Introduction
Religion has played an important role in society since ancient times and the onset of the first civilizations. Today, people uphold the religious tenets of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and other faiths. However, not every person realizes how and when these religions were established. For instance, the history of Christianity entails thousands of years of preaching and major transformations. However, the history of Christianity saw its peak during the Roman reign, with its further permeation of other continents and regions, its role in modern society is controversial due to the rise of atheism and secularism.
The Origin of Christianity
While there is one date for the origin of Christianity, it did not meet its maturation immediately. In the middle of the 1st-century common era, Christianity emerged in Judea, initially dependent on the messages of Jesus and subsequently on the works and preaching activities of Paul of Tarsus (Karamanolis 53). Christianity was first a modest, disorganized group that assured individuals of eternal paradise. Early Christians argued about whether they were to just communicate with the Jewish community or whether non-Jews may also convert to Christianity. In the 2nd century, the religion ultimately drew adherents from all around the Mediterranean world, including Jewish towns (Karamanolis 53). The writings that the Apostle Paul produced in the years following the demise of Christ are already included in the New Testament of the Scripture (Karamanolis 54). These messages were written by Paul, a Roman civilian, to scattered Christian people in the Roman Empire (Karamanolis 54). The writings reveal that Apostles and other Christians were still defining what it was to be a Christian.
The expansion of Christianity owes to the acceptance of religion in the Roman Empire. The executive order, which the Roman Emperor proclaimed in 313 CE, gave Christianity, along with the majority of other faiths, legal recognition (Elsner 7). The conventional Roman doctrines were not entirely replaced by Christianity, despite the fact that this was a significant step in the evolution of Christianity (Elsner 7). The Council of Nicaea was convened by the Emperor after twelve years to decide what the official, or orthodox, doctrines of Christianity were (Elsner 8). The Nicene Creed, which outlined the authority’s predetermined views, was the authority’s output (Elsner 8). The executive order of Thessalonica, proclaimed by the following emperor Theodosius in 380 CE, declared Nicene Christianity to be the officially recognized faith of the Roman people (Elsner 7). The Imperial government declared the majority of other Christian groups to be unorthodox, removed them from their legal standing, and seized their assets.
The Origin of Being a Christ Believer
Being a believer in Christianity entails a lot of aspects in life because a person needs to understand what exactly the Gospel of Christ entails. In addition, the believer must have a proper history of Christianity and comprehend what is expected from Christianity. However, according to the Bible, there is a reward for those who believe in Jesus Christ, and this is a motivating factor for the Christian (Matthew 5:10-12, n.d.). As said in Matthew 5:10-12 (n.d.): “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Therefore, the Holy Scripture emphasized the reward for every Christ Believer, which has been preached for millennia.
Along with the origin of Christianity, the notion of Christ believer is essential as well. The origin of being a Christ believer dates back to the 1st century CE (Patte). Believers upheld the principles and messages of Jesus, who was known as the teacher and healer, and whoever believed in him, the kingdom of God belonged to them (Patte). The believers of Jesus Christ knew that he was the son of God, and he was crucified and died because of the sins of human beings. Thereafter, he was exalted by God and will return soon at the inception of God’s kingdom (Patte). The principle of holy redemption permeated the religion and was advocated by followers of Jesus Christ.
As mentioned, the religion was first followed by the Jews, who can indeed be considered Christ believers. This included the Gentile, whose origin was a result of the development of the early church due to the separation of Judaism and early Christianity (Martin). Later, in the early middle ages, missionary activity played a critical role in spreading Christianity to the Germanic people (Martin). This spread captured many believers in the east, which was an encounter with the Americans (Martin). The corruption of the Catholic ecclesiastical structure of Christianity religion gave rise to the protestant reformation because various Christians had different levels of beliefs (Martin). This was later ended by the European wars and religion, which started the split of Western Christianity.
Since the Renaissance era, Christianity has acquired many believers across the world. Nowadays, there are more than two billion believers across the world who practice Christianity as a way of interacting with Jesus Christ. The role of Christianity was to nourish the Christians socially, economically, and spiritually (Martin). Most believers inspired the non-believers because they lived a more organized life than the non-believers (Martin). However, Christianity continues to be a predominant religion in Europe and has rapidly grown in Asia.
Christianity in Modern Times
Despite ancient Christianity, there is the existence of modern Christianity in the current epoch. Ancient and modern Christianity differs in various aspects. In this case, modern Christianity entails the Christian religion from the beginning of the 15th century up to the end of the 20th century (Sorkin 34). Christian modernity has been classified into the early and late modern periods. Therefore, it is vital to see how much religion and its acceptance have shifted throughout modern times.
