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[2: Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Vol. 1. Zondervan, 2010.] [3: Merkel, Helmut. "The Opposition between Jesus and Judaism." Jesus and the Politics of His Day. Ed. Ernst Bammel and C. F. D. Moule. New York, NY: Cambridge UP, 1984. p. 129] [4: McGrath, Alister E. An Introduction to Christianity. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1997. p. XV]
The words neither "male nor female" concentrate one's attention to a possibility seldom considered by ancient communities: equality of opportunities for females. A few researchers claim that the Early Christian Church encompassed a male-controlled foundation which continued from ancient times until the end of the Roman age. But this starkly diverges from the opportunities females were accorded by the early Christian Church.[footnoteRef:5] Their relative liberty proved to be a key factor that attracted the Mediterranean communities towards Christianity. A number of regions witnessed women assuming the roles of church leaders. For instance, Lydia converted her home (located in Philippi) into a church as well as a European missionary staging station,[footnoteRef:6] Phoebe served as the Cenchrea Roman Church's leader, and Priscilla preached alongside her husband. Paul and Luke have recorded all of the above examples. A trend of adopting celibacy was witnessed, particularly among females. Choosing such a life ensured women could be liberated from male domination which marked the key aspect of their routine life. [5: Witherington III, Ben. Women in the Earliest Churches. New York, NY: Cambridge UP, 1988. p. 15] [6: Ibid, at 238-9]
Ancient communities regarded married women as their husbands' "property". According to Aristotle, women's status lay somewhere between that of slaves and free men. Tim Keller[footnoteRef:7] reports that Greco-Roman societies very often literally threw out newborn girls to perish from exposure to nature's elements, owing to females' inferior social status. But such a heinous act was forbidden by Christianity. Greco-Roman communities considered spinsters and widows as having no value. Thus, they deemed it forbidden for widows to remain so for over a couple of years. Christianity, on the other hand, became the foremost of the world's religions to accord widows a choice as to whether to remarry or not. They were provided financial aid and the community treated them with respect. Thus, they were…
Rise of Christianity Amongst the Roman Empire This is a paper letter written to the Roman Emperor Diocletian, on the various aspects and causes for the rise of the Christian religion in light of the book, "The Rise of Christianity" by Rodney Starks. It has 3 sources in MLA Format. Your Excellency Emperor Diocletian Of the Roman Empire Rome. Sub: RISE OF CHRISTIANITY AMONGST THE ROMANS, CAUSE FOR CONCERN The rise of the Christian religion amongst our Roman
Christianity and Hinduism are among the major religions in the world. Christianity being one of the world tremendous religions has the largest number of followers. This is as a result of forces that accompanied the civilization of the western world, which has contributed a lot in terms of social and material hence, out doing other religions. Many people have attained highest levels of spiritual realization, faith and beatitude through the
But the Bible is clear that Esau, Judas, and anyone else who does not believe in Jesus Christ is condemned to an eternity in hell, separated from God forever, never to be redeemed. (Himes R.) The Particular Movement was founded by Henry Jacob (1563-1624). Although he never in fact became a Baptist his views strongly influenced the development of the Separatist Movement. Jacob also attempted to reform the Church of
Christianity was born in the Middle East, the religion has become globalized with a relatively sparse and scattered Christian presence in the region today. Currently, Christians suffer from frequent persecution, especially at the hands of terrorist groups like ISIS/ISIL. As Thomas (2014), points out, "members of the Islamic State have targeted Christian churches, destroyed symbols of Christian faith and killed Christians because of their beliefs." Current events echo the roots
Introduction Even though the term anti-Semitism was first popularized in 1879 through the works of Wilhelm Marr a German journalist, its very existence is traceable much further in history. Wilhelm Marr describes anti-Semitism simply as “hostility or hatred towards Jews” (Young p. 36). Throughout the Middle Ages, and in the wider Europe, the majority of the Jewish people was forced to live in confined neighborhoods (ghettos) and was denied citizenship. This
rise of Hindu Fundamentalism At the turn of the century, religious fundamentalism has emerged as a well-known trend; a custom of mind found within religious communities and paradigmatically incarnated in certain typical individuals and activities. The harassed supporters try to protect their distinctive group identity by its expressions as a strategy. The supporters strengthen it by selective recovery of doctrines, viewpoint and practices from a sacred past, feeling that this