History of Christianity

The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christendom, and the Church with its various
denominations, from the 1st century to the present.

Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus in the 1st century Roman province of Judea. According
to the Gospels, Jesus was a Jewish teacher and healer who proclaimed the imminent Kingdom of God,
and was crucified at c.30–33 AD. His followers believed that he was then raised from the dead and
exalted by God, and would return soon at the inception of God's Kingdom

The earliest followers of Jesus were apocalyptic Jewish Christians. Due to the inclusion of gentiles, the
developing early Christian Church gradually grew apart from Judaism and Jewish Christianity during the
first two centuries of the Christian Era.

In 313, Emperor Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan, officially legalizing Christian worship. In 380,
with the Edict of Thessalonica put forth under Theodosius I, the Roman Empire officially adopted
Trinitarian Christianity as its state religion, and Christianity established itself as a predominantly gentile
religion in the state church of the Roman Empire.

Christological debates about the human and divine nature of Jesus consumed the Christian Church for a
couple of centuries, and seven eucumenical councils took place to resolve these debates. Arianism was
condemned at the Council of Nicea (325), which supported the Trinitarian doctrine as expounded in the
Nicene Creed.

In the early Middle Ages, missionary activities spread Christianity towards the west among German
peoples. During the High Middle Ages, eastern and western Christianity grew apart, leading to the East-
West Schism of 1054. Growing criticism of the Roman Catholic ecclesiological structure and its
behaviour, led to the Protestant movement of the 16th century and the split of western Christianity.

Since the Renaissance era, with western colonialism, Christianity has expanded throughout the world.[1]
Today there are more than two billion Christians worldwide, and Christianity has become the world's
largest religion.[2]

The Bible is the holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth from its
earliest creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A.D. Both the Old Testament and the
New Testament have undergone changes over the centuries, including the the publication of the King
James Bible in 1611 and the addition of several books that were discovered later.

History of bible

Old Testament
The Old Testament is the first section of the Bible, covering the creation of Earth through Noah and the
flood, Moses and more, finishing with the Jews being expelled to Babylon.

The Bible’s Old Testament is very similar to the Hebrew Bible, which has origins in the ancient religion of
Judaism. The exact beginnings of the Jewish religion are unknown, but the first known mention of Israel
is an Egyptian inscription from the 13th century B.C.

The earliest known mention of the Jewish god Yahweh is in an inscription relating to the King of Moab in
the 9th century B.C. It is speculated that Yahweh was possibly adapted from the mountain god Yhw in
ancient Seir or Edom.

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The Bible

UPDATED:APR 23, 2019ORIGINAL:JAN 19, 2018

The Bible

HISTORY.COM EDITORS

Tetra Images/Getty Images

CONTENTS

Old Testament

Hezekiah

Septuagint

New Testament

The Gospels

Book of Revelation

Biblical Canon

Gnostic Gospels
King James Bible

Sources

The Bible is the holy scripture of the Christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the Earth from its
earliest creation to the spread of Christianity in the first century A.D. Both the Old Testament and the
New Testament have undergone changes over the centuries, including the the publication of the King
James Bible in 1611 and the addition of several books that were discovered later.

Old Testament

The Old Testament is the first section of the Bible, covering the creation of Earth through Noah and the
flood, Moses and more, finishing with the Jews being expelled to Babylon.

The Bible’s Old Testament is very similar to the Hebrew Bible, which has origins in the ancient religion of
Judaism. The exact beginnings of the Jewish religion are unknown, but the first known mention of Israel
is an Egyptian inscription from the 13th century B.C.

The earliest known mention of the Jewish god Yahweh is in an inscription relating to the King of Moab in
the 9th century B.C. It is speculated that Yahweh was possibly adapted from the mountain god Yhw in
ancient Seir or Edom.

READ MORE: Explore 10 Biblical Sites: Photos

Hezekiah

It was during the reign of Hezekiah of Judah in the 8th century B.C. that historians believe what would
become the Old Testament began to take form, the result of royal scribes recording royal history and
heroic legends.

During the reign of Josiah in the 6th century B.C., the books of Deuteronomy and Judges were compiled
and added. The final form of the Hebrew Bible developed over the next 200 years when Judah was
swallowed up by the expanding Persian Empire.
Septuagint

Following conquest by Alexander the Great, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek in the 3rd
century B.C.

Known as the Septuagint, this Greek translation was initiated at the request of King Ptolemy of Egypt to
be included in the library of Alexandria. The Septuagint was the version of the Bible used by early
Christians in Rome.

The Book of Daniel was written during this period and included in the Septuagint at the last moment,
though the text itself claims to have been written sometime around 586 B.C.

READ MORE: Why the King James Bible of 1604 Remains the Most Popular Translation in History

New Testament

The New Testament tells the story of the life of Jesus and the early days of Christianity, most notably
Paul’s efforts to spread Jesus’ teaching. It collects 27 books, all originally written in Greek.

The sections of the New Testament concerning Jesus are called the Gospels and were written about 40
years after the earliest written Christian materials, the letters of Paul, known as the Epistles.

Paul’s letters were distributed by churches sometime around 50 A.D., possibly just before Paul’s death.
Scribes copied the letters and kept them in circulation. As circulation continued, the letters were
collected into books.

