When Paul of Tarsus started his Christian missionary work among the gentiles, Christianity was little more than a loosely organized faction of Judaism. Paul would begin to spread the Christian gospel and lay the framework for a church organization that would come to dominate much of the Western world. The views of Paul and the great theologians who followed him would have widespread effects on the history of the church, and with it, the history of the West.
The Book of Acts, a historical recount of Paul’s missionary work, shows the loose organization of Christians during his time. During Paul’s journeys, he encountered Christians claiming to be prophets, a phenomenon that needed to be eliminated if the church was to have uniformity and stability. Paul’s ministry itself was the subject of some controversy; some of the Jewish believers felt that Gentiles should not be taught Christianity unless they were circumcised. This controversy was ultimately resolved at a council led by Christ’s apostles. Acts makes it evident that a church organization was arising, and by the time of the letters to Timothy and Titus, commonly attributed to Paul, a definite local church organization had arisen, with clear roles for each church officer.
Although Christianity expanded rapidly during these formative years, it was hardly accepted by the Roman secular authorities. Christians went through several periods of persecution, and Paul himself was eventually martyred in Rome. During this era, Christians who considered themselves elite could prove their faith by dying for it, and some even sought out martyrdom. When Constantine took control of the Roman Empire in 312 AD, he attributed his victory in the decisive battle of the Milvian Bridge to the Christian God and soon after he assumed the throne he proclaimed toleration for Christianity. Constantine saw himself as the arbiter for disputes in the church, and in 325 AD, a council he called to meet in Nicaea issued a statement of Christian doctrine, establishing Catholic orthodoxy as the correct version of Christianity, and declaring its major opponent, Arius, a heretic.
Under the rule of Constantine and his successors, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The “elite” believers could no longer express their faith through martyrdom. With physical death unavailable, these people elected to make themselves dead to the world. They removed themselves from the community and lived a life of self-denial. These ascetic Christians, like St. Antony, were scene as stellar examples of Christianity, and some even gained disciples. Asceticism continued to gain popularity until Pelagius, an English theologian, began to preach perfect asceticism as the only way to gain salvation. Pelagius’ doctrine reduced Christ to a mere example of faith; each man was capable of saving himself.
Pelagius’ views were in direct contrast with those of Augustine, the Catholic bishop of Hippo. Augustine, by his own admission, had led a rather immoral life prior to his conversion to Christianity. Augustine’s “Treatise on Nature and Grace” scripturally refuted Pelagian theology, which was eventually rejected by the church as a heresy at the Council of Carthage in 418 AD. Augustine’s view of a corrupted human free will, only capable of making righteous decisions when assisted by God, became firmly entrenched as the preferred theology of orthodox Catholicism.
Despite the rejection of asceticism as the only means for salvation, self-denial was still a preferred way of life for many Christians as the church spread through Europe during the middle ages. Charlemagne’s conquest of Europe led to state-enforced self-denial for most Europeans. Hroswitha of Gandersheim’s play “Callimachus” illustrates the emphasis placed on chastity, as do the writings of Margery Kempe, a Christian mystic. The middle ages were a time of great unrest for the church, as church authorities sought to clearly define the role of the clergy in the new climate of enforced Christian legalism throughout Europe. At the same time, new religious orders, such as the Franciscans, Waldensians, and the Knights Templar began to develop. Adherents to the philosophies posed by these groups practiced asceticism, but unlike early ascetics and monks who had removed themselves from society, they led an active lifestyle. The Knights Templar were an army of God, fighting to reclaim the Holy Land from its “infidel” Muslim occupants. The Franciscans and Waldensians led mendicant lifestyles, preaching in the streets and begging for their food. The Waldensians were declared heretics, but the Franciscans were incorporated into the church when they agreed to be educated before preaching.
The increased emphasis on education led to the advent of scholasticism, an attempt to determine God’s will through calculated rationality. Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican university professor, introduced this system, which became the basis for even stricter Catholic legalism, complete with a system of church courts and lawyers. This severe version of Christianity, using the threat of hell and purgatory to control the population, would eventually lead to the greatest schism in the history of the church.
In 1517, Martin Luther, a German priest and university professor, came to the conclusion that the commonly used translation of the Bible was incorrect. Luther interpreted a passage that formerly read “judged by faith” to mean “justified by faith.” In an attempt to start a scholarly debate, he posted the 95 Theses, a list of disagreements with Catholic doctrine, on the door of the Wittenberg cathedral. He was excommunicated and soon found himself at the forefront of the Protestant Reformation. Luther and other reformers, notably John Calvin, emphasized three new points – that all truth came only from scripture, that man was saved by his faith, and that priests and the mass were not necessary. The Protestants believed that the Eucharist could be served by any member of the church. There were differences among them; Luther believed that any man who accepted God’s grace could be saved, but Calvin believed that some men were predestined for hell. The Catholics were forced to respond, and at the Council of Trent, which lasted until 1563, they made sweeping reforms to the church.
