The New Perspective on Romans
Christians have been accused of having the tendency to read their own experiences into their interpretation of the bible. We project our cultural experiences and preconceived notions into the passages we read. This is called introspective conscience. An example of this would be how Martin Luther interpreted Romans from his experience of being under the oppressive legal thumb of fifteen century Roman Catholic Church which eventually sparked the Reformation Movement. Luther read the plain meaning of the text ignoring the contextual and historic context of the book of Romans, equating the legalism of the Church to be the righteousness by works of the Jews that Paul was rebuking. This Reformation Approach to interpreting Romans has been taught in churches uncontested ever since. The reformation approach emphasizes the individuals need to be in right standing with a holy, sovereign God through justification by faith as opposed to the justification by works being taught by the Jews of Paul’s Day.
The new perspective on Romans emerged in the latest century recognizing the historical and contextual context of the book of Romans. First of all, Romans is a letter sent to a real group of people in history who had real issues that were addressed by the apostle. We cannot read this letter apart from the actually intentions and purpose that it was intended for when it was written in AD 57. The new perspective takes this context into account by placing emphasis on people groups and the covenantal nomistic view of Judaism. Unlike the Reformation view, this view recognizes the justification by works that Paul addresses the Jews about, was actually result of a soft legalism that was a result of their belief that their covenant with God would save them. They did not believe that their keeping of the law would save them; however, they believed that their keeping of the law was their badge of salvation. This belief automatically excludes the gentiles from the opportunity of salvation.
However, both interpretations of Paul’s letter to Romans has its weaknesses , so Douglas Moo, the author of Encountering the Book of Romans, offers a modified reformation approach. This interpretation of Romans recognizes the covenantal nominism of new perspective and takes into consideration that Paul was writing about “how an individual human being could get in right standing with God; it is about how Gentiles can be added to God’s people without disenfranchising God’s original people, the Jews” (Moo 2002) . The modified approach reads the Roman letter, with respect to its historical context and recognizes that Romans is about individual salvation and the new people of God.
1 Douglas Moo. Encountering the Book of Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker Acedemic (2002), 24.
BIBLIOGRAPY
Moo, Douglas J. Encountering the Book of Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.
Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
Wood, Thomas E. How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Romans 9-11
Paul bases his arguments in Romans upon the history of salvation that acknowledges the continuity of God’s plan to create a people for Himself that originated in the Old Testament, culminates with the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Paul, in Romans Chapters 9-11, tries to explain to these myopic Jews that God’s original plan of salvation always included Gentiles and that the God’s election is based on grace not race. These chapters were essential in Romans in order to maintain the integrity of God within Paul’s argument. Paul was trying to explain to the Jews of his day, how the election of Israel as God’s remnant, transfers to the church as God’s remnant in the earth.
Paul attempts to erode the age old belief that God promised all of physical Israel salvation based upon their ethnicity thereby excluding every Gentile from salvation. The central problem with the Jewish people in Paul’s day was that they could not understand how God could embrace and save the Gentiles without disenfranchising the Jews. These chapters were intended to get the Jews to recognize the continuity of God’s salvation throughout the History of the Old Testament. Paul lets them know that with Jesus Christ a new era was upon them and the old era was passed away. Christ was the culmination of the torah; by fulfilling the righteous requirement of the law, and that through belief in Him anyone could be saved. Chapter 11 in particular explains how God blinded the eyes of Israel from receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ in order that the Gentiles would be saved. Ultimately the salvation of Gentiles will spark jealousy within the hearts of the Jewish people leading to their embracing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 11:26 says that eventually all of Israel will be saved.
Bibliography
Moo, Douglas J. Encountering the Book of Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.
Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
Paul attempts to erode the age old belief that God promised all of physical Israel salvation based upon their ethnicity thereby excluding every Gentile from salvation. The central problem with the Jewish people in Paul’s day was that they could not understand how God could embrace and save the Gentiles without disenfranchising the Jews. These chapters were intended to get the Jews to recognize the continuity of God’s salvation throughout the History of the Old Testament. Paul lets them know that with Jesus Christ a new era was upon them and the old era was passed away. Christ was the culmination of the torah; by fulfilling the righteous requirement of the law, and that through belief in Him anyone could be saved. Chapter 11 in particular explains how God blinded the eyes of Israel from receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ in order that the Gentiles would be saved. Ultimately the salvation of Gentiles will spark jealousy within the hearts of the Jewish people leading to their embracing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 11:26 says that eventually all of Israel will be saved.
Bibliography
Moo, Douglas J. Encountering the Book of Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.
Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
THE MAN, THE SPIRIT, AND EMPEROR:
THE MAN, THE SPIRIT, AND EMPEROR: The Foundation of Orthodoxy and the Canon
To understand how the church fathers established the canonical books and determined what methods and criteria to be used to determine their inclusions, one must recognize the historical context in which the need for the canon arose. The era of peace and freedom of worship finally arrived for the often persecuted Christians of the 3rd century Roman Empire, when Emperor Constantine became a Christian. Suddenly an incongruent, diversified, non unified Christianity came out of hiding, which eventually divided the church along the lines of the nature, humanity and deity of Christ. Particularly the teachings of Arius and those of Gnosticism threatened the unification of the church the most. The orthodoxy of the church and the Canonization of the bible was the church’s defense to the Arian and Gnostic heresies, set in motion by the conversion of Constantine.
Orthodoxy’s Timeline
The historian, Arian bishop and confidant of Constantine, Eusibius of Caesrea, tell us that the emperor converted just before his Battle of Midvian Bridge in A.D.312. At the time that persecutions of Christian’s were common, paganism was the common religion in Rome. Upon his return from a victory attributed to his conversion to Christianity, Constantine began the change in Rome that eventually led to Christianity becoming the official religion of the Empire. Constantine, along with the Eastern emperor, Licinius, signed the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313. This document established religious tolerance and put an immediate end to the persecutions of Christians.
Rather than a show of public confession of Christianity and proof of his conversion, the sole purpose of the Edict of Milan was to restore public order in the empire. This fact is also seen as reason some scholars speculate whether or not Constantine’s conversion was sincere. Coupled with the fact that he did not baptized until his deathbed, which was common, some scholars argue that he secretly remained pagan and only used Christianity as a method to control the empire and promote his own agenda. They also argue that his conversion was not genuine because he never did anything that showed overwhelming allegiance to Christianity and he never publically renounced paganism.
Regardless of his personal sincerity in Christ, the impact of edict elevated Christianity within the empire by leaps and bounds. The new law brought Christianity into the mainstream, ended persecutions, and lead to Christian participation in higher government offices. In Constantine’s New Rome, churches were built instead of pagan temples which shifted the tradition of Christianity being practiced in homes to Christianity being practiced in basilicas and cathedrals. Most importantly, the shift shed light on the diverse practices, beliefs, teachings, and doctrines of Christians who once worshiped in hiding. Mainstream Christianity began to tackle the subsequent emergence of the heretical teachings of Arianis and Gnosticism. Arianism, roughly, is the belief that Jesus was merely and mortal man. Gnosticism is a belief of dualistic deity, and consequently, the declaration that Jesus was all spirit and non-material. These beliefs denied Christ’s deity and humanity respectively.
