Decentralization of Christianity

1. What is the situation of modern Christian religion< There is a popular saying that the influence of Christianity has weakened after the war, especially in the developed countries. Of course, this can not be totally denied. However, we should carefully investigate the root cause, and it is not difficult to find the cause. This is e to the rapid development of science and technology after the war, especially the improvement of people's life in highly developed countries. Some people, especially the young people, are intoxicated with the luxury, comfort and happiness for a while. They are desperate for material enjoyment, and they forget about ethics and spiritual life
however, people are always spiritual animals, and material can not satisfy people's desires, and eventually they will feel spiritual emptiness and tired of material life. In recent years, the news media of European and American countries have reported time and again that young people in Europe and America have graally restored their old values. For example, in the article "ten concepts of the French in the 1990s" in the French weekly "weekend 3" on December 26, 1991, in the article "looking for spiritual sustenance", special mention is made of conversion to religion and "the revival of God's gift". According to recent reports, French Catholic Youth have regained their vitality and youth organizations have flourished
the same situation has also happened in other developed countries. According to the article "1992 - the United States under the shadow of recession" in Japan economic news, the popular slogan in the United States is "return to innocence", and the final conclusion is: "after the collapse of values in the 1980s, people began to miss the past in a chaotic state.". According to the report of Hong Kong market weekly on April 15, 1991, in Italy, the "Kingdom of fashion", consumers tend to go back to nature, and people are tired of flashy things
other capitalist countries are similar. Take Japan for example, the rapid development of Japan's science and technology economy has become a threat to Europe and the United States, which is obvious to all. However, in April 1987, an article entitled "the rise of religious fever in Japan" was published in the newspaper. It also said that this religious fever is manifested in the growing interest of young people in religion, including the interest in Christianity. Although Christians account for only a minority (1%) in Japan, her influence far exceeds her number. It is estimated that more than 25% of the Japanese people have a good opinion of Christianity. Secondly, the number of Catholics in Japan has also increased rapidly. After the war, there are only 120000 Catholics, which has reached more than 400000 in recent years; Many of them, such as Yoshida Shigeru, the first prime minister after the war (Nixon said, "Yoshida Shigeru made the Japanese a strong and free new country"), were baptized in 1967; Japanese ambassador to the Vatican, Masami, was baptized in 1983
the decline of Christianity in some developed countries is only a temporary phenomenon. We know that when things go to extremes, they will turn to the opposite. Material enjoyment has reached its peak and begun to develop in the opposite direction. People demand the restoration of spiritual life, and the ultimate spiritual life is religious life. Therefore, in some countries today, the decline of Christianity is only a temporary phenomenon, especially it can not be said that it will be doomed. Her development has ups and downs. History has proved that she will eventually recover and grow up. We can't help but see the situation one after another, just as the ancients said: "lost in the East, reaped.". In other parts of the world, Catholicism is developing rapidly today. Just as in the newly capitalist South Korea, the number of Catholicism has risen from 120000 after the war to more than 2.4 million today The figure in 1990 is 1.3 million compared with that in 1982, and it will increase 20 times in 45 years! In the same period, the number of Catholics in India increased from 5 million to nearly 14 million today. In addition, Indonesia and Malaysia have also seen a considerable increase. There has also been a considerable increase in other Asian countries
the fastest growing Catholic church today is in Africa. The number of Catholics in many central African countries has doubled. For example, the number of Catholics in Zaire has only been a little more than 100 years since its second initiation. In the 1950s, there were less than 3 million Catholics, 5 million when it became independent in 1960, and 11.5 million in 1990, It has accounted for 52.3% of the total population (compared with 48.67% in 1987). Another example is Cameroon. In 1920, there were only 60000 Catholics, compared with 700000 in 1960. By 1990, there were more than 3 million Catholics, accounting for 28.1% of the total population. Uganda had less than 10000 religious members a hundred years ago, and today it has reached 7 million. In wartime, it has accounted for one tenth of the total population, and today it accounts for more than 40%. At the end of the Second World War, believers accounted for about 20% of the total population in Angola, up from 54.1% in 1990. Others, such as Rwanda, Burundi, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, have exceeded half of the population. In addition, Kenya, Nigeria, Sudan and other countries have also seen substantial growth. As far as Africa is concerned, the total number of Catholics has increased sharply from 8 million in the 1950s to more than 80 million today, a tenfold increase in 40 years. The number of priests in Africa increased from 18056 in 1987 to 19629 in 1990; The number of overhaul students increased from 10025 to 12636, and it is still growing
Christianity (including Catholicism) in the so-called depressed Europe and the United States also has a positive side. There are many exciting things, and there is also a tendency to restore faith. In the article "religious trends in the crisis of Western civilization" published in Guangming Daily on March 7, 1981, it is said that "nowadays, in some capitalist countries, new religious craze has arisen, religious issues have attracted more and more attention, religious literature has witnessed unprecedented prosperity, and both Catholicism and Christianity have shown a trend of revival. In 1978, the 85th Catholic celebration rally held in Freiburg, West Germany, was attended by 100000 people, most of whom were young people. "< When Pope John Paul II visited France for the third time in 1986, 60000 young people attended mass at one time. In addition, the number of pilgrims to Luther each year was 4.2 million in 1984 and more than 6 million in 1991< Rome, May 23, 1986: according to a survey of Italian values, some traditional values have been put in the first place again On moral issues, 77% of the people think that we should focus on facts, sense of responsibility, tolerance, obedience and religious belief< On October 31, 1986, the world reported that thousands of young people were crowded in East Berlin, Catholic and Lutheran churches
in October of the same year, National Geographic magazine said in the article "current situation in the Netherlands," you can find more religious books in this bookstore - you have a strong interest in Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant
Graham, an outstanding British novelist who died recently; Green, who was obsessed with various theories, loved communism, thought about suicide, and finally came to Catholicism after years of exploration and research. Another well-known figure in the British literary and art circles, the dean of Edinburgh University, and later engaged in the television instry, magritch (the book is out of print and still alive - 1992), received the baptism of Catholicism with his wife on November 27, 1982
in recent years, the news media have repeatedly reported the revival of Christianity in the United States. If you have a dollar bill in your hand, you'll see a line on the back, "in God we trust," meaning "we trust in God.". It was not until 1955 that the president of the United States approved an act of Congress. In 1956, he announced that "in God we trust" was the official motto of the United States. According to a 1989 Gallup poll and a research report by journalist Castelli and Catholic sociologist Gregory, the belief of the American people is still strong today, and the habit of going to church is similar to that of the 1930s, which is diametrically opposite to the fad of popular theory. According to the report, 94% of Americans believe in God; 90% prayed; 80% of the letters were "the end of the world"; 70% believe in life beyond death. The number of Catholics in the United States has reached 55 million, and half of them undertake some obligations for the church. A total of one million children and alts are baptized every year. There is a sharp increase in the number of people who want to enter Catholic universities, and more people live a good religious life than before< It is well known that Ireland and Poland are the most Catholic countries
according to opinion polls, two thirds of people in Ireland are against divorce and abortion. The number of missionaries in Poland has increased year by year. For example, the total number of priests in 1987 was 20529, and that in 1990 was 21854, which increased by more than 1300 in three years. The number of missionaries in Poland increased from 6285 in 1980 to 8457 in 1990. There are more than 1000 priests preaching abroad
the current situation of Catholicism is not what you originally thought<

