However, Constantine demonstrated a desire to bring Christianity to the forefront of modern Rome and made changes to improve the lives of Christians (Roldanus 60). Because of this vision, and the policies brought forward, Eusebius saw Constantine as a “messiah” figure. Feeling that God was indeed leading Constantine in all of his military and political endeavors, “Eusebius is careful not to say so directly, the application of the Moses typology to Constantine stands indirect comparison to its earlier use by Eusebius in relation to Christ.” (Cameron 193) Constantine was indeed a careful, thoughtful leader, who never lost a war, even though he was greatly outnumbered in most situations. He survived many assassination plans and attempts on his life. Eusebius saw all of these events as being divinely
On his journey, Paul also set up Churches with leaders in many major towns. The setting up churches helped the message of Christianity to spread quickly. The missions resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of converts to Christianity especially in the Greek-speaking world. One of Paul’s major contributions to the development of Christianity was his theology, being one of many early Christians propositioning radical philosophies among the elders of the Church. Paul’s theology included: * The Resurrection as the pivotal moment in human history * Christ is for all humanity, not only the Jew * The nature and effects of sin- life without God and Christ * Salvation was won by Christ’s death and resurrection and given as pure gift * The church as the body of Christ * Baptism and radical equality within the body of Christ The impact of Paul’s theology on Christianity is that of an enormous amount.
For better and/or for worse the church has had an integral part in the shaping of world and American history. I heard a quote recently from a respected Christian figure; “the greatest cause of Atheism today, are Christians…” Christianity has been used throughout history to justify a plethora of abuses against people and society; both violent and peaceful. King Charles I in 1626 noted, “People are governed by the pulpit more than the sword in time of peace.” England’s monarchs had a habit of doing just that. The people were kept in line with the crown through the Clergy, which was essentially the monarch’s sword. (p. 160) The Puritans were well aware of the abuses of the Church of England and wished to “purify” it.
Source: Johann Tetzel his experience and observations Purpose: Johann Tetzel wrote this document in attempt to enlighten people as to the Catholic church's position concerning the indulgences. Also to stress the importance for the mortal soul to divulge in these indulgences to assure their safe ascent into heaven. Summary: Johann Tetzel in his depiction of "How Many Sins Are Committed in a Single Day?" attempts to inform his readers with a detailed explanation concerning how the indulgences operated. Tetzel also implores his readers to become a part of these indulgences to assure their ascent into heaven.
After everyone arrived the Pope made it very clear that the church had full control of the Crusade. The Pope then appointed Bishop Le Puy as their leader. This was the beginning of a great movement. The Crusaders’ Journey to the Middle East wasn’t easy. They had a difficult journey.
The crusades were military expeditions in the name of the church, the ultimate goal was to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims. Palestine or the “Holy Land” were important to Christians because it was the region where Jesus lived. Regardless of the result, religion was always the primary trigger for the crusades. The extent to which religion played a role varied. For example, in the first crusade attention was focused solely on ridding the “Holy Land” of Muslim forces.
They also gradually brought Castile, Aragon, Granada, Navarre and Portugal together. The pair ruled Aragon and Castile in parallel although they were still ruled separately and independently. As they were both very strong Catholics they were determined to make sure their entire kingdom was Christian this therefore gave them tremendous support from the pope. This all helped to lead to war against Granada which was a Muslim state. This war showed great unity between Ferdiand and Isobella as they both worked in sync, ‘Ferdiand in charge of the campaign and Isabella made sure all supplies reached the army’.
Natural resentment towards the Muslim settlers was instilled through the church, and it was because of this the Papacy was able to use Crusades from the 1200’s onwards to remove threats in Spain and to the east. The coherent theme of the following crusades was the use of the defence of the Holy Land as a catalyst for rallying Christian Knights to the Pope’s right hand. By the Grace of God and the zeal
According to Louis Berehler, a Crusade, by definition, is a war undertaken by a vow and is almost always religious. Through the ages, religion has caused humans to fight for what they believed in. When one thinks of a Crusade, one would most likely envision the red cross worn by soldiers That is because the red cross was the symbol utilized by the Christians in the Crusade, when they sought to recapture Jerusalem from the Turks. The crusaders distinguished themselves, because of how they fought for what they lost (Jerusalem), as well as why they fought. Whether they won the battle or lost it, the crusaders always continued the effort, until they ended up the victor, at whatever the cost in lives and equipment.
When Eugenius heard about this matter he sent St Bernard to Vezelay where the King and his court where spending Easter. Bernard had huge success in Vezelay. 'Men begun to cry for crosses "Crosses, give us Crosses! "'(Runciman, 1952, p.253) the material prepared for crosses soon ran out and Bernard tore up his own cloak to make more. Bernard wrote to the pope a few days later: You ordered; I obeyed; and the authority of him who gave the order has made my obedience fruitful.