Who Was Arius?
Arius (A.D. 250-336), was a self proclaimed theologian who believed and taught that Christ was a mere man. Hill writes, “He believed that there was a tim when the son had to come into being, and that the son was definitely lower than the Father…the Son was not divine: he was a creature like any other. Certainly he was the greatest creature of all…but he was not God. (Hill 2006) ” This teaching directly abutted the Trinitarian teachings of the majority of the church fathers. As a result of his doctrines he was condemned by Alexander, and the bishops of Alexandria. Arius’ impact was great because his beliefs were shared by some bishops and regarded as heresy by others. After his exile he defended his views at the Council of Nicaea which was specifically convened to settle the matter of the deity of Christ.
What is Gnosticism?
Gnosticism was made up of many views that shared a common theme that the spirit is good and the material world and body is evil. God being spirit is good and, therefore, would not be involve with the creation of the material world. The material world was made by an evil deity. Thus the Gnostics taught dualism. They taught that true one must avoid evil by living an austere life, while elevating the spiritual things and denying the desires of the body Christ also being good could not be at all human. This view threatened the doctrine of salvation, because it disqualifies Christ as an adequate sacrifice for the atoning of sin. Gnosticism existed both outside and within mainstream Christianity. Some Gnostics believed that there was a secret knowledge only obtainable by some and only those with this spiritual spark could be save. Thus it shared some influence from mystery religions. The confusion caused by this ambiguous belief system caused for clarity and separation of the body of Christ. Stylianopoulos states in his article, Scripture and tradition in the Church, “[The] Son of God truly took on flesh, died a true death, and rose from the dead in a transformed body, and that the human body and all of creation are intrinsically good and redeemable. All of these major teachings, often disputed by heretical teachers, defined the content of the Church’s doctrinal sensibilities in the heat of controversy (Stylianopoulos 2008) .”
Orthodoxy as a response
The Orthodoxy and the canon rose out of the need to quiet the heretical views that divided Christianity, unify the Christian doctrine, and distinguish Christian doctrine from that of those of Gnosticism and Arius. So, Constantine being the lover of order in his kingdom, called the Council of Nicaea. Historians tell us that the bishops of the empire were ordered to attend and vote upon the first doctrine to emerge from the council – The Nicaean Creed. This doctrine established the Trinitarian view as doctrine. And as a result, all those who held Arian views were exiled as heretics.
This meeting started the tradition of holding ecumenical councils which determine doctrine later on in history. Also determined was the institution of Easter as the first official Christian holiday, by Constantine himself. The fate of those who denounced Christianity to avoid persecution was discussed but not determined.
Creation of the canon
It is not known if the canon was decided at the Council of Nicaea. However, the canon was definitely created as a result of the solidification of the doctrine at council of Nicaea. There were the exclusion of the Biblical books that did not contain Gnostic teachings and the inclusion of views that enforced the Trinitarian views. Stylianopoulos writes,
“Doctrine has to do with normative principles and teachings that define the dogmatic framework of the faith critical to the unity of the Church… The ‘rule of faith’ was not some vague theological awareness but a doctrinal sense of clarity pertaining to foundational beliefs. Examples are that God the Father is the sole true God and Creator of the universe; that the Old Testament is Holy Scripture…these major teachings, often disputed by heretical teachers, defined the content of the Church’s doctrinal sensibilities in the heat of controversy (Stylianopoulos 2008) .”
But, there was a deeper systematic approach to canonizing the biblical books beyond just silencing the heretics.
First of all, the church fathers recognized the scriptures as the inspired word of God. Again we see from stylianopoulos, “The later Church Fathers continued this tradition and viewed the entire corpus of scripture,Old and New Testaments, as directly inspired by God and disclosing God’sexpress will. On that basis, because God is the main actor both behind andin the Bible, the Orthodox tradition advocates the supreme authority and primacy of scripture. (Stylianopoulos 2008) ” They acknowledged the God of Judaism as the God of Christianity subsequently establishing, the Old Testament as being the historical foundation of Christianity. The church fathers understood Christianity to be the natural progression of Judaism, as a result of Christ’s fulfillment as the Messiah. Considering the fact that the scriptures were considered by Christ as being complete at that time, they used the Septuagint as the standard of the OT.
The books of the New Testament were determined by many methods including the aforementioned confirmation of the Trinitarian views and those books that were considered Gnostic were not included in the New Testament. Above all those chosen had to be inspired of God as well. Those which were not considered authentic Apostle Writings were excluded. The New Testament included books that referenced OT doctrines and Scriptures Jasper tells us in his article, Literary readings of the Bible,
“Within the canon of Scripture itself, in both Hebrew and Christian Bibles, an intricate pattern of cross-referencing establishes a web of intertextuality … not only a theological as well as a literary coherence between the books of the canon, but it also makes possible a particular view of 'history', as, for example, in the first two chapters of St Matthew's Gospel, where the 'historical evidence' for the birth narratives lies precisely in the literature of the Hebrew Bible, understood as 'history' because these events were exactly what the writings of prophecy announced would happen (Jasper 2009) .”
There was some early rejection of the book of Revelations because its symbolism was thought o be allegorical. However it was eventually included in the canon.
As we can see the conversion of Constantine had far reaching ramifications for the church that set in motion the chain of events that ended in the canonization of scripture. For the first time the church had to deal with Caesaropapism, which is treating the emperor as pope. Constantine displayed his unprecedented authority over the church’s doctrine and affairs when as he saw fit. In A.D. 336, the emperor lifted the exile of Arius. It was the emperor who called the Council of Nicaea in the first place and it was he who established Easter and Sunday as holidays. As a result nearly all churches protestant and catholic alike still worship on Sunday and the same books remain as in the original canon.
Jonathan Hill, Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc, 2006, 80.
Theodore G. Stylianopoulos. Scripture and tradition in the Church.(2008) Cambridge Companions Online Cambridge University Press, accessed September 12, 2009. 8.
Theodore G. Stylianopoulos. Scripture and tradition in the Church.(2008) Cambridge Companions Online Cambridge University Press, accessed September 12, 2009. 8.
Theodore G. Stylianopoulos. Scripture and tradition in the Church.(2008) Cambridge Companions Online Cambridge University Press, accessed September 12, 2009. 8.
David Jasper, Literary readings of the Bible. (2006) Cambridge Companions Online Cambridge University Press, accessed Septembe
Bibliography
Cunningham, Mary B. and Elizabeth Theokritoff. "Who are the Orthodox Christians? A historical introduction. The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology." Cambridge Collections Online. 2008. http://cco.cambridge.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/uid=2451/extract?result_number=1&search_scope=global&book_id=ccol0521807948_CCOL0521807948&query=The+impact+of+the+Fall+of+the+Western+Empire+on+the+Church.&id=ccol9780521864848_CCOL9780521864848A001 (accessed September 06, 2009).