Appendix I
"social profile of West Germany" (Zhao run)

(see the subtitle at the end of Chinese youth on January 23, 1979: "even the father of rockets believes in God")

"in West Germany, the church spires can be seen everywhere in both urban and rural areas. From the perspective of architectural art, the church is really beautiful It's very solemn, especially the golden spire of the bell tower shining in the sun, attracting people's attention from a distance. Every city has its famous church as the symbol and symbol of the city. In West Germany, more than 96% of the people are religious. They basically belong to two sects, half of them believe in Christianity and the other half believe in Catholicism. In southern Germany, such as Bavaria, Catholicism has a great influence. We visited several cathedrals in Munich and Otto Boylan, which is more than 100 kilometers away from the city. They are magnificent and have a long history. Now they are well protected. On Sundays, many of them dress up and drive to the church to worship. There are not only middle-aged and old people, but also young men and women. On the high vault, there are painted images of angels with wings; The cross of the crucifixion on the altar is decorated with golden light. The priest preached in front, and the believers were silent below. It was as if people were back to the era of theocracy. Marx said that religion is the opium that poisons people. The emergence of religion reflects that primitive people can't do anything about the harsh natural phenomena they don't understand. Therefore, it is against science at the beginning. However, in the 1970s, human science and technology were highly developed, and atomic energy, electronic computers and space navigation came out one after another, marking the deepening of human understanding of nature and the objective world. In this situation of scientific prosperity, religion should withdraw from people's mind and life. However, in West Germany, an instrial country with highly developed science and technology, religious belief is so prevalent that even many famous scientists have left the laboratory to go to church. Wilno, a rocket expert of German origin; Seal and seal 8226; Braun, known by foreigners as the "father of Rockets", has made outstanding contributions to the landing of the moon. Such a scientist also believes in God. He said that whenever he felt powerless, he would always pray to God. On the one hand, it is cutting-edge

