The Evolution of ChristianityBy: Andrew De Gala, Audrey Howard, Michael Carlson, Cooper Wylie,

and Nick Trapp.

Key Beliefs of Christianity• Most Christians believe in the Holy Trinity, where God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

in one being.

• Jesus is the son of God, born of the virgin Mary, who was visited by the angel Gabriel announcing that she would conceive a son miraculously by the Holy Spirit.

• Jesus performed many miracles during His time on Earth in order to convert as many people as possible to believe in God.

• Jesus was crucified and died for reparation of the sins of humanity.

• Most Christians believe that three days after Jesus died on the cross He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.

• Jesus will come again at the end of time to battle evil and pass judgement on the people of the Earth. Then will take back with Him to heaven the righteous souls.

• The main belief is that in order to get to Heaven you must believe that Jesus is the savior and He is the only way. Baptism by water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will purify the soul and identifies the believer with Christ Jesus in His death and resurrection.

Origins of Christianity

Origins in Judaism• The first five books of the Bible is the Jewish Torah (Genesis, Exodus,

Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers)

• Christianity also shares many laws with Judaism including The Ten Commandments.

• Christians believe that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah prophesized in the old testament books of Isaiah and Job.

• Jesus was born of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth, both descendants of King David.

• Jesus Christ was a Jew, the descendant of King David, and was avid in his faith, attending synagogue by himself and asking the Rabbi questions.

• Christians and Jews share a creation story

The Torah

Life of Jesus of Nazareth• He was born in Bethlehem, not much is known of His childhood except in the

passage Luke 2:39-52 where Jesus at the age of twelve went missing in Jerusalem after Passover. Mary and Joeseph later discovered him in the temple talking with the temple scholars and all were amazed by His knowledge.

• Jesus was a carpenter after His father

• Jesus begins to preach to the people and in the temples at the age of thirty. He preached to people from all walks of life from poor to rich, sick and healthy, men and women alike. This was frowned upon by the leaders of the temples of that time and many people since the poor and women had no value.

• Many miracles were attributed to Jesus. Including turning water to wine, multiplying food, curing leprosy, blindness, and paralysis, and resurrecting people from the dead.

• Jesus preached a new covenant from God contrasting with some of Moses' teachings. For example, instead of "an eye for an eye", Jesus said "turn the other cheek". He also did not believe in wealth, but recommended a simple life focused on helping others and praising God.

The Death and Resurrection of Jesus• The leaders of the Jewish temples, called the Pharisees, did not like the mass approval and attention the people gave to

Jesus and questioned His motives. They called His teachings heresy against the Jewish laws and some even thought Jesus' miracles were from the devil.

• The Pharisees then got the Roman government involved claiming he was threat to the empire, claiming He was trying to overthrow the emperor. The official tasked with Jesus' trial, Pontius Pilate, found that Jesus had done nothing wrong, however the Pharisees were insistent that Jesus was a criminal, when Pontius Pilate asked the people to choose between

Jesus and a murderer for punishment, they chose Jesus. Jesus was then severely beaten, tortured, and eventually crucified (He was nailed to a wooden cross).

• He died three hours later. It was said that there was a tremendous earthquake at the exact time of His death. He was taken down from the cross and buried in a tomb behind a giant boulder, guarded by Roman soldiers.

• Three days later two women were going to anoint His body, an angel appeared in front of the tomb scaring away the soldiers. The angel removed the boulder and told the women that Jesus was no longer in the tomb and He was risen. Upon seeing the

empty tomb the women ran to tell Jesus' disciples.

• On the way tell the disciples Jesus appeared to the women. They immediately fell at his feet and worshipped Him. Jesus

said "Be not afraid tell my disciples I will see them soon"

• After His resurrection Jesus appeared twice to the disciples in a house while they were in prayer. Before He ascended into

Heaven He told His followers to go make disciples of all nations.

The Founders of ChristianityThe founders of Christianity were the Apostles of Jesus Christ. There were originally twelve (John, Judas, Peter, James, Andrew, Nathaniel, James the younger, Jude Thaddeus, Matthew, Philip, Simon Zealot, Thomas)

All of the twelve Apostles (except Judas who betrayed Jesus and took his own life) went throughout the land spreading the word of Jesus' teachings after His death and resurrection.

All but one was martyred for their beliefs. John escaped being poisoned or boiled alive in oil according to different accounts. He was later exiled to the island of Patmos in Greece where he wrote the last book of the Bible called Revelations or Apocalypse.

Peter was Jesus' most trusted Apostle. He entrusted Peter to be driving force of his teachings saying "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"(Matthew 16:18). Peter was the founder of the Roman church and was crucified upside down in Rome by Emperor Nero. Peter's remains are still located underneath St. Peter's Basilica in Rome today. He is considered by Catholics to be the first Pope.