Hill, Jonathan. Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc, 2006.
Jasper, David. " Literary Readings of the Bible." Cambridge Collections Online. 2009.
Stylianopoulos, Theodore G. "Scripture and tradition in the Church." Cambridge Companion Online. Cambridge University Press. Edited by Mary B. Cunningham and Elizabeth Theokritoff. 2008. http://cco.cambridge.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/uid=2451/extract?result_number=2&search_scope=global&query=the+council+of+Nicaea&id=ccol9780521864848_CCOL9780521864848A014> (accessed September 12, 2009).
Wood, Thomas E. How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005.
To understand how the church fathers established the canonical books and determined what methods and criteria to be used to determine their inclusions, one must recognize the historical context in which the need for the canon arose. The era of peace and freedom of worship finally arrived for the often persecuted Christians of the 3rd century Roman Empire, when Emperor Constantine became a Christian. Suddenly an incongruent, diversified, non unified Christianity came out of hiding, which eventually divided the church along the lines of the nature, humanity and deity of Christ. Particularly the teachings of Arius and those of Gnosticism threatened the unification of the church the most. The orthodoxy of the church and the Canonization of the bible was the church’s defense to the Arian and Gnostic heresies, set in motion by the conversion of Constantine.
Orthodoxy’s Timeline
The historian, Arian bishop and confidant of Constantine, Eusibius of Caesrea, tell us that the emperor converted just before his Battle of Midvian Bridge in A.D.312. At the time that persecutions of Christian’s were common, paganism was the common religion in Rome. Upon his return from a victory attributed to his conversion to Christianity, Constantine began the change in Rome that eventually led to Christianity becoming the official religion of the Empire. Constantine, along with the Eastern emperor, Licinius, signed the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313. This document established religious tolerance and put an immediate end to the persecutions of Christians.
Rather than a show of public confession of Christianity and proof of his conversion, the sole purpose of the Edict of Milan was to restore public order in the empire. This fact is also seen as reason some scholars speculate whether or not Constantine’s conversion was sincere. Coupled with the fact that he did not baptized until his deathbed, which was common, some scholars argue that he secretly remained pagan and only used Christianity as a method to control the empire and promote his own agenda. They also argue that his conversion was not genuine because he never did anything that showed overwhelming allegiance to Christianity and he never publically renounced paganism.
Regardless of his personal sincerity in Christ, the impact of edict elevated Christianity within the empire by leaps and bounds. The new law brought Christianity into the mainstream, ended persecutions, and lead to Christian participation in higher government offices. In Constantine’s New Rome, churches were built instead of pagan temples which shifted the tradition of Christianity being practiced in homes to Christianity being practiced in basilicas and cathedrals. Most importantly, the shift shed light on the diverse practices, beliefs, teachings, and doctrines of Christians who once worshiped in hiding. Mainstream Christianity began to tackle the subsequent emergence of the heretical teachings of Arianis and Gnosticism. Arianism, roughly, is the belief that Jesus was merely and mortal man. Gnosticism is a belief of dualistic deity, and consequently, the declaration that Jesus was all spirit and non-material. These beliefs denied Christ’s deity and humanity respectively.
Who Was Arius?
Arius (A.D. 250-336), was a self proclaimed theologian who believed and taught that Christ was a mere man. Hill writes, “He believed that there was a tim when the son had to come into being, and that the son was definitely lower than the Father…the Son was not divine: he was a creature like any other. Certainly he was the greatest creature of all…but he was not God. (Hill 2006) ” This teaching directly abutted the Trinitarian teachings of the majority of the church fathers. As a result of his doctrines he was condemned by Alexander, and the bishops of Alexandria. Arius’ impact was great because his beliefs were shared by some bishops and regarded as heresy by others. After his exile he defended his views at the Council of Nicaea which was specifically convened to settle the matter of the deity of Christ.
What is Gnosticism?
Gnosticism was made up of many views that shared a common theme that the spirit is good and the material world and body is evil. God being spirit is good and, therefore, would not be involve with the creation of the material world. The material world was made by an evil deity. Thus the Gnostics taught dualism. They taught that true one must avoid evil by living an austere life, while elevating the spiritual things and denying the desires of the body Christ also being good could not be at all human. This view threatened the doctrine of salvation, because it disqualifies Christ as an adequate sacrifice for the atoning of sin. Gnosticism existed both outside and within mainstream Christianity. Some Gnostics believed that there was a secret knowledge only obtainable by some and only those with this spiritual spark could be save. Thus it shared some influence from mystery religions. The confusion caused by this ambiguous belief system caused for clarity and separation of the body of Christ. Stylianopoulos states in his article, Scripture and tradition in the Church, “[The] Son of God truly took on flesh, died a true death, and rose from the dead in a transformed body, and that the human body and all of creation are intrinsically good and redeemable. All of these major teachings, often disputed by heretical teachers, defined the content of the Church’s doctrinal sensibilities in the heat of controversy (Stylianopoulos 2008) .”
Orthodoxy as a response
The Orthodoxy and the canon rose out of the need to quiet the heretical views that divided Christianity, unify the Christian doctrine, and distinguish Christian doctrine from that of those of Gnosticism and Arius. So, Constantine being the lover of order in his kingdom, called the Council of Nicaea. Historians tell us that the bishops of the empire were ordered to attend and vote upon the first doctrine to emerge from the council – The Nicaean Creed. This doctrine established the Trinitarian view as doctrine. And as a result, all those who held Arian views were exiled as heretics.
This meeting started the tradition of holding ecumenical councils which determine doctrine later on in history. Also determined was the institution of Easter as the first official Christian holiday, by Constantine himself. The fate of those who denounced Christianity to avoid persecution was discussed but not determined.
Creation of the canon
It is not known if the canon was decided at the Council of Nicaea. However, the canon was definitely created as a result of the solidification of the doctrine at council of Nicaea. There were the exclusion of the Biblical books that did not contain Gnostic teachings and the inclusion of views that enforced the Trinitarian views. Stylianopoulos writes,
“Doctrine has to do with normative principles and teachings that define the dogmatic framework of the faith critical to the unity of the Church… The ‘rule of faith’ was not some vague theological awareness but a doctrinal sense of clarity pertaining to foundational beliefs. Examples are that God the Father is the sole true God and Creator of the universe; that the Old Testament is Holy Scripture…these major teachings, often disputed by heretical teachers, defined the content of the Church’s doctrinal sensibilities in the heat of controversy (Stylianopoulos 2008) .”
But, there was a deeper systematic approach to canonizing the biblical books beyond just silencing the heretics.
First of all, the church fathers recognized the scriptures as the inspired word of God. Again we see from stylianopoulos, “The later Church Fathers continued this tradition and viewed the entire corpus of scripture,Old and New Testaments, as directly inspired by God and disclosing God’sexpress will. On that basis, because God is the main actor both behind andin the Bible, the Orthodox tradition advocates the supreme authority and primacy of scripture. (Stylianopoulos 2008) ” They acknowledged the God of Judaism as the God of Christianity subsequently establishing, the Old Testament as being the historical foundation of Christianity. The church fathers understood Christianity to be the natural progression of Judaism, as a result of Christ’s fulfillment as the Messiah. Considering the fact that the scriptures were considered by Christ as being complete at that time, they used the Septuagint as the standard of the OT.
