Christian History, Theology, and Theologians

Sociologists, historians, and other researchers generally recognize the complex interaction between religious doctrine and culture: each influences, changes, and reacts to the other. Religious believers tend not to understand this, though, imagining that their doctrines are independent of (if not prior to) the culture around them. This prevents...

Apostle is an English transliteration of the Greek apostolos, which means 'one who is sent out.' In ancient Greek, an apostle might be any person 'sent out' to deliver news - messengers and envoys, for example - and perhaps carry out other instructions. Via the New Testament, apostle has acquired a more specific usage and now refers to one of...

Gregory the Great created what is considered today to be the definitive list of seven: pride, envy, anger, dejection, avarice, gluttony and lust. Over the course of Christian history, each of the seven deadly sins acquired its own special punishment: those guilty of the sin of pride for example are broken on the wheel. Medieval artists created...

The Christianization of a culture is not a one-way street. Christianity started out as a Jewish sect, but when Rome was Christianized, Christianity absorbed quite a bit from Roman culture, changing it extensively. Most people familiar with Christian history are aware of this, but less common is the awareness of how much Christianity changed due to the Christianization of German tribes.

When was the Gospel of Matthew written? When were the Salem Witch Trials? When did Constantine convert to Christianity? Comprehensive timelines of Christian history cover people, places and events from the earliest years down through today. These chronologies include links for more detailed information on specific topics, people, and events as well as listing of other events.

There have been profound differences which have existed among Christians since the very beginning. Even in the epistles of Paul we can see that early Christians disagreed on many matters. The Church Fathers held beliefs which were considered heretical by medieval standards, and people today hold beliefs which would have bewildered Paul.

Read about important concepts necessary for understanding Christianity, Christian doctrines and the basic beliefs of various Christian groups. Includes entries on concepts like atonement, baptism, grace, justification, and mortal sins. Neither apologetics nor critiques of Christianity can occur without an accurate understanding of Christian terminology.

To learn about Christianity, it is also important to learn about some of the people who have played important roles in the development of Christian beliefs and Christian institutions. Here you will find short biographies of some of the most important figures, theologians, and shcolars of Christian history.

A split is growing in American chuches between conservative and modernist religious visions. The conservative vision is anti-Enlightenment, anti-modernity, and anti-liberty. The modernist vision accommodates religion to the political, moral, and scientific insights which define modern society.