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Christianity Theory & History

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Bible. Protocanonical books. The protocanonical books are those books of the Old Testament which are also included in the Hebrew Bible and which have always been considered canonical by almost all Christians throughout history. The term protocanonical is often used to contrast these books to the deuterocanonical books or apocrypha, which "were sometimes doubted"[1] in the early church. List[edit] The list of protocanonical books is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Enumeration[edit] These books are typically 39 in number in most English-language bibles.

Early variants[edit] Most of the protocanonical books were universally accepted by the early church, but some were omitted by a few of the earliest canons. Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden (Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן, Gan ʿEḏen) is the biblical "garden of God", described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel.[2] The "garden of God", not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 14, and the "trees of the garden" are mentioned in Ezekiel 31. The Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden.[3] Traditionally, the favoured derivation of the name "Eden" was from the Akkadian edinnu, derived from a Sumerian word meaning "plain" or "steppe".

Eden is now believed to be more closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning "fruitful, well-watered. "[2] The Hebrew term is translated "pleasure" in Sarah's secret saying in Genesis 18:12.[4] Biblical narratives[edit] Eden in Genesis[edit] The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. Eden in Ezekiel[edit] Proposed locations[edit] Creation Myths. Shillluk (Africa) [Excerpted and edited from Folklore in the Old Testament, J.G. Frazer.] The creator Juok moulded all people of earth. While he was engaged in the work of creation, he wandered about the world. In the land of the whites he found a pure white earth or sand, and out of it he shaped white people. Then he came to the land of Egypt and out of the mud of the Nile he made red or brown people. Lastly, he came to the land of the Shilluks, and finding there black earth he created black people out of it. The way in which he modeled human beings was this.

Sikh For millions upon millions, countless years was spread darkness, When existed neither earth nor heaven, but only the limitless Divine Ordinance. Then were not Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva: None other than the Sole Lord was visible. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva He created and to maya-attachment gave increase. Tahitian He was. Vodun Damballah (Sky-serpent loa and wise and loving Father archetype) created all the waters of the earth. Yokut.

Paradise Lost. Epic poem by John Milton Composition[edit] In his introduction to the Penguin published edition of Paradise Lost, the Milton scholar John Leonard notes: "John Milton was nearly sixty when he published Paradise Lost in 1667. The biographer John Aubrey (1626–1697) tells us that the poem was begun in about 1658 and finished in about 1663. However, parts were almost certainly written earlier, and its roots lie in Milton's earliest youth. " Leonard speculates that the English Civil War interrupted Milton's earliest attempts to start his "epic [poem] that would encompass all space and time". Leonard also notes that Milton "did not at first plan to write a biblical epic". Publication[edit] In the 1667 version of Paradise Lost, the poem was divided into ten books.

Synopsis[edit] The poem follows the epic tradition of starting in medias res (lit. At several points in the poem, an Angelic War over Heaven is recounted from different perspectives. Characters[edit] Satan[edit] Adam[edit] Eve[edit] C. Apostle (Christian) The Twelve Apostles are the twelve primary disciples of Jesus Christ, and they were his closest followers and the primary teachers of the gospel message of Jesus. The count of twelve is ambiguous, as described below. Any subsequent teacher who spread the Christian message to a people, country, or nation, may also have been recognized as an apostle to that people.

The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles during the ministry of Jesus is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. After his resurrection, Jesus sent eleven of them (minus Judas Iscariot) by the Great Commission to spread his teachings to all nations, referred to as the Dispersion of the Apostles. There is also an Eastern Christian tradition derived from the Gospel of Luke of Seventy Apostles. The period of Early Christianity during the lifetimes of the apostles is called the Apostolic Age.[1] In the 2nd century, association with the apostles was esteemed as evidence of authority and such churches are known as Apostolic Sees. Gospel. A gospel is an account that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth . The most widely known examples are the four canonical gospels of Matthew , Mark , Luke , and John , but the term is also used to refer to the apocryphal gospels , the non-canonical gospels , the Jewish-Christian gospels and the gnostic gospels .

