Christianity and It's Change Over Time

How the religion was originally practiced? What were some of the key beliefs that can be
traced to original scriptures and texts at the religions inception?
Was there more than one turning point for a major religion? What are some key events that
changed how the religion was practiced by followers? What are some key decisions made by the
followers/leaders of the religion that may have changed the original intent and practices of the
founder?
What were some of the wider consequences once those changes were in place? Were there
key changes as the religion spread from one place to another? Who/what were the catalyst in
the diffusion?(trade/merchants)
How does the religion stand now? If the original founder of the religion were to evaluate how
the religion is practiced today, would they recognize it?
What was the role of the women then and now according to the belief/religion practiced? Did
this lead to any social benefits (or social evils such as sati, stoning to death, no education for
women)
Beginnings
Christianity originated partly from a long-standing Jewish belief in the coming of a Messiah, or a
leader who would restore the Jewish kingdom to its former glory days.
The appeal to ordinary people may be compared to that of Buddhism.
The broad appeal of the masses meant that the religion grew steadily and eventually became
the religion with the most followers in the modern world.
Jesus was a prophet/teacher whose followers believed was the Son of God.
Advocated a moral code based on love, charity, and humility.
After his death, his apostles spread the faith; Paul (a Jew who was familiar with Greco-Roman
culture) explained the principles in ways that Greek and Romans understood, thus establishing
churches all over the eastern end of the Mediterranean and even as far as Rome.
By the end of the classical era, these major belief systems had expanded to many areas of the
world and came to be major forces in shaping world history.
"Plenty of evidence of women's activity"
Founding of monasteries in 4th century and early 5th century, women controlled enormous
amounts of money and sometimes became head of the monasteries themselves.
"Mary Magdalene appears in fact as one of the disciples, not only one of the disciples, but one
chosen for special teaching, for deeper teaching and widsom.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/first/roles.html
Spread
Christianity provided comfort during political and social unrest.
Became very structured and organized through a hierarchy of priests and bishops.
Claimed possession of exclusive religious truth; very intolerant of other faiths.
Christian culture placed devotion to Christ above that of the polis or state.
With its emphasis on spiritual equality and otherworldliness, it fused together a culture that was
quite different from that of Mediterranean classical civilization
Script
Christianity is a very popular religion in many countries all around the world. I mean, why
wouldn't it be with it's main focus on love, charity, and humility. Although, it's practices and ways of
organization has changed significantly overtime. But to tal k about it's changes over time, we must go
back and talk about the formation of this religion.
Christianity originated from the long-standing Jewish belief in the coming of a Messiah, or a
leader who would restore the Jewish kingdom to its former glory days, as back then the empire was
under Roman rule. Jesus, a carpenter, was a prophet and a teacher of his way of salvation and assurance
of life after death if you were to follow the principles laid out by him. With this, many of his followers
believed he was the son of God. He was arrested by Roman officials as they believed he was a "rebel
rouser". He was then crucified and later died, but his disciples and apostles spread his words after his
death and explained the principles to the Greeks and Roman in ways they could understand. With their
understanding, the religion became more well-known and churches sprung up all over the eastern end
of the Mediterranean and even as far as Rome. By the end of classical era, the religion expanded to
many areas of the world.
Now that we've got the history sorted out, we can now start to understand the spread of this
religion and its changes over time. Christianity afterwards became very structured and organized
through a hierarchy of priests and bishops, which wasn't reall y ever in the original teachings taught by
Jesus. Christianity also claimed possession of exclusive religious truth and became very intolerant of
other faiths, basically putting their religion higher up than others. It is also said that the appeal to
ordinary people may be compared to that of Buddhism, and the broad appeal of the masses meant that
the religion grew steadily and eventually became the religion with the most followers in the modern
world.
Along with changes over time came the status of women within the church. Now, the following
information is from this website, which you can click on to read either on the screen or in the
description below. Now, the article states that there is "plenty of evidence of women's activity", such as
women founding monasteries, (homes belonging to nuns or monks) in 4th century and early 5th century,
women controlling large amounts of money and sometimes becoming head of the monasteries
themselves. There was also a significant woman religious figure known as Mary Magdalene who traveled
with Jesus and was there for his death and resurrection and talked about numerous times within the
Bible.
In conclusion, Christianity is a very popular religion that has changed over time since the
beginning. While still practicing the basic principles first said by Jesus, the religion itself became a
hierarchy of priests and other important figures, while still appealing to huge amounts of people.