Kenny Martin’s Blog

Judaism is the Jews’ religion. The Jews had been given laws from God, which were recorded in the Books of the Law, several of the books of the Old Testament. The Jews are God’s chosen people, and when Christianity began being preached to the Gentiles (non-Jews), the Jews who were not Christians thought that the Gospel shouldn’t be preached to them. But the Christian Jews thought that the Gentiles should follow the laws that God had given them, the ones recorded in the Old Testament. However, some of the Apostles said that that was not what should happen. Some Jews continued to think that Christianity shouldn’t be preached to the Gentiles, while others agreed with the Apostles who thought that Christianity was for everyone.

In Judaism, the religion of the Jews, a gentile is not a Jew. Gentiles were not respected by the Jews, because they were considered “unclean.” Christian Jews thought that Christianity was only for Israel, but in Acts, Peter has a vision from God that told him that salvation was for everyone. Gentiles are everybody not Jewish, but that does not mean that they are not able to receive salvation, because we all are according to God.

The type of Greek the original books of the New Testament were written in was koine. It was “… the most common form of the Greek language.” History Book, page 136. It was also second most common language in Rome. With this language being so popular, the Bible was spread quickly throughout Rome. The fact that it was written in this common language greatly affected its speed in spreading, because if it had been written in a less popular language, it might have spread less.

Ancient history ended in about 500 A.D., after Greece and most of Rome had fallen. The end of the ancient history led into the Middle Ages, a time of educational, spiritual, and economical poverty, also known as the Dark Ages. The Middle Ages joined ancient history to modern history, but it unfortunately was not the healthiest time in the history of the world.

The Middle Ages began in about 500 A.D.. This period is known for its distortion of Christianity, and it connected ancient history to modern history. The Middle Age also earned itself the title “The Dark Ages,” because Rome and Greece had fallen not long before its beginning. The Middle Ages ended in about 1500 A.D., lasting roughly 1000 years of spiritual darkness. With Christianity distorted, people began to rely on other humans, the pope, for salvation. The Middle Ages was a dark age because of the the spiritual darkness, the lack of education, and the fall of great empires before it had started.

Christendom is the part of the world where Christianity is dominant. In the Middle Ages, it was the idea that men would take the place of God for Jesus until he returned to earth, ruling in his name. This led to humanism. People wanting this wanted the whole world to be Christian. Popes sometimes enjoyed joining with politics, and claimed that they were furthering Christendom by doing so.

Christendom led to complicated masses, and many sacraments, and less and less personal connection with God, while man supposedly forgave sins for God (because in catholicism, they don’t believe you can have a personal relationship with God, which means you are forgiven by someone other than God). Christendom was the result of men being the base for a distorted Christianity, not the Scriptures for a biblical church.

Excommunication was a power that the pope had over the church. In the Catholic Church, it  the power that excludes one from sharing the church’s the sacraments and services. In the Middle Ages, one who was excommunicated was not allowed food or business with other Christians, which, of course, could result in one’s death. It was believed to unforgivable by God, which meant eternal damnation. Although this was not a biblical belief, excommunication was a dreaded thing in the Middle Ages.

Mass was the complicated worship services during the Middle Ages in the Roman Catholic Church. Originally, worship services were simple, but the Catholic Church changed all that. Although the early church had practiced the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper,  and baptism, the church added several others, totaling seven. The sacraments were considered to have saving power, and not being allowed to join in the sacraments, a part of excommunication, was supposed to be as good as eternal damnation. Both of these things are still happening, though excommunication from the sacraments is not a common thing at all.

The important decree that Pope Gelasius made about Roman Catholic bishops was that the government and the church were two separate powers. Pope Leo I had made popes dominant over bishops, but Gelasius went a step further. He also said that the pope was supreme when it came to matters of the church. The Roman Catholic popes had more power than any government leader for a while after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. I think Gelasius’ decree affected the world when it was declared and after as well, because it determined who had power and in what group, church or government.

Pope Leo I was important because of his power. He was officially recognized as the ultimate leader of the church by Valentine III in 445 A.D., and earned the title “The Great.” Pope Leo I also convinced Attila, the terrifying leader of the Huns, not to attack Rome. I think Pope Leo I affected the world when he was alive greatly, because if he had not dissuaded Attila from attacking Rome, history would have changed, possibly dramatically.