2. After Rome developed from a republic city-state to a world empire, great changes have taken place in its social economy and politics, and the classical culture based on the city-state economy and politics has graally lost its foundation, With the outbreak of social crisis, the Roman Empire declined. Especially since the end of the second century, the Roman Empire has been plagued by domestic and foreign troubles, social unrest, people feel more and more uncertain about the real life, and graally lost their sense of belonging and security, so they began to seek spiritual comfort from religion with greater enthusiasm. However, the traditional religion, which was handed down in the city-state era and emphasized the citizens' obligation and loyalty to the city-state, had lost its cohesion and could not meet the needs of real life, which led to people's indifference to classical religion and spiritual decadence. When the Romans were in a serious spiritual crisis, early Christianity, as a rising religion in the Empire, began to attract more and more attention and yearning. It not only filled the belief vacuum of the Romans after the decline of classical religion, Moreover, the idea of eternal life in the afterlife pointed out a way to the salvation of the kingdom of heaven for the Romans who were in turmoil and suffering. Therefore, the weakening or even disintegrating social structure and the graal loss of cohesion of traditional beliefs provided good conditions for the nationalization of Christianity.
2, In the past, Roman rulers maintained the rule of the empire with powerful force, but after the third century, Rome's national strength declined and fell into a comprehensive crisis, with economic recession, urban depression, official corruption and frequent civil wars, Under such circumstances, in order to save the crisis, consolidate the rule, and continue to maintain the unification of the Empire, we must find a cohesive force beyond force, that is, to find a kind of power suitable for the whole empire; The world & quot; Sex religion served as the ideological support for the empire building, which virtually prepared suitable soil for the development of Christianity. Because Christianity, which had been opposed to the Roman Empire at that time, just had this kind of power. Not only its doctrines and propositions were suitable for the needs of Roman society ring the Empire period, but also it was easy to attract followers regardless of the characteristics of national salvation, Therefore, the graal change of Roman rulers' policy towards Christianity in this period was e to the realization of the unity and cohesion of Christianity, which not only tolerated Christianity, but also established Christianity as the national religion, Even after entering the middle ages, e to the political division and social unrest in Western Europe, the rulers still needed a strong spiritual force to unify people's thoughts, and Christianity once again undeniably took on this mission. Therefore, some people say that the Romans chose Christianity, Christianity found its place in the middle ages
3. In the course of its own development and evolution, Christianity was also graally adapting to the requirements of Roman society at that time. In terms of religious doctrines, Christianity advocated the idea that the kingdom of heaven was approaching and the Savior would come again to save the world, which brought comfort and hope to the people who could not bear the real suffering, In terms of religious rituals, Christianity, born out of Judaism, adapted to the social needs at that time, simplified religious festivals and religious rituals, especially the abolition of circumcision, As long as we accept the gospel and baptize, we can become a Christian. Moreover, Christianity has overcome the conservatism and closeness of Judaism. Jews and non Jews, free people and slaves can join the church, which makes Christianity more extensive. In addition, Christianity itself is also changing, that is, from resistance to Rome to obedience to Rome, From the denial of slavery to the recognition of slavery, from the establishment of heaven on earth to the pursuit of heaven on earth, from advocating struggle to advocating tolerance and universal love. Finally, Christianity advocated patience, obedience and cooperation with those in power. The political significance and practical role of these ideas were graally recognized and valued by the rulers of the Roman Empire, In particular, the rapid spread of Christianity among the princes and nobles and the Roman army fundamentally changed the attitude of the imperial rulers towards Christianity and brought an important turning point for the legalization of Christianity, By virtue of their wealth and knowledge, they served as bishops, priests and other clergy, and Christianity graally evolved from the religion of the lower class to the religion that could be used by the ruling group, and began to merge with the ruling class. Finally, it was the Godfathers and protectors who contributed to this convergence. On the one hand, they had extensive contact with the ruling class, On the other hand, they wrote petitions to the emperor one after another to express their loyalty to the emperor, indicating the consistency between Christianity and the interests of the Empire. For example, in the chapter of protecting the church presented to the Roman emperor, the godfather delturian said: the monarch is the representative of God, Christians should pray for the longevity of all emperors, the stability of the Empire, the bravery of the army, the loyalty of the Senate, the morality of the people, and the peace of the whole world. He also emphasized the close relationship between the church and the destiny of the Empire; Because we know that the terrible end of heaven and earth, thanks to the Roman Empire began to delay the arrival of & quot; The obedience of the Godfathers not only attracted more people from the upper class to join Christianity, making the church a powerful group that can not be ignored, but also laid the foundation for the official recognition of Christianity, Finally, it developed from a national religion popular only in Jewish settlements to an imperial religion popular throughout the Roman Empire and accepted by all nationalities. Therefore, after the death knell of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the Christian Church established a huge spiritual empire in the western world, Christianity became the national religion of the Roman Empire, which was a significant turning point in the history of Western cultural development. Since then, Christianity graally replaced the classical culture and became the mainstream of the imperial culture. Christian culture is totally different from the classical culture. The former emphasizes God as the center, while the latter emphasizes God as the center, It's a kind of world outlook of theology, and the latter emphasizes human centered, which is a kind of world outlook of humanism; The former emphasizes the supremacy of theology, while the latter emphasizes the supremacy of reason; The former emphasizes that God is the master of all things, and all flows belong to God's supreme rule, while the latter emphasizes the free development in a harmonious order
therefore, in the later period of Roman Empire, Christianity developed from & quot; Paganism & quot; The rise of Christian culture based on belief marks the decline of Greek and Roman classical culture characterized by rationality. Since then, under the influence of Christianity, people's social and cultural life has changed greatly, As a result, every field of Roman imperial culture in the 4TH-5TH century was deeply marked with religious brand, which had a profound impact on the development of western culture in the future.

