Author Archives: zeke

New Testament Part 4 

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Paul writing his letter to the Ephesians.

After Paul was converted to Christianity, he first went on missionary trips to Gentile lands like Ephesus, Philippi, Thessaloniki, Rome, and Corinth. Once he established churches in these lands, Paul sent them letters and made sure they kept the faith. Paul proclaimed the sovereignty of Christ, identifying him as the creator of the world, and stating that Gentiles can now share in the glory of God as much as Jews. 

Paul listed virtues that every Christian should use, such as love, joy, and peace. He also made a list of sins that will cause you damnation if you refuse to repent and stated that the church should provide the poor and widows with aid. Paul did more missionary works than any of the Apostles and composed 13 books of the Bible. In his writings, Paul proclaimed that the Law of Moses and all the old Jewish laws had prepared men for the Messiah and for God’s grace, and Jesus’s time on earth had completed the Law. The Law, he stated, cannot save, only Jesus can save. He said all people were now the children of Abraham. 

In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul declared that the power of the Gospel is given to all who believe in Christ and the wrath of God is revealed by the things that are made. Paul wrote that if you live in sin, your reward will be death, but if you believe in God and repent of your sins, you will attain the righteousness of salvation.

Writing to the Ephesians, Paul instructed them to trust in Christ first, then you will have eternal life. Because many people still thought that Jews were above other Christians, Paul again emphasized that Jews and Gentiles were now equal. 

New Testament Part 3

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Mark the Evangelist.

When Mark was working on his Gospel, he wrote in a way that he thought would be believable and even left out some of the miracles that were described in the other three Gospels. Mark stated that after Jesus’s death, thousands of Jews converted to Christianity. He confirmed that Jesus was a well-known religious figure, even by those who didn’t believe his message. 

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he told the Disciples to preach to every nation on earth, not just Jews. Then Jesus ascended into Heaven, because his time on earth had been completed. The Disciples continued preaching, calling the people to repent and be baptized. They also told the Hebrews that they did not have to follow the Old Law anymore since Jesus had fulfilled it. The Jewish religious leaders arrested many of the Apostles and forbade them to speak Jesus’s name. 

After escaping imprisonment by a miracle, the Apostles continued preaching and appointed deacons to help spread the Gospel. Stephen, one of the first deacons, was accused by the Pharisees of being a blasphemer. Stephen, who was filled with the Holy Spirit and had a light glowing out of him, refused to denounce Christ, and was stoned to death by the Chief Priests, making him the first Christian martyr. 

Icon of the Conversion of Saint Paul.

Saul was a Jewish religious leader and was a prime persecutor of Christians. When he was on his way to Damascus, Saul had a vision of Christ who asked him “Why do you persecute me?” Saul changed his name to Paul and decided to start preaching Christ. The Book of Acts tells stories about the journeys of the Apostles. Christianity started expanding across borders, and Jews were no longer the only Christians. Antioch, Corinth, and Thessaloniki were the first major non-Jewish Christian cities. 

Viking Invasions, Feudalism, and William the Conqueror

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Viking Raiders Pillaging a Town.

Vikings, also called Northmen or Norse, were Scandinavians from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden who raided coastal towns in England, Scotland, Ireland, and France. After the death of King Louis the Pious, the attacks from Vikings intensified and overwhelmed the French region of the Holy Roman Empire. The Norsemen raided towns, burned churches and farms, and killed or enslaved hundreds of civilians. The French city of Tours was pillaged seven times, in 853, 856, 862, 872, 886, 903, and 919. Over a 40 year period, Paris was besieged four times, pillaged three times, and burned twice. 

The Kings of France were too weak to provide protection to civilians, so this led to the development of feudalism. King Charles the Simple gave the Vikings Normandy, a part of Northern France, that they could rule. In the East, the Magyars terrorized the population of Germany, but posed less of a threat than the Vikings. The Magyars were eventually christianized and formed the nation of Hungary. 

Peasants doing Labor in Exchange for Protection.

Feudalism is the exchange of free labor for protection and it took hold in Europe during the 9th century after the Viking, Magyar, and Muslim invasions. Civilians worked for dukes, earls, and kings in exchange for safety. A lord kept his own part of the realm and dispensed justice, collected taxes, maintained infrastructure, and protected the poor, orphans, and widows. Vassals were given large land grants to provide smaller land grants for peasants. They were also the protectors of the realm and chose knights as physical protectors of the people. 

In the British Isles, the Anglo-Saxons became the most powerful tribe and subjugated most of England, which was made up of seven kingdoms: Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia. In the late 8th century, Viking invasions devastated the British Isles. Alfred the Great (ruled 871-899) was the king of Wessex and defeated the Vikings after building a navy and also helped translate classical Latin works into the Anglo-Saxon language. Some of the Danish Vikings stayed in England after the war, became Christianized, and married Anglo-Saxons. 

William the Conqueror.

From the mid-900s to 980, England was relatively peaceful, until Vikings invaded again, and a Danish Norseman named Canute became England’s ruler. Norman-raised Saint Edward the Confessor ruled England from 1042 to 1066. After Edward’s death, Harold, the Earl of Wessex and William of Normandy both claimed the crown. William of Normandy invaded England and defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings, making him the new king. William, now known as William the Conqueror, gave large tracts of English land to French nobles from Normandy. William and his successors governed England as a part of France, but the Normans lost these holdings by 1204.