Early Christian Teachings

I believe this is one of the reasons Christianity thrived because people needed some shrivel of hope.

Christianity was born and flourished in an empire where the common language was Latin and Greek. Two important people like Paul and Constantine further influenced and were a major part of the development of Christianity. The history of the Jews leading up to the time of Jesus had a major impact on the development of Christianity. “When Christianity was clearly identified as a distant religion, the new religion was considered by its members to be the fulfillment of Judaism rather than a new religion.” “Since Jesus was a Jew and preached to the Jews, Christianity was closely linked to Judaism.” The development of Christianity was due to several historical, political, and social circumstances.

The earliest recorded text teaching Christianity has its roots buried deep within Judaism. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, created a new ideology of worship. The Messiah is the savior for all people and of all sins. Paul carried the message of the Messiah to the Gentiles. His missionary journeys and establishment of churches enabled the spreading of the message throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity grew in acceptance; those that believed in the Messiah separated and began to worship on their own. This marked the beginning of the split of Judaism and Christianity.

Paul found that some believers felt that by eating meat they had a weak conscience because it had been defiled by the idols (Krell, 1995). Paul tried to show his followers that it was safe to eat with a clear conscience by eating meat himself. Through this lesson Paul was also trying to teach that “love was more important than freedom (8:1-6) and that “knowledge can make us arrogant, but love edifies” (Krell, 1995). With these sayings Paul was giving permission for people to put their pride aside, remember that there is no such thing as idols and that there is only one true and loving God” (Krell, 1995).

Christianity was inspired by Judaism and was spread throughout Rome. It didn’t start off popular and wasn’t looked at respectfully. Within the 2nd and 3rd centuries it had a rocky start with the Roman Empire and was the “cause” of invasions and internal crises. In Germany throughout the year of 249-250 they made it mandatory to all follow the same religion of the Emperor. They were told to worship only Roman Gods. The christians couldn't make the necessary sacrifices: the result was a series of savage outbursts of violence against them.

Christianity belief is seen more as a theology while Greek thinking or Hellenism is seen more as a philosophy. All theologists are philosophers but not all philosophers are theologists. Greek philosophies had great impact on the early development of Christian thought. Much of the elements in the early Greek philosopher’s theories regarding the soul, creation, and salvation were reflected in the development of early Christian thought. The Greeks were tenacious in asking why and how questions concerning those and things around them, and even about themselves. The main purpose behind theology is to understand and follow God’s divine revelation. Philosophy tends to arrive to general principles through consideration of what is perceived by the sense, which is then rationally evaluated. Theologists like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas both discovered the use of Aristotle in the formation of the Christian mind. Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, believed that all humans had a purpose and that the purpose was for the greater good. However, the good life or the blessed life for Aquinas and Augustine was heaven. For Greek thinkers like Aristotle or even Plato, human actions derived from reason, rationality, and intellect. Christian thinkers like Augustine saw philosophical reflection as a complement to theology. Those philosophical reflections were based off of the underlying intellectual commitment of the Christian Faith.

Overall it took some time for Christianity to become a part of the ancient world not everyone believed in Christianity. The messages Jesus preached influenced people to love each other. The Christian alternative to roman thought showed citizens how their lives were of such value to god which in a way is a gift to be appreciated no matter what. The commitment of early Christian's provided information on how a Jewish disfavor became fond of Christianity just by the presence of Jesus, then traveled through many cities to expand society's knowledge of Christianity as well as the importance. These three causes shaped Christianity into a superior religion. Knowing what we comprehend about Christianity I hope that every school can continue to teach

The Good Shepherd is a frescoed painting located in Rome, Italy, on the ceiling of a cubiculum in the Catacomb of Saint Peter and Marcellinus. It is an early fourth century artwork that illustrates the significant events from the Old Testament story of Jonah. Christians honored Jonah as a prefiguration of Christ, because he escaped death after being in the belly of the whale after three days, which is comparable to Christ’s resurrection. Repentance from sin and the belief that Jesus is the divine Savior of the world are the general ideas that define the Early Christian era. The Good Shepherd painting is one of the best reflections of power and authority as Christ is placed in the center of the work depicting His sovereignty over salvation not

Teabing started talking to sophie about the origin of jesus and how the Roman Empire took advantage of him. “Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence … as a descendant of the lines of king Solomon and King David, Jesus possessed the rightful claim to the throne of the king of the Jews”.(303) It is a known fact that Jesus is the descendant of Prophet David and Prophet Solomon which made the Roman fear from the influence Christ had on the public and his many followers and had to take proaction from him. Tea bing then proceeds with explaining to sophie why constantan who was a Pagan collected and picked what was put in the New Testament A.K.A The Bible. ‘'He was a life long pagan who was baptized on his deathbed … Rome official religion

Throughout history, Christianity always had a reputation, or a “name” following it. Different perspectives approached the reputation that was attached to Christianity in different manners. Justin Martyr and Porphyry had objectives when defining whether this “name” really defined Christianity and the past. They wondered whether the past really represented Christianity. Additionally they honed in on the question of was the past that people represented as Christianity really the roots of Christianity? All around Porphyry and Justin was perceptions of what Christianity rooted from and stood for.

In the Bible, the Lord commanded His children to come out and separate themselves from the world, and we can find this in verse 17a of 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 - NLT, and it reads, “Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD.” This separation from the world is what allows the Christian to live a life full of faith, hope, and love because they are children of the Highest God.

Many people have different ways of interpreting the Bible. For example, Matthew 5:43-44 states: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Early Christians interpret this verse as that they were not allowed to defend themselves or innocent people from harm. This mindset affects other Christians, especially in the early periods, such as how Athenagoras stated that they must allow themselves to be robbed without retaliation or how Tertullian stated “For Christians, ‘it is more permissible to be killed than to kill’” (Perry, “Ethics and War in Comparative Religious Perspective”). On the other hand, Luke 7:9 stated that Jesus did not order the Roman soldiers to abandon their roles.

The Church was much different in the early days. There was strict discipline, an awareness of what it meant to be Christian and many other things which made the Church beautiful. Although the structure and teachings of the Church have remained the same, many attractive characteristics have been lost..

Additionally, John indicates most of Jesus works in Galilee and Jerusalem while synoptic gospels place it in Galilee and Judea. Jesus’ teachings in the four gospels were mainly in parables and there is account of Jesus speaking with any figure. In contrast gospel of John accounts that Jesus used philosophical speeches in his teachings and interacted with figures like Nicodemus. Another event that distance gospel of

Christianity is one of the world’s most widely practiced religions and has a long history spanning back over two-thousand years. Some might say that its history might go back even farther to include the history of Judaism because there are prophets in Hebrew scripture who foretold the coming of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe to be the Messiah that God promised the Jewish people. This paper discusses how Christianity influences our society today, some of its history along with some of our beliefs. However, it is impossible to tell the complete history of Christianity in just one essay because for all two thousand years it has been in existence, there are literally thousands of things to talk about. The construction of our religious