Stephen Tompkins, in his book, tries to tell the history of Christianity in an accessible language, avoiding specific church vocabulary and moral teachings. The author suggests listening to the story and thinking about how humanity came to today’s realities with positive and negative consequences. In the first chapter, Tompkins describes the reasons for the popularity of Jesus among the Jewish people, and the main highlight is his resurrection (2005). However, the teachings of Jesus found followers even before his resurrection, and it is also the basis of all religions. The miracle of the resurrection caused the message to other peoples about the doctrine and attracted attention, but it was not the primary cause of the formation of Christianity.
Nevertheless, the formation of religion took time, and at first, persecution of Christians happened quite often. Some were dubious about the new believers, and some were afraid of losing power. However, the influence set by the chain of events had already been triggered, and there was no turning back.
Further disagreements faced by Christians were clashes of faith and established traditions with new teaching. Questions arose about the division of churches and conflicts based on faith. New ideas have emerged that religion is not just a set of restrictive rules and rituals but also the very essence of human relationships with God (Tomkins, 2005). This adaptability of Christianity found supporters among pagans and Jews, but conflicts with the apostles carrying the voice of Christ did not subside. Moreover, here the author quite plausibly describes the fermentation of thought among the people: how new ideas went through the stages of rejection, interest, and acceptance. The new religion found a response in people’s minds and promised something new to replace the old foundations perceived as the only possible and due.
Church life also proceeded according to the well-established traditions of the Jews. Although Christians were present on Saturday in synagogues, their day was Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection. However, the symbolism of tradition that has survived to modern times was not always dictated exclusively by the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. Life meetings, and sharing food, bread, and wine are not associated with flesh and blood of Christ in the teaching of the apostles (Tomkins, 2005). Nevertheless, symbolism increasingly began to manifest itself in teaching, often dictated by more prosaic reasons than those reflected in the scriptures. Self-organization led to the emergence of a structure in churches that spread geographically and survived today. This fact once again confirms the adaptability of religion, the internal structure of which was regulated both by the Holy Scriptures and by the daily life of its followers.
The first Christian Roman emperor Constantine came to the throne in 312. After years of persecution, he completely overturned the empire’s laws, legalizing Christianity and “Christianizing the law” (Tomkins, 2005). Although Constantine’s motives were obvious – he wanted to rally more people under his leadership – his actions did not correspond to Christianity. He killed his son in order to maintain power. On his way came across Donatists and other doubters. However, any conflict of misunderstanding was most often resolved by war. Arius unleashed an information war – he expressed the idea of monotheism, wrote songs, and promoted his teaching. However, this conflict was resolved by the most significant world council in Nicea, and Arius was forgiven by Constantine, which is consistent with the original teaching of Christianity, not tainted by personal motives and cravings for power. Why, then, in Christian communities and states, people again resorted to violence after such a vivid example of resolving the conflict of misunderstanding and non-recognition, forgiving non-believers? Even in the preface, the author leaves this question unanswered, leaving the readers to find their answer.
Reference
Tomkins, S. (2005). A short history of Christianity. London: Lion Books.