Early Christian Schisms - Lies - Extra History

📜 Early Christian Schisms - Lies - Extra History
James wanted this series to be the primer he always wished he'd had when studying the later history of Rome. Since it was focused on the impact of Christianity upon the Roman Empire, we left out the Gnostic movement which had a greater impact on the Persian Empire. Our history begins with Paul the Apostle, whose fundamental belief was that the sacrifice of Christ erased the sins of mankind and freed them from having to follow the old laws, specifically the Mosaic Laws which Judaism believed were the path to salvation. In abolishing these laws, he emphasized that circumcision would no longer be necessary because Roman men, while perfectly willing to give their lives for a noble cause (and Christianity at the time often required sacrifice), were pretty hesitant to let anyone cut off parts of their penises. Not until Constantine, though, would Christianity be embraced in large numbers - but was Constantine really Christian? Many scholars have suggested otherwise, and it may be hard to say given our current sources, but he did originate as a monotheistic Sol Invictus worshipper and probably saw the political advantage of ruling a people united under one God instead of thousands of cults. He may not have realized the difficulty of that, however, until the Council of Nicaea which brought together many bishops who had been actively persecuted for their faith - hence the eyepatches and missing limbs! - and felt very strongly about how it should be practiced. Even Saint Nicholas, who is the foundation for Santa Claus, supposedly punched Arius during this council over his heretical statements. And they were none too tolerant of each other's opposing beliefs. Although there were many different beliefs that evolved from monophysitism, Miaphysitism being the most common, they were often lumped together as one heretical group. Even in our series, we lumped their beliefs together in a way that made their differences easier to understand but wasn't entirely accurate. And these divisions persist today: not until 1994 did the Assyrian and Catholic churches repair the divide from the Council of Ephesus. But while religion is often a contentious topic, we've been fortunate to see much thoughtful discussion in our comments section and want to thank our viewers for that. The history of the faith is a way to understand how it has shaped our history, and it has been the genesis of great acts of charity along with great moments of strife. Understanding and accepting that legacy in all of its complexity is vital to understanding the path that took us here.

*Miss an episode in our Early Christian Schisms Series?*
♪ "Oxyrhynchus Hymn" by Sean and Dean Kiner - Available on Patreon!

Host/Extra History Writer: James Portnow

#ExtraHistory #Christian #History

[Lightning_Toad]

"I came to give presents to kids and to punch heretics...

And I just ran out of presents."

[CazTheGamerGuy]

People discussing religion on the internet? CIVILLY?

What sorcery is this?!

[LuccianoBartolini]

After seeing how Extra Credits touched on this subject, I think I can trust them with the Protestant Reformation, I think they could talk about it very nicely.

[oiiopo]

As a Chinese person who loves Chinese history, and also as a Christian, watching the balanced and informative series you did on the early Church gives me so much faith that you guys are going to do the Opium Wars justice in a way no other popular historian would be able to do. It's an ugly topic, but it'll be great to look at one of the most conflicting representations of East vs. West in history. Best of luck, EH team!

[Freakinweirdo]

I believe that the main reason people are discussing this in a civilized way, is because the videos themselves were very well done and done in a very civilized way. Like brings like, so the joy you have is returned to you.

[pablononescobar]

13:43 The bishops at Nicea could not have been famous martyrs, since a "martyr, " by definition, is dead. Someone who endures vicious torture for the faith but lives is called a "Confessor"

[poopsmgee]

As a Christian I really want to thank you for the series you make and I hope you make more. I love theology and I love history so much so seeing my faith in a historical and neutral context was very interesting. I'm especially thanking you though for the respect you showed through the series. Thank you so so so so much for not being biased either way and not belittling either side. I really appreciate it.

[marleenaulry]

I just want to say to the Extra Credits team and to my fellow viewers, as a Christian, I want to thank you for making me feel invited to be here. I'm often afraid to discuss the subject of religion on Youtube, because... well, we all know why. Anyways, it's nice to find a place on the internet where I can talk about hard topics in a civil and intelligent manner. So thanks again you guys, for reminding us all that no matter what you believe, we all are human. Which means we make mistakes, but we can learn from them too.

I would be very interested in a "Top Ten Turning points in Human History" video

[Ipineforthefjords]

That story about St. Nicholas smacking Arius emerged a long time after the Council, and I've yet to see any more contemporary records indicate it. Also, given how gentle Nicholas was (even by Saintly standards) by other accounts, it would seem out of character for him to willingly get into fisticuffs.Still, it DOES make for a funny story.