Enlightenment
Toward the modern era, the West had begun to experience issues with belief in God. Technalization unavoidably had an impact on how it understood God’s function and personality. The accomplishments of the highly productive and increasingly industrialized West ultimately altered the path of human history (Scimecca 11). It became more and more challenging for the Oikumene nations to either disregard or accept the Western world, as they had in the previous centuries when it had trailed behind the other great civilizations (Scimecca 11). The West generated difficulties that were wholly unique and thus exceedingly complicated to cope with since no other civilization had ever accomplished something comparable (Scimecca 11). Islam, for instance, dominated the world in the previous centuries.
Although Western Christendom’s Renaissance had placed it forward of Islamdom in some ways, the different Muslim nations were readily able to handle the pressure. Muslims were capable of holding against the Portuguese explorers and traders who trailed them as the Turks began their drive into Europe (Scimecca 12). But by the end of the 18th century, Europe had taken the lead and the remainder of the world was unable to follow up because of the very nature of its accomplishment. India was now under the power of the British, and Europe was prepared to colonize as much of the globe as possible (Scimecca 13). The Westernization process had started, bringing with it the ideology of secularism that declared God had no independent existence.
Atheism
Atheism was undoubtedly on the horizon at the dawn of the 19th century. Some people declared their independence from God as a result of the developments in science and technology that were fostering a greater sense of freedom and self-reliance (Bruce 53). Nietzsche, Marx, Darwin, and Freud created ideologies and scientific explanations of existence that excluded God throughout this era (Bruce 53). In fact, by the turn of the twentieth century, a sizable portion of the populace had begun to believe that if God was not already deceased, logical, liberated humans had a responsibility to murder him (Bruce 54). The Christian West’s long-cherished conception of God suddenly seemed woefully insufficient, and the era of the reason was thought to have prevailed over prejudice and superstition for generations.
The West had now taken the lead, and as a result, its actions would have tragic repercussions for Jews and Muslims, forcing them to reevaluate their own positions. Many of the beliefs that denied the existence of God were logical. Western Christianity’s anthropomorphic, divine Creator was weak (Leung 471). In his name, horrific acts had been performed. Instead of being viewed as a joyous freedom, his passing was accompanied by uncertainty, anxiety, and even agonizing struggle (Bruce 56). Atheism has taken root despite attempts by some to rescue God by creating new theologies that would liberate him from the constraining frameworks of empirical cognition.
The Present
Finally, when it comes to the present, the secularist movement has become more widespread. The churches are closing in Europe; atheism is no longer a niche philosophy held by a few groups of academic pioneers but rather the general attitude (Harris and Insole 2). It was always constrained by a specific conception of God in the earlier centuries, but it now appears to have abandoned its inherent connection to theism.
Beliefs evolved into a natural reaction to the realities of life in a secularized society. The God-shaped space in human awareness, where God had always been, was mentioned by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) (Harris and Insole 3). Nevertheless, he claimed that even if God did exist, people would still need to deny him since the existence of God would make individual freedom impossible. A. J. Ayer (1910–1991), a Logical Positivist, questioned whether believing in God constituted logic throughout the 1950s (Harris and Insole 4). The only trustworthy source of information was in the natural sciences since it could be practically verified. Therefore, in the 21st century, although churches still function and there are people who maintain religious principles, natural sciences play a bigger role in modern society’s lives.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the history of Christianity reached its apogee during the Roman era, and it continued to spread to other continents and areas. However, with the advent of atheism and secularism in modern culture, its place in society today is debatable. The origin of Christianism dates back to the 1st century CE, with the birth of Jesus and his preaching. Another vital step is the advancement of Christian believers and the further development and promotion of Christianity. However, in modern history, from the 16th century, religion started to experience weakness due to the presence of science. Toward the 20th century, secularism and technological advances led to a stronger reliance on natural sciences.
Works Cited
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Karamanolis, George. The Philosophy of Early Christianity. Routledge, 2021.
Leung, King-Ho. “Transcendentality and Nothingness in Sartre’s Atheistic Ontology.” Philosophy, vol. 95, no. 4, 2020, 471-495. Web.
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Patte, Daniel, ed. The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity, Two Volume Set. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2019.
Scimecca, Joseph A. Christianity and Sociological Theory: Reclaiming the Promise. Routledge, 2018.
Sorkin, David. The Religious Enlightenment. Princeton University Press, 2018.