Outside of Scripture, there is very little direct historical evidence describing first century Christianity, especially with regards to specific events at specific times. Therefore, the best that historians can do is to identify the few events that are known, and to infer where other events take place in relationship to these fixed events. N.T. Wright identifies the following fixed historical points that are based on non-Christian sources and involve non-Christian action (these events are further described in the Events section below):[i]
33 Jesus’s Crucifixion;
49 Claudius’s expulsion of Christians from Rome;
49-51 Paul resides first in Corinth and then in Ephesus;
62 James, brother of Jesus, is martyred in Jerusalem;
64 Nero persecutes Christians after the fire in Rome;
70 Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed;
c.90 Domitian investigates Jesus’s relatives;
c.110–114 Pliny’s persecution of Christians in Bithynia;
c.110–117 Ignatius writes his letters and is then martyred; and
155–156 Polycarp is martyred.
At the time of Jesus’s crucifixion, neither Christianity nor the Christian church existed. Rather, Jesus taught to Jewish communities with Jewish worldviews. Although there were many variants of Judaism during the time of Jesus, they can generally be characterized by (1) a strong Jewish ethnic identity; (2) obedience to the Torah; (3) worship in the Temple; and (4) belief and hope in a future restoration of the Promised Land to Israel, the descendants of Abraham and Jacob.
At this time, Palestine was part of the pagan Roman empire. The people of the Jewish worldview as described above were therefore intermixed with people of the pagan worldview. The pagan worldview generally consisted of the worship of many gods, the offering of incense to Caesar, belief in oracles, and participation in public entertainment such as gladiatorial events.
In the first century, Jews embracing Christianity would have to give up their identity, reinterpret the Torah as messianic prophesy, view Christ rather than the Temple as how one has access to God, and view Christ as the culmination of the Jewish story rather than a future restoration of Israel. This would be seen by many Jews as being a traitor to the Jewish race. Pagans embracing Christianity would require a dramatic change in worldview concerning monotheism, sexual morality, infanticide, and a wide range of other ethical issues. In either case, conversion was a difficult choice, and in certain periods converts would risk torture and death.
And yet the spread of Christianity was rapid and widespread in the decades following the crucifixion of Jesus. What can explain this, given that Jesus (from an earthly view) was merely a poor carpenter, born out of wedlock, was executed by the Roman government, and only led a religious movement for about three years? The providence of God is the Christian answer. But this providence involved a strong focus by early Christians on spreading the Gospel as extensively as possible. Key NT passages include the following:
- And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:18-29);
- And [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mk 16:15);
- So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Jn 20:21); and
- But [Jesus] said to them, “… you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
The book of Acts describes the early missionary activities of the Apostles and Paul. These are but a small sample of what must have occurred when it is understood that part of early Christianity was sharing one’s faith with non-believers. Wright describes this as follows:
“Why then did early Christianity spread? Because early Christians believed that what they had found to be true was true for the whole world. The impetus to mission sprang from the very heart of early Christian conviction. If we know anything about early Christian praxis, at a non- or sub-literary level, it is that the early Christians engaged in mission, both to Jews and Gentiles.”[ii]
Initially, Christianity was viewed as a sect within Judaism. But as the percentage of Gentile Christians increased, it gradually became clear that Christianity was distinct, not only from Judaism but from Greek and barbarian religions as well. Unlike all of these (and every known religion up to this point), Christianity did not offer animal sacrifices, as Christ eliminated this need by being a perfect sacrifice. In addition, Christians had a strong focus on worshiping the One God of Abraham which, confusing to many, included the worship of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, both being separate persons but part of the One God. Due to this new understanding as to the nature of God and His redemptive work, theology was an inevitable part of early Christianity. Write explains, “If everyone agrees about the gods, or about their particular god, there is no need for theology … The place and status of theology within developing Christianity, not as an abstract philosophy or whimsical scholarship, but a part of the inner life of the church, was assured from the first.”[iii]
It is with this introduction of first-century Christianity and its central role in theology that we now continue with the major events that are important to theological developments that occurred up until the Reformation.
[i] N.T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God, Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992: 355.
[ii] Ibid., 360.
[iii] Ibid., 368.
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