[robertwizzy]

"Constantine loved to associate himself with the unconquerable sun".
If only he could be so grossly

[frostmonky]

Please keep it going for Gnosticism, Hinduism, and Shinto if you can

[extrahistory]

Time to look back on mistakes, omissions, and stories untold in the Lies episode for our Early Christian Schisms series!

[andrawsy]

Pls do one about Alexios Komnenos. He was one of the Roman emperors who saved the Roman empire and made it stand on it's feet.

[davidking]

Santa Claus punched arius in the face! the mental image is so funny

[GallowglassAxe]

I want to learn more about Santa Claus punching a guy for being a heretic. I guess we know one person who made his naughty list.

[jennible]

As a lifelong atheist I generally ignore any and all conversations or education about religion along with anything at all to do with religious history and I usually click away from such videos immediately.... That said... I found listening to this series and learning about how the early factions of the Christian church disagreed and what things they fought over or what ideas they considered to be important very interesting overall. This entire series was presented in a very understandable and unbiased way that managed to surpass my extreme predisposition to ignore education on topics like this in the first place.

So... I guess what I'm saying is Well Done to the Extra Credits team. At least one random atheist online found this discussion about religious history interesting enough to listen to the whole thing and walk away feeling far more educated then I was before about the various christian factions of the world. This marks the only time I've looked at any information of this nature in the past 20 years of my life. It probably won't seem like much to whoever reads this, but I consider the exceptional work done by the EC team here to be a monumental accomplishment given my natural stance on the subject matter.

[PollyDumfa]

I'd love to see a series on the Diadochi, I'm considering becoming a patron just to request it officially!
Alexander the Great's reign is a well-known and well loved story, but I think the aftermath of this death, and the legacy of his successors, is a fascinating story in its own right.

[TheMaplestrip]

"Top turning points in human history" sounds like an amazing topic for a video.

Also, Constantine wouldn't have been irked by the idea of getting a video series about himself.

[joshuacooley]

Hi James,

I enjoyed your series on the schisms and as a Christian I appreciate the respectful attitude with which you address the topics.

The following points I offer not as criticism (they would be the barest of nitpicks) but rather as conversation you might find interesting.

orthodox Christianity (small o) has always seen itself in continuity with Old Testament Judaism, not as a distinct break from it. Obviously some Jews might disagree. However, there was a distinct divergence even within Judaism that occurred at the time of Christianity due to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The real beating heart of Old Testament Judaism was not just the Law of Moses in a moral sense, but rather the ritual sacrificial system centered around the Temple in Jerusalem.

This is a key point for really understanding Christianity as well, but it was not just belief or moral adherence to the Law that brought salvation in Judaism, (or in subsequent Christianity) it was being a member of the Covenant. Membership in the Covenant was created and maintained by participation in the sacrifice. Participation being defined under the old ritual system, and by Paul in 1st Corinthians as eating from the sacrifice. This is why Passover was the central feast that essentially created and maintained Israel as a covenant nation. Passover was the only sacrifice that was eaten by the entire nation. This is why the Lord's Supper is the central observance of Christianity.

After the Temple was destroyed Judaism was forced to transition away from being centered around the sacrificial system and the Temple as membership in the Covenant, because the Law forbid offering sacrifice anywhere other than the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. From that point on Judaism transitioned to being synagogue centered rather than temple and sacrifice centered. This distinction is important in Christianity as well because the same difference exists between Protestant and Catholic/Orthodox Christianity.

Catholic/Orthodox Christianity sees itself as the fulfillment and continuation of the sacrificial, Temple centered tradition. The Protestant reformers, for the most part, denied the sacrificial aspect of Christian worship and transitioned from viewing the Church as the Temple, to viewing churches as simple congregations (more like a synagogue).

I don't take issue with your reasons for leaving Gnosticism out of this series. However, as a point of personal interest I would argue that Gnosticism continues to exert influence in western Christianity to this day. Granted it is usually not terrible visible and most people wouldn't recognize it as originating from Gnosticism. However, the dualistic view (or at least tendency) of body and spirit is still relatively prevalent in many Christian circles. The idea that it is knowledge, or belief in a specific set of tenets/ideas, and the idea that there is a stark divide or separation between body and spirit are all ghosts of gnosticism that continue to haunt western Christianity.