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107-721: FARMS supported and sponsored what it considered to be "faithful scholarship", which includes academic study and research in support of Christianity and Mormonism , and in particular, the official position of the LDS Church. This research primarily concerned the Book of Mormon , the Book of Abraham , the Old Testament , the New Testament , early Christian history, ancient temples, and other related subjects. While allowing some degree of academic freedom to its scholars, FARMS

214-631: A Jewish Christian sect with Hellenistic influence of Second Temple Judaism . An early Jewish Christian community was founded in Jerusalem under the leadership of the Pillars of the Church , namely James the Just , the brother of Jesus, Peter , and John. Jewish Christianity soon attracted Gentile God-fearers, posing a problem for its Jewish religious outlook , which insisted on close observance of

321-652: A Judaic sect with Hellenistic influence in the Roman province of Judaea . The disciples of Jesus spread their faith around the Eastern Mediterranean area, despite significant persecution . The inclusion of Gentiles led Christianity to slowly separate from Judaism (2nd century). Emperor Constantine I decriminalized Christianity in the Roman Empire by the Edict of Milan (313), later convening

428-507: A Marathi-language work titled Shri-Hindu-dharma-sthapana . Narayana Rao, another Hindu apologist, wrote Svadesha-dharma-abhimani in response to Wilson. In the mid-19th century, several Hindu apologist works were written in response to John Muir 's Mataparīkṣā . These include Mata-parīkṣā-śikṣā (1839) by Somanatha of Central India , Mataparīkṣottara (1840) by Harachandra Tarkapanchanan of Calcutta , Śāstra-tattva-vinirṇaya (1844-1845) by Nilakantha Gore of Benares , and

535-650: A critique (published later in 1861 as part of Dharmādharma-parīkṣā-patra ) by an unknown Vaishnava writer. A range of Indian philosophers, including Swami Vivekananda and Aurobindo Ghose , have written rational explanations regarding the values of the Hindu religious tradition. More modern proponents such as the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi have also tried to correlate recent developments from quantum physics and consciousness research with Hindu concepts. The late Reverend Pandurang Shastri Athavale has given

642-472: A cross , but rose from the dead for the salvation of humankind; and referred to as the gospel , meaning the "good news". The four canonical gospels of Matthew , Mark , Luke and John describe Jesus's life and teachings as preserved in the early Christian tradition, with the Old Testament as the gospels' respected background. Christianity began in the 1st century , after the death of Jesus, as

749-542: A few scriptures overlapping with the developing orthodox canon, most Gnostic texts and Gnostic gospels were eventually considered heretical and suppressed by mainstream Christians. A gradual splitting off of Gentile Christianity left Jewish Christians continuing to follow the Law of Moses , including practices such as circumcision. By the fifth century, they and the Jewish–Christian gospels would be largely suppressed by

856-547: A majority of the population in 157 countries and territories . Christianity remains culturally diverse in its Western and Eastern branches , and doctrinally diverse concerning justification and the nature of salvation , ecclesiology , ordination , and Christology . The creeds of various Christian denominations generally hold in common Jesus as the Son of God —the Logos incarnated —who ministered , suffered , and died on

963-605: A more popular or pastoral approach. Some prominent modern apologists are Douglas Groothuis , Frederick Copleston , John Lennox , Walter R. Martin , Dinesh D'Souza , Douglas Wilson , Cornelius Van Til , Gordon Clark , Francis Schaeffer , Greg Bahnsen , Edward John Carnell , James White , R. C. Sproul , Hank Hanegraaff , Alister McGrath , Lee Strobel , Josh McDowell , Peter Kreeft , G. K. Chesterton , William Lane Craig , J. P. Moreland , Hugh Ross , David Bentley Hart , Gary Habermas , Norman Geisler , Scott Hahn , RC Kunst, Trent Horn , and Jimmy Akin . Apologists in

1070-465: A much smaller region than the traditional understanding, which argues the same events occurred across the entire Western hemisphere . Sorenson writes that supporters of the limited geography idea, including some high-ranking church leaders, believe this model is consistent with anthropological, archaeological and genetic findings about indigenous peoples in the Americas, as well as with the text of

