A Brief History of Christianity

A brief history of Christianity.

As we have expressed before, the common name describing the divine religions sent to all prophets by Allah is Islam.  Jesus (Esa A.S.) also a prophet of Islam who was sent to the Children of Israel. The term “Christian,” was first used in the Hellenistic Greek city of Antioch, it described those who “believe in and respect Jesus.”

Regarding the word ‘Nasrani/Nazareen,’ also used to refer to Christians, there are different opinions about its root. Some say it refers to the town of Nazareth, where Jesus was born, hence meaning ‘people of Nazareth’ (plural of Nasara). Others suggest the term comes from the Arabic word “نَصَرَ” (nasara), meaning “to help,” implying “those who helped Jesus.”

Isa was born miraculously without a father from Mary (Maryam A.S.). He conveyed the Gospel revealed to him by Allah to the Children of Israel, but very few people believed in him during his lifetime. Among those who believed were 12 disciples, known as the apostles. Others not only disbelieved but also attempted to kill Jesus. However, Allah miraculously saved him and raised him to the heavens. The Quran explains that The Children of Israel mistook someone resembling Jesus (Judas Iscariot) for him, crucifying him instead, with the help of Roman soldiers^[1]. They then claimed that they had killed Jesus. The Quran corrects the false narrative that Jesus was crucified as follows:

“Because of their breaking of their covenant, and of their rejecting the signs of Allah, and of their saying, ‘Our hearts are covered,’—nay, Allah has sealed them because of their disbelief, so they believe not—And of their saying, ‘We have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Maryam, the Messenger of Allah.’ But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but it appeared so to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not. Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.” (An-Nisa, 4:155-158)

The first ‘Christian’ believers from amongst the Jews, including the disciples, were called ‘Jewish Christians.’ These Muslims (following the monotheism taught by Jesus) remained faithful to Jesus’s principles, (adhering to the law of Moses) until the influence of Paul (around 49 CE).

It was during the time of Paul’s emergence that, Christianity underwent a significant distortion. It was Paul who introduced the doctrine of the Trinity, claiming that Jesus, God forbid, is the son of God and the saviour of humanity.

It was at this time that the concept of the ‘Messiah’ was introduced. This became the forged understanding that Jesus was God’s son who had sacrificed himself to cleanse humanity from the ‘original sin’ committed by Adam (Adam A.S.) and Eve (Hawa A.S.)

It was argued that new Christians were not obliged to adhere to the law of Moses. That they were somehow freed from dietary restrictions, such as abstaining from pork, from circumcision, or observing the sanctity of Saturday.

In Paul’s time, Christianity spread rapidly beyond the community known as ‘The Children of Israel’. To be clear, the foundations of present-day Christianity were laid by Paul - not Jesus.

Christianity flourished as a clandestine and prohibited religion during its initial centuries. With the Edict of Milan in 311 CE, Christianity, like other religions, was granted freedom in the Roman Empire. By 380-392 CE, Emperor Theodosius had declared Christianity the sole official religion of the Roman Empire.

During this period, in the same process that Rome became ‘Christianized’, so Christianity became ‘Romanized’. The formerly pagan (polytheistic) Romans retained this characteristic even after adopting Christianity. Churches were filled with symbolic crucifixes, paintings, and sculptures (icons). Christianity was transformed into a polytheistic religion by Roman councils.

The motif of the ‘crucified hero’ present in pagan cultures was applied to Jesus himself. The ‘cross’, symbolising the crucifixion, became a sacred symbol. Many do not realise that the cross was already present in European (Celtic) paganism long before Christianity.

In the early days of Christianity, the first of January was not celebrated as New Year’s Day Pagan winter celebrations, covering various periods between December 24 and January 6, spread to encompass Christian rites as well. By making a claim related to the birth of Jesus, a new calendar was established on January 1, this day began to be celebrated as a holiday.

In ancient Rome and Greece, the ultimate goal of kings and emperors was to deify themselves after death. This understanding was also applied to Jesus, who was depicted in the Gospels as a legendary hero who became divine.

