The History Behind Christianity
Christianity is the most followed religion with more than 2 billion followers worldwide. The religion is centered solely based on the beliefs regarding the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It started over 2000 years ago in Judea, which is common day Israel.
Christianity was founded in the 1st century AD as a Jewish sect but was quickly spread through the Roman empire. Jesus was a Jew and observed the Jewish Faith and was well acquainted with the Jewish Law. He would travel from village to village and teach in the synagogues while helping those who were suffering. Jewish religious authorities feared that Jesus’ teachings stirred the hearts of the people and would cause instability. After a while a faithful group of men started to follow Jesus’ teachings, they were called his disciples. He taught them about the will of God and about the “new covenant” God will bring to humanity through Him. He told them about sin and how he would pay for the peoples sins of all humanity by being put on the cross and being crucified. After 3 days, he would rise by to life and give hope to the world.
There are many different groups that stem from the Christianity. One of the largest groups is the Roman Catholic Church. There are more Roman Catholics than all other Christians combined and more Roman Catholics than all Buddhists or Hindus. They believe that the Jesus Christ handed his young church over to his apostle Simon Peter who would become the first Bishop of Rome. They believe in the after life of heaven and hell and in Mary’s, the mother of Jesus Christ, Perpetual Virginity, her Immaculate Conception, and her bodily Assumption into heaven. The Roman Catholic church is very popular in almost every country in Latin America. This can be effects of Spanish and Portuguese colonization of the region and the Roman Catholic missions that have happened there. In these countries, the Church controlled all aspects of life from birth, through marriage, until death. Even in some countries in Asia like Timor-Leste which has 97% Roman Catholics and Philippines which has 82.9% Roman Catholics, the church has spread very far due to missionaries being sent there.
Another large group of Christianity is Eastern Orthodox. They follow the faith and practices that were defined by the first seven Ecumienal councils. The word “orthodox” comes from the Greek language means “right believing.” It is seen mainly in the Balkans, the Middle East, and former Soviet countries. They are united in faith and by a common approach to theology, tradition, and worship while drawing on elements of Greek, Middle-Eastern, Russian and Slav culture. Like the Roman Catholic Church, they believe that God revealed himself in Jesus Christ, and a belief in the incarnation of Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection but are different in the way they worship.
The last major group of the Church is the Protestant group. 53% of Americans consider themselves Protestant Christians while there is 500 million worldwide. It was a movement that started in northern Europe in the early 16th century as a reaction to medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. Roman Catholic leader, Charles V, removed the provision of the Diet of Speyer in 1526 that had allowed each ruler to choose whether to administer the Edict of Worms. In the 16th Century they were referred to as two greater schools, Lutheran and the Reformed. Protestant denominations differ in the degree to which they reject Catholic belief and practices. Some of the churches, such as Anglicans and Lutherans, resemble the Catholic Church, while Baptists and Presbyterians have little resemblance to the Catholic Church. What they do have in common is that they adhere to the authority of the Bible and the doctrines of His early beliefs.
Another smaller church is the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which a lot of people know as Mormons. Depending on who’s asked, some believe that the mormons aren’t a part of the Christian church but they follow the Bible and have a book called the “book of mormon.” It’s a newer branch of Christianity. It was founded in Fayette Township, New York by Joseph Smith. He claimed that in 1823 a Christian angel named Moroni who spoke to him of an ancient Hebrew text that had been lost for 1,500 years visited him. In holy text, the story of the Israelite peoples who had lived in America in ancient times were engraved on gold plates. Over the next six years Smith dictated an English translation of this text to his wife and other scribes. By the 1830 The Book of Mormon was created. He also founded the Church of Christ later that
year which is now called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The religion quickly gained converts in Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio but was criticized for its unorthodox practices like polygamy. In July of 1847, the Mormon pioneers reached Utah’s Valley of the Great Salt Lake and decided it to be their “place”. Tens of thousands of Mormon migrants then followed the pioneers there and settled down. Now Salt Lake City, Utah is known as a Mormon city. You will often hear of young men called “missionaries” being sent on missions to spread the teachings of the church and teachings of The Book of Mormon. For most of the 1830s, missionary work remained concentrated near areas of Mormon settlement in Ohio and Missouri and some parts of eastern Canada. In 1837 Joseph Smith even sent missionaries over to Great Britain. Between 1837 and the early 1840s, they got thousands of Britons to join the Church of LDS.
There is so much to learn about the history of Christianity and where it’s going. It’s one of the largest religious views in the world. People are taking what they need from the teachings and making it work for them. Even though there are many different groups in the Christian church, they all have something in common: their belief of the Bible.