1177-513: A new trend within Mormonism: the emergence of progressive forms of Mormon orthodoxy . While its scholars are committed to literal interpretations of Mormon faith claims, they are willing to rethink traditional understandings of those claims. For example, FARMS has published a limited geography model for the Book of Mormon . This suggests that the events chronicled in the Book of Mormon occurred in

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1284-560: A plethora of discourses regarding the symbolism and rational basis for many principles in the Vedic tradition . In his book The Cradle of Civilization , David Frawley, an American who has embraced the Vedic tradition, has characterized the ancient texts of the Hindu heritage as being like "pyramids of the spirit". ' Ilm al-Kalām , literally "science of discourse", usually foreshortened to kalam and sometimes called Islamic scholastic theology ,

1391-483: A rational basis for the Christian faith, to defend the faith against objections and misrepresentation, and to show that the Christian doctrine is the only world-view that is faultless and consistent with all fundamental knowledge and questions. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries. In the Roman Empire , Christians were severely persecuted, and many charges were brought against them. Examples in

1498-461: A small scale by both Jewish and Roman authorities , with Roman action starting at the time of the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. Examples of early executions under Jewish authority reported in the New Testament include the deaths of Saint Stephen and James, son of Zebedee . The Decian persecution was the first empire-wide conflict, when the edict of Decius in 250 AD required everyone in

1605-453: Is a form of theism in which God created the universe and established rationally comprehensible moral and natural laws but no longer intervenes in human affairs. Deism is a natural religion where belief in God is based on application of reason and evidence observed in the designs and laws found in nature. The World Order of Deists maintains a web site presenting deist apologetics that demonstrate

1712-525: Is also used by Presbyterians , Methodists , and Congregationalists . This particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator . Each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period . The creed was apparently used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in

1819-407: Is an Islamic undertaking born out of the need to establish and defend the tenets of Islamic faith against skeptics and detractors. A scholar of kalam is referred to as a mutakallim (plural mutakallimūn ) as distinguished from philosophers, jurists, and scientists. Jewish apologetic literature can be traced back as far as Aristobulus of Paneas , though some discern it in the works of Demetrius

1926-682: Is most frequently associated with the defense of Christianity, the term is sometimes used referring to the defense of any religion in formal debate involving religion. Many apologetic books have been written in defence of the history or teachings of the Baháʼí Faith . The religion's founders wrote several books presenting proofs of their religion; among them are the Báb 's Seven Proofs and Bahá'u'lláh 's Kitáb-i-Íqán . Later Baháʼí authors wrote prominent apologetic texts, such as Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl 's The Brilliant Proof and Udo Schaefer et al.'s Making

2033-761: Is now known as the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship; the old title, FARMS, no longer reflects the way we're organized. ... We look forward to continuing under the new name." In mid-2012, the director of the Maxwell Institute removed Peterson from editorship of the Review . Peterson retained his title of editor-in-chief of the Institute's Middle Eastern Texts Initiative until resigning from that post in September 2013. In March 2013, J. Spencer Fluhman

2140-430: Is recorded in the canonical gospels, although infancy gospels were popular in antiquity. In comparison, his adulthood, especially the week before his death, is well documented in the gospels contained within the New Testament , because that part of his life is believed to be most important. The biblical accounts of Jesus's ministry include: his baptism , miracles , preaching, teaching, and deeds. Christians consider

2247-752: Is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will ultimately return to fulfill the rest of the Messianic prophecy , including the resurrection of the dead , the Last Judgment , and the final establishment of the Kingdom of God . According to the canonical gospels of Matthew and Luke , Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary . Little of Jesus's childhood

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2354-420: Is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their faith to outsiders were called Christian apologists . In 21st-century usage, apologetics is often identified with debates over religion and theology . The term apologetics derives from

2461-606: The Ancient Greek word apologia ( ἀπολογία ). In the Classical Greek legal system, the prosecution delivered the kategoria ( κατηγορία ), the accusation or charge, and the defendant replied with an apologia , the defence . The apologia was a formal speech or explanation to reply to and rebut the charges. A famous example is Socrates ' Apologia defense, as chronicled in Plato's Apology . In