As pure Christianity could not be preserved in its original (monotheistic) form, many councils were held over time to determine the principles of a new form of the religion:

• The first council was held in Nicaea in 325 CE during the Roman era, where the belief that Jesus as the Lord and son of God was adopted.
• At the Council of Constantinople in 381 CE, the concept of the “Holy Spirit” was added to the principles of faith, and it was decided that the Holy Spirit is also divine. This established the trinity doctrine, a fundamental belief of today’s altered Christianity.
• In the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE, Mary was given the title -Theotokos;’ meaning ‘God-bearer.^[2]’
• The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 CE, decided that venerating icons (religious paintings) was not a sin. For the some 200 years, there had been debates about the sinful nature of venerating icons, sometimes these were even banned by Christian emperors.

Orthodox Christians in particular attach great importance to icons. For them, icons containing images of Jesus, Mary, and saints are important symbols that guide people to God. Therefore, Orthodox churches are filled with icons.

Catholic Christians also attach importance to icons. However, Protestants do not have pictures or statues in their churches; they consider a cross to be sufficient for their worship.

The Church reached the peak of its power during the Middle Ages. In this period, the Romans provided maximum support to Christian expansionism. The Church became extremely wealthy during this time as Church priests began distributing documents called ‘indulgences. They claimed to forgive people’s sins for large amounts of money. These documents supposedly represented the purchasing of land in Heaven. Moreover, the Church invested these funds through Jewish moneylenders to reach enormous economic power.

In later periods, the Church had to deal with internal conflicts for a variety of religious and political reasons. By the year 1054 CE, the Catholic and Orthodox churches were divided in two. These churches have been in constant conflict with each other ever since^[3].

The Fourth Crusade in 1204, was supposed to protect Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Orthodox Christians within its walls from Muslims. Instead of providing aid, Latin Christians and Catholic militia from Rome turned to burning, plundering, and destroying the wealthy city. They destroyed Orthodox holy places, hanged priests, insulted Orthodoxy by making indecent songs with shameless women on the patriarch’s throne, and took away much of Byzantium’s material and spiritual wealth back to Rome^[4].

Orthodox Christians, recalling these atrocities, rejected the proposal to seek help from Rome against the Ottoman Empire. As Fatih Mehmet and his troops were preparing to besiege Istanbul, the Orthodox council convened in 1452, announcing, “We would rather see a Muslim turban in Istanbul than the hat of a Latin priest.^[5]”

A Byzantine historian remarked, “Compared to these men bearing the cross of Jesus on their shoulders, the Ismailis (Muslims) are more humane and more merciful.”

Thus, Christians themselves admitted that Muslims were more just, merciful, fair, and tolerant than their fellow co-religionists^[6].

Christians launched many Crusades against Muslims in order to re-establish their broken unity, strengthen themselves politically and economically, and seize sacred places, in particular, Jerusalem. Christians wore a symbol of the supposed crucifixion of Jesus, the cross, on their clothes and weapons during these wars. Hence the name Crusades which means a long and determined attempt to achieve, change, or stop something because of strong beliefs

Many innocent Muslims were killed, and Islamic lands were plundered in these wars. Indeed, centuries later, the Roman Catholic Church (the Vatican) had to admit its mistake and apologise to the entire Islamic world.

From the 15th to 17th centuries, the trust of Christians in the church and clergy was further shaken. Scholars and intellectuals began to raise their voices against the oppression and impositions of the church, and ultimately, due to doctrinal differences, new denominations and national churches emerged. Protestantism, the Anglican Church, Calvinist churches, and other divisions arose during this period.

Furthermore, religious-based ideological differences led to bloody sectarian wars known as the [‘Thirty Years’ War’ in Europe. These wars only ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

Today, Christianity has dozens of different denominations in various regions of the world. Statistics show that in the West, Christians are rapidly distancing themselves from the church and religion, embracing atheism, deism, agnosticism, and other movements, while those in spiritual search are turning to Islam or New Age, mystical, beliefs.

According to a number of Western surveys, taking into account transitions between religions and the rate of population growth, the number of Christians and Muslims will be equal by the 2050s. And by the 2070s, the Muslim population globally, will be the majority.

