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Church History

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Basic Christianity. Constantinian shift. Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Raphael, Vatican Rooms. The artist depicted the troops of Constantine bearing the labarum. Constantinian shift is a term used by Anabaptist and Post-Christendom theologians to describe the political and theological aspects of the 4th-century process of Constantine's legalization of Christianity.[1] The term was popularized by the Mennonite theologian John H. Yoder.[2] Historical context[edit] In 313 the Edict of Milan legalised Christianity alongside other religions allowed in the Roman Empire.

In 325 the First Council of Nicaea signalled consolidation of Christianity under an orthodoxy endorsed by Constantine, and though this did not make other Christian groups outside the adopted definition illegal, the dissenting Arian bishops were initially exiled. Theological implications[edit] Critics point to this shift as the beginning of the phenomenon known as Caesaropapism. See also[edit] References[edit] Jump up ^ Clapp, Rodney (1996).

Further reading[edit] Great Apostasy. Antichristus, a woodcut by Lucas Cranach of the pope using the temporal power to grant authority to a generously contributing ruler The Great Apostasy is a term used by some religious groups to describe a perceived fallen state of traditional Christianity, especially the Roman Catholic Church, because they claim it allowed the traditional Greco-Roman mysteries and deities of solar monism such as Mithras and Sol Invictus and idol worship into the church. In short, in their opinion, the church has fallen into apostasy.[1][2] They feel that to attract the pagans to nominal Christianity, the Catholic Church took measures to amalgamate the Christian and pagan festivals [3] so pagans would join the church; for example, bringing in the pagan festival of Easter as a substitute for the Pasch or Passover, although neither Jesus nor his Apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival.[4][5] Overview[edit] Some modern scholars[who?]

Protestant views[edit] Reformed perspective[edit] The Crusades: When Christendom Pushed Back. Growing in leaps and bounds, the Caliphate, as the Islamic realm is known, has thus far subdued much of Christendom, conquering the old Christian lands of the Mideast and North Africa in short order. Syria and Iraq fell in 636; Palestine in 638; and Egypt, which was not even an Arab land, fell in 642. North Africa, also not Arab, was under Muslim control by 709. Then came the year 711 and the Moors’ invasion of Europe, as they crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered Visigothic Iberia (now Spain and Portugal). And the new continent brought new successes to Islam. Conquering the Iberian Peninsula by 718, the Muslims crossed the Pyrenees Mountains into Gaul (now France) and worked their way northward.

The Moorish leader, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, is supremely confident of success. And this record will remain unblemished. Ah, the Crusades. Misconceptions about the Crusades are all too common. But what does good history tell us? Christendom Pushes Back So now the year is 1095. Renaissance. The Renaissance (UK /rɨˈneɪsəns/, US /ˈrɛnɨsɑːns/, French pronunciation: ​[ʁənɛsɑ̃s], from French: Renaissance "re-birth", Italian: Rinascimento, from rinascere "to be reborn")[1] was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. Though availability of paper and the invention of metal movable type sped the dissemination of ideas from the later 15th century, the changes of the Renaissance were not uniformly experienced across Europe. In politics, the Renaissance contributed the development of the conventions of diplomacy, and in science an increased reliance on observation.

Historians often argue this intellectual transformation was a bridge between the Middle Ages and Modern history. Overview The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Origins Latin and Greek phases of Renaissance humanism. Protestant Reformation. Although the core motivation behind these changes was theological, many other factors played a part, including the rise of nationalism, the Western Schism which eroded people's faith in the Papacy, the corruption of the Curia, and the new learning of the Renaissance which questioned much traditional thought.

On a technological level the invention of the printing press proved extremely significant in that it provided the means for the rapid dissemination of new ideas. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent and spearheaded by the new order of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) specifically organized to counter the Protestant movement. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, turned Protestant.

Southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of fierce conflict, escalating to full-scale war. Religious situation in Europe[edit] History and origins[edit] Earlier schisms[edit] Literacy[edit] History of Calvinist–Arminian debate - Wikipedia, the free encyc. The history of the Calvinist–Arminian debate, a theological dispute originally amongst Dutch Protestants, dates back to the early 17th century. Its points remain at issue as the basis of current disagreements amongst some Protestants, particularly evangelicals. These debates go back in some form to Augustine of Hippo's battle with the Pelagians in the 5th century on theological cornerstones of soteriology, including depravity, predestination, and atonement. Quinquarticular Controversy[edit] The Quinquarticular Controversy is a term used to refer to the purely theological Calvinist–Arminian clashes of the period 1609 to 1618, a time in which the debate had serious political overtones in the Netherlands.

This controversy is the one that was addressed by the Dutch Reformed churches at the Synod of Dort in 1618–1619, a meeting to which Protestant representatives from Reformed churches in other countries were invited. Quinquarticular (i.e. Theological background[edit] Middle Ages[edit] Calvinism Vs. Arminianism. Which view is correct? Neither!

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