2568-521: The Bible and sacred traditions on which Christianity is based. Concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds . They began as baptismal formulae and were later expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. " Jesus is Lord " is the earliest creed of Christianity and continues to be used, as with

2675-716: The Carolingian Renaissance of the 9th century. In the 7th century, Muslims conquered Syria (including Jerusalem ), North Africa, and Spain, converting some of the Christian population to Islam , including some of the Christian populations in pre-Islamic Arabia , and placing the rest under a separate legal status . Part of the Muslims' success was due to the exhaustion of the Byzantine Empire in its decades long conflict with Persia . Beginning in

2782-535: The Catholic Church include Bishop Robert Barron , G. K. Chesterton , Dr. Scott Hahn , Trent Horn, Jimmy Akin , Patrick Madrid , Kenneth Hensley, Karl Keating , Ronald Knox , and Peter Kreeft . John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was an English convert to Roman Catholicism , later made a cardinal , and beatified in 2010. In early life he was a major figure in the Oxford Movement to bring

2889-627: The Celtic , the Baltic and some Slavic peoples . Around 500, Christianity was thoroughly integrated into Byzantine and Kingdom of Italy culture and Benedict of Nursia set out his Monastic Rule , establishing a system of regulations for the foundation and running of monasteries . Monasticism became a powerful force throughout Europe, and gave rise to many early centers of learning, most famously in Ireland , Scotland , and Gaul , contributing to

2996-619: The Church of England back to its Catholic roots. Eventually his studies in history persuaded him to become a Roman Catholic. When John Henry Newman entitled his spiritual autobiography Apologia Pro Vita Sua ',' in 1864, he was playing upon both this connotation, and the more commonly understood meaning of an expression of contrition or regret. Christian apologists employ a variety of philosophical and formal approaches, including ontological , cosmological , and teleological arguments . The Christian presuppositionalist approach to apologetics uses

3103-581: The Church of the East (600,000). Smaller church communities number in the thousands despite efforts toward unity ( ecumenism ). In the West , Christianity remains the dominant religion even with a decline in adherence , with about 70% of that population identifying as Christian. Christianity is growing in Africa and Asia, the world's most populous continents. Christians remain greatly persecuted in many regions of

3210-720: The Council of Nicaea (325) where Early Christianity was consolidated into what would become the state religion of the Roman Empire (380). The Church of the East and Oriental Orthodoxy both split over differences in Christology (5th century), while the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church separated in the East–West Schism (1054). Protestantism split into numerous denominations from

3317-469: The Edict of Worms condemned and excommunicated Luther and his followers, resulting in the schism of the Western Christendom into several branches. Other reformers like Zwingli , Oecolampadius , Calvin , Knox , and Arminius further criticized Catholic teaching and worship. These challenges developed into the movement called Protestantism , which repudiated the primacy of the pope ,

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3424-745: The Inquisition , were established with the aim of suppressing heresy and securing religious and doctrinal unity within Christianity through conversion and prosecution. The 15th-century Renaissance brought about a renewed interest in ancient and classical learning. During the Reformation , Martin Luther posted the Ninety-five Theses 1517 against the sale of indulgences . Printed copies soon spread throughout Europe. In 1521

3531-589: The Koine Greek "treis Hypostaseis , Homoousios "), and the terms Vetus Testamentum ( Old Testament ) and Novum Testamentum ( New Testament ). There are Latter-day Saint apologists who focus on the defense of Mormonism , including early church leaders, such as Parley P. Pratt , John Taylor , B. H. Roberts , and James E. Talmage , and modern figures, such as Hugh Nibley , Daniel C. Peterson , John L. Sorenson , John Gee , Orson Scott Card , and Jeff Lindsay. Several well known apologetic organizations of

3638-644: The Koine Greek of the New Testament , the Apostle Paul employs the term apologia in his trial speech to Festus and Agrippa when he says "I make my defense" in Acts 26 :2. A cognate form appears in Paul's Letter to the Philippians as he is "defending the gospel" in Philippians 1:7, and in "giving an answer" in 1 Peter 3:15. Although the term apologetics has Western, primarily Christian origins and

