The Evolution Of Christianity From A Sect To A Dominant Religion (Research Paper Sample)

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The evolution of Christianity from a sect to a dominant religion
Christianity has been described as one of the most transformed religions in the world with the religion starting from just being a Jewish sect with the Jews only being members. When Jesus Christ was killed by the Roman Empire his disciples became an integral part in spreading the good news. At that time the Roman Empire greatly detested with the Christians suspecting that the spread of Christianity would be the end of the game for the roman religion (MacMullen, 1984). The Jews who refused to worship the Roman gods were persecuted and killed during the early years after the death of Jesus. At the time when these persecutions started there were several Christianities which people believed in such examples include the Gnostics, montanists and the doceties. The spread therefore became real in the 60 AD and continued until 318 AD when Constantine converted to Christianity marking entry of Christianity in Rome. Several centuries passed before Christianity started to spread and its influence felt even by the Romans themselves. There were non-Jewish converts who found Christianity too hard to resist. The doctrine of Christianity at the time was passed through writing by various writers. Such writers ensured that Christianity is consolidated and this helped it spread and gain more popularity in both Jewish and non-Jewish countries.
During all this time there was a clear fight by the state of a religion which had evolved to be popular, authoritative and influential. The state could only join hands with the religion or fight it more. Emperor Constantine became the first roman emperor to recognize Christianity and he embraced it. He was a Christian and supported the progress of the religion with church constructions and persecution stopped (Elsner, 1998).
Examples from the bible on the spread of Christianity include the documented journeys of Apostle Paul through the non-Jewish preaching to the gentiles. He spoke against the actions of Jews who did not want to embrace Christianity and accept that gentiles should also be Christians. There are arts and architecture that evidence and mark the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire rule. During Constantine's reign art such as the Chi Rho characterized the signs the emperor kept. The architecture of the churches Constantine also constructed depicts a change from roman pagan god worship to Christianity. For example, Constantine's architecture ...