatory, or a zone between heaven
and hell like a prison until they could raise enough money to buy them out for the Church’s forgiveness.
Major Theological Concepts
Now that we have discussed the historical background of Christianity AND the breaking into three
branches; Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants, we should discuss the main
theological concepts in Christianity that are universal to all Christians.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Incarnation: this is the belief that Christ is fully God and fully Human. In addition, Jesus/God
voluntarily suffered for humanity by dying on the cross for us. This means that his love is
absolute and ultimate. He loved us as a human by dying for us and he loves as God.
Atonement: This is the forgiveness of Sins or becoming “At one” with God. The problem is
that when we sin, our sins do not disappear when we confess them to God. God assumes
our guilt and takes it on. Ideally, we should not sin at all. How do we know if we are sinful?
Whenever there is imbalance and suffering in the world and whenever we are anxious or
uneasy, we must assume that there is sin. Sin equals imbalance in your life. Our task is to
reconcile ourselves back to Go and put the world back in order.
Trinity: This is the belief that there are three parts of the one God. God, the creator/father,
Holy Spirit or the energy of God and Jesus Christ, the son of God.
Crucifixion: this doctrine says that Jesus died for us and took on our sins so that he could
usher in the Messianic Age. At the end of this age, we will sit in Judgement when he comes
again. Jesus, through his teachings, has given us all we need to know to live in Christ. If we
fall short, it is our own doing and we will be held to task when he comes again. Pretty scary
concept!
Resurrection: This doctrine promises us life everlasting. When Jesus died, he was
resurrected (brought back to life) and taken to heaven to be with God, the father. If we have
faith in Jesus, this is our redemption. If we give ourselves over the Christ, we will also be
seated at the hand of God. Basically what Jesus promised us was life after death so the
greatest thing we had to fear which was death was now no longer so scary.
Roman Catholicism
1) Roman Catholic: this is the branch that is based in Rome in a place called the Vatican City. The head of the church is the Pope who lives in
the Vatican city along with the Vatican guard, priests and visiting scholars. Everyone who “works” there (i.e. cleaners, cooks, drivers, etc)
commute into this special section of the city. The Vatican city shares city works with Rome (i.e. sewer, water, electricity, etc) but is a
separate enclave from the city. Roman Catholics consider themselves the United Christian Church although it split from the Eastern
Orthodox in 1054 and the Protestants in the 16th century.
The Roman Catholics are characterized by two things:
a) Church as Teaching Authority: The church sees itself as your guide for moral and spiritual development both in your public and private life.
Why? Because of papal infallibility-HS prevents and protects Pope from making wrong decisions. Most Roman Catholics are comfortable
with the church’s guidance in their public life; i.e. attend church, communion, confession, marriage, etc. However, they are less comfortable
with the Church interfering with their “private” life. For example, the Church’s teachings on: divorce, abortion, contraception, gender
identification, same-sex attraction, etc. are all issues that one usually considers private and personal but if one is a member of the Roman
Catholic church, you have to accept the Church’s guidance in ALL matters, both personal and private. This is something that many believers
have issues with.
•
•
b) Church as a Sacramental Agent: In the Roman Catholic Church, the notion of “Grace” describes the interaction of God with us.
Sacraments are rituals which show how we are to live our daily lives in god and how we live our life of discipleship. Sacraments are about
the mystery of the communication between God and humans and among humans in community. These rituals allow the church to
guide/shepherd us back into the Church at crucial transition points in out lives where, frankly, there is a danger that we might leave! In the
early days, people like Tertullian and Augustine believed the sacrament produced an effect of Christ working within us. AT that time, there
were over 300 sacraments. What did they do? They decided this was too many and at the 4th Lateral Council, 1215 CE—in ROME—
officially numbered the sacraments to 7. Protestants only had 2—baptism and Eucharist since Jesus did these himself. RC said no, all 7.
Why all 7? They are “by extension” part of the acts of Jesus. The church is a sacrament of HIMSELF to extend, in a tangible manner, his
action into the world. These sacraments presuppose a personal faith in Christ where god offers and Humans receive the grace of Christ.
The Seven Sacraments are;
1) Baptism, 2) Confirmation, 3) Holy matrimony/marriage, 4) Holy Orders, 5) Extreme Unction, Confession, 7) Mass-transubstantiationwhen the bread and wine metaphysically transforms into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Sacraments of Initiation
Baptism: This is the First of three Sacraments of Initiation where sin loses it’s power through the washing away of sin.
Immersion symbolizes dying with Christ, extraction symbolizes being born again. This ritual represents the passing
from sin into the community of Christ. The Baptismal candle represents Christ lighting the journey and the white gown
symbolically represents that the initiate has “put on Christ”.
•
Confirmation: This is the second Sacrament of Initiation with the anointing of oil. This is usually around the age of
13-16. This is also when a person publicly accepts those same gifts of the spirit and becomes an active member of
the Church. Used to do it RIGHT after Baptism but too many people wanted it. So, now, we do it later. Seen as a
conclusion of Baptism.
