The Origin of Christianity - Biblical Archaeology Society The ex Roman rev Vermes attended seminary in Hungary and Italy but has mis-stated the case “Christianity”, defined as a faith in Christ being the person of Jesus of Nazareth, was something new and unique in the culture That “faith” was “born of a virgin” and opposed the religion of Judaism
When Did Christianity Begin to Spread? - Biblical Archaeology Society Christianity began in the 1st century in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, ca 30-33 C E (A D ), and has existed continually ever since Perhaps not always visibly in the eyes of the world because of times of extreme persecution, but wherever, and at whatever point of time, on this earth a disciple of Jesus Christ has lived and worshiped the
Evidence of Early Christianity in Northern Europe Excavations of a cemetery in the ancient Roman town of Nida, located in a suburb of modern Frankfurt, Germany, have revealed the earliest evidence for early Christianity north of the Alps The discovery—a small silver foil with a Latin inscription—highlights both the rapid spread of the fledgling religion and also opens a window onto early
The Antonine Plague and the Spread of Christianity Christianity is one of the most fear-based religions known to man As we all know, this is around the time the “gospels” were written I see this time as the “foot in the door” plague for Christianity with the, later, Justinian plaque being the clincher
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament Since Christianity began as a sect of Judaism, the scrolls are very important for understanding the earliest Christians and their writings—the New Testament The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the caves by Qumran, a site in the Judean Wilderness on the west side of the Dead Sea
The Split of Early Christianity and Judaism Christianity and Judaism, two of the world’s major religions, shared the same foundation—ancient Judaism The two religions, however, eventually split in a series of partings, becoming two separate entities There is one painting that dramatically illustrates the split of early Christianity and Judaism: Robert Campin’s Marriage of the Virgin
The Nag Hammadi Codices and Gnostic Christianity The teachings of Gnostic Christianity—vilified especially since they were declared heretic by orthodox Christianity in the fourth century—had been virtually erased from history by the early church fathers, their gospels banned and even burned to make room for the view of Christian theology outlined in the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark
Paganism Under Constantine - Biblical Archaeology Society Instead, the shift to Christianity was a slow change in which many Roman religious practices continued in the face of an increasingly Christian empire “There’s evidence from other places throughout the Roman world that Christian rulers supported imperial cult practices,” continued Boin
Lilith in the Bible and Mythology - Biblical Archaeology Society Lilith’s creation is recounted in The Tales of Ben Sira, an apocryphal work from the tenth century C E Dan Ben-Amos explains that although this is the first extant text that records the legend of Lilith, her story probably existed earlier: