Christianity has long been closely identified with Western civilization. This relationship is especially strong in modern times with the United States, which was the source of the derisively quoted and probably spurious argument that “If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it should be good enough for our children.” But, of course, Jesus had never heard a word of English. The spread of the religion named after Jesus began in earnest soon after Constantine’s death, of course, but it took its sweet time reaching the Americas. In fact, it doesn’t appear until more than five and a half minutes into the game. Ollie Bye’s new 8-minute video abovewhich animates the historical spread of Christianity on a world map.
In any case, it is ultimately a world map. As the scope of Christianity expanded, the view zoomed out, starting with the region now called the Middle East and extending to every continent in sight, with the exception of Antarctica (in fact, 8 unique churches). Remarkably, the “desert religions” of the past century took root in a variety of environments, cultures, and societies, but they did not go through the process entirely intact.
In fact, Bay’s map contains legends of its major variants, from early Nicene, Celtic, and Chalcedonian Christianity to modern Anglican, Lutheran, Baptist, and many other forms of Christianity. Perhaps it makes less sense to talk about the spread of Christianity than it does to talk about the spread of Christianity.
What has made it so adaptable to different human circumstances, singular or plural? The non-ethnic universalism of Christianity certainly has something to do with it, as does the broad emotional resonance of its core stories of sin, salvation, and rebirth. The zealous translation of that text and the outward march of missionaries and other evangelists has been going on almost from the beginning. Throughout its history, Christianity has also shown versatility, thriving as a secret underground movement, a state religion, and everything in between. All the while, it has assimilated the traits of the civilizations that have entered it, from Greco-Roman philosophy to Celtic festivals to Korean shamanistic traditions. In fact, I am writing this very post from one of the many church cafes in Seoul, where I have had a compelling experience that highlights the unlikely and continuing perseverance of Christianity.
Related content:
Animated map showing how the five great religions spread around the world (3000 BC to 2000 AD)
180,000 years of religion recorded in the 1943 “Histmap”
The Birth and Rapid Rise of Islam, Animation (622‑1453)
Visual map of the world’s major religions (and non-religions)
World religions explained in handy diagrams: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, etc.
World history in one video: every year from 200,000 BC to today
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages ​​and cultures. he is the author of the newsletter books about cities books as well Home page (I won’t summarize Korea) and korean newtro. Follow him on the social network formerly known as Twitter. @Colinbemust.
Source: Open Culture – www.openculture.com
