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(
[sid] => 160560
[catid] => 1
[aid] => mick
[title] => THE ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY :PRE-AUGUSTINE PERIOD
[time] => 2010-06-12 05:31:19
[hometext] => Following my -'Introduction To Medieval Philosophy In Verse
[bodytext] => THE ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY : PRE- AUGUSTINE PERIOD. Following the barbaric invasions by the Visigoths , the Ostrogoths ,Vandals and the Huns , - The complete disintegration of the great Roman Empire had begun ! There prevailed in the minds of men despondency and total confusion ; Emergence of Christianity with its all embracing mission , Ushered in a new dawn of hope in the prevailing gloom of depression ! The new faith struck a popular chord in people’s mind and heart , Where by leading a virtuous life with faith and love , One could gain eternal salvation and blessings from the Heavens above ! By the 4th Century AD , the newly emerging religion of Christianity , Had established itself firmly in the Roman world , - Forming a part and parcel of Medieval History ! PERIOD OF EVANGELISATION Background : The first evangelists were Paul of Tarsus , Who along with Simon Peter and James the Just , And authors of the four gospels of Matthew , Mark , Luke and John , - Had laid the foundations of Christian Religion ! Many other evangelists followed to preach the Gospel , Spreading the words of God and the good new of Jesus ! Christianity had gradually made its dent on the Roman world , Through its catholic approach , its message of salvation , and by winning many converts ! It had grown from the soil of Judaism in the Holy Land of Jerusalem , And preached the gospel of a Father-God to all men ! Spoke of a God who was all merciful , kind and just , Who forgave and embraced all repenting sinners ; Irrespective of their status , creed or cast ! A God who loved all His children alike , Promising redemption for the entire Mankind ! PAGAN PHILOSOPHY : Initially Greek philosophy and the Christian faith , Appeared incongruous and did not blend ! When the Apostolic Fathers of the first and early second centuries , Tried to formulate a new Christian philosophy , - By incorporating elements from Plato and Neo- platonic pagan philosophy ! They had faced many controversial heresies and countless persecutions ; Before the doctrines for the emerging Church could finally emerge , - To become crystallized and be set in motion ! PERSECUTIONS of CHRISTIANS : Out of fifty-four Roman Emperors who ruled between 30 and 311 AD , Twelve of them are known to have persecuted Christians and attacked Christianity ! During 64 AD persecutions first began by the mad King Nero , Culminating in the martyrdom of Apostles Peter and Paul , - Which turned them into instant national heroes ! All subsequent persecutions took a dramatic turn , By making all Christian believers even more resolute and firm ! This made Latin Apologist Tertullian exclaim , - “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church”; Which became an important proverbial adage ! ROMAN CONCEPT of "Piety" : For the Romans , religion was first and foremost a social activity , For promoting loyalty to the state and preserving its unity ! Proper ‘piety’ to their established Gods helped them to maintain , The well being of their people and their vast Empire to sustain , - Against all impending disasters till the very end ! The new religion of Christianity was looked upon with great suspicion , Their homage to an unknown God while seeking salvation , - As an alien , detrimental and a ‘superstitious’ religion ! For in those days the word ‘superstitious’ had a negative connotation ! And finally when the great Roman Empire crumbled during the 5th century AD , The Romans blamed it on the new religion of Christianity ! But power had gradually shifted from their Empire to the Church , And transformation of the world had begun ! THE CHURCH FATHERS BACKGROUND : The ‘Church Fathers’ is a broad generic term , - Embracing all Christian writers and theologians as one ! They constitute the first 800 years of Church History . While Jesus formed the cornerstone of the Church ; The Apostles and the Fathers formed it’s very structure and bulwark ; On which the Church got built to sustain itself for eons to come ! The period has been further sub-divided for the sake of clarity ; Commencing with the Apostolic Fathers of the first century , Followed by the later Fathers – the Apologists ! The period during which these fathers wrote , - Is also referred to as the Patristic Period ; Since ‘patristic’ is a term derived from the Latin word ‘pater’, meaning ‘father’ , - Such a nomenclature did make proper sense ! Since the writers of this period interpreted the Bible so as to defend , - Against the challenges faced from the pagan Greek thoughts and heretical movements ! They also elaborated on the theological concepts of Trinity and Salvation ; While establishing the initial structure of the Church and its Organization ! MEDIEVAL THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS : These Schools began to flourish from mid - second century AD , Brought into existence by the conflict between pagan Philosophy and Christianity ! There were three important Schools of thoughts ; Located in Western North Africa , Alexandria , and in Antioch ! The Alexandrian School had existed from the 1st century AD , As an established center of Greek Philosophy ! Was closely associated with the philosophy of Plato , Being the birthplace of Neoplatonism and the Jewish philosopher Philo . Its prominent writers were Clement , Origen , and Didymus the Blind ; Their interpretation of the scriptures were often of allegorical kind , - And emphasized the divinity of Jesus Christ ! Antioch was a Greek-speaking city , located in modern day Turkey ; Mentioned in the New Testament – Acts , as a center of Christianity . Important fathers were Diodore of Caesarea , Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus . They emphasized the moral and humane aspect of Lord Jesus ; Interpreted the scriptures highlighting its historical context , While Aristotle’s work to them had made better sense ! Western North African School included the famous city of Carthage , Which rivaled the city of Rome in those ancient days ! It’s theologians were Cyprian , Tertullian , and later the great Augustine ; They all wrote in Latin , and were more practically oriented in their times ! (TO BE CONTINUED , BY Raj Nandy) ........................................................................................ The next instalment will commence with the APOSTOLIC FATHERS who formed a link between the Apostles & the later CHURCH FATHERS ! THANKS ! - Raj Nandy .. [comments] => 1 [counter] => 145 [topic] => 11 [informant] => RAJNANDY [notes] => [ihome] => 0 [alanguage] => english [acomm] => 0 [haspoll] => 0 [pollID] => 0 [score] => 2 [ratings] => 1 [editpoem] => 1 [associated] => [topicname] => ChristianPoetry )
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