History of the Christian Church - Part 1 of 2 - FULL Audio Book The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, its followers and the Church with its various denominations, from the first century to the present. Christianity was founded in the 1st century in the Levant region of the Middle East by Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 16:18), who is prophesied in the Old Testament (Micah 5:2-5) to be the Christ or chosen one of God. The fathers of Christianity included those who had been disciples of Jesus such as Peter, Matthew, James and John, as well as others who may never have met him but were either influenced by accounts of his teachings such as the Gospel writers Mark and Luke, or described having spiritual revelations of his divine nature, such as Paul of Tarsus who actively encouraged the founding of Christian communities or "churches" after his conversion. Christianity spread initially from Jerusalem throughout the Near East, into places such as Syria, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, Jordan and Egypt. In the 4th century it was successively adopted as the state religion by Armenia in 301, Georgia in 319,[1][2] the Aksumite Empire in 325,[3][4] and the Roman Empire in 380. It became common to all of Europe in the Middle Ages and expanded throughout the world during Europe's Age of Exploration from the Renaissance onwards to become the world's largest religion.[5] Throughout its history, Christianity has weathered persecutions, schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches. The largest branches of Christianity are the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant churches. - Early Christian beliefs and creeds Christ Jesus, the Good Shepherd, 3rd century. The sources for the beliefs of the apostolic community include the Gospels and New Testament epistles. The very earliest accounts of belief are contained in these texts, such as early Christian creeds and hymns, as well as accounts of the Passion, the empty tomb, and Resurrection appearances; some of these are dated to the 30s or 40s CE, originating within the Jerusalem Church. - Why did Christianity succeed? In spite of these at-times intense persecutions, the Christian religion continued its spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin.[12] There is no agreement on an explanation of how Christianity managed to spread so successfully prior to the Edict of Milan and the establishment of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. For some Christians, the success was simply the natural consequence of the truth of the religion and the hand of Providence. However, similar explanations can be claimed for the spread of Islam and Buddhism—yet none of them are historical explanations. In The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark argues that Christianity triumphed over paganism chiefly because it improved the lives of its adherents in various ways.[13] Another factor, more recently pointed out, was the way in which Christianity combined its promise of a general resurrection of the dead with the traditional Greek belief that true immortality depended on the survival of the body, with Christianity adding practical explanations of how this was going to actually happen at the end of the world.[14] For Mosheim the rapid progression of Christianity was explained by two factors: translations of the New Testament and the Apologies composed in defence of Christianity - If you enjoyed listening to "History of the Christian Church - Part 1 of 2 - FULL Audio Book" please rate, comment and subscribe to GreenAudioBooks, We really appreciate it :) Thanks for viewing History of the Christian Church - Part 1 of 2 - FULL Audio Book

• published: 19 Jan 2013
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