A look at ancient religions (especially in Egypt and Greece) and their influence on early Christianity.
And,
a look at science and its influence on religion.
Proto-orthodox Christianity may have been started by St. Paul, but the religion had
its genesis with neither Paul nor Jesus. We will examine the 5000-year history
and development of what would become the Faith that exists today. Christianity:
5000 Years of History and Development was written for students of religion, especially the inquisitive interested non-specialist.
In
the first of three parts, we examine the contemporary situation where thousands of variants of the “Christian”
faith exist; some so divergent in their doctrines that they appear to be completely different religions.
Many
people long to return to the true religion of Jesus, and many claim to have done so.
Unfortunately, they do not agree among themselves what the true religion of Jesus entails. If we could return to the religion of the first followers of Jesus, would we arrive at a single set of
beliefs?
The
second part takes a voyage back through the well-traveled paths of late Judaism and ancient Greek religion. But, we will delve even deeper into the predecessors of those religions to find the
roots of their beliefs and concepts that would make it into the Christianities found today.
The
third part examines the religion of the First through the Sixth centuries in the hope of resolving the following
key question: Was there ever a single Christianity and why not now? The pace will quicken as we traverse the remaining centuries, with a significant pause for the late middle
Ages and the Age of Enlightenment.
Packing
5000 years of history into a thin volume would be impossible except for the use of ample figures (each picture being worth
a thousand words) in the form of maps, tables, graphs, and timelines. Encapsulations
and independent essays of key topics have been included that give a concise summary of the main subject matter covered in
many sections. Skimmers may well get the gist of the book’s contents from
these encapsulations and figures alone, although it is wished that every word be read and digested thoroughly.