3. At present, the so-called Jihua of Christianity
people in the Mao Dynasty are not willing to break through the dark side of others, so I don't want to mention your grammar or meaning. Maybe your words should be“ What is the so-called culture of Christianity at present
if so, Christian culture has a long history, the word "at present" is not suitable“ In terms of literary language, the so-called "culture" barely exists. However, according to statistics in 2003, 1.96599 billion Christians, accounting for 33.15% of the world's population, belong to the religion with the widest distribution and the largest number of believers. Christian culture is the world's most influential unique culture, and the mystery of this culture is unfathomable. To really understand this culture, we must first know the visitors from outside
what is an alien
when it comes to "extraterrestrial life", people have to ignore it, because no one can see it with naked eyes like human beings, and no one can play hand in hand like monkeys
before the 19th century, there were few reports about alien events. In those days, there were no words like "flying saucer" or "UFO". Until 1947, a businessman in Idaho encountered nine disc-shaped objects flying at high speed near Mount Rainier in Washington. At that time, the event was widely spread, and from then on, Reports of UFO and alien sightings are increasing
the wonders, miracles and visions that have appeared frequently in recent years have caused a sensation in the world. In fact, they have to cause the world's scientific community to devote themselves to the search and research of "extraterrestrial life". According to the scientific analysis of the data, if aliens can fly to the earth across the space, it must break through the limitation of time and space. So we clearly see that sometimes what we can see is not necessarily true, and sometimes what we can't see is not necessarily absent. Human civilization is only a drop in the ocean for the whole universe. Compared with the intelligent life of the universe, human beings are not regarded as life, because the real living body managing the universe is not limited by any human law, nor can it be explained by the low-level materialism visible to the naked eye. This will help to promote the scientific community to solve the real mystery of "such a complex universe operates on its own regularly" which can never be solved
"according to the statistics of China UFO research society, 38 news organizations, including Xinhua news agency and people's daily, have made reports. On July 24, 1981, the science and Technology Commission of Ganzi Prefecture, Sichuan Province reported to the State Science and Technology Commission the 10th issue of work briefing, saying that before the appearance of the "7.24" UFO, the power plant in Mengxian County of Ganzi Prefecture was cut off without reason, and the transformer and earthquake precursor instrument were damaged without reason. Yang V of Maowen County said: when the UFO appeared, the lights in the whole county suddenly turned dark and went out, and the UFO was restored immediately after. There are also many local reports; There was a sudden rainstorm, strong wind and so on. "
so why are there so many signs of extraterrestrial life in the last century? In fact, there is really a book called "the book of heaven" in the world, which has written clearly: "I will show wonders in heaven, and I will show miracles in the earth..."“ And God said, in the last days,... Your young men will see visions
in the 1950s, human beings have found that "aliens have no reproctive organs, so it is difficult to judge men and women, and neither marry nor marry.". As early as more than 1000 years ago, Matthew 22:30 clearly recorded that Jesus told his disciples about the resurrection: "when the resurrection, people do not marry or marry, but they are like angels in heaven."
in the book of heaven, the word "one" that the creator calls himself "I and the father are one" is also neutral in the Hebrew text. It's only in the 1950s that human beings discovered the information. How did Jesus in the book of heaven know that the messenger (alien) in heaven "neither marries nor marries" more than 1000 years ago? Why didn't Jesus use men in the original Hebrew text? Why didn't anyone know the information before the 1950s except Jesus
who are the messengers in the sky? Isn't it what people call "aliens". In fact, when people think about it carefully, is it accurate to call them "aliens" or "angels in the sky"? According to human logic, it is more appropriate to call them "angels in the sky", because they are neither human nor human
the book of heaven clearly tells mankind that the decaying one will become immortal, and the dying one will become immortal; Therefore, after resurrection, people will not die. Obviously, people have to procreate only when they die. Do they have to procreate even if they don't die
no matter the creator's "alien" or the created's "alien", even the fallen "alien" does not have to have reproction. If the creator does not want to take them back, they will exist forever, because the raw materials that make them will not die
spiritual life has different levels of "gold, silver, copper, iron... Earth" and other raw materials, so if we find that "alien" with reproctive organs is the lowest level of micro life, it is not pure real life. In the view of higher spiritual life consciousness, this "alien" is not alien life. Just as "robots" made by human beings are not human beings
on the ground, some people use clay to make male Guanyin into female idols to trick people into making money, which is a joke that can't be found in the spiritual world of life< In Revelation 5:11, I saw the voices of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders. There were thousands of them, they said aloud“ The lamb that was slain is worthy of authority, wealth, wisdom, power, honor, glory and praise. "
July 1999, popular literature and art press The mysterious phenomenon of human beings, 220 pages“ On June 28, 1979, in the case of mirasokin in Brazil, a metal cross was hung on the front of the body of the alien on the flying saucer. " This is the cover of the book“ Deeply decipher 289 mysteries that have never been explained by human beings through the ages, and tell the truth from facts, so as to impact your previous world outlook. " Similarly, the new exploration of the unknown world published by the ordnance instry press also said on page 100: "on June 28, 1979, in the case of mirasokin in Brazil, a metal cross was hung in front of the body of the crew on the flying saucer."
in other words, modern newspapers and magazines have proved that all tangible and intangible real creatures respect and praise the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. So as a small person, who can be worshipped in the mind? Is it necessary to wake up on the day when the naked eye is closed and the smart eye is opened, just like an alien< In acts 2:17, God said, "in the last days, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your children will prophesy...". Please see:
page 360 of "the great prophet" published by time literature and art press in November 1998 reads: "at 7:00 p.m. on April 14, 1997, thousands of Japanese sat by the TV and watched a nervous special program, which was simulated by a world-famous rocket engineer, Professor of Tokyo University and doctor Chuan of Japanese scientists department, The results were astonishing; It is shown that the planets in the sky will be arranged in the shape of a cross on August 18, 1999, and many scientists agree that among the nine major planets in the solar system, the five major planets of gold, wood, water, fire and earth will be arranged side by side, while the earth will be in the center of the cross. Indeed, on August 18, 1999, the cross was formed. "
The Legend of 2000, published and distributed by Hainan Publishing House, printed by the printing house of China University of political science and law and distributed by Xinhua Bookstore in Beijing, has 234 pages; In August 1999, the last solar eclipse of this century will take place, and the astronomical phenomena of "great cross of planets" will also appear
in recent years, a picture of the moon taken by NASA showed that a huge cross suddenly rose on the surface of the moon, which was made public by a reporter from the sun. Judging from the metallic luster of the cross, many scientists speculate that it was made of pure gold. Scientists concluded: the problem is that the cross was not built by human beings on earth, let alone the natural formation of the moon< After more than 20 years of investigation and research, Dr. Heineken, the original scientific consultant who was skeptical of UFO, has become an affirmer of UFO. He led the establishment of the UFO Research Center (focus) with scientists as the main body, and edited and published the bimonthly international UFO report. He said: I feel that UFOs herald a change in our scientific paradigm. He thinks: UFO shows the flight characteristics that can not be achieved by earthman aircraft, such as right angle to acute angle turning in the air, sudden stop in the air, hovering, inverted flight, instantaneous maximum acceleration or deceleration, no acoustic propulsion, etc
in today's world of frequent visitors, it's amazing that the book of heaven has written clearly:
Ezekiel 1:12: they all go straight ahead, where the spirit goes, they go, and they don't turn around< Ezekiel 1:20: where the spirit goes, the living creatures go; When the living creature rises, the wheel rises beside it, for the spirit of the living creature is in the wheel
John 4:24 tells us clearly that God is a spirit< In Genesis 32:30, Jacob named the place penuel, which means, "I saw God face to face, and my life will be saved." Although the details of the angel of God are not described here, in Genesis 32, in verse 28 of Jacob's wrestling with the angel of God, the man said, "don't call your name Jacob any more, but Israel, because you have won by competing with God and man." Hebrew Israel means "he will fight against God", and the book of heaven clearly focuses on Israel. This preliminary wrestling event really vividly describes the state of Israel which has only been revealed up to now: it is the flesh body of the creator who nailed the "man from heaven" sent by the creator to save mankind, but the creator still has to save them; With people, they were completely wiped out, but they were restored; If we deny the book of heaven, deny the creation of the universe "spirit from heaven", but the scientific community can not deny Israel's restoration< Ezekiel 1:4: I saw a strong wind coming from the north, with a big cloud including a twinkling fire, and there was light around it, and from the fire there was like shining pure gold< Ezekiel 10:11-18: when the wheel is moving, it can go straight in all directions without turning And the cherubim went up, and these are the living creatures that I saw by the river Chebar,... And they went up, and they went up together, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheel The glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the temple and stopped over the cherubim
this is Ezekiel's view of God's word coming to him by the river of jabalu. Isn't it an alien round wheel flying saucer with "shining, straight up and running freely" reported today
since the frequent emergence of UFOs in the world in the 1950s, human beings have been thinking day and night about getting a bit of information from aliens, but they don't know that the real data of aliens are put on the heavenly book which is now classified as "religious belief" by human beings. Genesis

4. Go and see the Da Vinci Code. You'll know a little bit

5.