Christianity traditionally places a high value on the four canonical gospels, which it considers to be a revelation from God and central to its belief system. [ 1 ] Christians teach that the four canonical gospels are an accurate and authoritative representation of the life of Jesus, [ 2 ] but many scholars agree that not everything contained in the gospels is historically reliable. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] In Islam the Injil ( Arabic : إنجيل ‎) is the Arabic term for a book given to Jesus. Injil is sometimes translated as 'gospel'.

This is one of the four Islamic holy books that the Qur'an reports as having been revealed by God . Etymology [ edit ] The Four Gospels. The Four Gospels may refer to: Canonical gospels, the four Christian gospels included in the New Testament Four Gospels of Ivan Alexander, a 14th-century illuminated manuscript prepared and illustrated during the rule of Tsar Ivan AlexanderVani Four Gospels, a 12th to 14th-century illuminated manuscript of the gospels in the Georgian Nuskhuri scriptЧетвероевангеліе (The Four Gospels), a manuscript of the canonical Gospels printed by Pyotr Mstislavets in 1574–1575The Four Gospels: A Study of Origins, a 1924 book of biblical scholarship by Burnett Hillman StreeterGospel harmony, attempts to compile the canonical gospels into a single accountFour Evangelists, the authors of the canonical gospels.

The Four Gospels. Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander. A miniature from the Tetraevangelia depicting the tsar and the royal family The Tetraevangelia of Ivan Alexander, Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander, or Four Gospels of Ivan Alexander (Bulgarian: Четвероевангелие на (цар) Иван Александър, transliterated as Chetveroevangelie na (tsar) Ivan Aleksandar) is a 14th-century illuminated manuscript Gospel Book in Middle Bulgarian, prepared and illustrated during the rule of Tsar Ivan Alexander in the Second Bulgarian Empire. The manuscript is regarded as one of the most important manuscripts of medieval Bulgarian culture. History[edit] The manuscript was written by a monk named Simeon in 1355–1356 on the orders of Ivan Alexander, probably for use in his private chapel.

After the fall of Tarnovo to the Ottomans in 1393, the manuscript was transported to Moldavia possibly by a Bulgarian fugitive. Curzon released an inventory of his collection of manuscripts in 1849, the first time the Tetraevangelia was presented to the academic world. See also[edit] Gospel of John. The Gospel of John (also referred to as the Gospel According to John, the Fourth Gospel, or simply John) is one of the four canonical gospels in the Christian Bible. In the New Testament it traditionally appears fourth, after the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

John begins with the witness and affirmation of John the Baptist and concludes with the death, burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. Chapter 21 states that the book derives from the testimony of the "disciple whom Jesus loved" and early church tradition identified him as John the Apostle, one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles. The gospel is closely related in style and content to the three surviving Epistles of John such that commentators treat the four books,[1] along with the Book of Revelation, as a single body of Johannine literature.

According to most modern scholars, however, the apostle John was not the author of any of these books.[2] Raymond E. Composition[edit] Authorship[edit] Sources[edit] Gospel of Luke. The Gospel According to Luke (Greek: Τὸ κατὰ Λουκᾶν εὐαγγέλιον, to kata Loukan euangelion), commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four Gospels.

This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension. According to the preface,[1] the purpose of Luke is to write an historical account,[2] while bringing out the theological significance of the history.[3] Nevertheless, ancient authors emphasized plausibility rather than truth and mixed intentional fiction in with their biography; the claim that the evangelist wrote with historical intentions does not guarantee the preservation of historical facts. Most modern critical scholarship concludes that Luke used the Gospel of Mark for his chronology and a hypothetical sayings source Q document for many of Jesus's teachings. Title[edit] Composition[edit] Synoptic Gospels[edit] Sources[edit] L source[edit] Gospel of Mark. The Gospel According to Mark (Greek: τὸ κατὰ Μᾶρκον εὐαγγέλιον, to kata Markon euangelion), the second book of the New Testament, is one of the four canonical gospels and the three synoptic gospels.

It was traditionally thought to be an epitome (summary) of Matthew, which accounts for its place as the second gospel in the Bible, but most contemporary scholars now regard it as the earliest of the gospels. Most modern scholars reject the tradition which ascribes it to Mark the Evangelist, the companion of Peter, and regard it as the work of an unknown author working with various sources including collections of miracle stories, controversy stories, parables, and a passion narrative. Composition and setting[edit] Composition[edit] The two-source hypothesis: Most scholars agree that Mark was the first of the gospels to be composed, and that the authors of Matthew and Luke used it plus a second document called the Q source when composing their own gospels.