3745-768: The Magisterial Reformation as corrupted. Their activity brought about the Radical Reformation , which gave birth to various Anabaptist denominations. Partly in response to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church engaged in a substantial process of reform and renewal, known as the Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reform. The Council of Trent clarified and reasserted Catholic doctrine. During

3852-420: The Old Testament . The Christian concept of messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept . The core Christian belief is that through belief in and acceptance of the death and resurrection of Jesus , sinful humans can be reconciled to God, and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life . While there have been many theological disputes over the nature of Jesus over

3959-753: The Oriental Orthodox , taught Christ "to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably": one divine and one human, and that both natures, while perfect in themselves, are nevertheless also perfectly united into one person . The Athanasian Creed , received in the Western Church as having the same status as the Nicene and Chalcedonian, says: "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding

4066-579: The Pearl of Great Price , and related subjects." As of 2013, M. Gerald Bradford was the director of the Maxwell Institute, with Brian M. Hauglid as the director of the Willes Center. In late 2010, Daniel C. Peterson , editor of the FARMS Review for over twenty years, announced the journal would be renamed Mormon Studies Review to reflect "readjustments over the past several years in what

4173-978: The Restoration Movement , such as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) , the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada , and the Churches of Christ . The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah (Christ). Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity and hold that Jesus's coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of

4280-718: The State church of the Roman Empire . As soon as it became connected to the state, Christianity grew wealthy; the Church solicited donations from the rich and could now own land. Constantine was also instrumental in the convocation of the First Council of Nicaea in 325, which sought to address Arianism and formulated the Nicene Creed, which is still used by in Catholicism , Eastern Orthodoxy , Lutheranism , Anglicanism , and many other Protestant churches. Nicaea

4387-422: The World Council of Churches . The Apostles' Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical churches of Western Christian tradition, including the Latin Church of the Catholic Church , Lutheranism , Anglicanism , and Western Rite Orthodoxy . It

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4494-486: The dechristianization of France during the French Revolution , the Spanish Civil War , and certain Marxist movements, especially the Russian Revolution and the persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union under state atheism . Especially pressing in Europe was the formation of nation states after the Napoleonic era . In all European countries, different Christian denominations found themselves in competition to greater or lesser extents with each other and with

4601-410: The prefaces and dedications , which proceed many Early Modern plays, novels, and poems. Eighteenth century authors such as Colley Cibber , Frances Burney , and William Congreve , to name but a few, prefaced the majority of their poetic work with such apologies. In addition to the desire to defend their work, the apologetic preface often suggests the author's attempt to humble his- or herself before

4708-498: The state religion in Armenia in the early 4th century AD, making Armenia the first officially Christian state. It was not an entirely new religion in Armenia, having penetrated into the country from at least the third century, but it may have been present even earlier. Constantine I was exposed to Christianity in his youth, and throughout his life his support for the religion grew, culminating in baptism on his deathbed. During his reign, state-sanctioned persecution of Christians

4815-412: The transcendental argument for the existence of God . Tertullian was an early Christian apologist. He was born, lived, and died in Carthage . He is sometimes known as the "Father of the Latin Church ". He introduced the term Trinity ( Latin : trinitas ) to the Christian vocabulary and probably the formula "three Persons, one Substance" as the Latin "tres Personae , una Substantia " (from

4922-415: The 6th century AD. These new universities expanded the curriculum to include academic programs for clerics, lawyers, civil servants, and physicians. The university is generally regarded as an institution that has its origin in the Medieval Christian setting. Accompanying the rise of the "new towns" throughout Europe, mendicant orders were founded, bringing the consecrated religious life out of

5029-501: The 8th century, with the rise of Carolingian leaders, the Papacy sought greater political support in the Frankish Kingdom . The Middle Ages brought about major changes within the church. Pope Gregory the Great dramatically reformed the ecclesiastical structure and administration. In the early 8th century, iconoclasm became a divisive issue, when it was sponsored by the Byzantine emperors. The Second Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (787) finally pronounced in favor of icons. In

