Great World Religions: Christianity

This first lecture introduces Christianity by locating it among other world religions and providing basic facts: its number of adherents, their geographical distribution, the variety of lifestyles they follow, and the length and complexity of its history. Christianity is compared to other major religious traditions with respect to its founder, form of community, sacred texts, doctrine, ritual, moral code, and mysticism.

How did a small sect within 1st-century Judaism become a world religion? This lecture considers some of the components of an answer in Jesus of Nazareth and the earliest writings of the Christian movement.

This lecture traces the story of Christianity from the state of the small and persecuted communities at the beginning of the 2nd century to the emergence of a well-organized and well-defined church at the start of the 3rd century.

Christianity is both deeply historical and mythical in its way of seeing the world. The Christian story provides a comprehensive narrative that extends from the creation of the world to the end of time. The basis of this narrative is found in Scripture, made up of the Old and New Testaments.

Belief, or doctrine, is more important to Christianity than to other religious traditions, such as Judaism or Islam, in part because of Christianity's origin as a sect within Judaism. This lecture sketches the origins and development of the creed, touches on its continuing controversial place in Christianity, then focuses on the central tenets of faith expressed by the 4th-century Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

One of the results of Christianity becoming the imperial religion under Constantine in the 4th century is that its structures expanded to meet its new place in the world. The church grew from small local assemblies into a worldwide organization with a hierarchical structure, extensive material holdings, and substantial social obligations.

Every religious tradition demands of adherents a manner of living consonant with its understanding of the world. Unlike Judaism and Islam, however, Christianity has struggled to formulate a consistent moral code. This is partly due to its ambivalence concerning law and partly to its emphasis on internal transformation. Over time, elements from Scripture have been supplemented by other sources, such as Greek philosophy.

From the very beginning, the tension between conservative and radical tendencies can be seen in the ministry of Jesus, in the writings of Saint Paul, and in the Book of Revelation. As Christianity in both the East and West adapted itself to the structures of society, certain Christians maintained the radical edge in their manner of life: the martyrs, the monks, the missionaries, and the mystics.

Despite its ideal of unity, Christianity has always experienced divisions from within, some of which persist to this day. This lecture identifies the historical circumstances of the two greatest moments of division: the schism between Orthodox and Catholic in the 11th century and the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

Christianity began as a minority intentional community that was socially marginalized and persecuted by imperial power. Over the centuries, it became closely associated with state power, and the shadow of the Constantinian era continues until today. The American, French, and Russian political revolutions ushered in the Post-Constantinian era, which poses fresh challenges to Christians.

At its beginning, Christianity rejected philosophy and was regarded by the sophisticated as a form of superstition. This lecture describes how, through the centuries, Christianity shaped and was shaped by every development in culture. The secularization of culture that began with the Enlightenment has progressively severed culture from Christianity, and modernity increasingly challenges the rationality of Christianity itself.

Christianity faces a number of challenges. Especially in the First World, Christians are deeply divided about how to respond to modernity, politics, and the intellectual life. A variety of religious impulses throughout the world indicate that, despite many premature obituaries, this ancient and complex religious tradition remains lively and, for many, life-giving.