Christianity is one of the oldest religions in the world and the one that modern society is shaped around, whether it’s the international calendar or many governments and historical sites. However, the more you investigate and learn, the more interesting facts and tidbits you’ll learn about this massive religion that has countless followers and countries that have adopted it. Keep reading for some of the most mind-blowing facts that will change your perception of the religion forever.
Table of Contents
The Thirty Years War
Many of the earliest wars and conflicts in human history have been concerning religion, and, in the same vain, this war was waged due to issues surrounding Christianity at the time of the Holy Roman Empire, as the empire saw itself as the natural continuation of the religion, and wanted its neighbors to follow its commands and will. This is one of the most major and devastating conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, as each group battled to make sure their sect came out as the victor, and the battle included countries that are now Germany, Russia, Italy, etc. The final result of this massive war has influenced the trajectory of history in Europe, as well as the separation of church and state.
Role in the Renaissance
Christianity had a strong role in the Renaissance, and it’s all thanks to the Islamic Golden Age, an age of wonder and discoveries in the Muslim empires that were at their peak while the Dark Ages were occurring in the hearts of Christian powers like England and the rest of Europe. However, many Christian scholars were able to combine their efforts and have a major focus on art, history, and science, taking work that was made by the biggest and brightest Arab scholars of the time and translating it into their home language, whether it was English, French, Italian, etc., and this includes some of the most famous works today by people like Aristotle and the foundation of modern maths. These works were then used to create the European Renaissance, which furthered the development of the world.
The first Christian country
Christianity, like many of the world’s major religions, was looked down upon and seen as a cult in its initial few decades before it grew to gain the support of hundreds of thousands and then millions of people. However, it wasn’t until Armenia made it the state religion when King Tiridates the Third converted to Christianity that the religion got its biggest boost and paved the way for more countries to follow suit. Shortly after this, the Roman Empire made its state religion Christianity, too, reducing the amount of Christian persecution throughout the world.
The Inquisitions
Many people question ‘what is Christian persecution’? It’s a kind of oppressive practice that has been plaguing Christians for centuries, and one of the biggest examples of this is at the time of the Inquisitions by the Catholic Church, in which an army was gathered and funded specifically to investigate areas where Christianity was dominant to check whether the government and citizens were properly following the religion’s teachings. Unfortunately, this resulted in higher violence both against religious groups and between Christians, as many people followed different practices and held different levels of belief.
The age before a standard doctrine
The development of sects was a major part of the growth of Christianity, especially before it was adopted as a state religion in countries and empires all over the world, and it’s because everyone in the area got their knowledge of the religion through missionaries that traveled from distant lands to bring news and stories of Christ, along with their interpretations. These interpretations became more and more varied as they passed along the chain until some Christians were following teachings that were drastically different from those followed and generally acknowledged as right today, and this was all before the Bible was printed and regularized.
Conclusion
History is something that few people pay attention to, but it’s incredibly rewarding, allowing people to understand their heritage and where they come from in an all-new perspective. This extends to learning about major religions, especially Christianity, which comes with its own set of folklore and historical stories, and learning more about its history has allowed many people to change and challenge the foundation of their ideas about the religion. Now that you’ve read this article, you’ll likely be able to learn some mind-blowing historical tidbits that you can repeat to your friends or at parties.
