The Cultural Dominance of the Christians - Essay Example

Topic 1Ans. Illiteracy of the people was the fundamental element that characterizes the dark ages. They were limited only to the place where they were born. The law was violent towards those who traveled by roads. As all the old Roman Empire coins had been used, there was hardly any way left to conduct the trade but barter. Along with those coins, the recreational activities, philosophy and arts which had flourished due to the stable politics in Rome were also extinguished. The political instability caused the population to decline.

“It is hard to imagine them [these years]. Historically, they are almost a blank, we only know that at the end of this period of rapine and death the region now called Europe was utterly changed” (Doren cited in Riley). It was fundamentally the cultural dominance of the Christians that had enabled the Europe to survive through this political instability. Another reason they are remembered as the dark ages is the fact that little, if any, first-hand account of that period could ever be found.

That was so because owing to the lack of education, reading and writing were not the virtues of the people of that era. It was the Christian church that learned during the Dark Ages. After the fall, instead of the Rome’s City of Man, people accepted the Augustine’s City of God. The converts had little concern with the materialistic world. They could sacrifice their status to attain the spiritual wellbeing. The limited academic progress of the society was the consequence of Christians’ lack of interest in science.

Topic 2Ans. Before explaining who the Historical Jesus was, it is advisable to mention that the Jesus Christ and the Historical Jesus was the same person. Some people consider the Jesus of Nazareth different from the historical Jesus. “The general consensus among non evangelical scholars has been that the Jesus presented in the Bible, and the one who actually walked on the earth are two distinctly different people. The Bias of the Gospel and Epistles authors is often cited as the problem” (“The Historical Jesus”).

The historical Jesus was provided with certain powers by God Almighty, like he could bring a dead person back to life with due permission from God. The historical Jesus was born to the virgin Mary, and said that he was the Prophet. He was chosen by God to convey His message to the people. The historical Jesus brought the Holy Bible to the people. All message of God was encapsulated in the Holy Bible. The historical Jesus told the people that Prophet Muhammad, that Muslims believe in would come after him.

The historical Jesus is also discussed in the Holy Quran that came after the Holy Bible. Saint Paul was very important to the Christians because he was the author of a vast majority of the gospels of the New Testament. St. Paul strongly persecuted Christians till the time he had not converted to Christianity. After he embraced Christianity, he became a passionate preacher of Christianity. According to ST. Paul, Jesus Christ was the redeemer of humanity. Works Cited:Riley, Cam. “The Transition From Roman Empire to the Dark Ages.” n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .

“The Historical Jesus.” n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. .