Questions tagged [christianity]
Christianity is one of the monotheistic Abrahamic religions along with Islam and Judaism. Christianity is the largest religion of the world, and the predominant religion in those countries considered part of the "Western" world. Adherents of Christianity are known as Christians.
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When did the Charismatic Movement start? [closed]
When did the christian Charismatic Movement start?
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Why did religion mixed with politics hold back progress of Europeans but not the Turks?
The Turks were technologically more advanced than the Europeans during the Middle Ages. One major reason behind the Europeans backwardness was that their freedom of thought was stifled by dogmatic ...
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What is the secular historical reason for Christ to be put to trial? [closed]
The most popular, religious and non-historical, reason why Jesus was crucified is to atone for humanity's sin. (If I search in google, most sites would show this theory).
What is the secular ...
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Why were Arians outnumbered on the First Council of Nicaea?
Constantine was baptized by an Arian bishop a few years after the Council of Nicaea. His sons were Arians. At least the leadership of the Visigoths that sacked Rome where Arians. That was in 410, only ...
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What strategic value did Christianity hold for Constantine that made him convert to Christianity?
Christianity started off as a cult religion before becoming a major religion today. The major event that put Christianity on the road to world domination was the conversion of Emperor Constantine into ...
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Who believed the earth was flat?
Christians are sometimes mocked for having once believed the earth was flat. However, the only references I can find are Lactantius in the beginning of the 4th century, and Copernicus, who says ...
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Why weren't Indians converted en masse to Islam or Christianity?
India was ruled by Muslims from around the 12th century until 1857, and then by the British till 1947. However, India still has a large number of Hindus. Countries like Indonesia, Afghanistan, ...
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Why was ancient Christianity more successful than the Roman pantheon and Judaism in gaining followers?
Around the 1st century AD, the three biggest religions in the Roman empire were the Roman pantheon, Judaism, and Christianity.
Why was Christianity so much more successful in gaining and keeping ...
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How did ancient mystery religions impact Christianity?
I recently learned about the existence of mystery religions while listening to lectures by Robert Garland about Daily Life in the Ancient World. Wikipedia seems to imply that the mystery religions ...
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When did Rome recognize the Christian church as a judical person?
It is known that since Augustus new collegiums (judical persons) could be established only by the senate's decree.
It is known that under the late empire the church operated as a collegium.
As such, ...
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When and why was Seleucia ultimately abandoned?
The ancient Seleucia was founded along the Tigris river around the year 305 BC, and abandoned in 165 AD, due to the river mutating its course (Wikipedia).
However in 780 AD the Catholicos (=Patriarch)...
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Is there a link between the Easter rabbits and the Yaknehaz rabbits?
It came to my attention this Passover that old German Haggadahs (books used at the Passover ceremonial meal) often featured an illustration of a rabbit hunt, or of just a rabbit, to serve as a ...
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Was Jesus thought to be Jewish before the Renaissance?
Anthony Grafton claims that "the Christian discovery of a Jewish Jesus began not in the 19th century but in the Renaissance"; elsewhere, "Sixteenth and seventeenth-century scholars came to see, as ...
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Can the new testament be a valid historical record on the real life of Jesus? [closed]
I was reading this article and assuming the data provided by the website correct I came to my mind as to how historically valid is the testimony of the life of Jesus in the new testament is as the ...
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What is the origin of the myth of St. Valentine?
There seems to be a story floating around about St. Valentine being martyred for performing weddings. Here's a representative version:
Valentine became famous for marrying couples who were in love ...
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Does Jewish history record Jesus's saying "I am God" or similar utterance?
I came here searching for a question regarding ancient Jewish rabbis view regarding Jesus. Are there any Jewish sources or authoritative ancient texts that show that Jesus never claimed divinity (...
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Are these remarks by Napoleon on Jesus genuine?
The German edition of Wikiquote contains the following alleged words of Napoleon (in translation):
I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between
Him and every other person ...
