A Historical Survey Of Christianity: A Historical Survey Of Christianity

Stephen McNeese

Dr. Brasington

History of Christianity

23 April 2014

A Historical Survey of Christianity

1. Introduction

The rise of Christianity from its humble first century roots in the Levant (modern-day Israel and Palestine) to a religion adopted by a more than a third of humanity is history’s most well-documented narrative. While there exists significant controversy concerning the exact historical details of Christianity’s development, historians unequivocally agree that Christianity has had a substantial impact on the development of modern-day societal views, moral and philosophical schools of thought, and governmental framework—in short, collective anthropological evolution. Of particular interest is the development of the Church’s strict leadership hierarchy, one of the driving forces behind Christianity’s explosive acceptance amongst seemingly disparate cultures. We examine the rise of an organized Christian administration in context of ever-evolving social mores and varying interpretations of doctrinal narration over the last two millennia.

2. Emergence of Christianity

“Early Christianity” is generally regarded as encompassing the time period between the origins of Christianity (during the lifetime of Jesus Christ and his apostles) and the end of Roman persecution of Christ and his followers around 300 AD. The First Episcopal Council of Nycea in 325 AD marked the beginning of Christianity’s structural hierarchy and the establishment of canonical laws governing the behavior of Christians. The three hundred years between the life of Jesus Christ and the First Episcopal Council were characterized by a gradual transition from relatively established Judaist beliefs and traditions to a new, quickly changing code of Christ...

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... recant his writings, the church excommunicated Luther.

Luther’s later years following his excommunication were not nearly as central to the fractioning of the Catholic church. He would, in fact, later distance himself from the more radical followers that would characterize some the years immediately following his writings. His primary contributions to the Protestant faith were his writings and the notion that salvation should be rooted in faith rather than practice. His influence on Western Christianity is immeasurable, and is best examined by understanding the development of Protestant church and its modern manifestations.

(Touch upon Zwingli, Calvin and Luther and go through detailed Protestant Reformation. At least another 4 pages. Spend maybe 1 to 1.5 pages on direction of modern Christianity, but don’t focus on this too much. Bring back to canonical law).