A History of Christianity
Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch – one of the world’s leading historians – reveals the origins of Christianity and explores what it means to be a Christian. When Diarmaid MacCulloch was a small boy, his parents used to drive him round historic churches. Little did they know that they had created a monster, with the history of the Christian Church becoming his life’s work. In a series sweeping across four continents, Professor MacCulloch goes in search of Christianity’s forgotten origins.
1. The First Christianity. He overturns the familiar story that it all began when the apostle Paul took Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome. Instead, he shows that the true origins of Christianity lie further east, and that at one point it was poised to triumph in Asia, maybe even in China. The headquarters of Christianity might well have been Baghdad not Rome, and if that had happened then Western Christianity would have been very different.
2. Catholicism: The Unpredictable Rise of Rome. Over one billion Christians look to Rome, more than half of all Christians on the planet. But how did a small Jewish sect from the backwoods of 1st-century Palestine, which preached humility and the virtue of poverty, become the established religion of western Europe – wealthy, powerful and expecting unfailing obedience from the faithful?
3. Orthodoxy – From Empire to Empire. Today, Eastern Orthodox Christianity flourishes in the Balkans and Russia, with over 150 million members worldwide. It is unlike Catholicism or Protestantism – worship is carefully choreographed, icons pull the faithful into a mystical union with Christ, and everywhere there is a symbol of a fierce-looking bird, the double-headed eagle.
4. Reformation: The Individual Before God. The Amish today are peaceable folk, but five centuries ago their ancestors were seen as some of the most dangerous people in Europe. They were radicals – Protestants – who tore apart the Catholic Church. In the fourth part of the series, Diarmaid MacCulloch makes sense of the Reformation, and of how a faith based on obedience and authority gave birth to one based on individual conscience.
5. Protestantism – The Evangelical Explosion. Diarmaid MacCulloch traces the growth of an exuberant expression of faith that has spread across the globe – Evangelical Protestantism. Today, it is associated with conservative politics, but the whole story is distinctly more unexpected. It is easily forgotten that the evangelical explosion has been driven by a concern for social justice and the claim that one could stand in a direct emotional relationship with God.
6. God in the Dock. Diarmaid MacCulloch’s own life story makes him a symbol of a distinctive feature about Western Christianity – scepticism, a tendency to doubt which has transformed both Western culture and Christianity. In the final programme in the series, he asks where that change came from. He challenges the simplistic notion that faith in Christianity has steadily ebbed away before the relentless advance of science, reason and progress, and shows instead how the tide of faith perversely flows back in.
This documentary is available for preview only.
The following articles provide an overview of some of the most important events and periods in Christian history. More articles will be added over time.
 | Brief Overview of Christian History Learn the highlights of 2,000 years of Christian history in a one-page summary. |
 | Conversion of Constantine In 312 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, a monumental event for the church. |
 | Context of Christianity Christianity arose in the 1st century in the region of Palestine. It grew out of Judaism, but also came in contact with pagan mystery religions, Greek philosophy, and the cult of the Roman state. |
 | The Council of Nicea In 325, Constantine called the Council of Nicea in the hopes that Christian leaders could work out their differences over Arianism, a controversial belief about Christ's relation to God. |
 | Jesus of Nazareth Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ. Christians believe, and most scholars agree, that Jesus was an actual historical figure and a quite intriguing person. |
 | The Apostles Within 20 years of Jesus' death, his followers had spread the Christian faith as far as Rome. Most of the original 12 disciples of Jesus met violent deaths. |
 | Persecution of the Church In its first three centuries, the Christian church endured persistent and often severe persecution at the hands of the Roman authorities. This would have significant historical and theological consequences for the developing faith. |
 | The Church Fathers The time between Christ and Constantine was an especially fertile period of doctrinal development. Some of the most learned minds in Christianity set out to explain the faith to outsiders, develop it for believers, and distinguish "orthodoxy" from "heresy." |
 | Rise of Christian Monasticism When being a Christian became easier under Constantine, personal sacrifice and commitment were found in caves and monasteries. |
 | Rise of the Papacy The preeminence of the bishop of Rome over the entire Catholic church, an institution known as "the papacy," took centuries to develop, but has its roots in early Christianity. |
 | The Crusades The Crusades were expeditions of Christian Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries for the recovery of the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks. |
History of Christianity: The Beginning of the Faith
History of Christianity -- how did it all start? Christianity started about 2000 years ago in Judea (present-day Israel) with Jesus Christ and His faithful group of disciples. During this period, Judea was a cross-cultural mecca of bustling cities and farms. The emperor of Rome was the ruler. The Jews at that time hated Roman rule -- it was but another reminder of the historical oppression they faced as a people. The polytheistic cultural beliefs of Rome were also pagan and intrusive to Jewish life. Some Jews saw that their only hope was to conform to this change. Others became religious zealots who formed pockets of guerilla resistance against Rome. Still others withdrew themselves into the Judean wilderness to study the Jewish law and wait for the eventual coming of their promised Messiah (savior).