Early Christianity originated in the Palestinian area under the rule of the Roman Empire and was the proct of the Jewish people's mass movement against the Roman rule. Later, it graally spread to Greece, Egypt, Italy and Gaul and became the new religion of the whole Roman Empire. From the second century BC, Rome has become the hegemony of the Mediterranean world. At the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire, because of the brutal rule and oppression of Rome, the slaves, civilians and conquered residents in the Empire rose and resisted constantly. But all of these uprisings, including the massive Spartak uprising, were suppressed and failed. In particular, the Jewish War against Rome broke out in 66-70 AD and was brutally suppressed. A large number of captured Jewish rebels were crucified, so that "there is no place to set up a cross, no cross to nail people". In Jerusalem, which has 600000 residents, most of them died bravely, and 70000 Jewish people were sold as slaves. In the struggle against the Romans, the Jews had formed such religious sects as Zacchaeus, fasali, fanatics and Essenes. According to the research of modern scholars, we can basically judge that the early Christianity was a small faction which was divided from the Essenes, called Nazarene

with the strengthening of autocratic rule and the brewing of imperial crisis, more and more people, even noble bureaucrats, are also seeking relief from religion. At this time, there were not only poor lower class residents, but also slave owners, aristocrats, rich businessmen and military officers When describing the congregation of believers at that time, the book of James once wrote that the rich "wore gold rings and gorgeous clothes" and walked into the church, and were "please sit in good seats" by the deacons. The poor apostle "dressed in dirty clothes" or even "naked" went in, but was told by the Deacon: "you stand there, or sit under my footstool." The rich people joined the church, which changed the social component of early Christianity, and changed the Christian thought and organization. On the one hand, they gave money to the church; On the other hand, they have excellent culture, which makes them more and more influential in the church, and graally gain a leading position. After the rich gained the leadership of the church, they began to form a bishop centered hierarchy and a set of religious rules and rituals. Around the middle of the second century, local Christian churches were graally led by bishops. The establishment of the bishopric system indicates that the Christian Church has been in the hands of the rich, which leads to obvious changes in Christian doctrine. At this time, the previous revolutionary struggle has graally disappeared, and there are many unhealthy ideas. At that time, Christianity was no longer hostile to the social system at that time and did not hate the rulers of the Roman Empire. On the contrary, it taught the oppressed and exploited people to obey them, pay taxes to them, and ask them to give up the struggle against the Roman Empire and obey the rule of the Roman Empire The gospel of Matthew advises people "not to be against the wicked. If someone hits you on the right side of the face, even the left side will turn around and let him hit you. If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him take even your tunic. ". In this way, Christianity used the religious chain to confine people's hearts, corroding people's fighting spirit and rebellious spirit, making them submissive and tolerant

At the beginning of the rise of Christianity, the Roman Empire thought it was a branch of Judaism, so it did not interfere too much in the activities of Christianity. But later, with the increase of the number of Christians, the Roman government began to worry that Christians would become subverters of the Empire, that their preaching would make people's loyalty to Rome turn to God, and that it would become a self-centered sect incompatible with the Empire. At this time, in the eyes of many Romans, Christianity became the enemy of social order. Christians refuse to accept the gods believed in Rome, do not engage in Roman ceremonies, do not want to worship the dead Roman emperor as a God, but will be crucified Jesus as the Savior, and often hold secret gatherings, which will inevitably lead to the dissatisfaction of the Roman ruling class. However, the theory of heaven advocated by Christianity calls on people to believe in God and Jesus Christ, which denies the real empire. Of course, it is treacherous and naturally suffered the cruel persecution and suppression of the Roman ruling class. As early as the reign of Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54), Christians were expelled from Rome. After the Roman fire in 64 ad, Nero became "the first person to persecute Christians.". At the beginning of the second century, Pliny junior, who was appointed governor of the province at that time, asked turajan the great for advice on how to treat Christians. "When they are accused and found guilty, they must be punished," turajan replied explicitly After that, the rulers were basically against Christians. In 284 ad, dekley became the emperor of the Roman Empire. During his reign, he issued four edicts to persecute Christians. Churches were demolished, church property confiscated, church books burned, clergy put into prison and tortured to force them to sacrifice

On the contrary, the more intense the repression, the more believers. By the beginning of the 4th century, the number of Christians in the Empire had reached about 6 million, and the number of churches had increased to 550. Christianity not only developed rapidly at the top of the Empire, but also went deep into the army. In the face of the development of Christian power, coupled with the change of Christian elements and doctrines at this time, the ruler's policy had a significant change, that is, from suppressing Christians to using Christians. So far, radical changes have taken place in early Christianity, from resisting Rome to obeying Rome, from denying slavery to recognizing slavery, from establishing the heaven on earth to pursuing the kingdom of heaven, from advocating struggle to advocating tolerance and universal love. In this way, early Christianity lost the edge of struggle. The Roman Empire saw where it could be used, so the two came closer. In 313 ad, the Roman Emperor Constantine, together with the Eastern Church of the Empire, issued the Royal Decree of Milan, which officially recognized Christianity as a legitimate religion and returned its church and property The promulgation of the edict of Milan is a significant turning point in the history of Christianity. It recognized for the first time that the Christian Church could own property and made Christianity obtain legal status

after the promulgation of the edict of Milan, Constantine continued to implement the policy of supporting and buying Christianity in order to unify the Empire. In this way, he won the support of Christians in the West and the praise and support of churches in the east of the Empire. Therefore, he occupied an advantage in the struggle with the eastern ruler lisini, and defeated lisini in 323 to unify the Roman Empire