Several other important figures were later converted. For example, Paul originally Saul of Tarsus who spent his adult life persecuting Christians, became one of the most important figures in Christian history. He was converted after the risen Jesus appeared to him fourteen years after His death, on the road to Damascus, asking Paul "Why do you persecute Me?" Paul was so startled he fell off his horse and was blinded. Three days later he was cured by an Apostle of Jesus and became one of the greatest missionaries. Paul went on to write fourteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament of the Bible.

Leonardo DaVinci's "The Last Supper"

The Bible• The Bible is a collection of sacred texts that Jews and Christians consider

inspired by God as relationship between God and humans

• It is the most translated book in the world. It is translated into over 7,000 languages.

• It was the first book to be mass printed with the invention of the printing press. The first printed Bible was the Gutenberg Bible in the 1450's

• 40 writers over a period of 1500 years.

• Moses wrote the Torah. Which are the first five books.

• Matthew, Mark, Luke, John wrote the Gospels.

• Peter, James, and Jude wrote four books of the New Testament

• Paul wrote fourteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament

Turning Points of Christianity

Turning Points• Christianity has had two main

religious splits.

• The first was the East-West Schism, splitting Christianity into the western, Latin Catholics and the eastern Greek Orthodox church in 1054.

• The second was the Protestant reformation in 1517 and split the Catholic church and caused it to be reformed. This was caused from the corruption in the Catholic church.

• The Crusades were a

cultural turning

point for

Christianity.

The East-West Schism• This split occurred as Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman

Emperor, which offended the Byzantine(Eastern Roman) Emperor, as he believed that he was the true Roman Emperor. An official split occurred in 1054.

• This split medieval Christianity into two denominations, the eastern Greek Orthodoxy and the western Latin Catholicism.

The Crusades• The crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims

over control of holy sites in the middle east and the Islamic Empire expanding into Christian territory in the Byzantine empire. There were eight crusades spanning from the first crusade in 1096 to the final crusades end in 1271.

• Most of these crusades were unsuccessful for the Christian crusaders except for arguably the first crusade, which resulted in Christian control over Jerusalem, Antioch, Edessa and parts of Tripoli. Although all of the cities and territories, called Crusader Kingdoms, would fall to the Muslims in the coming decades.

The Crusades (cont).• The crusades ultimately resulted in the pope's elevated power over Europe

and increased riches for the Roman Catholic Church. It also allowed for better trade deals throughout the Mediterranean region. They also may have enticed many Europeans to travel throughout Europe, leading to the Renaissance.

• The crusades would cause cultural resentment between Christians and Muslims for centuries.

The Protestant Reformation• The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political,

intellectual and cultural upheaval that shattered western and central Europe.

• It began from Martin Luther's publishing of '95 Theses' in 1517 and ended in either 1555 with the Peace of Augsburg, which allowed for coexistence with Catholicism and Lutheranism in Germany. It could have also ended in 1648 with the end of the Thirty Years War.

• By the end of the 16th century, Lutheranism and other protestant sects had become the state religions of many countries in Europe. In the case of England, King Henry VIII wanted to annul his marriage ,which is illegal under Catholic law, so he formed his own church in England called the Anglican Church.

Changes to Christianity

Christianity's influence on paganism

• During the rule of King Charlemagne, many Pagan holidays and symbols were adopted/adjusted into the Christian faith to make the Saxon Pagan's transition into Christianity less difficult. However, the changes stuck giving us many of our most famous Christian holiday traditions. (DISCLAIMER, none of the Christian holidays are pagan, only some traditions were adopted) Examples include:

• The Easter bunny, developed from a Pagan goddess of spring often associated with a hare

• The Christmas tree

• Halloween

Emperor Constantine: 5 Major Changes

Changed the time of the birth of Christ (Changed to December 25)

Changed place of resurrection of Christ (Changed from the empty tomb on Mt. Olive to a church located near the site: The Holy Sepulcher

Changed time of resurrection of Christ (Changed to first Sunday after Spring Equinox)

Changed scriptural method to become a Christian (Baptism an essential to become a Christian)

Changed headquarters from Jerusalem to Rome/ Constantinople

Influence of Christianity

Influences on Science and Exploration• One of the main reasons for exploration and colonization of new land was

Christian missions.

• Many famous explorers were in fact Catholic, for instance Christopher Colombus, Amerigo Vespucci, Ponce DeLeon.

• The first non-natives to explore and map the Mississippi were catholic missionaries and priests Louis Joliet and Fr. Jacques Marquette from French-Canada. They were the first Europeans to explore Illinois. As we can see today there are several areas named after them.