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Orphism's alleged influence on Christianity
I've read in Nils Johan Ringdal's delightful but ill-footnoted Love For Sale: A World History of Prostitution that the apostle Paul was influenced by Orphism when he set out to weaken women's roles in ...
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Did Gandhi ever make a comment about Islam?
Gandhi famously said about Christians:
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
I realise that in his time the Indian subcontinent was being ...
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Was the Church of St Simeon the Elder at Aleppo built while Simeon was still alive or decades after his death?
I recently read in Diarmaid MacCullochs 'A History of Christianity' that the pillar dweller and hermit, Simeon had a church built around him, almost like a "living exhibit in a Christian zoo". However ...
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What involvement did Jonathan Edwards have with the Conspiracy of 1741?
According to this article:
Rev. Jonathan Edwards delivered the hellfire and brimstone "spider" sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in Enfield, Connecticut on July 8, 1741. This topical ...
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Is this true that the requirement to sacrifice to the Roman gods was put in by the Caesar only after Christianity emerged?
Is this true that the requirement to worship and to sacrifice to the Roman gods was put in by the Caesar only after Christianity emerged? I just encountered a statement that this requirement was put ...
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Which country was the first to separate (Christian) Church from state? [closed]
Which country was the first one , in which the Christian Church was separated from the state? I know it must be in Europe, but I don't know which one exactly.
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What do "roses" represent in the history of Protestant vs Catholic conflict?
My history is a little rough, but I am aware that Ireland's past, particularly that of North Ireland, is wrought with conflict. I know there are multiple causes, but that -- whether as cause or excuse ...
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What holidays would be on a European-centric calendar from the 11th - 13th Centuries?
I've often come across readings that mentioned there were numerous holidays in calendars in use within the Christian Churches or Church controlled lands, with work stopping on worship days, feast days ...
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Was residual animism partially responsible for Hitler's rise?
Although Miller had never bothered to think about it, it was once out of these and other oceans of pine and beech that the old Germanic tribes had swarmed to be checked by Caesar at the Rhine. Later, ...
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What was the scale of eroticism in Byzantine theater?
When reading the texts of saint John the Chrysostome i found a very severe criticism of theater because of 'nude harlots' that could be seen there. I have also read some fragments of Procopius' Secret ...
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Was there a text as revolutionary regarding humanitarism as the New Testament in a pre-Christian era? [closed]
EDIT: I added "humanitarism" to the title for a lack of a better word - for me it's clear that Jesus teaching was far more radical than even today's humanitarism (one of the consequences is that ...
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How widespread was practice of fusion of Graeco-Roman and barbarian names?
There are some instances when barbarian names were romanized in order to be similar to already existing Roman or Greek names. Just some examples that come to mind:
Hebrew Martha -> Marta ("of Mars")
...
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Why did Martin Luther hate the Jews?
What was his reason for hating the Jews? Did Luther believe in religious toleration, or did he hate the Jews because they didn't share his beliefs?
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What was the status of Arab Christians during the crusades?
Did Arab Christians take an active role in the crusades in the Holy Land or at any point on their trip to the Holy Land. Or were they victims of the crusaders? Did the crusaders typically ...
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What factors permitted Buddhism to be successful in Japan but Christianity less so?
From reading The Samurai and the Sacred, it looks like Buddhism achieved acceptance into Japanese culture due to its willingness to assimilate with the (already present) Shinto religion. Conversely, ...
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What was the significance of the term "Lollard" in describing religious dissenters? [closed]
When John Wycliffe's followers gained support from the common people, why did the church call them Lollards? What does Lollard mean? Why didn't they just call them Wycliffites?
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Why did Huldrych Zwingli and Martin Luther stand for clerical marriage?
Was it an original idea of theirs?
Or was it about the legitimization of an already existing custom?
For example, Heinrich Bullinger's father was a dean already in 1504 living in a concubinage due to ...
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What sort of Cardinals were Richelieu and Mazarin?
Cardinals can belong to one of three orders:
Cardinal-deacon
Cardinal-bishop
Cardinal-priest.
What were the ranks of Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin?
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