History of Christianity -- With this cultural and religious backdrop, the ministry of Jesus began. Jesus was a Jew. He observed the Jewish faith and was well acquainted with the Jewish Law. In His early thirties, Jesus traveled from village to village, teaching in the synagogues and healing those who were suffering. Jesus' teaching was revolutionary. He challenged the established religious authorities to repent from their self-righteousness and hypocrisy and realize that the Kingdom of God is rooted in service and love. Jesus' teachings stirred the hearts of people and created instability, something the Jewish religious authorities feared. Soon, a faithful group of men began to follow Jesus and call him teacher. These men became His disciples. Jesus taught His disciples about the will of God and about the "new covenant" God will bring to humanity through Him. Jesus helped them to see that mankind is bound to the pain and futility of life as a result of sin. Due to sin, mankind lost its relationship with God. The purpose of this "new covenant" is to restore those who accept it into a renewed fellowship of forgiveness and love with God. What is this new covenant? Jesus himself would pay for the sins of all humanity by being crucified unjustly on a Roman cross. Three days later, He would rise to life, having conquered death, to give hope to a hopeless world. Well, it happened just as Jesus taught, and His disciples were witnesses to an amazing miracle. Their teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, died and three days later rose again to become their Messiah. Compelled by a great commission to share the love that the God of this universe had imparted upon them, the disciples began to proclaim this gospel of hope throughout the territory. Thus, from a small group of ordinary men that lived in a small province in Judea about 2000 years ago, the history of the Christian Church began, and the Christian Faith has since spread to the rest of the world. Their gospel message was simple: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16).
History of Christianity: Foretold by Prophecy
Though most of the historical record for the start of the Christian faith is recorded in the New Testament accounts, the history of Christianity actually began with prophecy in the Old Testament. There are over 300 prophecies (predictions) that span over a period of 1000 years that are recorded in the Old Testament concerning the coming of a Jewish Messiah. A study of Jesus' life, death and background will show that He was undoubtedly the fulfillment of these Messianic prophecies. Thus, even long before Jesus walked the earth, His mission was made known to mankind through the Word of God.
History of Christianity: A Faith Based on Historical Fact
History of Christianity- did it all really happen? At first glance, the history Christianity's origin may seem like nothing more than a fairy tale. Many feel that it's just too implausible, and even intellectually dishonest, for people living in the 21st century to believe that these events actually took place. However, the Christian faith, unlike any other religion, hinges on historical events, including one of pivotal importance. If Jesus Christ died and never rose to life, then Christianity is a myth or a fraud. In 1 Corinthians 15:14, Paul exhorts his readers to grab hold of this central truth, that "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." The evidence for the resurrection is the key to establishing that Jesus is indeed who He claims to be. It is the historical validity of this central fact that gives Christians genuine and eternal hope amidst a hurting world.
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