Use this tag for questions about the history of Christianity and the church.
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2answers
103 views
How diverse or united is Christian history on the imagery of “Father” and “Son”?
The original languages of the Bible itself and, to my knowledge, most of Christian history, are replete with the filial language of God being known as a “Father” and Jesus being known as his “Son”. ...
3
votes
1answer
66 views
Persecution of Jewish by Christians in Middle Ages?
I want to apologize ahead if my questions sound disrespectful to anybody. This isn't my intent. I grew up in East Asia which has very few Christians, but I have been very interested in the history of ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
When did a Catholic church council first recognize the need to forbid forcing or outwardly compelling unbelievers to the Christian faith?
We all know the sorrowful history of the subject. The very early church would have never felt a need to have a council on the subject, just as they would have been no council declaring that Christians ...
3
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1answer
108 views
What is known (and/or alleged) about the moral character of the 12 disciples?
I've been following some (often less than civil) conversations about the character of pastors lately in which how morally upstanding a church leader should be expected to be is questioned. At several ...
3
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1answer
25 views
Who produced the first Concordance?
Prior to this new-fangled electronic thing called the internet, people who were looking to find a particular verse in the Bible resorted to a manual index called a concordance. In such a book, ...
3
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2answers
120 views
When did the gathered church stop singing choruses?
I read a few years ago, that the early church (1st - 2nd century) would start their gatherings by singing choruses and that this went on for a while, before the rest of the liturgy.
Unfortunately, my ...
3
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1answer
134 views
How did Luther view 'confessing intentional sins' to a priest for forgiveness?
The Catholic church at the time of Luther had refined what they called the sacrament of penance. It consisted in contrition (genuine remorse for one’s sins), confession (to the priest), and ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Which languages did Huldrych Zwingli know? [closed]
Which languages did Huldrych Zwingli know?
As far as I know, he knew Latin and, of course, he knew his own mother tongue (which was German or Romanch?), but did he know some other languages? I am ...
3
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1answer
304 views
Did the apostle James the Greater travel to Spain and was he martyred in Jerusalem?
There are some legends that say that the apostle James the Greater (brother of John) traveled to the actual territory of Spain where he spread the Word. Also there are some accounts that place his ...
3
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1answer
77 views
The Servetus Controversy: What was Calvin's involvement?
I recently watched this YT video that talks about Calvin and Servetus.
The "Servetus Controversy" tells of a man named Michael Servetus who was burned at the stake for heresy -- not by Roman Catholic ...
3
votes
1answer
371 views
When did the practice of Confession in the Catholic Church begin?
Confession, specifically the practice of confessing one's sins to a priest, is a quite common practice in the Catholic Church. When and how did this sacrament first originate and become codified as ...
3
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0answers
330 views
What happened to the main disciples after Pentecost? [closed]
We know that Jesus commanded his disciples to go to make disciples of all nations and to spread the word to the entire world (Matthew 28:19), but we know little of what happened to the twelve ...
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2answers
1k views
Did Abraham, David and Solomon think having many wives was sin?
Did Abraham, David and Solomon think having many wives and concubines was sin?
2
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2answers
108 views
Why was Yeshoua interpreted as Jesus in the new Testament
Inspired by What is the significance of the name "Jesus"?, and previous readings about the name, the interpretation of Yeshoua means Joshua in the old testament and Jesus in the new ...
2
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2answers
302 views
Old testament accuracy of God's Word
As has been discussed before there are differences between the old and new testament.
What I wish to know is this: How accurate is the word of God written in the old testament? How much of it is/was ...
2
votes
3answers
93 views
Did God ever talk about his other creations?
I have always been a lover of all things "Science", space, other life forms, etc. I excelled in Science in School but a few years ago I started questioning things and now believe that "Science" and ...
2
votes
3answers
58 views
When was the title of “Mother of God” first ascribed to Mary?
I understand that the phrase "Mother of God" appears in the prayer commonly referred to as the "Hail Mary" prayer. I'm wondering, though, what the origin is of the phrase "Mother of God". Did it ...
2
votes
1answer
132 views
Is it true the term 'pontifex maximus' was the name of the high priest of the Roman Cult of Emperor Worship, before being adopted by the Pope?
This has always seemed strange to me that the Pope would not want to distance himself with emperor worship as much as possible. If pointifex maximus was a term used by the government of Rome in its ...
2
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2answers
70 views
Did Zachariah ask for a son to God?
This is related to this question.
I found this verses from Qur'an.
Surah 19:1-7
Kaf- Ha-Ya-'Ain-Sad.
(This is) a mention of the mercy of your Lord to His slave Zakariya (Zachariah).
When ...
2
votes
1answer
204 views
Voltaire and his house being used by the biblical society?
His there any valid source that one of Voltaire house have been used by the Bible Society? I heard many times the illustration, but I never read a valid source of this.
2
votes
1answer
106 views
What was the debate at the Reformation concerning “non extra carnem” vs. “extra calvinisticum”?
In the debate concerning the "hypostatic union" and the "kenosis" the Lutheran church stood opposed to the majority position. I can not seem to find a good resource to explain the distinctives of the ...
2
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2answers
138 views
Sources on Historical Reliability of the New Testament
Unlike many of the other great religions of the world - Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, even Judaism to some extent - Christianity is founded not on a philosophy or a metaphysical idea, but on an ...
2
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1answer
55 views
Where Catholicism lost influence and property during the reformation, what did Luther think should be done with the acquired assets?
As a man protesting against the mass of wealth accumulated by the Pope I was wondering what Luther proposed to do with all the lands and endowments obtained in those regions where the Catholic church ...