The books of the New Testament were determined by many methods including the aforementioned confirmation of the Trinitarian views and those books that were considered Gnostic were not included in the New Testament. Above all those chosen had to be inspired of God as well. Those which were not considered authentic Apostle Writings were excluded. The New Testament included books that referenced OT doctrines and Scriptures Jasper tells us in his article, Literary readings of the Bible,
“Within the canon of Scripture itself, in both Hebrew and Christian Bibles, an intricate pattern of cross-referencing establishes a web of intertextuality … not only a theological as well as a literary coherence between the books of the canon, but it also makes possible a particular view of 'history', as, for example, in the first two chapters of St Matthew's Gospel, where the 'historical evidence' for the birth narratives lies precisely in the literature of the Hebrew Bible, understood as 'history' because these events were exactly what the writings of prophecy announced would happen (Jasper 2009) .”
There was some early rejection of the book of Revelations because its symbolism was thought o be allegorical. However it was eventually included in the canon.
As we can see the conversion of Constantine had far reaching ramifications for the church that set in motion the chain of events that ended in the canonization of scripture. For the first time the church had to deal with Caesaropapism, which is treating the emperor as pope. Constantine displayed his unprecedented authority over the church’s doctrine and affairs when as he saw fit. In A.D. 336, the emperor lifted the exile of Arius. It was the emperor who called the Council of Nicaea in the first place and it was he who established Easter and Sunday as holidays. As a result nearly all churches protestant and catholic alike still worship on Sunday and the same books remain as in the original canon.
Jonathan Hill, Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc, 2006, 80.
Theodore G. Stylianopoulos. Scripture and tradition in the Church.(2008) Cambridge Companions Online Cambridge University Press, accessed September 12, 2009. 8.
Theodore G. Stylianopoulos. Scripture and tradition in the Church.(2008) Cambridge Companions Online Cambridge University Press, accessed September 12, 2009. 8.
Theodore G. Stylianopoulos. Scripture and tradition in the Church.(2008) Cambridge Companions Online Cambridge University Press, accessed September 12, 2009. 8.
David Jasper, Literary readings of the Bible. (2006) Cambridge Companions Online Cambridge University Press, accessed Septembe
Bibliography
Cunningham, Mary B. and Elizabeth Theokritoff. "Who are the Orthodox Christians? A historical introduction. The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology." Cambridge Collections Online. 2008. http://cco.cambridge.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/uid=2451/extract?result_number=1&search_scope=global&book_id=ccol0521807948_CCOL0521807948&query=The+impact+of+the+Fall+of+the+Western+Empire+on+the+Church.&id=ccol9780521864848_CCOL9780521864848A001 (accessed September 06, 2009).
Hill, Jonathan. Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc, 2006.
Jasper, David. " Literary Readings of the Bible." Cambridge Collections Online. 2009.
Stylianopoulos, Theodore G. "Scripture and tradition in the Church." Cambridge Companion Online. Cambridge University Press. Edited by Mary B. Cunningham and Elizabeth Theokritoff. 2008. http://cco.cambridge.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/uid=2451/extract?result_number=2&search_scope=global&query=the+council+of+Nicaea&id=ccol9780521864848_CCOL9780521864848A014> (accessed September 12, 2009).
Wood, Thomas E. How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005.
THE RISE OF THE PAPACY IN THE 6TH -9TH CENTURIES
THE RISE OF THE PAPACY IN THE 6TH-9TH CENTURIES
The Roman Catholic Church rose to great power in the 6th century, that with a careful stewardship lasted throughout the 9th century. The barbarian invasions that tore the Roman Empire apart and ripped through Europe were the circumstances that propelled the Church to reach its great altitude. Interestingly enough, all of Western Europe and the preservation of Western Civilization owe its existence to the ascent of the Church. If it were not for the churches alliance with barbarian royalty, which led to careful, methodic preservation of literature, and agriculture as well as being the conduit of learning, nothing would have survived the middle ages.
How and Why Rome Became the Center of Power As It Did
Several circumstantial as well as purely coincidental factors contributed to the high regard of the church by the 6th century. First, the church’s unsolicited popularity could be attributed to its relationship to the early apostles. The papal office was understood to be directly descendent from the apostle Peter whom Christ appointed the head and steward of the church. Pope Damasus used the Matt 16:18-19 as a foundation for this doctrine. Roman church was regarded as first in the empire to be established by the Apostles.
The church’s self proclaimed indicators stemmed from Damasus I, who lived 366-384, referred to the church in Rome as the apostolic see and to himself as the pontifex maximus, a name once held by the emperor of Rome. This is the origin of the present day title of the pope -pontiff. This elevated the authority of the church in the minds of Christians. The synod held in Rome was the first to title the pope “Vicar of Christ,” further elevating the churches perceived authority, by placing the pope as the surrogate of Christ on earth. These proclamations had their roots in caesaropapism which is literally treating the emperor as pope. Earlier in the century, the church found itself in an unprecedented position; Constantine usurped his authority over doctrines and church affairs. His actions blurred the lines between the head of the state and the head of the church. It also had the reciprocal effect of raising the political power of the church.
Therefore, Roman society was primed since the 4th century to receive the church as the highest power in its land.
As purely circumstantial reasons, Christianity and the Church had risen to great popularity in the empire partly due to the fact that Christianity became the official religion of the empire in AD395. Also, The Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, among other things, determined the 5 dioceses. This declared the bishop of Constantinople to be second in authority in ecclesiastical matter only to the bishop see of Rome because it was the New Rome. The Roman bishop stood alone in the West while the East had four bishops to satisfy when major issues occurred.
The culmination of the Barbarian invasions, the inadequacy of the emperors to defend their front, the success of the Christianity, and the immense popularity of the church set the stage for the rise of power that the Bishop of Rome achieved. The Roman generals of the fifth century fought over who would rule and ignored and did not properly guard their frontiers. This created defensive gaps which ultimately led to the collapse of Rome. With Rome under the barbarian thumb the authority of the Empire was left to the Church. Having a great leader like Pope Gregory immensely enhanced the organization’s influence. He was responsible for the improved standing of the papacy. He took charge of Rome’s finances, food water supply and policing. He was able to achieved peace with the Lombards and was able to ransom prisoners from the Lombards who invaded the Empire in the 6th century. He was credited for establishing a new Liturgy of the church as well as being a great theologian. Gregory believed the purpose of the papacy is to aid the poor and he established the papal title “Servant of the servants of Christ.” Gregory put a face of benevolence and integrity on the once considered self seeking papacy.
What Factors Contributed to Its Dominance of Western Europe Until the Reformation?