5136-715: The Apostle , Justin Martyr , Irenaeus , and others often defended Christianity against charges that were brought to justify persecution. Later apologists have focused on providing reasons to accept various aspects of Christian belief. Christian apologists of many traditions, in common with Jews, Muslims, and some others, argue for the existence of a unique and personal God. Theodicy is one important aspect of such arguments, and Alvin Plantinga 's arguments have been highly influential in this area. Many prominent Christian apologists are scholarly philosophers or theologians, frequently with additional doctoral work in physics , cosmology , comparative religions , and other fields. Others take

5243-433: The Bible include the Apostle Paul's address to the Athenians in the Areopagus ( Acts 17: 22-34 ). J. David Cassel gives several examples: Tacitus wrote that Nero fabricated charges that Christians started the burning of Rome . Other charges included cannibalism (due to a literal interpretation of the Eucharist ) and incest (due to early Christians' practice of addressing each other as "brother" and "sister"). Paul

5350-420: The Book of Mormon. FARMS has also been a focus of some controversy both inside and outside the Mormon community, often in response to negative critiques of the works of various scholars. For instance, after his work was reviewed in a FARMS publication, molecular biologist Simon Southerton , a former member of the LDS Church and author of Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church, claimed

5457-415: The Byzantine Emperor Alexios I for aid against Turkish expansion. The Crusades ultimately failed to stifle Islamic aggression and even contributed to Christian enmity with the sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade . The Christian Church experienced internal conflict between the 7th and 13th centuries that resulted in a schism between the Latin Church of Western Christianity branch,

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5564-657: The Catholic Church in the Reformation era (16th century). Following the Age of Discovery (15th–17th century), Christianity expanded throughout the world via missionary work , evangelism , immigration and extensive trade. Christianity played a prominent role in the development of Western civilization , particularly in Europe from late antiquity and the Middle Ages . The six major branches of Christianity are Roman Catholicism (1.3 billion people), Protestantism (625 million-900 million), Eastern Orthodoxy (230 million), Oriental Orthodoxy (60 million), Restorationism (35 million), and

5671-442: The Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts (CPART) and the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI) to form the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts (ISPART). In 2006, ISPART was renamed as the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship . Welch was tasked with editing BYU Studies, which was originally slated to join the Maxwell Institute with FARMS. BYU Studies did not ultimately join

5778-424: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, such as the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (a group of scholars at Brigham Young University ) and FairMormon (an independent, not-for-profit group run by Latter Day Saints), have been formed to defend the doctrines and history of the Latter Day Saint movement in general and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in particular. Deism

5885-468: The Crooked Straight . One of the earliest Buddhist apologetic texts is The Questions of King Milinda , which deals with the Buddhist metaphysics such as the "no-self" nature of the individual and characteristics such as wisdom, perception, volition, feeling, consciousness and the soul. In the Meiji Era (1868-1912), encounters between Buddhists and Christians in Japan as a result of increasing contact between Japan and other nations may have prompted

5992-411: The FARMS imprint , which was phased out as FARMS was absorbed into BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute . FARMS has republished much work by the LDS scholar Hugh Nibley in the 19-volume Collected Works of Hugh Nibley . It has also published other books, as well as audio and video recordings. Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, professing that Jesus Christ

6099-526: The FARMS Review of Books"), John Hatch said, "After reading the (FARMS) reviews myself, it appears to me, and is my opinion, that FARMS is interested in making Mormonism's past appear as normal as possible to readers by attacking history books that discuss complex or difficult aspects of the church's past. As one who hopes to some day contribute to the body of the New Mormon History, I am deeply troubled by what I see as continued efforts to attack honest scholarly work." The following periodicals were published under

6206-468: The Jewish commandments. Paul the Apostle solved this by insisting that salvation by faith in Christ , and participation in his death and resurrection by their baptism, sufficed. At first he persecuted the early Christians, but after a conversion experience he preached to the gentiles , and is regarded as having had a formative effect on the emerging Christian identity as separate from Judaism. Eventually, his departure from Jewish customs would result in

