Why Christianity Spread• Pentecost – disciples received Holy Spirit, spoke in other languages, resulting in 3000 new believers, who then told others about Jesus, and so on.

• Conversion of Saul – who went on several long journeys to tell people about Jesus.

• Persecution of Christians in Jerusalem – some left to spread their beliefs elsewhere.

Conversion of Constantine

In 312 AD, Emperor Constantine became a Christian and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Lots more people became Christians.

East and West Split

The two main centres of Christianity in the first 1000 years were the cities of Rome in the west and Constantinople (named after Constantine, but now called Istanbul) in the east.

These two branches of the church developed differently and eventually split in 1054 AD into the western Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Catholic = universal Orthodox = right belief

Roman Catholic Church in 1500

•Very rich (10% of each church’s money sent to Rome)•Very powerful

•Bishops behaving badly

Questions

People began to question the church’s teaching:

•Why can’t priests marry?

•Why can’t ordinary folk read the Bible themselves?•Why are services in Latin?

•Why pray to saints?•Purgatory?•Indulgences?

IndulgencesIn order to raise money for the Church in Rome, priests started selling Indulgences, certificates guaranteeing the buyer (or one of his relatives) a shorter time in Purgatory before entering heaven.

The Church taught that Purgatory was where most people’s souls went for many years to be purified to make them fit to get into Heaven.

Caricature of Tetzel's sale of indulgences. The last two lines of the German poem contain the famous verse attributed to Tetzel: "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, The soul at once into Heaven springs."

Martin Luther

Martin Luther, a German monk, became so concerned about the difference between the Church’s teaching and the teaching of the Bible that he made a list of 95 questions he wanted discussed, and……..

…..nailed them to the door of the church in Wittenberg.

95 Theses

As a result of this protest, Luther was expelled from the Roman Catholic Church.

Judaism

Jesus

Christianity

Roman Catholic Eastern Orthodox

Protestant

Martin Luther

(Germany)

John Calvin

(Switzerland)

England

Henry VIII wanted divorce and church lands – so became

Protestant

What changes took place in Protestant Churches?

Scotland

Mary Queen of Scots was Catholic

BUT

John Knox spread Protestant ideas.

Scottish Lords, who wanted Church lands, brought up Mary’s son as

Protestant.

Union of the Crowns, 1603

Mary’s son, James V1 and 1, became King of Scotland and England in 1603.

He authorised the translation of the Bible into English in 1611.

Lots of religious battles in the 1600s.

By 1685, Scotland and England were mainly Protestant countries.

Then James V11 and 11, a Catholic, became King, and had a son.

The nobles were afraid they would be ruled by Catholics, and invited William and Mary (from Orange in Holland) to take over as King and Queen.

The Glorious Revolution, 1688

Battle of the Boyne, 1690

King James and his supporters raised an army in Ireland (which was mainly Catholic) to fight for his throne, but they were met and defeated by King William’s army at the River Boyne in 1690.

Bill of Rights, 1692

The English Parliament then passed a new law which:

•Gave more power to Parliament and less to the King;

•Said that all future Kings and Queens of Great Britain must be Protestant.

This law still exists today.

• In 1715 and 1745, Jacobite (Catholic) rebellions were defeated.

• Between 1845 and 1850, a potato famine in Ireland led to many Irish people emigrating to Scotland, England, America, etc

In 1867, Scotland’s first and most famous senior football team was formed. They dominated Scottish football for 30 years . They were …….

                                                                   

             

One of these was Rangers, who were formed in 1873.

Queen’s Park’s motto was “Ludere Causa Ludendi” – to play for the sake of playing. They remained amateur, while other teams were formed who played for the sake of money.

Then in 1888, Celtic was started by a priest, Brother Walfrid, to raise money for food and clothing for the poor in Glasgow’s east end.

At first, the two clubs got on so well and made so much money from playing each

other that they were nicknamed :

“The Old Firm”

Three things led to an increase in sectarian hostility between supporters of the two clubs-

•A shipyard opened in Govan which employed only Protestants.

•Some Celtic directors spoke out in favour of Irish republicans who were rebelling against British rule.

•Celtic goalkeeper, John Thomson, died in an Old Firm match after diving at the feet of a Rangers player.

Throughout the 20th century, the sectarian tension was increased by-

•Rangers’ refusal to sign any Catholic players;

•Celtic’s insistence on flying the Irish flag at Celtic Park;

•The singing of sectarian songs at both grounds.

Sectarianism

• A narrow-minded following of a particular belief by members of a sect that leads to prejudice, bigotry, discrimination and ill-will towards members, or presumed members, of another sect.

• Intolerance between two groups within the same religion.