If you like Bible facts and trivia, today's infographic is for you! Below are some interesting factoids about Christianity:
Early Christianity
- 42: Number of generations from Abraham to Jesus
- 4 BC: Jesus is born.
- 27: Jesus begins his ministry
- Only two miracles appear in all four Gospels – Jesus' own Resurrection, the greatest miracle of them all; and the feeding of the 5000 through the multiplication of the loaves, found in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:1-14
- 30: The crucifixion of Jesus
- …and then…the Pentecost turned a shell shocked and somewhat ragtag group of about 120 believers into warriors for Christ
- 46: The three missionary journeys of Paul (which combined, were over 6,000 miles in length!) spread the word of Christianity throughout the Greco Roman world. The journeys occurred over an 11-year period (c. 46 A.D. – 57 A.D.), and included most of what is modern Turkey, Greece, Rhodes, and Cyprus.
- 50: The first Church Council in the history of Christianity occurred c. 50 A.D. in Jerusalem. It is described in the first half of the 15th chapter of Acts.
- Around 202: Gnosticism is rejected. While Gnosticism claimed to be Christian, it was heavily influenced by other religions such as Zoarasterism. The battles of the pen between the early Gnostics and the Early Church Fathers was a battle over the very definition of Christianity itself. The Gnostic heresy forced the Early Christian Fathers to formalize what they really believed in and how one would define basic Christian precepts.
- 313: Edict of Milan establishes official toleration of Christianity.
- 380: Christianity made official religion of Roman Empire.
- St. Augustine of Hippo (354 A.D. – 430 A.D.), the greatest theologian of the early church, would capsulize the basic tenets of Christianity in the late 4th century.
Early Modern Christianity
- 1517: Luther posts 95 Theses
- 1609: Baptist Church founded by John Smyth
- 1611: King James (Authorized) Version of the Bible produced
- FACT: Shortest verse in the Bible: John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”
Modern Christianity
- 1729: Beginnings of Methodism, led by John Wesley
- 1814: Reorganization of the Jesuits
- 1869: First Vatican Council
- 1870: Dogma of Papal Infallibility
- 1948: World Council of Churches founded
- 1950: Mother Teresa founds Missionaries of Charity
- 1978: First woman ordained in an apostolic-succession church (the Protestant Episcopal church)
- 1978: Pope John Paul II, born Karol Jozef Wojtyla, was the head of the Catholic Church from 16 October 1978 to 2005.
- 2013: On March 13, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, took the name Pope Francis, becoming the first Pope from the Americas.
father figure
You skipped 1137 years wherein a lot happened. What about The Great Schism? What about the 7 ecumenical counsels?