Dynamic Figures in Church History II
January 30, 2007
Part I
I. Up to Now
The ecclesia reformanda translated means the church always in need of reformation. With time, many ideologies and practices strayed from the original purpose of the Church. Over the years, people tend to forget the fundamental principles. People put their own ideas into the ideals that may be very different from the original intent. Changes are justified due to cultural changes. Human weaknesses also lend to the changes. Sometimes, abuse and the thirst for power lead to these differences. What is the original purpose of the Church? How do we get back there?
Traveling the m’s, we have an overview of the Church, both good and bad. If the message of Jesus is peace and justice, how do we minister that? Our mission is to carry that message of mercy and love forward by recalling Jesus (memory) and living “the way” (mutuality). Many early Christians did this by martyrdom.
The early Church had developed an orthodoxy or doctrine (meaning) to put into words what it meant to be Christian. Part of this doctrine was based on Greek philosophy which included misogynsim, hatred of women, and became foundation that permeates all aspects of the Church. Women are less than….. Due to this philosophy, in the Church’s eyes women are sinful, less holy, and incapable of contributing equally as men.
Martyrs were put to death for their beliefs as governments felt threatened by the “kingdom of God.” They did not understand that Jesus was not an earthly king. In the sixth century, the Roman Empire joined church and state. Christianity became the religion of the Empire and corruption within the Church and State became enmeshed.
As this time, monasticism became...
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...chings. We study history to see who we are now and who we were in the past. How does out part impact our today? How can you think of doing God’s will we you’re hungry or homeless or worrying about paying your gas bill?
I don’t have the answers for the questions; I am cynical of the organized church but I love its continuity and history. I find it interesting as to the how the church has evolved into what it is today, a global corporation trying to do God’s work. Our lives are complicated, it’s true. But that time of ours, here on earth, our purgatory, affords us an opportunity to fulfill God’s plan for us, if we listen.
When I see those forks in the road where the Church choose a certain path, I wonder where I would have stood had I lived at that time. Would I have embraced Martin Luther’s edicts or would I want him excommunicated as a heretic?
Throughout most of early European history, women were viewed as inferior to men. Roman law described women as children, forever inferior to men. Christian theology continued to perpetuate these views over the centuries. In the 4th century St Jerome of the
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
II was the relationship with the Church and the world. "The Church is a human
The practices of the church or the practice of “doing” church have changed many times over the two-thousand years of the history of the Christian Church. It is well known that the first century Christian church met in homes and worshiped together as small family centric groups with several families participating. This model of church held true with some added administrative structures for over three hundred years. This model of Christian practices saw ...
The church confesses that it has not professed openly and clearly enough its message of the one God… The church confesses its timidity, its deviation, its dangerous concessions… The church was mute when it should have cried out, because the blood of the innocent cried out to heaven… It did not resist to the death the falling away from faith and is guilty of the godlessness of the
Religion is too rigid and has many definitions with just as many denominations. Each religion has its own set beliefs, as well as its own way to worship. Pope Francis, who was elected as the world’s top religious leader said, “The Church is or should go back to being a community of God’s people, and priests, pastors and bishops, who have the c...
When the Christian church was first founded many question arose from its formation. What was this new organization and what was to become of it? There are many interpretation of what the church should be. They range from small community church lead by a reverend to a worldwide church lead by a pope. I will argue the latter. That the original meaning from the bible was to a have a single unified church under the primacy of the bishop of rome. This can be supported in three areas the historical, biblical, and theological reasoning.
Throughout almost every time period in history, and in nearly all world cultures women have always been thought of as being lower than men. Most societies are patriarchal and leave men as the powerful decision makers. This idea has only recently started to change more towards equality among the sexes in the last one hundred years or so. However, the religions of Islam, Western Christianity and Byzantine Christianity, although they all showed some semblance of wanting to help out women, all were really just reinforcing and justifying the patriarchal conditions of their cultures. They also went to further probe that different religions do make a difference for women.
In Faithful Presence, David E. Fitch presents a response to his observation that church, for most people, has become disconnected from the lives of the people that attend them and the world they live in. The introduction to the book, that he calls titles, Searching for the Real Church, Fitch asks, “does the church have anything to offer the world full of injustice? Can the church reach out to the worlds around me in a way that doesn’t judge them, alienate them or ask them in some way to come to us?” (10). It is questions like these that this book attempts to answer.
Throughout history there have always been an abundant source of prejudice and discrimination towards women. Many generations have followed and continuously tolerated the sexist ideals that were reinforced. In a religious perspective, Saint Paul, had insisted than when in the church, women should cover their heads, and should not talk. Many churches today still follow this belief and require that men and women are segregated in the church.
Thesis: The church is catholic or universal through inculturation and different interpretations of Christianity in many different cultures. In order for the church to be catholic, it must be able to spread the Gospel with respect of the cultural diversities.
Women were the subject of marginalization ever since the very beginning of Christianity. They were viewed as a “second Eve” (92) who did not deserve the same attention as men. Women were treated as second class citizens. They were willfully ignored by members of the Christianity
Because of the Christians refusal to no longer praise or worship the state gods and emperors; The Roman government killed and prosecuted the Christian members and supporters. On page 74 under the subheading “The Spreading of Christianity” it states that “The Christians believed that there was only one god. To them, the worship of state gods and the emperors meant worshipping-false gods and endangering their own salvation. Soon after, the Roman government began prosecuting
Corinthians 14:34 states, “Let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law” (Holy Bible, King James Edition). Edith Hamilton, "recognized as the greatest woman Classicist", says that the Bible is the only book before our century that looked to women as human beings, no better nor worse than men (Tanner). However, it cannot be said that this book was consistently favorable to women. Maybe not absolutely, but conditionally in personal opinion, the Bible shows numerous examples of a woman’s inferiority to men, an assessment that has been translated into the cultures of generations. In this essay I will address briefly instances in the bible pertaining to women, and continue on with thoughts on how I believe these notions have been interpreted into society.
Christianity is a religion that is extremely prevalent in many people’s lives today and is extremely. It has roots that date back to around the first century CE. Christianity is based off the life and oral teachings from Jesus of Nazareth within the New Testament (Christianity Origin Online). Ever since the discovery of Christianity, the Christian faith has had a rather large impact on the rest of the world, with nearly 2.5 billion followers and counting (Christianity Online). With the widespread teachings of Christianity becoming much more common, Christianity has had a significant influence on not only specific people, but within cities and one in particular, is Rome. Within this paper, I will explain to you exactly how Christianity influenced the Roman society in a great deal of ways, politically, culturally, and religiously. I will also elaborate on how the Roman culture further shaped the ideas of Christianity and continued spreading the teachings of Christianity to Western Europe. Lastly, I will explain Augustine’s views on God and how he views the Christian faith.