More on History
There
was great diversity within Christianity during the first few decades after Jesus'
execution. Some of Jesus' followers (and those who never met Jesus but who were
inspired by his teachings) settled in Jerusalem. But others spread across the
known world, teaching very different messages. "Even in the same geographical
area and sometimes in the same cities, different Christian teachers taught quite
different gospels and had quite different views of who Jesus was and what he
did."
The first few centuries
CE experienced a gradual coalescence of the Christian church into a single organization.
By the end of the 1st century CE, some of the original movements within Christianity
had disappeared. Three main movements remained:
- Pauline Christians: a group of mainline congregations, largely of non-Jewish
Christians. Some had been created by Paul and his co-workers.
- Gnostic Christians: They which claimed salvation through special, otherwise
secret gnosis (knowledge). Some were members of mainline congregations; others
were part of Gnostic groups.
- Jewish Christians, remnants of the group originally headed by James, and
including Jesus' disciples. They had been scattered throughout the Roman Empire
after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Gnostics were declared
heretics by a series of church councils and were suppressed. The Jewish Christian
movement gradually disappeared. The Pauline churches grew to become the established
church.
The Bishop of Rome began
to be recognized as the most senior official within the church. Siricius (384-399
CE) became the first bishop to be called Pope. Successive popes exhibited increasing
control over the affairs of the entire church.
The First Split in 1054
CE:
A lengthy power struggle between eastern and western Christendom culminated
in a schism between the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Western Rite (later
to be called the Roman Catholic Church) in 1054 CE. Many Christian sects broke
away from the Western Rite throughout the Middle Ages (Cathars, Knights Templars,
etc.). These were generally exterminated by the central church in various genocidal
wars.
The Second Split in
1517 CE:
In 1517 CE, at the close of the Middle Ages, Martin Luther attacked certain
practices and beliefs of the Church, and the authority of the Pope. He was followed
by other reformers and produced a mass movement: the Protestant Reformation.
They were driven largely by two fundamental principles:
- "Sola Scriptura" (Scripture Alone): The belief that the Holy Bible was
the ultimate authority for all matters of religious belief and practice.
- The Priesthood of all Believers: The belief that no priest or other intermediary
is needed between the Christian believer and God. This naturally led to in