All of Western Europe was under the attack of invading barbarians. Gaul, Italy and Byzantine Empire was plagued by raids and vandalism while the church remained independent. The empire was subject to division amongst the predecessors of emperors. The power of the empire was divided whilst the church’s power remained undivided and stable. Because of a lack of strong leadership in Rome the Pope Leo II was the only defense against the Huns.
As the barbarians invaded the Church converted. Their motto was, ”to convert the monarch and the people would eventually follow (Wood 2005) .” Because of successful missions sent by the early church, some barbarians were already Christians. Most of the Christianity in Western Europe was Roman Catholic Christianity. The church could not look to the Eastern Empire for help, so the church created alliances with the Barbarians themselves that proved fruitful. In AD 481, Clovis became the king of the Franks who settled in Gaul. According to Thomas E. Wood,
“Historians have speculated that Clovis’ marriage to the beautiful pious and Catholic Clotilda was inspired and arranged by the bishops, with an eye to convert her royal husband to the faith… it would be another four hundred years before all the barbarian peoples of Western Europe had been converted, But the project was off to an auspicious start (Wood 2005).”
Ulfilas, who was born in Cappadocia but Goth raised, had a large impact on the Goths in the 5th century. He was sent to Constantinople to be ambassador to the Goths, instead Ulfilas was crowned bishop early 5th century. He translated the bible into the Goth language furthering the spread of Christianity so that many Goths were already Christian and allowed to settle in the empire.
The Merovingian’s were the ruling line of kings from 6th to the 7th centuries. As they fought among themselves they traded power and land which eventually weakened them.
Because of the church’s alliance with the Merovingians, their degeneration affected the church.
The Carolingians, being the more sophisticated barbarian, benefited from the Merovingians decline as they seized power to the throne. They once served as mayors and other positions in the empire. Recognizing the their superiority Caroling, the mayor in 765, wrote a letter to the pope asking if it were right to get credit for being the king if one were not responsible for the decisions being made. The church jumped on the opportunity to approve the transfer of power from the Merovingians to the Carolingians by crowning Charles Martel, the great grandfather of Charles the great as king. The church looked to them for protection from invasion instead of aid from the eastern empire that was deep in conflicts with the Arabs and Persians themselves.
Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne, became the Franks sole ruler in 771 and established a new post imperial Europe on the basis of Catholicism. Unable himself to read, Charlemagne encouraged education, the arts and called upon the bishops to organize schools around the cathedrals. His mandates for education caused what is referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance. This was a time in Western European history when the intellectual regression in terms of education that was caused by the impact of the barbarian invasions on cities, was beginning to be weakened by the ideals and directives of Charlemagne.
After the death of Charlemagne, the church continued the spread of learning in Europe.
Local councils, Synod of Bavaria (798), Council of Chalons (813), and Council of Aix (816),
were called by the church bishops for the opening of schools.
What Were the Positive and Negative Ramifications of This Reality?
During these centuries the barbarians’ government was to be influence by the Church and Christian conversion. “The Church had to continue to guide them, both to guarantee that the conversion had truly taken hold and to ensure that the faith would begin to transform their government and way of life,” says Wood. Specifically, the conversion of the Franks led directly to the Carolingian Renaissance through Charlemagne until the reign of his son Louis the Pious (814-840). Charlemagne encouraged education under the influence of the church and transformed the barbarians into civilization builders. Simply put, Western Europe owes its survival to the Roman Catholic Church.
Carolingian Renaissance.
Charlemagne appointed Alcuin, a great intellect and head master of the cathedral school at York, and other scholars to his court to educate his family. Alcuin an Anglo-Saxon, was responsible for teaching the Germanic people grammatically correct Latin. By learning Latin, the study of the Church fathers and the classical world of ancient Rome could be studied.
Scholars looked to ancient Roman model for the basis of Carolingian education.
That is where they found the seven liberal arts. “They were the quadrivium of astronomy, music arithmetic, and geometry, and the trivium of logic, grammar and rhetoric,” records Woods. This was the foundation on which future intellectual progress would develop. Also under the rule of Charlemagne began a legal system that was absent within the courts of the barbarians. Another accomplishment for the Carolingian Renaissance was the Carolingian miniscule that was developed by Fredegise, the predecessor of Alcuin. Miniscule introduced lower case letters, spaces between words and other standards in script that made writing and reading much easier than before. The Carolingian miniscule and was essential to building the literacy in Western Civilization.
Monastic Ideal
The second ramification of the rise of papacy was the impact of the Monastic Ideal. The monastery and its lifestyle had become popular before the 6th century where we begin to see nuns for the first time. Nuns were virgins that consecrated themselves to lives of prayer and sacrifice. Monasticism had become so popular that even royalty retired to the monastery. Western civilization owes its existence also to the monks. They were the catalysts of education. No literature would have survived had the monks, under the command of Charlemagne, tirelessly copied all the literature that had survived up until that time.
Monks also were responsible for the growth and development of practical arts including Agriculture, breeding cattle, deforestation and they even drained swamps. Monks loved hard unattractive labor. They felt that the more unpleasant the task the more Christ-like they became. The monasteries were allowed to keep one fifth of the land that they deforested for the kingdom. This land would stay in the ownership of the Church forever.
In conclusion, the survival of western civilization hangs upon the culmination of events that fastened the Church to the barbarian. The papal fathers rise to popularity was due to the culmination of many factors including the empires inability to defend itself against the barbarian invasions and the success of the spread of Catholic Christianity. As the barbarian remodeled the Western Europe, the Church remodeled the barbarian, his government, and his heart. This union between the two preserved, revitalized and reeducated western Civilization.
Thomas E. Wood, How the Church Built Western Civilization,Washington D.C., Regenery Publishing, Inc., 2005, 13.
Thomas E. Wood, How the Church Built Western Civilization,Washington D.C., Regenery Publishing, Inc., 2005, 13.
Thomas E. Wood, How the Church Built Western Civilization,Washington D.C., Regenery Publishing, Inc., 2005, 17-18.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cross, Barrie Ruth. The Catholic Church. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1987.
Hill, Jonathan. Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc, 2006.
Foote, G. W. & J.M. Wheeler, The Rise of the Papacy: Excerpts from the Crimes of Christianity, The Nazarene Way of Essenic Studies
Wood, Thomas E. How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005.
The Roman Catholic Church rose to great power in the 6th century, that with a careful stewardship lasted throughout the 9th century. The barbarian invasions that tore the Roman Empire apart and ripped through Europe were the circumstances that propelled the Church to reach its great altitude. Interestingly enough, all of Western Europe and the preservation of Western Civilization owe its existence to the ascent of the Church. If it were not for the churches alliance with barbarian royalty, which led to careful, methodic preservation of literature, and agriculture as well as being the conduit of learning, nothing would have survived the middle ages.
How and Why Rome Became the Center of Power As It Did
Several circumstantial as well as purely coincidental factors contributed to the high regard of the church by the 6th century. First, the church’s unsolicited popularity could be attributed to its relationship to the early apostles. The papal office was understood to be directly descendent from the apostle Peter whom Christ appointed the head and steward of the church. Pope Damasus used the Matt 16:18-19 as a foundation for this doctrine. Roman church was regarded as first in the empire to be established by the Apostles.
