Spread Of Christianity Research Paper

Religion has become the center of society to billions of people around the world—shaping the laws and moral beliefs of nations throughout the span of human history. As the most prominent religion in the world today, Christianity has impacted the lives of both believers and nonbelievers over the course of centuries. With over two billion Christians worldwide, it “continues to directly impact the thinking of one-third of the world on ethics, morals, marriage, parenting, and lifestyle issues” (Bahr, 2004, p.3). Despite brutal persecutions throughout history, Christianity has developed and prospered into the world’s most dominant religion. Although originally a belief for the Jews, it has become a religion for Gentiles, or non-Jews. This research

From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to Moses and David, and finally to Jesus of Nazareth, Christianity goes back thousands of years in history. Spreading through Jesus and his followers, Christianity was founded on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah sent to save the world (Davies-Stofka, n.d.). Christianity focuses on the belief of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, also known as the Trinity, who are considered to be one God. Christians base their beliefs on teachings from the Bible, the sacred text of Christianity that includes the Old Testament and New Testament, to foster and maintain their relationship with God. On the other hand, Christian practices may include, “gathering at churches for worship, fellowship, and study, and engagement with the world through evangelism and social action” (Davies-Stofka, n.d.). These practices are only some of the main activities that Christians may be engaged

68). Unhappy with the teachings and actions of the Roman Catholic Church, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and other reformers sought to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The selling of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church fueled Luther’s movement towards the Protestant Reformation; eventually publishing his ninety-five theses to reveal the wrongdoings of the Roman Catholic Church. Even though Martin Luther was charged as a heresy because of his actions, he continued his belief in “...that humans cannot achieve salvation by good deeds or through the intervention of earthly authority in the form of the church. Salvation …can only come from faith” (Lace, 2005, p. 69). He also felt that everyone should have an access to the words of God, so he started to translate the Bible into German for everyone to be able to interpret God’s words for themselves. These core belief are what makes Protestantism a contrast from that of Roman Catholicism and Eastern