Some in the church, inspired by Paul, began to write and circulate their own letters, and so historians
believe that some books of the New Testament attributed to Paul were in fact written by disciples and
imitators.
As Paul’s words were circulated, an oral tradition began in churches telling stories about Jesus, including
teachings and accounts of post-resurrection appearances. Sections of the New Testament attributed to
Paul talk about Jesus with a firsthand feeling, but Paul never knew Jesus except in visions he had, and the
Gospels were not yet written at the time of Paul’s letters.

The Gospels

The oral traditions within the church formed the substance of the Gospels, the earliest book of which is
Mark, written around 70 A.D., 40 years after the death of Jesus.

It is theorized there may have been an original document of sayings by Jesus known as the Q source,
which was adapted into the narratives of the Gospels. All four Gospels were published anonymously, but
historians believe that the books were given the name of Jesus’ disciples to provide direct links to Jesus
to lend them greater authority.

Matthew and Luke were next in the chronology. Both used Mark as a reference, but Matthew is
considered to have another separate source, known as the M source, as it contains some different
material from Mark. Both books also stress the proof of Jesus’ divinity more than Mark did.

The Book of John, written around 100 A.D., was the final of the four and has a reputation for hostility to
Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries.

All four books cover the life of Jesus with many similarities, but sometimes contradictions in their
portrayals. Each is considered to have its own political and religious agenda linked to authorship.

For instance, the books of Matthew and Luke present different accounts of Jesus’ birth, and all contradict
each other about the resurrection.

READ MORE: The Bible Says Jesus Was Real. What Other Proof Exists?

Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the Bible, an example of apocalyptic literature that predicts a
final celestial war through prophecy. Authorship is ascribed to John, but little else is known about the
writer.

According to the text, it was written around 95 A.D. on an island off the coast of Turkey. Some scholars
believe it is less a prophecy and more a response to the Roman destruction of the Great Temple and
Jerusalem.

This text is still used by Evangelical Christians to interpret current events in expectation of the End Times,
and elements of it find frequent use in popular entertainment.

Biblical Canon

Surviving documents from the 4th century show that different councils within the church released lists to
guide how various Christian texts should be treated.

The earliest known attempt to create a canon in the same respect as the New Testament was in 2nd
century Rome by Marcion, a Turkish businessman and church leader.

Marcion’s work focused on the Gospel of Luke and the letters of Paul. Disapproving of the effort, the
Roman church expelled Marcion.

Second-century Syrian writer Tatian attempted to create a canon by weaving the four gospels together as
the Diatessaron.

The Muratorian Canon, which is believed to date to 200 A.D., is the earliest compilation of canonical
texts resembling the New Testament.

It was not until the 5th century that all the different Christian churches came to a basic agreement on
Biblical canon. The books that eventually were considered canon reflect the times they were embraced
as much the times of the events they portray.
During the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, books not originally written in Hebrew but Greek,
such as Judith and Maccabees, were excluded from the Old Testament. These are known the Apocrypha
and are still included in the Catholic Bible.

Gnostic Gospels

Additional Biblical texts have been discovered, such as the Gospel of Mary, which was part of the larger
Berlin Gnostic Codex found in Egypt in 1896.

Fifty further unused Biblical texts were discovered in Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945, known as the
Gnostic Gospels.

Among the Gnostic Gospels were the Gospel of Thomas—which purports to be previously hidden sayings
by Jesus presented in collaboration with his twin brother—and The Gospel of Philip, which implies a
marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The original texts are believed to date back to around 120
A.D.

The Book of Judas was found in Egypt in the 1970s. Dated to around 280 A.D., it is believed by some to
contain secret conversations between Jesus and his betrayer Judas.

These have never become part of the official Biblical canon, but stem from the same traditions and can
be read as alternative views of the same stories and lessons. These texts are taken as indications of the
diversity of early Christianity.

READ MORE: Why Jesus Was Betrayed by Judas Iscariot

King James Bible

The King James Bible is possibly the most widely-known edition of the Bible, though in England it is
known as the “Authorized Version.”
First printed in 1611, this edition of the Bible was commissioned in 1604 by King James I after feeling
political pressure from Puritans and Calvinists demanding church reform and calling for a complete
restructuring of church hierarchy.

In response, James called for a conference at Hampton Court Palace, during which it was suggested to
him that there should be a new translation of the Bible since versions commissioned by earlier monarchs
were felt to be corrupt.

King James eventually agreed and decreed the new translation should speak in contemporary language,
using common, recognizable terms. James’ purpose was to unite the warring religious factions through a
uniform holy text.

This version of the Bible was not altered for 250 years and is credited as one of the biggest influences on
the English language, alongside the works of Shakespeare. The King James Bible introduced a multitude
of words and phrases now common in the English language, including “eye for an eye,” “bottomless pit,”
“two-edged sword,” “God forbid,” “scapegoat” and “turned the world upside down,” among many
others.

A Tour of the Biblical Treasures at D.C.’s New Museum of the Bible

10

GALLERY

10 IMAGES

Sources

The Oxford Illustrated History of the Bible. John Rogerson, ed.

The Book: A History of the Bible. Christopher De Hamel.

New Testament History and Literature. Dale B. Martin.

The Gnostic Gospels. Elaine Pagels.

From Jesus To Christ. Frontline.

Citation Information

Article Title

The Bible

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/religion/bible

Access Date

August 9, 2019

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

April 23, 2019

Original Published Date

January 19, 2018

TAGSRELIGION

BY HISTORY.COM EDITORS

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