• Many scientists were Christian including, Leonardo DaVinci, Louis Pasteur, Blaise Pascal, and Galileo Galilee.

Influences of Christianity on Art and Literature• Many artists, sculptures, and architects such as Leonardo DaVinci,

Michaelangelo, Donatello, Raphael used their Christian faith as inspiration for many of their great works.

• Many authors such as C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien were both Christians and their stories were heavily influenced by their faith.

Influences of Christianity on the Modern World• The whole way we measure time on this planet is based on when Jesus was

born whether it be B.C and A.D or B.C.E and C.E. B.C = Before Christ and A.D = Anno Domini, Latin for "In the time of our Lord" it was changed starting in 1980 until finally primarily replacing it in 2008.

• Western civilization as a whole has massive roots in Christian principles.

• The founding fathers of the U.S.A founded this country on Judeo-Christian beliefs. For example, our pledge of allegiance states "One nation under God" and our currency has "In God We Trust" on it, and the Bible is used to swear in people of office.

Similarities and Differences

Differences and Similarities

Differences from Early Faith

• While there is still the Eucharist, different sects have different times when they receive the sacrament. (Catholics observe each week, Protestants have no set time, and with no set time, however Orthodox encourage to do receive often

Similarities to Early Faith

• The sacraments of baptism, matrimony, and Eucharist are still practiced in all Christain faith.

• The Holidays of Christmas (Birth of Jesus) and Easter (Resurrection of Jesus) are practiced each year.

• The season of Advent, Lent, Pentecost

How does the religion stand now, would the original founder recognize it?

• While there are many different sections of Christianity, mainly being: Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox (making up about 2.3 billion people with those three sects), there are some differences to the practices and additions to the religion.

Symbols of Christianity

The Cross• The cross is the main symbol of Christianity, and is

what most people would associate as Christianity's main sign.

• It came from the way Jesus was executed, by crucifixion, in which the person would have their hands and feet nailed to a wooden cross slightly larger than the person. They would then raise the cross with the person hanging from their hands and feet. The person would then die of exhaustion and asphyxiation.

• This process could take days to finally kill a person, with it being excruciatingly painful

Other symbols• Dove: Symbol of Christ as the Paschal

Lamb and also a symbol for Christians (as Christ is our Shepherd and Peter was told to feed His sheep).

• Lamb: Symbol of the Holy Ghost and used especially in representations of our Lord's Baptism and the Pentecost. It also symbolizes the release of the soul in death.

• Rose: Five roses grouped together symbolize the 5 Wounds of Christ.

• Triquetra: a sign of the Trinity(Father, Son and Holy Spirit), especially since the Celtic revival of the 19th century.

Dark Days of Christianity

Corruption of Christianity• In medieval times, the church was very one sided, the

believed that the pope was always right and could do no wrong. This would cause problems.

• So many popes became corrupt, one example is that many popes told people that they could get out of hell by paying the Catholic Church. So many people did and of course this didn’t mean anything spiritually, it was just a scam for more money.

• This corruption occurred over hundreds of years in the Catholic Church, leading directly to the Protestant Reformation in 1517.

• Corruption occasionally happens today in the Roman Catholic Church but not nearly to the same extent of in the past.

The Spanish Inquisition is also

a result of corruption in the

ranks of Christianity. King

Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

took it into their own hands to

punish primarily Jewish

people for not converting to

Christianity.

Other examples include

• Nazi Germany

• The Soviet Union

• Ottoman Empire

• India

• China

• Japan

• Spain (pre. 313 C.E)

Persecution of Christians• The persecution of Christians began with the Pharisees

and the Roman government torturing and killing any follower of Jesus during and after His life and death.

• Christians also persecuted each other after the protestant reformation in 1517. Ten years after the reformation in 1527 an army of 34,000 mutinous Holy Roman soldiers (primarily Lutheran) sacked Rome, killing anyone they saw. They also attempted to kill the Pope but he escaped. The only force opposing them was 189 swiss guards and 5,000 militia. Only 42 swiss guards survived the sack.

• Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world today 90,000 killed for their faith last year along with over 600 million prevented from practicing their faith worldwide according to a study by the "Center for Studies on New Religions"

A wall in the Vatican

City with the carving

LVTHER or Luther

Christian Denominations

Catholicism

• 1,200,000,000 members

• The Catholic Church teaches that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the Pope is the successor to Saint Peter who Christ valued greatly.

• The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.

• Virgin Mary is honored in different ways as Mother of God and Queen of Heaven.

Protestantism• 792,000,000 members

• The Five Solas are five Latin phrases that emerged from the Protestant Reformation intended to summarize the Reformers' basic theological principles in contrast to certain teachings of the Roman Catholic Church of the day.