•
Eucharist: This is the 3rd initiation sacrament. Completes Baptism and Confirmation. This is a sacrament that we
repeat weekly throughout our lives in the church. It represents the New covenant of Jesus’ body and blood. In the
ritual, the Bread and Wine are the main sacramental signs—signify Christ’s real presence. In 1376, at the Council of
Trent— the RC indoctrinated the notion of TRANSUBSTANTIATION; the belief that the bread and wine becomes the
body and blood of Christ where the substance of the bread and wine transforms metaphysically into Christ. Medieval
people understood substance as a metaphysical reality, we understand it as a physical reality. The species of Bread
and wine remain but the substance converts. There are three parts to the Eucharist ritual;
•
1.
Consecration: priest lays his hands—symbolically transforming the Eucharist into Christ’s real presence.
2.
Conversion: consecration signifies the conversion. Becomes the body and blood.
Communion: conversion effects communion. Signifies Christ offering is self to the community but also Christians
communing with each other. Christ offering his sacramental presence to the Church. Signifies hospitality—lack of
hospitality implies lack of love.
3.
4 Remaining Sacraments
4) Confession/Reconciliation: This ritual is for the doctrine of Atonement or forgiveness of sins and the
re-acceptance into the ecclesial community. We believe that Sin alienates us from God. We are
ncouraged to confess to a priest—why? A) so he can represent the community’s reconciliation by laying
on of hands. B) by speaking our sins out loud, we stop denying the reality of our sinfulness and only then
can we accept our forgiveness. Then, our sin is removed and Jesus takes on our sins for eternity. Best
plan? DON’T SIN! They don’t disappear. Jesus takes on our burden of Sin instead.
5) Anointing of the Sick: This is also known as Last Rites or the Last Confession. This signals Jesus’
compassion towards the sick and suffering by a) healing and forgiveness of sins, b) reconciling Jesus with
the ill/sufferer. The priest comes to anoint with oil—extends his healing ministry to those who suffer.
Also, the Priest hears the final confession. Finally, this ritual can also be done post-morten in case the
deceased died before receiving this rite.
6) Holy Orders: This is when a priest is ordained and symbolically marries the Church or when a Nun is
ordained and symbolically takes Jesus Christ as her husband. The language of the rite is very similar to
the language of Holy matrimony. An ideal Roman Catholic either gets ordained or gets married!
7) Marriage: covenantal union between spouses that signify the mystery of union between Christ and his
church. Christ free and self-giving love for one another. Marriage invites couples into Jesus’ friendship.
Since this is a sacrament, it is unbreakable. You cannot get a divorce. The only way you can end a
marriage is through an ANNULMENT which is not a breaking apart of the sacramental union but a
declaring that the marriage was never consummated and is thus, nullified. The annulment process is
very costly, embarrassing, long, so if one does get married in the RC church, one really has to make the
commitment.
Eastern Orthodox and the reasons for the Great Schism of 1054 CE
First of all, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox are two BRANCHES of the
SAME faith Christianity. They share the same Christian Doctrines and the same Seven
Sacraments.
There are three reasons why the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholics split:
1) From the History above, we can see that the Western Roman Catholic church was developing
so rapidly. If they needed to communicate changes to the Eastern churches, they either didn’t
make it OR the Eastern Church already had an established protocol for the same practices.
2) The environment around the developing church were different. The Roman Catholics were
developing in Southern Europe—expanding into France, Spain, Ireland, England, etc. which
was more receptive and open to the growing religion. The Eastern church was developing in
a variety of areas including Russia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Middle East (see map
earlier) which tends to be more varied culturally with different approaches to Christianity and
generally slower to change because of the variety of approaches to the orthodox branches.
Also, Christianity had already been established in the East WELL before Constantine
converted so there were some grounded traditions that had been in place for 100s of years.
3) Finally, starting in the 7th cent CE, Islam began in Saudi Arabia and quickly advanced/spread
through North Africa and throughout the Middle East. They took over Turkey and closed the
door of communication between the Eastern and the Western churches thereby forcing each
branch to develop independently from each other. See Map again.
Three Differences between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics
1.
•
•
1) Eastern Orthodox church are different regarding the teaching of issues: EO only treats issues mentioned in Scripture as
doctrinal. EO has only met 7 times in 7 ecumenical councils so as a result, the EO does not believe in RC concepts like; 1)
Purgatory: the zone between heaven and hell where souls go to wait until they are cleansed for heaven. 2) The belief that the
Pope is infallible: Infallibility means “Never wrong”. The RC believe that the Holy Spirit protects the Pope from making a
mistake. 3) Immaculate conception—because delivering a baby is traditionally a very cultically impure act (involves blood,
amniotic fluid, other fluids), the RC don’t want to believe that the pure Jesus Christ was carried by something impure like a
female body SO the immaculate conception is the belief that Mary was conceived in her mother Anna’s womb as pure and
without sin SO she can carry Jesus Christ as a pure sinless person. EO do not believe this. 4) Virgin birth: This is the belief that
Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus Christ. The RC still maintains the purity and virginity of Mary but some EO
churches believe she is NO longer a virgin once she gives birth and that Mary, ultimately, was a normal female. 5) Assumption
of Mary: Since the Gospels never mention that Mary died, the RC believe God loved her so much that God took her up to
heaven without waiting for her to die. EO do not believe this.
