Christianity: History, Canon, and Important Figures

This study material provides an overview of the history of Christianity, including the use of codex in recording sacred texts, the compilation of the Canon, and the persecution faced by early Christians. It also discusses important figures such as St. Stephen, St. Paul, and Cornelius. Additionally, it explores the significance of Antioch, the Jerusalem Council, Aquila and Priscilla, and Gallio. The material concludes with insights into the books of 1 Peter and Hebrews, as well as the symbols Alpha and Omega.

Running head: CHRISTIANITY
CHRISTIANITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Section A
1/i. The term codex comes from the latin term caudex which literally translates itself to a tree
trunk or a block of wood in English. The actual meaning of it is a book consisting of papyrus
pages and supported by a wooden ridge to which the pages are stuck. It was used in the recording
of the sacred texts of Christianity in the ancient period1.
iii. Westcott and Hort were a duo of theologians who had produced a critique of the New
Testament called ‘The New Testament in the Original Greek’ in the year 1881. They had
attempted to induce scientific principles into it and were termed as heretics as a result of it2.
3. The collection of the Christian texts are called Canon and they are a result of a compilation of
total sixty six books. The bible which is circulated in the contemporary world has two parts, the
Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is inspired by the teachings of
Judaism, while the New Testament begins from the birth of Christ. There are theological and
cultural practice related differences in Judaism and Christianity hence a sense of identity crisis
had emerged which necessitated that the difference and distinctiveness of Christianity be
affected, hence only a chosen set of books whose teachings were in tandem with Christian
teachings were only accepted in the Canon3.
5. St Stephen was stoned to death because of his faith in Christ. In the early days of Christianity,
the Christians were persecuted for their faith and St Stephen had by means of staying strong to
his faith even at the face of death had inspired several others to be martyred in the name of
1 Germano, Matthew. "Bible bookmark and trivia game." U.S. Patent 6,390,015, issued May 21, 2002.
2 Germano, Matthew. "Bible bookmark and trivia game." U.S. Patent 6,390,015, issued May 21, 2002.
3 Germano, Matthew. "Bible bookmark and trivia game." U.S. Patent 6,390,015, issued May 21, 2002.

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Christ. His example is often invoked by the Christian Missionaries who had to travel distant
lands to spread the word of God. His death is considered to have had an effect on causing the
transformation of Saul from being the one to persecute Christians to become Paul, one of the
greatest missionaries of Christianity4.
4 Germano, Matthew. "Bible bookmark and trivia game." U.S. Patent 6,390,015, issued May 21, 2002.

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Section B
7/i. Antioch is today situated in Turkey and is named as Antakya. Antioch is significant as the
first church of the Gentiles was founded there and the Book of Acts was composed in the city
which mentions that the disciples of Christ are called Christians. Antioch is also important as it
was from that city that St Paul had started his missionary journeys5.
iii. Cornelius was a Roman Centurion and the first Gentile who had converted to Christianity. He
had a vision that his prayers had been heard and that he had to find Simon Peter who lived in
Joppa and seek his refuge. Cornelius was baptized and was absorbed into the Christian faith6.
8. The main issue that had provoked the calling of the Jerusalem Council was to resolve the issue
of following the customs, as there was a clash between the following of the Mosaic Jewish laws
by the Gentile Christians. It was decided that the Gentile Christians did not have to follow the
laws of Moses as they were meant for the Jews. The compromise reached by the Apostles was
accepted by the Council of Jerusalem as that was considered important for the peace and unity of
the Church, and also for marking the Christians as separate from the Jews. Thus it was decided
that the Gentile Christians did not have to undergo circumcision, and that issue had triggered the
Jerusalem Council7.
11/ii. Aquila was a Jewish Christian man who had met St Paul in Corinth along with his wife
Priscilla. Most of the Christian missionaries were unmarried persons, while Aquila and Priscilla
were the only married Christian missionaries who had furthered the work of spreading the word
5 Masakayan, Jose. "Good news bible board game." U.S. Patent 5,529,308, issued June 25, 1996.
6 Masakayan, Jose. "Good news bible board game." U.S. Patent 5,529,308, issued June 25, 1996.
7 Masakayan, Jose. "Good news bible board game." U.S. Patent 5,529,308, issued June 25, 1996.

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of Christ along with St Paul. Their contribution had been profound in the founding of the
Corinthian Church8.
iii. Gallio was a Roman Senator who had been impartial with St Paul the apostle in Corinth when
he was involved in a legal case. Gallio is regarded highly in the Bible as he had been impartial
when the other Roman treated the Christians with contempt9.
8 Masakayan, Jose. "Good news bible board game." U.S. Patent 5,529,308, issued June 25, 1996.
9 Masakayan, Jose. "Good news bible board game." U.S. Patent 5,529,308, issued June 25, 1996.

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Section C
16. 1 Peter is an appeal by Peter to all the Christians to not abandon their faith even at the face
of adversities as it was in Christianity alone that the grace of God could be found. There are two
important reasons why Peter had urged the Christians not to leave their faith, as the church was
being infested by doubts about god and there was also the fear of persecutions driving the
Christians away from Christ. Hence Peter had placed unto himself the task of binding the
Christians together with a moral strength10.
17. The Epistle of Hebrews is called as the Book of Good things because of four reasons11.
- It was mainly aimed towards the Jewish Christians so that they get the strength of perseverance
even at the face of persecution.
- It was written by Saint Paul who was an important Jew and he was considered to be the best
one to convey about Christ to the Jews.
- It is an easy way of teaching the children about the gospel.
- It shows that sacrifices never took away the sins.
10 Naylor, Eddie L. "Bible game and method of playing." U.S. Patent 5,449,177, issued September 12, 1995.
11 Naylor, Eddie L. "Bible game and method of playing." U.S. Patent 5,449,177, issued September 12, 1995.

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Section D
19. It was necessary to put the information about his witnessing Christ since he had assumed the
role of baptizing people and bringing the people to the fold of Christianity. Naturally, there was a
need to provide credible information having a credible basis so that people believe in him12.
20/i. Patmos used to be the Greek Island where most historians dealing with biblical affairs were
exiled or they took refuge over there to safeguard themselves from the anti Christian
persecutions that were rampant in those times13.
iii. Alpha refers to the beginning and Omega is the end, which signifies God. Invoking the
symbols is an important part of Easter mass when the resurrection of Christ is commemorated14.
12 Roberts, Adolph. "Bible quiz game." U.S. Patent 5,152,535, issued October 6, 1992.
13 Roberts, Adolph. "Bible quiz game." U.S. Patent 5,152,535, issued October 6, 1992.
14 Roberts, Adolph. "Bible quiz game." U.S. Patent 5,152,535, issued October 6, 1992.

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References
Germano, Matthew. "Bible bookmark and trivia game." U.S. Patent 6,390,015, issued May 21,
2002.
Masakayan, Jose. "Good news bible board game." U.S. Patent 5,529,308, issued June 25, 1996.
Naylor, Eddie L. "Bible game and method of playing." U.S. Patent 5,449,177, issued September
12, 1995.
Roberts, Adolph. "Bible quiz game." U.S. Patent 5,152,535, issued October 6, 1992.