The church’s self proclaimed indicators stemmed from Damasus I, who lived 366-384, referred to the church in Rome as the apostolic see and to himself as the pontifex maximus, a name once held by the emperor of Rome. This is the origin of the present day title of the pope -pontiff. This elevated the authority of the church in the minds of Christians. The synod held in Rome was the first to title the pope “Vicar of Christ,” further elevating the churches perceived authority, by placing the pope as the surrogate of Christ on earth. These proclamations had their roots in caesaropapism which is literally treating the emperor as pope. Earlier in the century, the church found itself in an unprecedented position; Constantine usurped his authority over doctrines and church affairs. His actions blurred the lines between the head of the state and the head of the church. It also had the reciprocal effect of raising the political power of the church.
Therefore, Roman society was primed since the 4th century to receive the church as the highest power in its land.
As purely circumstantial reasons, Christianity and the Church had risen to great popularity in the empire partly due to the fact that Christianity became the official religion of the empire in AD395. Also, The Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, among other things, determined the 5 dioceses. This declared the bishop of Constantinople to be second in authority in ecclesiastical matter only to the bishop see of Rome because it was the New Rome. The Roman bishop stood alone in the West while the East had four bishops to satisfy when major issues occurred.
The culmination of the Barbarian invasions, the inadequacy of the emperors to defend their front, the success of the Christianity, and the immense popularity of the church set the stage for the rise of power that the Bishop of Rome achieved. The Roman generals of the fifth century fought over who would rule and ignored and did not properly guard their frontiers. This created defensive gaps which ultimately led to the collapse of Rome. With Rome under the barbarian thumb the authority of the Empire was left to the Church. Having a great leader like Pope Gregory immensely enhanced the organization’s influence. He was responsible for the improved standing of the papacy. He took charge of Rome’s finances, food water supply and policing. He was able to achieved peace with the Lombards and was able to ransom prisoners from the Lombards who invaded the Empire in the 6th century. He was credited for establishing a new Liturgy of the church as well as being a great theologian. Gregory believed the purpose of the papacy is to aid the poor and he established the papal title “Servant of the servants of Christ.” Gregory put a face of benevolence and integrity on the once considered self seeking papacy.
What Factors Contributed to Its Dominance of Western Europe Until the Reformation?
All of Western Europe was under the attack of invading barbarians. Gaul, Italy and Byzantine Empire was plagued by raids and vandalism while the church remained independent. The empire was subject to division amongst the predecessors of emperors. The power of the empire was divided whilst the church’s power remained undivided and stable. Because of a lack of strong leadership in Rome the Pope Leo II was the only defense against the Huns.
As the barbarians invaded the Church converted. Their motto was, ”to convert the monarch and the people would eventually follow (Wood 2005) .” Because of successful missions sent by the early church, some barbarians were already Christians. Most of the Christianity in Western Europe was Roman Catholic Christianity. The church could not look to the Eastern Empire for help, so the church created alliances with the Barbarians themselves that proved fruitful. In AD 481, Clovis became the king of the Franks who settled in Gaul. According to Thomas E. Wood,
“Historians have speculated that Clovis’ marriage to the beautiful pious and Catholic Clotilda was inspired and arranged by the bishops, with an eye to convert her royal husband to the faith… it would be another four hundred years before all the barbarian peoples of Western Europe had been converted, But the project was off to an auspicious start (Wood 2005).”
Ulfilas, who was born in Cappadocia but Goth raised, had a large impact on the Goths in the 5th century. He was sent to Constantinople to be ambassador to the Goths, instead Ulfilas was crowned bishop early 5th century. He translated the bible into the Goth language furthering the spread of Christianity so that many Goths were already Christian and allowed to settle in the empire.
The Merovingian’s were the ruling line of kings from 6th to the 7th centuries. As they fought among themselves they traded power and land which eventually weakened them.
Because of the church’s alliance with the Merovingians, their degeneration affected the church.
The Carolingians, being the more sophisticated barbarian, benefited from the Merovingians decline as they seized power to the throne. They once served as mayors and other positions in the empire. Recognizing the their superiority Caroling, the mayor in 765, wrote a letter to the pope asking if it were right to get credit for being the king if one were not responsible for the decisions being made. The church jumped on the opportunity to approve the transfer of power from the Merovingians to the Carolingians by crowning Charles Martel, the great grandfather of Charles the great as king. The church looked to them for protection from invasion instead of aid from the eastern empire that was deep in conflicts with the Arabs and Persians themselves.
Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne, became the Franks sole ruler in 771 and established a new post imperial Europe on the basis of Catholicism. Unable himself to read, Charlemagne encouraged education, the arts and called upon the bishops to organize schools around the cathedrals. His mandates for education caused what is referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance. This was a time in Western European history when the intellectual regression in terms of education that was caused by the impact of the barbarian invasions on cities, was beginning to be weakened by the ideals and directives of Charlemagne.
After the death of Charlemagne, the church continued the spread of learning in Europe.
Local councils, Synod of Bavaria (798), Council of Chalons (813), and Council of Aix (816),
were called by the church bishops for the opening of schools.
What Were the Positive and Negative Ramifications of This Reality?
During these centuries the barbarians’ government was to be influence by the Church and Christian conversion. “The Church had to continue to guide them, both to guarantee that the conversion had truly taken hold and to ensure that the faith would begin to transform their government and way of life,” says Wood. Specifically, the conversion of the Franks led directly to the Carolingian Renaissance through Charlemagne until the reign of his son Louis the Pious (814-840). Charlemagne encouraged education under the influence of the church and transformed the barbarians into civilization builders. Simply put, Western Europe owes its survival to the Roman Catholic Church.
Carolingian Renaissance.
Charlemagne appointed Alcuin, a great intellect and head master of the cathedral school at York, and other scholars to his court to educate his family. Alcuin an Anglo-Saxon, was responsible for teaching the Germanic people grammatically correct Latin. By learning Latin, the study of the Church fathers and the classical world of ancient Rome could be studied.
Scholars looked to ancient Roman model for the basis of Carolingian education.
That is where they found the seven liberal arts. “They were the quadrivium of astronomy, music arithmetic, and geometry, and the trivium of logic, grammar and rhetoric,” records Woods. This was the foundation on which future intellectual progress would develop. Also under the rule of Charlemagne began a legal system that was absent within the courts of the barbarians. Another accomplishment for the Carolingian Renaissance was the Carolingian miniscule that was developed by Fredegise, the predecessor of Alcuin. Miniscule introduced lower case letters, spaces between words and other standards in script that made writing and reading much easier than before. The Carolingian miniscule and was essential to building the literacy in Western Civilization.
Monastic Ideal
The second ramification of the rise of papacy was the impact of the Monastic Ideal. The monastery and its lifestyle had become popular before the 6th century where we begin to see nuns for the first time. Nuns were virgins that consecrated themselves to lives of prayer and sacrifice. Monasticism had become so popular that even royalty retired to the monastery. Western civilization owes its existence also to the monks. They were the catalysts of education. No literature would have survived had the monks, under the command of Charlemagne, tirelessly copied all the literature that had survived up until that time.