2) EO has no Pope-dogmas are reached through an Ecclesiastical council. They have many different branches instead of ONE
universal church like the RC. The four major branches are; A) the Eastern Orthodox Church, B) the Oriental Orthodox
Churches, C) the Nestorian Church of the East, D) The Eastern Catholic Churches. The heads of each of these branches are
called Patriarchs with the main “head” being the Patriarch of Constantinople. All the Patriarchs make decisions for the church
on an Ecclesiastical council but they rarely meet. They have only met 7 times in the last 1000 years to change Eastern Orthodox
church doctrine. The Eastern Orthodox is NOT a unified church. They are made of of at least 13 branches each reflecting a
different area where the Orthodox church set root.
3) The personality of the Eastern Orthodox church is different: It is much more varied because of the different styles of the
different branches and in general tends to be more inner worldly while the Roman Catholics are more involved in the world.
Eastern Orthodox is generally more introverted and more concerned with the mystical body of Christ while the Roman
Catholics are more extroverted and more concerned with shaping the moral nature of their church and participating in social
action.
Protestant Reformers
We covered many of the basic ideas of the Protestant Branch under the History section above. Protestants and Roman
Catholics share the main Christian doctrines AND the two Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist though
Protestants do not believe in Transubstantiation.
In addition, there are two major Protestant theologians;
1) Martin Luther: German Catholic Monk who was dissatistifed with the corruption of the church. He wrote the 95 Thesis
which outlined 95 things that were wrong with the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century. His major theological
point was Justification by Faith: which states that we are instruments of God's love and that Personal faith can
transform one's heart. And save us in the eyes of God NOT works or how much money one has. This was in direct
reaction to the practice of indulgencies (see slide above). For Luther FAITH justified you in the eyes of God, not works
or the things that one did.
2) John Calvin. He was a Swiss French reformer: He also was a devoted member of the Church that introduced two key
ideas;
a) Protestant Principle: This states that the Bible is the only authority and that, though it is written by men, it is the closest
thing to God. Calvin saw that the Church was corrupted by man-made things; i.e. stations of the cross,
transubstantiation, ritual, symbols, saints, etc. He sought to do away with all the “trappings” and get back to the original
work of the Bible. Find salvation in the text and teachings rather than in the liturgy and the rites.
2) The notion of Pre-Destination: In his Summa Theologica, his grand systematic theology of Christianity he states that: a)
God is infinite and cannot be restrained by time. B) If God is infinite and all knowing, he knows not on the past, and the
present but also the future. C) He knows this like a “snapshot”. So, he doesn’t know the future like he knows what WILL
happen. He sees the past, present, and future as one thing—something that is happening/has happened/will happen all at
the same time. D) That being said, he knows who is saved and who is not. This is called “Pre-Destination” or we are
already destined to be either “saved” or “not-saved”.
The Problem is WE don’t know if we are. So, the key is, so what? We must behave as if we are because if we don’t, we
definitely are NOT saved.So, not knowing is an incentive to be good and behave as if we ARE saved because in the
end, if we ARE pre-destined to be saved---GREAT. If we are not, we lived a good a productive life. The Bottom line is
SURELY, one who is kind and good and seeks Christ’s salvation HAS to be saved. We can comfort ourselves with that.
Protestant Timeline
1517: Martin Luther Posts his 95 Theses. Begins
the Protestant Reformation.
Before this, reformers like Calvin, Zwingli (Swiss),
Wesley, Wycliffe (English) and Huss (Czech) had
made attempts to fix the corruption within the
church.
1534: King Henry breaks away from the RC
Church and forms the Church of England
(Anglican) to divorce Catherine of Aragon and to
marry Anne Boleyn. FIRST Protestant
denomination/Church.
Protestant Church Structure
255 Denominations—branches/churches within the Protestant
branch of Christianity. There is no centralized Church. There are
only denominations which are individual branches. Some of
them are loosely affiliated i.e. Presbyterians and the Evangelical
Presbyterians, United Church of Christ and Congregationalists.
Presbyterians (Calvin), UCC, Methodist (Wesley), Episcopal
(Anglican), Lutheran (Luther), Congregationalists, Unitarian,
Seventh Day Adventists, Church of Christ, Baptists (American
and Southern), Evangelical and Jehovah's Witnesses.
Each denomination functions independently of the others. This is
DIFFERENT from the Roman Catholic Church whose power
structure is unified under the Pope.