Christianity
Lesson 17
ID & SIG:
• Calvin, epistles, Gentiles, Hermensen
(Arminius), Jesus, Luther, New Testament,
Paul (Saul), Pharisees, Reformation,
salvation by faith, spread of early
Christianity, St. Augustine
Jesus
• Born sometime before 4
B.C. in Bethlehem
– Virgin birth as the Son of
God (Luke 1:34-35)
• John the Baptist began
preaching before Jesus
and Jesus began his
ministry with a message
of repentance similar to
John’s
• Called Twelve Apostles to
assist him
Jesus’ Ministry
• Met resistance from Jewish authorities
who considered his claims to be the
Messiah blasphemy and Roman
authorities who considered his call for “the
kingdom of God” to be a political threat
• Jews brought Jesus before the Roman
authorities who acquiesced to the Jews’
demands to crucify Jesus
Resurrection
• Jesus’ followers
proclaimed he had risen
from the dead and that
his death and
resurrection served as a
sacrifice to offset their
sins
– Now they too can survive
death and live eternally in
heaven
• Jesus’ followers called
him “Christ” which means
“the anointed one” and
they became known as
Christians (Acts 11:26)
New Testament
• Christians compiled a body of writings
including accounts of Jesus’ life, reports of
his followers’ works, and letters outlining
Christian teachings
• Becomes known as the “New Testament”
and Christians refer to the Jews’ Hebrew
scriptures as the “Old Testament”
Salvation
• Jesus’s teachings did not replace the
Jewish law but transcended it
• Salvation for Christians would come by
faith rather than by adherence to the law
• How does this impact keeping order in a
society?
Saul
• The Christians were subjected to persecutions
from Jews who disagreed with the new faith
• One of the chief persecutors was Saul
– Zealous Pharisee
– Held the people’s coats while Stephen was
being stoned (Acts 4:58)
• Was on his way to Damascus to see whether
there is any Christian influence in the synagogue
there when God encountered him
– “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts
9:4)
Paul
• God made Saul “a chosen
vessel unto me, to bear my
name before the Gentiles,
and kings, and the children of
Israel” (Acts 9:15)
– Came to be known as Paul
– Greatest theologian of the
early Church
– Apostle to the greatest
sphere of Christian
missionary expansion– to
the Gentile world to the
west
Paul’s Mission Trips
Epistles
Paul’s Method
• The cities in which Paul established
churches were politically, culturally, and
economically important
• They were also located on the main
thoroughfares of the Roman Empire,
ensuring mobility of the message
• Christianity would radiate from these major
cities to others and eventually to the
countryside
Factors Aiding the Spread of
Christianity
• Paul wrote in Greek
– The conquests of Alexander had introduced
Greek as the common language from Italy to
India (We’ll study Alexander in Lesson 18)
• Roman system of good roads and the lack
of piracy or serious crime (Pax Romana)
– Allowed Paul to travel and preach throughout
Asia Minor, Thrace, Greece, and Italy
Factors Aiding the Spread of
Christianity
• Presence of the synagogue
– Gave Paul a forum to preach, dispute with the
Jews, and attract converts
• Roman toleration of religion
– Paul and the other missionaries were able to
freely debate the cause of Christianity,
provided they said nothing subversive to
Rome’s political authority
Factors Aiding the Spread of
Christianity
• Degenerate nature of Roman society
– Rome’s idle, lascivious aristocracy amused
itself with such pursuits as mortal combat for
entertainment and created a spiritual void that
needed to be filled
• Broad Appeal
– Open to lower classes, urban populations,
and women
– Accorded honor and dignity to individuals who
did not enjoy high standing in Roman society
Result
• Less than 300 years after the crucifixion,
Christianity became the most dynamic and
influential religion in the Mediterranean
basin
• In 380 A.D., Theodosius proclaimed
Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire
Institutional Church
• In the absence of organized leadership, the
earliest Christians had generated a wide range
of sometimes conflicting doctrines
• To standardize the faith, Christian leaders
instituted a hierarchy of church officials
– The bishop in Rome and patriarchs in Jerusalem,
Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople
– As Roman imperial authority crumbled, the bishop of
Rome (known as the pope) emerged as the spiritual
leader of Christians communities in the western part
of the empire
Evolving Doctrine
• In 325 A.D., Constantine called the
Council of Nicea which brought together
Christian leaders to consider the views of
the Arians
– Arians taught that Jesus was a mortal man
rather than God Himself
– Arianism was condemned as heresy
• (We talked about this in Lesson 6)
Nicean Creed
We believe in one God
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit
and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the
Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand
of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
and the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and
the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the
prophets.
We believe in the one holy catholic
(Christian) and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the
dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Added Philosophical Sophistication
• The earliest Christians had come from the
ranks of ordinary people
• Their doctrine seemed unsophisticated to
intellectual elites
• Until the 3rd Century Christianity grew as a
popular religion of salvation favored by the
masses
• During the 4th Century, intellectual elites
began to give it a reasoned doctrine of
intellectual substance
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
• Well educated and conversant
with all the leading intellectual
currents of his day
• Converted to Christianity in 387
• Worked to reconcile Christianity
with Greek and Roman
philosophical traditions,
especially Platonism
• Tried to articulate Christianity in
terms that were familiar to
educated classes
• Wrote Confessions and The
City of God
Martin Luther
• In 1517, Martin Luther
distributed his Ninety Five
Thesis which was a public
challenge to debate the
Church practice of selling
indulgences
– Indulgences were a type of
pardon that excused
individuals from doing
penance for their sins and
facilitated entry into heaven
– Church officials thought
indulgences were great–
encouraged believers to
reflect piously on their
behavior and served as a
large source of income
Reformation
• In 1520, Pope Leo X
excommunicated Luther
• Though expelled from the Church,
Luther still considered himself a
Christian and he began to attract
followers
• The movement spread from
Wittenberg, throughout Germany,
to Switzerland, and throughout
western Europe
– The printing press was
instrumental in spreading the
word
• The dissidents became known as
“Protestants” because they were
protesting against the established
order
Other Reformers
• John Calvin
– Converted to Protestantism in
the 1530s and left France for
Switzerland to escape
persecution
– Founded a model Protestant
community in Geneva which
also served as a missionary
center
– Advanced the doctrine of
predestination
– Great influence on
Presbyterianism
Other Reformers
• Jacob Hermensen
(Latinized Arminius)
– Revolts against strict
Calvinism in favor of
free will
– Argues that people
must make an active
choice to be saved
– Profoundly influenced
John Wesley and
Methodism
Next
• Group led
discussion