6313-507: The Lutheran headquarters in Halle , and 99 letters written by the Hindu priests to him (later translated into German under the title Malabarische Korrespondenz from 1718 onwards). During 1830–1831, missionary John Wilson engaged in debates with Hindu apologists in Bombay . In 1830, his protege Ram Chandra, a Hindu convert to Christianity, debated with several Hindu Brahmin apologists in public. Hindu pandit Morobhatt Dandekar summarized his arguments from his 1831 debate with Wilson in

6420-406: The Maxwell Institute, however, and Welch's role with FARMS diminished. FARMS continued as a nominal sub-unit of the Maxwell Institute without a distinctive cluster of BYU faculty and staff. It has since been subsumed into the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, which "deals principally with the Book of Mormon in ancient and modern settings, as well as with the Doctrine and Covenants ,

6527-413: The Netherlands and Frisia . Ultimately, these differences led to the outbreak of conflicts in which religion played a key factor. The Thirty Years' War , the English Civil War , and the French Wars of Religion are prominent examples. These events intensified the Christian debate on persecution and toleration . In the revival of neoplatonism Renaissance humanists did not reject Christianity; quite

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6634-452: The Persons nor dividing the Substance ". Most Christians ( Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , Oriental Orthodox , and Protestant alike) accept the use of creeds and subscribe to at least one of the creeds mentioned above. Certain Evangelical Protestants , though not all of them, reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even while agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in

6741-421: The Republic of Ireland, and Switzerland, all countries with competing denominations. Competition is found in Germany, the Netherlands, and again Switzerland, all countries with minority Catholic populations, which to a greater or lesser extent identified with the nation. Finally, separation between religion (again, specifically Catholicism) and the state is found to a great degree in France and Italy, countries where

6848-498: The Roman Empire (except Jews) to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods. The Diocletianic Persecution beginning in 303 AD was also particularly severe. Roman persecution ended in 313 AD with the Edict of Milan . While Proto-orthodox Christianity was becoming dominant, heterodox sects also existed at the same time, which held radically different beliefs. Gnostic Christianity developed a duotheistic doctrine based on illusion and enlightenment rather than forgiveness of sin. With only

6955-414: The West , the papacy became a political player, first visible in Pope Leo 's diplomatic dealings with Huns and Vandals . The church also entered into a long period of missionary activity and expansion among the various tribes. While Arianists instituted the death penalty for practicing pagans (see the Massacre of Verden , for example), Catholicism also spread among the Hungarians , the Germanic ,

7062-417: The West during this period was enormous and of long-lasting significance. The later rise of Islam in North Africa reduced the size and numbers of Christian congregations, leaving in large numbers only the Coptic Church in Egypt, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the Horn of Africa and the Nubian Church in the Sudan (Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia). With the decline and fall of the Roman Empire in

7169-423: The World Pantheist Movement and the Universal Pantheist Society to promote and defend the belief in pantheism . In a famous speech called "Red Jacket on Religion for the White Man and the Red" in 1805, Seneca chief Red Jacket gave an apologetic for Native American religion. Plato's Apology may be read as both a religious and literary apology; however, more specifically literary examples may be found in

7276-617: The chronographer (3rd century BCE) traces of the style of "questions" and "solutions" typical of the genre. Aristobulus was a Jewish philosopher of Alexandria and the author of an apologetic work addressed to Ptolemy VI Philometor . Josephus 's Contra Apion is a wide-ranging defense of Judaism against many charges laid against Judaism at that time, as too are some of the works of Philo of Alexandria . In response to modern Christian missionaries, and congregations that "are designed to appear Jewish, but are actually fundamentalist Christian churches, which use traditional Jewish symbols to lure

7383-414: The churches of Rome. Its points include: The Nicene Creed was formulated, largely in response to Arianism , at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople in 325 and 381 respectively, and ratified as the universal creed of Christendom by the First Council of Ephesus in 431. The Chalcedonian Definition , or Creed of Chalcedon, developed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, though rejected by

7490-570: The contrary, many of the greatest works of the Renaissance were devoted to it, and the Catholic Church patronized many works of Renaissance art . Much, if not most, of the new art was commissioned by or in dedication to the Church. Some scholars and historians attribute Christianity to having contributed to the rise of the Scientific Revolution . Many well-known historical figures who influenced Western science considered themselves Christian such as Nicolaus Copernicus , Galileo Galilei , Johannes Kepler , Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle . In

