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William Keve
History 112
12/6/2014
A Brief History of Christianity
Part I: Significant People and Events in Christian History
Christianity is a religion which focuses on observing the teachings of the bible along with
worship of a holy trinity God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Christianity is monotheistic,
despite having three objects of worship, along with countless saints and the many souls inside
human beings. The religion is inherently tied to Judaism and Islam in terms of monotheism,
geography, history, the acknowledgement of Jesus (although his importance varies), and
eponymously, the patriarchal figure Abraham.
Beginning shortly before the crucifixion of Jesus in the first century CE, Christianity is a
relatively young religion. Although it is older than Islam, it is predated by Judaism, Buddhism
and Hinduism. Christianity existed in a purely orthodox state until the Council of Nicaea, where
a universal Christian doctrine was established for the first time. Most notably, the council
reached the conclusion that the late Jesus Christ was the son of God and could be worshiped
without misrepresenting him as an idol other than God himself. Greek and Latin were even
modified as languages to explain the concept one thing being another as a result. This pushed
early Christianity towards Catholicism, which centers on the divinity of Christ. After the Council
of Nicaea in 325, six more ecumenical councils would be held until the year 787, where the
seventh such meeting also occurred at Nicaea. All seven meetings redefined some section of
Christian beliefs including the accepted worship of artwork and holy objects such as the cross at

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the Second Council of Nicaea, the status of the Virgin Mary as the mother of God at the council
of Ephesus in the year 431, and established that Jesus had separate divine and human intentions
during his life at the third council of Constantinople in the year 680. Hopfe acknowledges the
The seven ecumenical councils are even agreed upon in principle by Anglicans and
Lutherans, as well as Catholics. This lead theologians to define them as the first unifying period
of Christianity. With the main doctrines of Christianity established, the main difference between
middle-ages Christianity and its modern incarnation are the lives of two men: Constantine the
Great and Martin Luther.
Constantine the Great was a Pagan-born emperor of Rome. After an epiphany in the year
312 CE, Constantine converted to Christianity personally. However, his Roman populous was
still majority Pagan. He was tasked with uniting Rome behind one religion, and he chose
Christianity. Constantine modified traditional Christian and Pagan traditions, including the date
of Christmas, in order to unite Christianity and Paganism; however, Constantine kept
Christianity as the official faith of Rome and phased out Paganism. If not for his epiphany, it is
conceivable that Christianity could have lost footing in Rome and never recovered. Lewis Hopfe
even cites Constantine as one of three reasons why Christianity took hold in Rome, Thus,
through a combination of fortuitous events and able leadership [of Constantine], the Church of
Rome came to be the dominant church in Christendom.
Martin Luther was a German, Catholic-born friar who would reform Catholicism and
form Protestantism. His views emphasized personal, spiritual Christianity and decried charity
and indulgences as necessary, holy points of emphasis. Luther taught that faith in the Holy
Trinity alone would lead to absolution of sin with or without strictly following the example of
Jesus in ones life. This concept caught on in England when King Henry VIII used Protestantism

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as an excuse to earn a divorce without the permission of the papacy. Subsequent wars between
Catholics and Protestants in Europe would kill millions and Protestantism still exists to this day
as the leading Christian alternative to Catholicism, especially in Western Europe and North
America.
Part II: The Abrahamic Religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam
Three of the most important religions in world history are intrinsically linked in the life
of Abraham. For Christians, Abraham is the spiritual and literal ancestor of Jesus (who is
significant to all Abrahamic religions). His importance lies in recording the 10 commandments
and his absolute faith in God for his blind willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. For Jews,
Abraham is considered a patriarch. He and his son Isaac illustrate the basic Jewish lineage and
their rite to live in Jerusalem. For Muslims, Abraham is a prophet and the father of Ishmael, the
actual intended sacrificial son, which instead would define Muslims as the group destined to rule
the holy land and Jerusalem.
Aside from their history revolving around the life of Abraham and his descendants, all
three religions share many parallels. The most important is monotheistic worship, which was not
in vogue at the time. The powerful polytheistic religions of Greece, Rome, Egypt and India ruled
the world before Judaism. The jump to monotheism represents a forsaking of EB Tylors ideas of
savagery and evolutionism, as Gods no longer existed to explain scientific phenomena (though
they still did), but rather, to emphasize a way of living. With the exception of creation stories,
monotheistic gods are generally not understood to control every scientific aspect of the universe;
thus, divine intervention was not always agreed to be the cause of weather phenomena and other
unexplainable events.

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Another notable link between the Semitic middle-eastern religions is their use of the hero
character. This was a new concept in that few major religions had singular human characters, and
if they did, the significance of the men were spread out over many characters. Buddhism was
spread over avatars, Greek heroes numbered in the thousands, there are many pharaohs and et
cetera. All the Abrahamic religions immediately set on one major hero in their myths:
Christianity has Jesus, Islam has Mohammed and Judaism has Abraham. There is no doubt of
which human being is most important, unlike most religions which came before.
All three religions endured until modern times in the face of great troubles. Christianity
survived the unification of Rome and the Protestant Reformation. Judaism survived
imprisonment by the Babylonians, exile from Rome and the Nazi Holocaust. Islam survived
three crusades, war with the Mongols and the rise of 20th century extremism. Yet, they all have
sustained as three of the most significant belief systems in the world while Greek and Roman
polytheism has fallen into obscurity amidst less trying circumstances.
Understanding Christianity without viewing it comparatively with the other two
Abrahamic religions is futile, as the three are all linked. Just as Christians believe God created
Satan to balance holiness, it must be understood that religious and cultural balances exist against
Christianity. Not understanding other beliefs leaves a Christian with no perspective of the rest of
the world, and understanding the Abrahamic trio of religions is a great place to start.

Works Cited:

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Avis, Paul. "Martin Luther: Confessor of the Faith." Ecclesiology: 130-36. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
"Ecumenical Councils." - Theopedia, an Encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity. Web. 6 Dec.
2014. <http://www.theopedia.com/Ecumenical_councils>.
Hopfe, Lewis M. "Ch. 12 Christianity." Religions of the World. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Glencoe,
1976. Print. 6 Dec. 2014.
Norderval, yvind. "The Emperor Constantine and Arius: Unity in the Church and Unity in the
Empire." Studia Theologica - Nordic Journal of Theology: 113-20. Taylor and Francis
Online. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
"Three Religions, One World." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.