Many of the new Protestant churches were established as state churches in European countries. Calvinist members of the Church of England began practicing a form of Christianity that again emphasized strict adherence to Old Testament laws. Others took an opposing view, with groups like the Quakers and Moravian Brethren emphasizing the emotional, personal side of religion. An Anglican preacher named John Wesley, who himself had an emotional conversion experience, brilliantly combined these two philosophies. Wesley emphasized the need for an emotional conversion, followed by leading a methodical, law-abiding Christian life. Wesley, banned from preaching in most of ’s churches, set out to spread his new doctrine of Perfectionism by preaching in fields. His revival meetings soon had thousands of attendees, many of whom would have passionate emotional conversions during his sermons. This new emphasis on individual emotional beings undermined the power of the state churches, and paved the way for further changes in Christianity.
In the 19th century, great advances were made in science. Sigmund Freud posed his theory of ego and id as an alternative to religion, and Charles Darwin offered the theory of evolution to replace Biblical creationism. In addition, there was social upheaval as the industrial revolution intensified the divide between the upper and lower classes. New political philosophies developed that deemphasized religion, or, like Marxism, saw it as a method to prolong oppression of the working class. The Christian reaction was epitomized by Catholic Cardinal John Henry Newman, who wrote that liberalism, both political and religious, was contrary to God’s will and that human nature was so corrupted that rationality was only correct when assisted by God.
In the 20th century, the problem of science encroaching on the domain of religion continued, but Christianity remained a strong force for social change. The efforts to end American racial segregation were spearheaded by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., an African-American minister. When Rev. King found himself opposed by white Christians, he made a convincing argument that Christianity should be in favor of social equality. Those fighting for equality combined elements of liberalism with some conservative Christian theology. Rev. King would have agreed with Cardinal Newman that left to themselves, groups of people would make decisions contrary to God’s will. King did, however, have faith in the strength of each individual to lead a God-pleasing life. More conservative Christians, like Billy Graham, led revival meetings, preaching hard-line, apocalyptic Christianity and condemning their opponents as “agents of Satan” who would destroy the world if God’s laws were not followed.
Throughout the history of Christianity, there have been conflicts between hard-line elements and more moderate elements. From Paul’s triumph over Jewish Christians who didn’t want the gospel spread to gentiles to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s triumph over Christian clergy who supported segregation, the moderate Christians have greatly influenced the course of history. In only 2,000 years, Christians have undergone a process of change that has led them from their early status as a hated and persecuted minority to their present dominance over much of Western culture.
Footnotes
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The New Testament and Early Christianity, Joseph B. Tyson, page 353
Acts 15:32, Acts 21:9, Acts 21:10
Acts 15:1
Acts 15:22-29
The New Testament and Early Christianity, Joseph B. Tyson, page 359
“The Challenge To Faith,” W. Ward Gasque, in The History of Christianity, page 82
“Paul,” Michael A. Smith, in The History of Christianity, page 62
“Ignatius of Antioch,” Michael A. Smith, in The History of Christianity, page 83
“Constantine and the Christian Empire,” Richard A. Todd, in The History of Christianity, page 139
“Constantine and the Christian Empire,” Richard A. Todd, in The History of Christianity, page 143
The Life of Antony, St. Athanasius of Alexandria
“Pelagius and Pelagianism,” http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11604a.htm
Confessions, St. Augustine of Hippo
“Treatise on Nature and Grace, Against Pelagius,” St. Augustine of Hippo
“Dulcitius and Callimachus,” Hroswitha of Gandersheim
The Book of Margery Kempe, Margery Kempe
“Lateran IV: Select Canons,” http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/lat4-select.html
“The Testament of St. Francis,” St. Francis of Assisi
“The Conversion of Peter Waldo,” http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/waldo1.html
“In Praise of the New Knighthood,” St. Bernard of Clairvoux
“Reform,” James Atkinson, in “History of Christianity,” page 366
“Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans,” Martin Luther
“The Christian Life,” John Calvin
A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, John Wesley
Journal, John Wesley
Apologia Pro Vita Sua, John Henry Newman
“Letter from BirminghamCity Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr.
