Origins of Christianity
I found this wonderful and astonishing website with a timeline of the major events in human history, called MacroHistory and World Report. There are sections on specific regions or time periods but I was just browsing my way through the whole timeline when I found this interesting piece on the origins of Christianity.
25CE : Since 150 BCE, Jews called Essenes have denounced the Jewish majority as apostate and temple worship in Jerusalem as polluted. They describe the majority of Jews as the “sons of darkness” and themselves as “the sons of light.” They live in communes, share, and look forward to Armageddon — God’s day of judgment.
28 CE : Like the Essenes, John the Baptist has seen perversity in Jewish society and has envisioned the coming of an Armageddon that will bring a new Israel under God. But rather than stay separated from others as have the Essenes, John joined various others who traveled about Galilee preaching. John made verbal attacks on the Judah’s king (who is subservient to the Romans), Herod Antipas — the son of Herod the Great. John around this time, give or take a year or two, is imprisoned and executed.
30CE : A young man whose name in Greek is Jesus has created a following of his own, while recognizing there is none greater than his former leader, John the Baptist. This year, give or take a year or two, he goes to Jerusalem for Passover and there creates a disturbance. He is executed — by stoning if convicted of blasphemy and by crucifixion for some other offense.
37CE : Followers of Jesus keep his movement alive. Among these followers, John the Baptist has been relegated to second standing. The followers continued to worship at Jerusalem’s temple, “the House of the Lord.” They call themselves the “The Poor” or “The Saints.” They look forward to Jesus returning and bringing a New Order. Some among them draw attention to themselves by arguing with other Jews. Some are expelled from the city, and one of them, Stephen, is executed.
I had not heard before that Jesus considered John to be his leader and I’m not sold on the evidence that Jesus even existed but given the amazing amount of information on this site that, in my casual browsing, otherwise appears to be correct to the best of my knowledge, I thought it bore pointing out.
Interesting indeed.
History, Religion | PadainFain September 1, 2010
3 Comments to “Origins of Christianity”
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By Me, September 5, 2010 @ 8:31 pm
“I had not heard before that Jesus considered John to be his leader”
According to scripture that isn’t true at all but rather the other way around.
John the Baptist says in Matthew 3:11 “11″I baptize you with[b] water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.”
In reference to Jesus.
And far from being of different movements it was Jesus who asked John to baptize him in the holy spirit, hence they are worshiping the same God.
“Some among them draw attention to themselves by arguing with other Jews”,
yet again not consistent with scripture Acts 6:8
All in all I found the website you linked to very unconvincing if not misleadingly inaccurate and mediocre.
” Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. “
By PadainFain, September 6, 2010 @ 10:26 pm
I would agree with you except for two things:
Firstly that the site has a lot of factual and accurate content on the history of the period.
Secondly that the bible is not the only potential source of history about the period. One only has to consider the other gospels of the christian tradition that were ‘outlawed’ by the R.C. church in the third century to know that to be true.
I don’t claim it to be true but I find it very interesting.
By me, November 1, 2010 @ 1:50 pm
“Firstly that the site has a lot of factual and accurate content on the history of the period.”
Just because some of the information seems factual doesn’t mean all of it is…
First rule of research is determining the source and the website you linked to does not provide any sources for it’s information hence Frank E. Smitha’s webiste is mediocre at best when used as a reference for credible information.
Athough interesting I wold take great caution against websites that seem to distort if not rewrite information without providing evidence.