After gaining the national power, Constantine, on the one hand, actively supported Christianity and strengthened his control over the church; On the other hand, it unifies Christian doctrine, organization and etiquette. Constantine adopted the advice of his religious adviser Hosius, and in 325 AD, he held an empire wide conference of bishops in Nicaea, Asia Minor. Under Constantine's compulsion, the conference adopted the unified creed of Nicaea. The Trinity was clearly defined as orthodoxy, condemned the Arians, expelled him from the church, exiled him to Illyria, and burned his works. The conference also made 20 canon laws and regulations, affirmed the bishops system, strengthened the Bishops' power, stipulated the division of dioceses in the imperial provinces, and gave the bishops of Rome, Alexandria and Jerusalem more power than the general bishops

The Nicaea conference made the Christian Church eliminate the opposition and heresy from the organization and achieve unity; In theory, he formulated the orthodox doctrine and achieved the unity of doctrine; Politically, the bishop must be loyal to both the government and God, so that the Christian Church and the imperial power can be united. This kind of political and religious alliance had a profound impact on the historical development of political and religious relations in Europe. The Nicaea conference marked the qualitative change of early Christianity, which in essence became the national religion of Roman countries

After the meeting of Nicaea, Christianity developed rapidly with the support of Roman emperors. In 392 ad, Theodosius I issued a law: close all pagan temples and prohibit sacrifice activities; Those who disobey the order will be fined 25 pounds of gold, and the houses and land for sacrificial activities will be confiscated; Those who do not report their information are guilty of the same crime. So far, the status of Christianity in Rome was formally established. Therefore, later generations generally regard 392 as the official year when Christianity was regarded as the state religion of Rome. Since then, the nature of Christianity has changed fundamentally. It has changed from the target of persecution to the tool of the ruling class to suppress the lower class. Christianity became the state religion of Rome, which became an important turning point in the history of Western civilization. Since then, Christianity has replaced classical culture and become the mainstream of imperial culture

the Bible, a Christian Scripture

6.

1、 Opening poem

o happy day (see selected poem No. 40) lyrics:

1, what day is it today! I am determined to choose my God and my Savior

my heart is full of joy, and I will spread it everywhere

The promise of happiness lies in our Lord, who deserves all love and respect

May I sing and praise as I go to the throne

This agreement has been established and will never go back. The Lord belongs to me and I belong to him

since he is attracted, I will follow him and happily answer his greeting

4. I was ambivalent before, but now I can be stable and let the LORD be my only center

it's destined to him, never give up, he will have all the blessings

This will be established in front of the Lord and will be renewed with each passing day

until his eyes are closed at the end of his life, he will be more intimate with him forever

(vice) happy day! Happy day! Jesus saves me and makes me happy

Atonement for my sin! I am thirsty

Happy day! Happy day! Jesus saves me and makes me happy

Thank you, Lord, our head of state, Savior of the church! Today we are baptizing in front of you and your witnesses for your children who believe in the gospel. Please come and bless us. Lord, you moved your servants to preach and to make them believe

Lord, you love them. Since you have moved them to join the church, please strengthen them forever. And keep today's baptism according to your promise, so that both the Baptist and the baptized may be blessed before you. We pray in the lovely name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

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baptism is a Christian initiation ceremony. The Israelites had a long tradition of water purification. Later, Judaism stipulated that pagan converts must read Torah (the law of Moses), circumcise and bathe (baptism, which means to wash away the filth in the pagan environment). John the Baptist preached that "the baptism of repentance, so that sins can be forgiven", which is to ask all people (including voters) to repent, as a preparation for the coming of the Messiah

from the beginning, Christianity regarded baptism as a solemn sacrament, which is a great mission left by Jesus Christ after his resurrection: "you are going to make all peoples my disciples and baptize them in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19)

"Westminster creed" points out: "baptism is the sacrament of the New Testament, established by Jesus Christ, which not only seriously accepts the baptized into the tangible church, but also is a sign and confirmation for him, to show the covenant of grace, union with Christ, rebirth, forgiveness of sin, and new dedication to God because of Jesus Christ; Christ himself appointed that the sacrament should be held in the church until the end of the world. "

7.

The main ideas of Christianity can be summarized into three words: faith, hope and love. The biggest of all is love

faith: as long as people believe in Jesus, they can get the salvation of the soul and the hope of resurrection

Hope is the hope of eternal life. Because of the love of God, the suffering and resurrection of Jesus, everyone who believes in him will not die, but will have eternal life

Love: God loves the world, so he gives his only Son Jesus to the world. Jesus loved the world and died on the cross for the world. He rose three days after his death and ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection. Therefore, the world should also love God and Jesus

believing in Christianity is for the salvation of the soul and the gift of heaven, so "Hope" is the purpose of "faith", and "faith" is the premise of "Hope". However, all this comes from the love of God and Jesus. Without love, there would be no so-called "faith" and "Hope". So "love" is the general principle of Christianity

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the Christian faith centers on Jesus Christ and is based on the Bible. The core idea is the gospel, that is, the salvation of God Jesus Christ, which fully demonstrates God's selfless love for all mankind and the universe. God loves the world so much that he gives his only son (Jesus Christ) to them, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life

the core belief of Christians is that God comes to the perceptual world of human beings in the body of Jesus, and Jesus' announcement about the nature of God and the possibility of human existence makes his historical life the standard people believe in. This is one of the core inspirations of Christianity