2
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1answer
250 views
Diocletian's four decrees & Persecution of christians
I am looking for a link or reference to the four decrees from Diocletian in 303 re the Roman Persecution?
2
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1answer
233 views
What happened to the apostle John after the Biblical account of his life ends?
There is a legend that says that John traveled to Ephesus where he took care of Virgin Mary and that he lived there until the end of his life.
Is this legend true? Are there any historical accounts ...
2
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1answer
172 views
How do Reformed Theologians view Hypnosis?
In particular:
is it Biblical?
is it Demon possession?
is it basically a bad idea?
is it Orthogonal to Christianity? (i.e. the question is equivalent to "How do Reformed Theologists think about ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
Did Arminias believe in Adam's actual guilt imputed against all humanity?
All early reformers believed in the imputation of 'actual guilt' as far as I know. I am fairly certain, however, that Arminians of the 16th century did not believe in the 'imputation of guilt' as ...
2
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0answers
28 views
Is it possible the Biblical and scientific timelines for the age of the earth could link up? [duplicate]
In many versions of the Bible I have e read, in fiitnotes/endotes they say the Hebrew term for "day" could also mean "period of time." So if you took period of time to mean oh say, a billion years, ...
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vote
2answers
340 views
When and why did the devil, or Satan, really emerge as a force in Christian belief?
From what I understand, the devil is not a character who appears obviously in any part of the Bible.
If this is true, when was it that Satan/the devil began to terrify people who called themselves ...
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vote
3answers
129 views
Are the early followers of Christ considered Christians or Jews in today's context? If not, when was the religion created? [duplicate]
From sometime after 4 BC and up to and sometime between the destruction of the Second Temple (C. 70) and Council of Nicaea (AD 325), Christians were considered Jewish with Jesus as their leader. When ...
1
vote
1answer
144 views
Is it true that Luther claimed Popes and priests commonly practiced sodomy?
This is a simple historical Q & A question regarding the rumor that Luther made this fairly inflammatory accusation. The question is simple. Is there any solid proof that Luther really thought ...
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3answers
126 views
Resources to learn about Bible canonization
I am interested in researching the history behind the Bible's canonization. I am particularly interested in writings of early historians, or books that compile facts from these historians in an ...
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1answer
101 views
Historicity of which Biblical characters is recognized by Archaeology/History?
I know that Historicity of certain Old testament Kings is recognized.
However some like Jonah or Job aren't know to fields of Archaeology or History.
What information, evidence do we have and for ...
1
vote
1answer
45 views
Conversion of Romans and Bible Portrayal of Romans
I have trouble understanding how Romans converted to Christianity. In the Bible, Romans weren't portrayed very nicely. For example, Herod the Great did quite a lot of awful things. Jesus was crucified ...
1
vote
3answers
123 views
When and why did the ancient church no longer care about offending a brother? [closed]
Anyone reading the New Testament becomes aware that the early church would avoid practices that offended their brother, out of a spirit of love. For example, even if it was not technically wrong to ...
1
vote
1answer
119 views
Which prophecies have definitely been fulfilled? [closed]
The Bible (particularly the Old Testament) makes many predictions about the future, often regarding nations or peoples quite distant from those making the prophecy.
If we ignore any arguments about ...
1
vote
1answer
83 views
What does it means INRI in Jesus Cross? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What does INRI stand for?
In Jesus Cross there is symbol like INRI, What does it exactly means and why they are keeping this still in cross any conditions or story ...
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0answers
55 views
Was Satan an Angel [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Where in the Bible does it say that Lucifer is an angel?
Of what nature is Satan?
Most people refer to the following scripture as support for the fact that Satan was ...
1
vote
1answer
131 views
How did the early church respond to the accusation that Christianity forbid ‘all uses of images’ even if only ‘representing the Divine Being’?
Origen. Contra Celsus BOOK VII. responds to an attack from Celsus on this issue, Celsus accuses Christians and being just like Jews in selecting all forms of images without exception.
In this ...
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3answers
165 views
The Popes Prophecy of St. Malachy [closed]
I am a young Christian and at times I fall into traps that I read one thing that isn't written in the bible then I believe it.
I read the Prophesy of St Malachy and now I am convincing myself that ...
0
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1answer
53 views
How did Calvin view the use of religious icons to facilitate worship of God?
Recently I was told in a chat room on this site that the use of icons in the church 'wasn't offensive to anyone'!? I was so amazed that anyone would ever say such a thing, but since I have never had ...
0
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0answers
142 views
If Adam was the first man, and Eve the first woman, them where did Cain's wife come from? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
Is incest a sin?
Did Adam and Eve's Progeny Commit Incest?
How did the world get populated according to Bible?
Was Cain's wife made from his ribs too? Or did god make ...
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2answers
186 views
How is it that sinful people who do not believe, still get the blessings of the Lord?
Why do great things happen to unbelievers and even bad people?
In Church there is talk about blessings of the Lord for those who love Him, etc.
But what about those that are blessed that don't love ...
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votes
2answers
125 views
How did the Catholic canon that Christians could not 'share a meal with a Jew' differ in spirit from the Pharisees traditions concerning Gentiles? [closed]
Anyone who has studied the New Testament knows that possibly the greatest offense that the Jewish leaders had against Christ was that he did not respect their traditions. Jews at that time put the ...
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votes
1answer
190 views
Take away the gospels, and how do we know that Jesus did what he was recorded to have done in terms of miracles?
My understanding is that the gospels were written several hundred years A.D. Given the way people pass around information even within one lifetime, and the apparent ability to record information ...
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2answers
140 views
Is it true that Christians and Jews were enemies for sacrifice of Jesus by Jews but later united against Muslims at Crusades?
This is what I heard and usually said in Islam.
I want to know if Christians verify this or not.