Setting[edit] Structure[edit] 1. Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel According to Matthew (Greek: κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγέλιον, kata Matthaion euangelion, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ματθαῖον, to euangelion kata Matthaion) (Gospel of Matthew or simply Matthew) is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament.

The narrative tells how the Messiah, Jesus, rejected by Israel, finally sends the disciples to preach his Gospel to the whole world. The Gospel of Matthew is generally believed to have been composed between 70 and 110, with most scholars preferring the period 80–90; a pre-70 date remains a minority view, but has been strongly supported. The anonymous author was probably a highly educated Jew, intimately familiar with the technical aspects of Jewish law, and the disciple Matthew was probably honored within his circle. Composition and setting[edit] Evangelist Mathäus und der Engel by Rembrandt Composition[edit] Setting[edit] Structure and content[edit] Structure[edit] Theology[edit] Jesus was a Buddhist Monk BBC Documentary. Banned From the Bible - Documentary.

Eusebius. Sources[edit] Little is known about the life of Eusebius. His successor at the see of Caesarea, Acacius, wrote a Life of Eusebius, a work that has since been lost. Eusebius' own surviving works probably only represent a small portion of his total output. Beyond notices in his extant writings, the major sources are the 5th-century ecclesiastical historians Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, and the 4th-century Christian author Jerome. There are assorted notices of his activities in the writings of his contemporaries Athanasius, Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, and Alexander of Alexandria. Early life[edit] In his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius writes of Dionysius of Alexandria as his contemporary.

By the 3rd century, Caesarea had a population of about 100,000. In the 290s, Eusebius began work on his magnum opus, the Ecclesiastical History, a narrative history of the Church and Christian community from the Apostolic Age to Eusebius' own time. Bishop of Caesarea[edit] Death[edit] Works[edit] First Council of Nicaea. The First Council of Nicaea (/naɪ'si:ə/; Greek: Νίκαια /'ni:kaɪja/ Turkish: Iznik) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This first ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.[5] Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the nature of the Son of God and his relationship to God the Father,[3] the construction of the first part of the Creed of Nicaea, establishing uniform observance of the date of Easter,[6] and promulgation of early canon law.[4][7] Overview[edit] Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of the Church.

Most significantly, it resulted in the first, uniform Christian doctrine, called the Creed of Nicaea. Character and purpose[edit] Attendees[edit] Delegates came from every region of the Roman Empire except Britain. Arius. Athanasius of Alexandria. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (Greek: Ἀθανάσιος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Athanásios Alexandrías) (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor or, primarily in the Coptic Orthodox Church, Athanasius the Apostolic, was the twentieth bishop of Alexandria (as Athanasius I).

His episcopate lasted 45 years (c. 8 June 328 – 2 May 373), of which over 17 were spent in five exiles ordered by four different Roman emperors. He is considered to be a renowned Christian theologian, a Church Father, the chief defender of Trinitarianism against Arianism, and a noted Egyptian leader of the fourth century. He is remembered for his role in the conflict with Arius and Arianism. In 325, at the age of 27, Athanasius had a leading role against the Arians in the First Council of Nicaea. At the time, he was a deacon and personal secretary of the 19th Bishop of Alexandria, Alexander. Biography[edit] National origin[edit] Early life[edit] Patriarch[edit] Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, Theologian, Doctor. Constantine the Great and Christianity.

Constantine the Great. Acacius of Caesarea. Marcian. List of Byzantine emperors. Gospel of Thomas. Philip the Apostle. Athanasius of Alexandria. The Shepherd of Hermas. Life of Adam and Eve. Jubilees. Essenes. Orthodox Tewahedo Biblical canon. Meqabyan. Books of the Maccabees. Book of Enoch. Dead Sea Scrolls. Qumran Caves. Inferno (Dante) Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Christianity. Relegion. Catholicism. Christian Religions. Jehovah's Witnesses. Luciferian/Satanic.