Surely, every religion has its own various sects and understandings of faith. Here, we will try to provide a brief overview of the beliefs, worship, and moral teachings of Islam; the only true religion today. And also the two other Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Christianity, which have deviated from Islam due to distortion.

Source: Osman Nûri TOPBAŞ, ISLAM IS THE ONLY TRUE RELIGION: A Comparative Study With Christianity and Judaism, 

^[1]. Because the Jews lived under Roman rule, they did not possess the political power to crucify Jesus on their own. However, by making various religious and political accusations to the Roman authorities, they managed to secure a decision for his crucifixion. Indeed, initially, the Roman governor of the region intended to pardon Jesus. But, due to the pressures from the Jews - reminiscent of today’s lobbying activities - the Roman governor was forced to make the detestable decision to crucify Jesus.

 ^[2]. In ancient Egypt, some Pharaohs claimed divinity. There also existed a figure known as “Isis,” the “mother of god.” It is thought that this figure first transitioned to pagan Rome and from there to Christianity, concerning the Virgin Mary being referred to as “Theotokos,” or “mother of God.” Indeed, the depiction of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus in Orthodox icons today closely resembles the ancient Egyptian representation of Isis holding her son Horus.

The discussions among Christian denominations regarding the Virgin Mary have continued since the Council of Ephesus in 431. Catholics, who regard the Virgin Mary as the “mother of God,” have gone to extremes in venerating her. In fact, in 1950, the Pope declared that the Virgin Mary was assumed into heaven bodily. The Orthodox, while accepting Mary as the “mother of God,” criticize Catholics for deifying her. Protestants, on the other hand, do not place much importance on Christian saints or the Virgin Mary.

 ^[3]. There are many differences between Orthodox and Catholic Christians. For example:

• Orthodox Christians accept the first seven councils held between 325 and 787. Catholic Christians accept a total of 22 councils, with the last one being held in 1964. (In this last council, the Vatican issued a call for “dialogue” among other denominations and religions. Interfaith dialogue is thus a Vatican initiative.)
• The spiritual representative of all Catholics worldwide is the Pope in the Vatican. Orthodox Christians, on the other hand, have nine independent patriarchs and lower-ranking archbishoprics.
• The religious, political, and cultural centre for Catholics is the Church of Rome, primarily serving Western European countries. The centre for Orthodox Christians is in Istanbul, serving the interests of Byzantium.
• While Catholics represent Latin and Western culture, Orthodox Christians represent Greek and Eastern culture. Both churches now allow nations to pray and worship in their own languages.
• Catholics believe in the infallibility of either the Pope alone or the Ecumenical Council, representing all Catholic churches, while Orthodox Christians do not accept the infallibility of their patriarchs. In Orthodoxy, the patriarch governs the church alongside the Church Synod (assembly of clergy).
• Catholics require every Christian in adolescence to confess sins at least once a year, whereas Orthodox Christians, while seeing confession as necessary, are not as stringent as Catholics.
• According to Catholics, a child not baptized is damned due to original sin. However, some have suggested they may go to Limbo. In Orthodoxy, there is no original sin at birth, but a person is inclined to sin due to their first sin.
• Catholics perform baptism by sprinkling water, while Orthodox Christians immerse the person fully in water.
• Catholics celebrate Christmas on December 25th, while the majority of Orthodox Christians celebrate it on January 6th.
• Catholic clergy are required to be celibate, while lower-ranking Orthodox clergy can marry, but they cannot ascend to higher positions if they do.
• Catholics do not allow divorce for those married in the church, while Orthodox Christianity permits divorce under certain conditions.
• Catholics have embraced a more interactive life with the public in monasticism, while Orthodox monks tend to live more in seclusion. The Monasteries at Athos Mountain in Greece, where women are prohibited from setting foot, are still active today.

^[4]. Olivier Clement, Din Fenomeni, (translation: Mehmet Aydın) p. 205.

 ^[5]. Georg Ostrogorsky, Bizans Devleti Tarihi, (translation: Fikret Işıltan) Ankara 1999, p. 523-524.

 ^[6]. Ostrogorsky, p. 386.