• Sola Fide, by faith alone.

• Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone.

• Solus Christus, through Christ alone.

• Sola Gratia, by grace alone.

• Soli Deo Gloria, glory to God alone.

Eastern Orthodoxy• 230,000,000 members

• The ecumenical councils were a series of conferences where church leaders and theologists would meet to discuss and settle important matters of Church doctrine. The first seven ecumenical councils date from 325 to 787 and were an attempt to reach a consensus on the establishment of a unified Church throughout the Roman Empire. Eastern Orthodoxy considers all seven of these councils to be important.

Oriental Orthodoxy• 82,000,000 members

• Oriental Orthodoxy only recognizes the first three ecumenical councils: the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus.

Anglicanism• 85,000,000 members

• Anglicanism is often referred to as a hybrid between Catholicism and Protestantism.

• It evolved out of the practices of the Church of England after the Protestant Reformations in the 16th century.

Nontrinitarianism• 36,000,000 members

• Nontrinitarians reject the Christian belief of the Trinity, the idea that God is three distinct and coeternal beings (The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).

S.O.A.P.S Tone

Gospel of Matthew 1:18-2:12From the New Testament of the King James BibleSpeaker

Matthew was one of the four Gospel writers and a disciple of Jesus.

Occasion

It was around the year 80 C.E in

the capital city of the Roman

province of Syria, Antioch.

Gospel of Matthew 1:18-2:12From the New Testament of the King James Bible

Audience

The writing is intended for the entire human race to hear the story of Jesus' birth.

Purpose

The purpose is to inform

people of the birth of Jesus.

Gospel of Matthew 1:18-2:12From the New Testament of the King James Bible

Subject

The subject is the birth of Jesus, and his destiny as the savior of the human race. As prophesied in the Old Testament.

Tone

The tone is serious and

narrative.

Life of Saint Peter the Apostle

Speaker

The speaker is Alban Butler, a Roman Catholic priest. He wrote a twelve volume collection of the lives of many saints titled "The Lives of The Saints"

Occasion

He published the second volume in

1756 in England.

Life of Saint Peter the Apostle

Audience

Christians more specifically Catholics. It is also directed at the common people.

Purpose

The purpose of this is to catalog and teach the

lives of the saints up until that point in time.

Life of Saint Peter the Apostle

Subject

The saints lives and what they did. Specifically Peter the Apostle in this case.

Tone

The tone is very serious, informative,

and detailed. Butler goes into great

detail and quotes the Bible and Jesus

Himself.

Assessment Time1. You will quizzed on the previous slides.

2. Take out loose leaf of paper to take the quiz.

3. After the quiz, hand it to one of us to grade.

4. You will get your grades by Thursday

5. If you have any problems with your grade, feel free to ask one of us about making a change.

6. It will be on the next slide, I tell you this because I wanted to add more questions and there won't be a title.

7. Christian, no helping people. I don’t want cheating from any of you guys, using Christian is like using an answer key. (Thou shall not bare false witness against his neighbor)

1. What are some holidays and seasons still celebrated by all Christians? (2 for each)

2. What do the holidays and seasons represent? (That you listed, minus the seasons)

3. Name 2 sacraments.

4. What were the two sides in the crusades?

5. How many Gospels where there, and who wrote the books?

6. How many days do most Christians think it took Jesus to rise from the dead?

7. Who were the parents of Jesus?

8. How many years where between testaments?

9. What was Jesus's job and who did he take after?

10. When was the Protestant reformation?

11. How did Jesus try to win over people. (Extra Credit if you can name one specific thing and the name

of the parable/story, you don't have to be exactly right, and NO CHRISTIAN YOU MAY NOT HELP

ANYONE WITH THIS)

12. How many authors wrote the Bible over how many years?

13. Name one author that was influenced by the Bible and name one of their books.

Bibliography

Secondary Sources

• Timeline for the Crusades and Christian Holy War

https://www.usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh315/crusades_timeline.htm

• Timeline of Christian History

http://christianityinview.com/timeline.html

• The Nativity Story 2006

Director: Cathe Hardwicke

Writer: Mike Rich

Producers: Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen

• Constantine's Six Major Changes to Christianity

http://reformation.org/6-changes-of-constantine.html

• Christianity and Paganism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_Paganism

• History of the Catholic Church in Spain

•https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Catholic_Church_in_Spain

• Persecution of Christians

•https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians

•Protestantism- The Five Solas

• https://www.theopedia.com/five-solas

• Anglicanism

• https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-anglicanism

Primary Sources

• The King James Bible

Publisher: Church of England

Date: 1611

• Butler's Lives of the Saints

Publisher: P.J. Kenedy and

Sons.

Date: 1962