Monks also were responsible for the growth and development of practical arts including Agriculture, breeding cattle, deforestation and they even drained swamps. Monks loved hard unattractive labor. They felt that the more unpleasant the task the more Christ-like they became. The monasteries were allowed to keep one fifth of the land that they deforested for the kingdom. This land would stay in the ownership of the Church forever.
In conclusion, the survival of western civilization hangs upon the culmination of events that fastened the Church to the barbarian. The papal fathers rise to popularity was due to the culmination of many factors including the empires inability to defend itself against the barbarian invasions and the success of the spread of Catholic Christianity. As the barbarian remodeled the Western Europe, the Church remodeled the barbarian, his government, and his heart. This union between the two preserved, revitalized and reeducated western Civilization.
Thomas E. Wood, How the Church Built Western Civilization,Washington D.C., Regenery Publishing, Inc., 2005, 13.
Thomas E. Wood, How the Church Built Western Civilization,Washington D.C., Regenery Publishing, Inc., 2005, 13.
Thomas E. Wood, How the Church Built Western Civilization,Washington D.C., Regenery Publishing, Inc., 2005, 17-18.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cross, Barrie Ruth. The Catholic Church. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1987.
Hill, Jonathan. Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc, 2006.
Foote, G. W. & J.M. Wheeler, The Rise of the Papacy: Excerpts from the Crimes of Christianity, The Nazarene Way of Essenic Studies
Wood, Thomas E. How The Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2005.
CAN IT BE SAID THAT THE CRUSADES ADVANCED THE CAUSE OF CHRIST?
There is no debate as to whether or not the Crusades were successful for all historians agree that after the triumph of the first crusade, the success of subsequent battles declined to a dismal failure. To say that the Crusades advanced the cause of Christ is to say that the body of Christ grew in quantity or that Christianity reached new frontiers as a result of the Crusades either directly or indirectly. However, the Church felt that they had just cause to ignite holy wars on God’s behalf to further Christianity and defend the church from the infidel. Although their efforts and intentions seemed noble at the onset of the Crusades, the papacy twisted their motives around their missions with every advancing crusade and the result was a barely indirect advancement of the cause of Christendom.
As head of a Christian empire and the guardian of Christian orthodoxy, that emperor of Byzantium was responsible for the defense and expansion of Christendom. This role was inherent in his title and was part of his legacy as successor to the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, and the rescuer of the Holy Cross, Emperor Heraclius.
The attitude of Emperor Heraclius at the time of the Muslim invasion of the Holy Land in 1009 was fueled by pride and not by a sincere obligation to protect artifacts of Christianity. It damaged the emperor’s ego not to be able to protect what he held so much pride in and what was the basis of his authority. The church idolized the religious relics and places even more than the teachings of Christ.
What better solution, than the Roman church coming to rescue its older less competent, weaker sister- the Eastern Orthodox Church. When Byzantine Emperor Alexius I called on Pope Gregory VII, surely the pride of the papacy was boosted. The papacy wanted to sit on the throne of the earthly Jerusalem as the highest office on in the world. What better way to show who was the more powerful, and favored by God than to launch and win a crusade on His behalf. The first crusade was nothing more than the papacy’s, drunk with power, infected with the barbarian fever, attempt at yet another chance to exert its authority over not only its rival, but over the object of its desire. Since Pope Gelasius self exalted his throne in 492 to declare himself the Vicar of Christ, the papacy has methodically raised his position from lowly bishop to the Holy Roman Emperor, even to God’s only representative above all earthy rulers by the decree of Pope Gregory VII. The struggle of investiture was evidence of this argument.
When the church under to rule of Urban II waged a counter attack in 1095 the church used bribery also known as Indulgences, charismatic preaching and propaganda to rally support to fight against the infidel. The church had declared that the bible is to interpreted by the church, therefore, the lay Christian of that time relied on the church for the interpretation of God’s will.
The spread of Christianity meant the spread of the pope’s power. The church fathers swore that the crusade stood for the advancement of the gospel, defenses against the infidels that plagued the Eastern Empire and travelers to the Holy Land, and protection for the safe passage for visitors to the Holy Land. The Crusaders took an oath and were promised immediate forgiveness of sins if they were to perish in battle. Aside from the questionably harsh brutal that they carried out, the intentions of the crusaders seemed to be a pure sincere love of Christianity.
Some theologians of that time tried to argue against or limit Holy War. However, the time called for a strong church that was triumphant against the enemy that oppressed the Church century after century. Chivalry was celebrated especially among the descendants of the barbarian tribes. War still ran through their veins and the western European catholic Christian was too eager to ride out to war in exchange for wealth, honor, land, and forgiveness of sins. Prowler writes,
The Christian Citizen has a fundamental problem to face: Is he entitled to fight for his country? His religion is a religion of peace; and war means slaughter and destruction, the earlier Christian fathers had no doubts. To them a war was wholesale murder. But after the triumph of the Cross, after the empire had become Christendom, ought not its citizens to be ready to take up arms for its welfare ?
One could argue that God was not a pacifist, and there clearly are biblical examples of war. And God could have erected an earthly army to fight for his glory or any reason he could choose. However, Jesus left very specific instructions for how the body of Christ is to deal with enemies, how to deal with authorities and rulers, and how to spread the Gospel. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus tells his disciples to love their enemies, bless them that curse them, do good to those who hate them, and pray for those who persecute them. He tells them in Matthew 22:21 to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Paul tells us in Romans 13 to submit to authorities and that rulers are put in place by the Father and that they are given authority by God to punish evil doers. The bible says in Galatians that “if any man preaches any other gospel …let him be cursed.” What gave the bishop of Rome the right to use the gospel to wage war? Had the Christians of the Middle Ages been encouraged to study the bible for themselves, they could know what the truth and the truth would have set them free. The Holy Wars were not a justified method of spreading the Gospel. Preaching the Gospel did just fine.
Even though the wars were ill-conceived they still could have been an overall success, but they weren’t. The capture of Jerusalem was preceded by and followed by losing crusades. No reason for any of the subsequent crusades even surpassed the first. After Jerusalem was captured by the crusaders the church could not deliver on its promise to populate the Kingdom of Jerusalem with enough settlers and the siege of the nation was short lived. In the East the Christians were outnumbered by Muslims, and Jews. After the Crusades the knights wanted to return to the west. The crusaders technique of conversion was bloody and encouraged the hate of Christianity among the Muslims and Jews.
The crusades were still ingrained in the hearts of the Europeans in the fifteenth century. Time passed but the crusader never died. In the 14 and fifteenth century the crusader reemerged as the spirit of exploration. The explorers remembered the chivalry and cause of the crusades and vowed to Christianize the new world. Christopher Columbus wrote, “The Gospels need be diffused all over the world and the Holy city of Jerusalem has to be given back to the Christian Church .” Although the main motivation for exploration was to conquer new lands for the crown, because of the misconception that the world was smaller than it was, there was a notion that Islam could be attacked from its back door from the east.