As a perfect God, God is also a perfect man. His life is a model of perfection. No sin, no transgression, because of the great love for the world, completely obedient to God's will, bear the unnecessary charges, suffered under the then ruler Pontius Pilate, was nailed to the cross, died, buried, and sent to the underworld. Christianity believes that the cross shows God's great love and salvation

Christianity sums up the whole truth and core of its belief as the most fundamental principle of loving God (you should love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your heart, with all your heart, with all your heart, with all your heart and with all your heart) and loving others as yourself (you should not take revenge or blame your own people, but love others as yourself), and regards the law of love as the greatest law

love each other has also become the core command in the New Testament, and believes that this spiritual true love and holiness are embodied in Christ Jesus, so it is also called the religion of love

8. Worship Jesus as the Savior. It is divided into many factions, including Roman Catholic (also known as Catholic in China), Orthodox (also known as orthodox), Protestant (commonly known as Christian or Jesuit in China) and other smaller factions. Each faction is often divided into some factions or sects. Originated in Palestine in the 1st century, it is said that it was founded by Jesus of Nazareth. Believers call Jesus Christ (Greek Christos, translated from Hebrew M ā Shiah, the Chinese translation of Messiah, means the anointed, which originally means the Savior sent by God to revive the state of Israel by applying holy anointing oil. It was originally a lower class sect of Judaism. During the first and second centuries, it graally split with Judaism and became a new religion. The word "Christianity" first appeared in the book to the Church of magnesia written by annajue in Antioch at the beginning of the 2nd century. It refers to a new sect which is different from Judaism and worships Christ. Later spread to the eastern Mediterranean coast. It became the state religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. In the middle ages, it occupied a dominant position in Europe and was an important pillar of European feudal system. In the 11th century, it was divided into Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. During the reformation in the 16th century, Protestantism broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, and three major Protestant schools appeared: Lutheran (also known as Lutheran), Orthodox (also known as Calvin) and Anglican (also known as Anglican); After that, many other sects were divided. Later, Christian factions graally spread to all continents of the world and had a profound impact on the history and culture of European and American countries< The Roman Emperor Augustus conquered most of Europe, West Asia and North Africa along the Mediterranean Sea before and after B.C., and established a huge slavery world empire, the Roman Empire. The United Empire promoted the fusion of Greek and Roman philosophy, and the infiltration of eastern and Western folk customs and religions. At that time, the class contradictions and national contradictions in the Empire were very sharp, and slave uprisings and national independence wars came one after another. But each uprising failed under the brutal suppression of the powerful imperial armed forces. The oppressed ethnic groups, especially the lower working people, are unable to liberate economically, politically and militarily. Their righteous indignation and desire are more strongly expressed in their religious passion. At that time, in the Roman Empire, various forms of religion were born and spread everywhere. Christianity was born in such a historical environment

since the Jewish nation died in Babylon in the 6th century BC, it has been ruled by Persia and Greece. After the macabi uprising in 167 B.C., the hasmonid Dynasty was established in Jerusalem and died in Rome in 63 B.C. Rome made Herod the dependent king of Judea. After Herod's death, the Roman rulers assigned the territory to Herod's three sons. Among them, aquilao, who ruled Judea, Samaria and itumia, was dethroned by Rome in 6 A.D. because of his cruelty and outrage, and his territory was ruled by the Roman governor. It is said that the one who crucified Jesus was Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea. After that, there was another Jewish uprising throughout Palestine in 66-70, which was suppressed by Rome and failed. A large number of uprising people were crucified or sold into slavery, and Jerusalem was destroyed. During the 300 years from Macedonian rule to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, Judaism had undergone profound changes. The expectation of the restoration of the Messiah has been dashed many times. Apocalyptic literature with eschatological color has spread among the people, which has played a certain role in encouraging the masses to fight against the conquerors. During this period, the Jews scattered outside Palestine lived together with other nationalities and accepted the influence of the later Greek culture. Although they continued to retain the tradition of Judaism with the synagogue as the center, they no longer confronted with the Roman rulers in politics. The Jews living in Palestine formed several religious political groups according to their economic and social status and their political attitude towards the Roman rulers. The most important one is the Sadcees: they are composed of priests, nobles and rich merchants, who obey the Jewish law, but submit to the rule of Rome; The school of Pharisees (which means isolationists): it is composed of scribes and jurists. It abides by the law books and oral law, and strictly abides by the Jewish tradition. It emphasizes the separation from paganism and alien race, and holds an attitude of neither obvious cooperation nor open confrontation with Rome; Gillard Party: a group of lower class rebels who oppose the foreign invaders and the Jewish rulers who are dependent on the invaders; Essenes: composed of farmers, herdsmen and handicraftsmen, they took an active part in the anti Roman struggle, formed a community of common life, strictly abided by the rules of Essenes, and hoped that the coming of Messiah would relieve the suffering of the world. According to the Bible, Jesus held a severe critical attitude towards the Sadcees and the Pharisees. One of his 12 disciples belonged to the Zealot party. According to the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, many modern mathematicians believe that there are many similarities between some primitive Christians and the Quran community of the Essenes

as far as philosophy is concerned, the influence on Christianity at that time was more obvious than that of the authors, such as Platonism, which emphasized idealism, mystical experience and immortality of soul, and stoicism, which advocated the unity of human beings, harmony between man and nature, and religious morality of indifference and moderation. Both of them were fused together by Philo, Alexander's Jewish philosopher, and mixed with Judaism. He tried to unify the Jewish Bible (later the Old Testament) with Platonism and stoicism, and took the logos in Greek philosophy as the basic concept to explain God himself and his relationship with the world and human beings< In addition, some mysterious religions were popular in the eastern Mediterranean at that time. For example, in Phrygia, the great mother church commemorates the resurrection of the God Attis at the annual vernal equinox, and the priest takes blood for sacrifice; The Isis Osiris religion in Egypt, on the other hand, has spread the image of the virgin feeding the baby, emphasizing the significance of rebirth and the hope for the next life. Especially in Mithraism, which originated in Persia, the believers must go through certain tests and rituals, advocating that all believers are brothers, equal and United. Many myths, doctrines and rituals can be found in the inscriptions left by the religion; For example, the 25th of December after the winter solstice is Mithra's birthday, bread and wine are used for religious feasts, and blood is used for baptism. There are many plots similar to these mysterious religions in the later Christianity, which some historians think may be caused by its influence

