8. January 2014 07:35
click to enlarge
Christianity is one the three most prevalent religions on the globe. Despite this fact, many people have little to no idea regarding its actual development and historical time lime. Christianity involves far more than the mere life of Jesus Christ. By exploring the highlights of the following time line, you can get a better idea of just why this religion plays such a large role in so many people's lives.
Jesus was born around the time 4 B.C., according to most experts. However, he did not begin his actual ministry until 27 years later at which point he had only three years remaining to spread his message. He was crucified and died at the age of 30. After his death, Paul, who was one of the main disciples of Jesus, traveled over 6,000 miles in order to continue spreading Jesus's teaching. By the year 50 B.C., the first Church Council is actually formed, laying the groundwork for the Christianity that we now see in most of the world today.
Various factions of Christianity and opposing religions were rejected by the church as time moved forward, including Gnosticism in the year 202. The first major victory for Christianity, however, came in the year 380 when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity prevailed all throughout Europe through the Middle Ages until the King James Bible was produced in 1677. Modern Christianity was beginning to take hold and we see important events such as the inception of Methodism in 1729 and the first Vatican Council in 1869.
Christianity has spread across the globe quickly, acquiring 804 million followers in North America alone. Europe currently has roughly 565 million Christians among its population. Out of all the factions of Christianity that are growing, Evangelical Christianity has the lead by a landslide. They grow an average of 71 percent with each year that passes. Along with this growth has also come a boom in the amount of Christian literature and media that is present in the world. There are over 6 million Christian books in print in addition to the 50 million downloads and CDs produced each year that are dedicated to Christianity.