History can attest to how successful the exploration age was in establishing Christianity in the new world. The crusade spirit indeed succeeded in the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but not immediately as the Church thought in the eleventh century. By the age of explorations most of Europe was Christian. In the end God get’s the glory, because, regardless of the motives of sinful men God is in control and his agenda remains intact. God’s will was and is that the gospel reaches the end of the earth. History shows that He used a corrupt church to bring about his will. As for the Roman Catholic Church, the bible says that God will not be mocked, for that which you reap; you shall also sow (Gal 6:7). What the Church reaped for all of the corruption and ill-conceived activity was Reformation and collapses of absolute power.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hill, Jonathan. Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc, 2006.
Prawler, Joshua. The First Crusade. London: The Folio Society, 1951.
—. The World of the Crusaders. London: Quadrangle Books, Inc., 1972.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. What Were the Crusades? London, England: Thr MacMillan Press, LTD., 1977.
Robinson, J. John. Dungeon Fire & Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades. new York, New York: M. Evans and Company. Inc., 1991.
As head of a Christian empire and the guardian of Christian orthodoxy, that emperor of Byzantium was responsible for the defense and expansion of Christendom. This role was inherent in his title and was part of his legacy as successor to the first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, and the rescuer of the Holy Cross, Emperor Heraclius.
The attitude of Emperor Heraclius at the time of the Muslim invasion of the Holy Land in 1009 was fueled by pride and not by a sincere obligation to protect artifacts of Christianity. It damaged the emperor’s ego not to be able to protect what he held so much pride in and what was the basis of his authority. The church idolized the religious relics and places even more than the teachings of Christ.
What better solution, than the Roman church coming to rescue its older less competent, weaker sister- the Eastern Orthodox Church. When Byzantine Emperor Alexius I called on Pope Gregory VII, surely the pride of the papacy was boosted. The papacy wanted to sit on the throne of the earthly Jerusalem as the highest office on in the world. What better way to show who was the more powerful, and favored by God than to launch and win a crusade on His behalf. The first crusade was nothing more than the papacy’s, drunk with power, infected with the barbarian fever, attempt at yet another chance to exert its authority over not only its rival, but over the object of its desire. Since Pope Gelasius self exalted his throne in 492 to declare himself the Vicar of Christ, the papacy has methodically raised his position from lowly bishop to the Holy Roman Emperor, even to God’s only representative above all earthy rulers by the decree of Pope Gregory VII. The struggle of investiture was evidence of this argument.
When the church under to rule of Urban II waged a counter attack in 1095 the church used bribery also known as Indulgences, charismatic preaching and propaganda to rally support to fight against the infidel. The church had declared that the bible is to interpreted by the church, therefore, the lay Christian of that time relied on the church for the interpretation of God’s will.
The spread of Christianity meant the spread of the pope’s power. The church fathers swore that the crusade stood for the advancement of the gospel, defenses against the infidels that plagued the Eastern Empire and travelers to the Holy Land, and protection for the safe passage for visitors to the Holy Land. The Crusaders took an oath and were promised immediate forgiveness of sins if they were to perish in battle. Aside from the questionably harsh brutal that they carried out, the intentions of the crusaders seemed to be a pure sincere love of Christianity.
Some theologians of that time tried to argue against or limit Holy War. However, the time called for a strong church that was triumphant against the enemy that oppressed the Church century after century. Chivalry was celebrated especially among the descendants of the barbarian tribes. War still ran through their veins and the western European catholic Christian was too eager to ride out to war in exchange for wealth, honor, land, and forgiveness of sins. Prowler writes,
The Christian Citizen has a fundamental problem to face: Is he entitled to fight for his country? His religion is a religion of peace; and war means slaughter and destruction, the earlier Christian fathers had no doubts. To them a war was wholesale murder. But after the triumph of the Cross, after the empire had become Christendom, ought not its citizens to be ready to take up arms for its welfare ?
One could argue that God was not a pacifist, and there clearly are biblical examples of war. And God could have erected an earthly army to fight for his glory or any reason he could choose. However, Jesus left very specific instructions for how the body of Christ is to deal with enemies, how to deal with authorities and rulers, and how to spread the Gospel. In Matthew 5:44 Jesus tells his disciples to love their enemies, bless them that curse them, do good to those who hate them, and pray for those who persecute them. He tells them in Matthew 22:21 to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Paul tells us in Romans 13 to submit to authorities and that rulers are put in place by the Father and that they are given authority by God to punish evil doers. The bible says in Galatians that “if any man preaches any other gospel …let him be cursed.” What gave the bishop of Rome the right to use the gospel to wage war? Had the Christians of the Middle Ages been encouraged to study the bible for themselves, they could know what the truth and the truth would have set them free. The Holy Wars were not a justified method of spreading the Gospel. Preaching the Gospel did just fine.
Even though the wars were ill-conceived they still could have been an overall success, but they weren’t. The capture of Jerusalem was preceded by and followed by losing crusades. No reason for any of the subsequent crusades even surpassed the first. After Jerusalem was captured by the crusaders the church could not deliver on its promise to populate the Kingdom of Jerusalem with enough settlers and the siege of the nation was short lived. In the East the Christians were outnumbered by Muslims, and Jews. After the Crusades the knights wanted to return to the west. The crusaders technique of conversion was bloody and encouraged the hate of Christianity among the Muslims and Jews.
The crusades were still ingrained in the hearts of the Europeans in the fifteenth century. Time passed but the crusader never died. In the 14 and fifteenth century the crusader reemerged as the spirit of exploration. The explorers remembered the chivalry and cause of the crusades and vowed to Christianize the new world. Christopher Columbus wrote, “The Gospels need be diffused all over the world and the Holy city of Jerusalem has to be given back to the Christian Church .” Although the main motivation for exploration was to conquer new lands for the crown, because of the misconception that the world was smaller than it was, there was a notion that Islam could be attacked from its back door from the east.
History can attest to how successful the exploration age was in establishing Christianity in the new world. The crusade spirit indeed succeeded in the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ but not immediately as the Church thought in the eleventh century. By the age of explorations most of Europe was Christian. In the end God get’s the glory, because, regardless of the motives of sinful men God is in control and his agenda remains intact. God’s will was and is that the gospel reaches the end of the earth. History shows that He used a corrupt church to bring about his will. As for the Roman Catholic Church, the bible says that God will not be mocked, for that which you reap; you shall also sow (Gal 6:7). What the Church reaped for all of the corruption and ill-conceived activity was Reformation and collapses of absolute power.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hill, Jonathan. Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Oxford, England: Lion Publishing Plc, 2006.
Prawler, Joshua. The First Crusade. London: The Folio Society, 1951.
—. The World of the Crusaders. London: Quadrangle Books, Inc., 1972.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. What Were the Crusades? London, England: Thr MacMillan Press, LTD., 1977.
Robinson, J. John. Dungeon Fire & Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades. new York, New York: M. Evans and Company. Inc., 1991.
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