according to the legend of the early church, according to the book of acts of the New Testament, Christianity said: in the 1930s-1940s, that is, more than ten years after the death of Jesus, the apostles selected by Jesus took Jerusalem as the center, established the early church, lived a collective life of "sharing everything with each other", abided by the Jewish rules, and participated in the worship of the Jewish temple. At that time, the core leaders were Peter, the head of the apostles, and James, the brother of Jesus. They are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. Although he was killed, he has risen to heaven and will come again soon. They were opposed and persecuted by other Jews. When Stephen, the first martyr, was killed, believers began to disperse to other Palestinian cities and villages. In the late 1930s, Paul, a Jew who was keen on persecuting Christians, converted to Christianity after an unusual religious experience and actively participated in missionary activities. By this time Christianity had begun to spread to Asia Minor and Cyprus. In contact with other ethnic groups, a decisive problem for the future of Christianity occurred: to continue to abide by the Jewish canons, especially circumcision, and confine oneself to the Jewish people; Or to break the narrow national consciousness and preach to non Jews. In the late 1940s, at a conference in Jerusalem, the cosmopolitan faction headed by Paul and the nationalist faction adhering to Jewish tradition debated. As a result, the Paul school won. Since then, Christianity has developed along the direction of world religion and spread to Greece, Rome and other places to establish churches. In 1970, the Jewish uprising failed, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews lost their national and religious center. In the following 40 years, the church experienced some important changes and development. At that time, the members of the church were mostly poor working people, sometimes persecuted by the imperial authorities. The two persecutions ring the reign of Roman emperors Nero and Domitian had an important influence on the development of early Christianity. With the spread of Christianity to the eastern Mediterranean, the church absorbed some ideas and customs of other religions through contact with people of various nationalities, and graally formed a relatively stereotyped organizational system, sacraments, festivals and worship ceremonies

the formation of the ancient Catholic Church and the basic finalization of the Christian organizational system began in the second and third centuries. There are many credible historical documents about this period. Later historians call it the formation period of "ancient church"“ The original meaning of "Church of the commons" is the universal Church regardless of region and race. The ancient Catholic Church generally refers to the orthodox church before the fall of Western Rome, when the division between the East and the West was not clear< In the second century, Christianity has spread to all parts of the eastern Mediterranean. The first generation of church leaders (the apostles and their assistants) are dead. The church needs to establish a stable organization and leadership system. At the end of the first century, the three-level system of episcopos with elders and deacons as its leader began to take shape, but the system of bishop centralization has not yet been established. The worship ceremony and Sacrament graally took shape. As for the classics, except for the Old Testament inherited from Judaism, the New Testament has not been formally compiled. At that time, four Gospels, 13 "Paul's letters" and several volumes that were later included in the canon were circulated in the church. Some also enjoy the same status as the Old Testament in some local churches. In addition, there were also several works written by church leaders at that time, which were later known as "the works of the Apostle Godfather" (see Godfather), and also enjoyed high authority

at that time, the Roman Empire generally adopted a tolerant policy towards all kinds of religions in the territory, as long as they did not pose a threat to the imperial rule. However, because Christians refused to worship the emperor's statue and often held secret love banquet and Eucharist, which led to the suspicion of the Roman authorities, they were discriminated against and persecuted to varying degrees. Generally speaking, the persecution of Christians ring this period was accidental or regional, not the established policy of the Empire. Although Christianity is in an illegal position, it can purchase religious property and preach. Only in 249-260 and 303-305, when the Roman emperors Theseus, valerian, Diocletian and gallerius were in power, did several severe national persecutions take place

since Christianity had spread all over the Roman Empire at that time, there were also more wealthy people and intellectuals, and some churches graally had more wealth. The social composition of church leaders also changed. During the 120-220 years, some missionaries appeared. Instead of protesting and condemning the persecution, they appealed to the Roman emperor and the intelligentsia, explaining the rationality and harmlessness of the Christian belief content, system and customs, trying to eliminate the misunderstanding of anti believers and win tolerance and sympathy. The famous ones are kuadela and ah

9.

The core idea is the gospel, that is, the salvation of God Jesus Christ, which fully demonstrates God's selfless love for all mankind and the whole universe. God loves the world so much that he gives his only son (Jesus Christ) to them, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life

Christianity mainly includes three major denominations: Catholicism, Protestantism, orthodox and some other smaller denominations. In China, Protestantism is usually called Christianity because of historical translation. In order to explain the exact concept of "Christianity", this entry calls "Protestantism" as "Protestantism", rather than "Christianity"

the core belief of Christians is that God comes to the perceptual world of human beings in the body of Jesus, and Jesus' announcement about the nature of God and the possibility of human existence makes his historical life the standard people believe in. This is one of the core inspirations of Christianity

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the core ideas of the other two major religions in the world are as follows:

1. The core idea of Buddhism is self-awareness of human beings, which means that human beings should strive to achieve the state of full awareness, and then help people to reach the state of happiness from suffering

The core idea of Islam is that all things are not the Lord, only Allah and Muhammad are the last prophet of mankind. What Muhammad and all those who inherit his mantle say is the truth, which can not be questioned and can not be changed, otherwise it is treason

source of reference: network Christianity

source of reference: network Gospel

source of reference: network Islam

source of reference: Network Buddhism source of reference: Network