christianity through the ages
... war was considered a sublime state of action that caused the warrior to enter a state of grace and provided a way of connecting themselves with the gods of war (www.gettyburg.edu). In 597 AD, Pope Gregory sent Saint Augustine and forty monks on a mission, a mission to convert people to Christianity. St Augustine went to Kent and was received graciously by King Ethelbert. Pope Gregory wanted to take things slow with the Anglo Saxons; he wanted to persude, not force Christianity on them. They attempted the conversion through literature;showing them that Christianity was part of their beliefs. Like in " Beowulf", Grendel was portrayed as evil, as being descendant of Cain, and Beowulf with Samson's strenght killed him. By learning of Christ and his followeres beliefs through literature, the Anglo Saxons were anble to believe that Christ represented an epic hero and that Christians valued the same things they did. Their conversion took time but overly was fast (www.angelfire.com). Christianity became the official religion in the Middle ages; the Christian church had acquird a persuasive and controlling influence over the state and its rulers. After Constantine's victory over Maxentius, he was convinced that the Christian God had helped him win and he was willing and eager to reward both that deity and its followers (Nardo,60). He erected a huge statue of himself holding a Christian cross with the inscription:" By this sign of slavation, the true mark of valor, i saved your city... and having freed the senate and the people of Rome, restored them to theri ancient honor and glory". One of the great services Constantine performed for Christianity was the founding of Constantinople wich he dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Holy Trinity (Bender,25). Constantine's suppport for the Christians remained steadfast in the later yeras of his reign ( Blender,22). Because emperors now endorsed the faith, it has become a source of prestige and possible social nobility. During the reighn of Theodosius I, those who were not Christians were persecuted. The previously persecuted Christians were now the persecutors. Emperors now used religion as an aid in controlling the empire. The Holy Roman Emperor had powere over his people's bodies and the Pope controlled the destiny of their soul (Copeland,62). Emperors were viewed as godlike figures and the papacy supported this view. During Charlemagne's reign, he expanded the empire in the name of Christainaity. When he took the throne, he implanted two policies. The first one was expansion and the second one was to convert all of the Frankish kingdom, and the land he conquered to Christianity (www.historyguide.org). Charlemaagne was a sicere Cheistian who was both interested in and took authoriy over religous affairs. With the spread of Christianity, many people were eager to go to Jerusalema nd other places connected to the life of Christ. Jerusalem ended up in the Turk's hand and as a result, Pope Urban II started the crusades (www.medivalcrusades.com). They were called crussades because they were fought in the name of the Christian cross, and it was an attemmmpt to regain the Holay lands. The Renaissance is an itellectual and educational period where everything from art, writing and archite...