Who was the founder of Christianity?
The word "Christianity" dos not exist in the Bible, but the word "Christian" was first used by Paul:
(Acts 11:26) and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met
with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Jesus never used the word "Christianity" or "Christian". But after Jesus'; ascend, Paul used the word "Christian"
for those, who followed Jesus, and later those people started to call themselves"Christians". The word
"Christianity" was first became common during the rein of Nero in 54 to 68 C.E. Nero was against them, he
accused and persecuted the Christians.
History of the Church.
The English word "Church" is a corruption of the Greek adjective "kyriakon", meaning "the Lord's" But the most
English versions of the New Testament claim that "Church" is derived from the Greek word "Ekklesia" which
means "Assembly", a word originally used in Greek without specific reference to religious gatherings.
When and where the first church was established? It's a "foggy"matter. Christian history does not give the exact
date that when the first church was established. However, in the New Testaments & the word "Church" can be
found in few verses, and in those verses "Church" means the assembly of the followers of Jesus, but not a
formal worshipping place or building. As in the New Testament many verses can be found, which refer Jesus' visit to the Temple, and if Jesus really intended to establish a particular worshipping place or building for his followers, then he must himself could established the "Church", but he did not do so.
The earliest Christian meeting places were converted houses called "Titulae". After Christianity was legitimized
by the Edict of Milan in 313 C.E., "Basilicas" (Ancient Roman Buildings) and centralized churches sprang up
quickly in the next 50 years throughout the Roman Empire.
Creeds:
"Cread" means a brief authoritative formula of religious belief or guiding principles. Christian beliefs were
contradictory to the Old Testaments since the beginning, and when they claimed Jesus to be the Son of God,
even LORD who came in flesh. The meaning and importance of this slogan comes from its affirmation that Jesus
Christ is the full revelation of the God "Yahweh" of Judaism made incarnate, a doctrine thought impossible and
indeed blasphemous by the rest of the Jewish community.
1. Apostles Creed: Christian mythology attributes this creed to all twelve so-called Apostles (disciples of
Jesus) as a joint composition, and assigns one phrase of the creed to each Apostle. It seems to have developed
from a catechism used in the baptism of adults, and in that form can be traced as far back as the second
century. The so-called Apostles' Creed seems to have been formulated to resist Docetism and similar ideas
associated with Gnosticism; it emphasizes the birth, physical death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2. The Nicene Creed: The most salient additions to this creed are much more elaborate statements
concerning Christology and the Trinity. These reflect the concerns of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E.,
and have their chief purpose the rejection of Arianism, which the church adjudged a heresy. In the Roman
Catholic liturgy the Nicene Creed is repeated during each Mass.
3. The Chalcedonian Creed: This Creed was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 C.E. in Asia
Minor. That Council of Chalcedon is one of the seven ecumenical councils accepted by Eastern Orthodox,
Catholic, and many Protestant Christian churches. It is the first Council not recognized by any of the Oriental
Orthodox churches. This creed was written amid controversy between the western and eastern churches over
the meaning of the incarnation and to settle disputes concerning the theological reconciliation of the divine and
human natures of Jesus. The creed became standard Roman Catholic doctrine, while the church of Alexandria
dissented, and held to the oneness of Christ's nature. The Alexandrian position was to become known as
Monophysitism, from which emerged the Coptic Church of Egypt and Abyssinia and the Jacobite churches of
Syria and Armenia.
4. The Athanasian Creed: This Creed is a statement of Christian doctrine traditionally ascribed to
Archbishop of Alexandria, who lived in the 4th century. However most of today's historians agree that in all
probability it was originally written in Latin, not in Greek, and thus Athanasius can not have been the original
author. Its theology is closely akin to that found in the writing of western theologians, especially Ambrose of
Milan. It was designed to overcome Arianism. Liturgically, this Creed was recited at the Sunday Office of Prime in
the Western Church; it is not used in the Eastern Church. Today the Athanasian Creed is rarely used even in
the Western Church. When used, one common practice is to use it once a year on Trinity Sunday.
Augustine:
Augustine (354 - 430 C.E.) brought a systematic method of philosophy to Christian theology, he suppressed the
two great movements of Christianity (Donatists and Pelagians) The Roman Catholic church has found special
satisfaction in the institutional or ecclesiastical aspects of the doctrines of Augustine. Roman Catholic and
Protestant theology alike are largely based on their more purely theological aspects. John Calvin and Martin
Luther, leaders of the Reformation, were both close students of Augustine.
Augustine's father was a pagan, but his mother "Monica" was a Christian. Augustine was educated as a
rhetorician in the former North African cities of Tagaste, Madaura, and Carthage. Between the ages of 15 and
30, he lived with a Carthaginian woman without any legitimate relationship, who then bore him a son in 372 C.E.,
whom Augustine named "Adeodatus" Earlier, Augustine didn't have any specific belief, he studied many schools
of thoughts and was inspired by them, and he adopted different philosophies and beliefs time to time. From 373
until 382 C.E., he adhered to Manichaeism (A Persian dualistic philosophy), in 384 C.E. he came under the
influence of the philosophy of Neoplatonism in Milan. After meeting the Bishop of Milan, he felt attraction towards
Christianity, thus he became formally a Christian. In 391 C.E., he became the Bishop of "Hippo" (Algeria)