7597-416: The deciphering and preservation of Sanskrit . Many translations of Hindu texts were produced which made them accessible to a broader reading audience. In the early 18th century, Christian missionary Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg engaged in dialogues with several Tamil -speaking Malabarian Hindu priests, and recorded arguments of these Hindu apologists. These records include German-language reports submitted to

7704-508: The decisions, and the two principal churches remain in schism to the present day. However, the Catholic Church has achieved union with various smaller eastern churches . In the thirteenth century, a new emphasis on Jesus' suffering, exemplified by the Franciscans' preaching, had the consequence of turning worshippers' attention towards Jews, on whom Christians had placed the blame for Jesus' death . Christianity's limited tolerance of Jews

7811-764: The division caused by the Reformation led to outbreaks of religious violence and the establishment of separate state churches in Europe. Lutheranism spread into the northern, central, and eastern parts of present-day Germany, Livonia , and Scandinavia. Anglicanism was established in England in 1534. Calvinism and its varieties, such as Presbyterianism , were introduced in Scotland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Switzerland, and France. Arminianism gained followers in

7918-543: The dominant sects in both Judaism and Christianity. Christianity spread to Aramaic -speaking peoples along the Mediterranean coast and also to the inland parts of the Roman Empire and beyond that into the Parthian Empire and the later Sasanian Empire , including Mesopotamia , which was dominated at different times and to varying extents by these empires. The presence of Christianity in Africa began in

8025-400: The earliest centuries of Christian history, generally, Christians believe that Jesus is God incarnate and " true God and true man " (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become fully human , suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin . As fully God, he rose to life again. According to the New Testament , he rose from the dead, ascended to heaven,

8132-584: The early 10th century, Western Christian monasticism was further rejuvenated through the leadership of the great Benedictine monastery of Cluny . In the West, from the 11th century onward, some older cathedral schools became universities (see, for example, University of Oxford , University of Paris and University of Bologna ). Previously, higher education had been the domain of Christian cathedral schools or monastic schools ( Scholae monasticae ), led by monks and nuns . Evidence of such schools dates back to

8239-525: The era known as the Great Divergence , when in the West, the Age of Enlightenment and the scientific revolution brought about great societal changes, Christianity was confronted with various forms of skepticism and with certain modern political ideologies , such as versions of socialism and liberalism . Events ranged from mere anti-clericalism to violent outbursts against Christianity, such as

8346-723: The establishment of Christianity as an independent religion. This formative period was followed by the early bishops , whom Christians consider the successors of Christ's apostles . From the year 150, Christian teachers began to produce theological and apologetic works aimed at defending the faith. These authors are known as the Church Fathers , and the study of them is called patristics . Notable early Fathers include Ignatius of Antioch , Polycarp , Justin Martyr , Irenaeus , Tertullian , Clement of Alexandria and Origen . Persecution of Christians occurred intermittently and on

8453-558: The existence of God based on evidence and reason, absent divine revelation. Hindu apologetics began developing during the British colonial period. A number of Indian intellectuals had become critical of the British tendency to devalue the Hindu religious tradition. As a result, these Indian intellectuals, as well as a handful of British Indologists , were galvanized to examine the roots of the religion as well as to study its vast arcana and corpus in an analytical fashion. This endeavor drove

8560-524: The following centuries, competition between Catholicism and Protestantism became deeply entangled with political struggles among European states. Meanwhile, the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492 brought about a new wave of missionary activity. Partly from missionary zeal, but under the impetus of colonial expansion by the European powers, Christianity spread to the Americas, Oceania, East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Throughout Europe,

8667-657: The formation of Japanese New Buddhism , including the apologetic Shin Bukkyō ( 新仏教 ) magazine. In recent times, A. L. De Silva, an Australian convert to Buddhism , has written a book, Beyond Belief , providing Buddhist apologetic responses and a critique of Christian Fundamentalist doctrine. Gunapala Dharmasiri wrote an apologetic critique of the Christian concept of God from a Theravadin Buddhist perspective. Christian apologetics combines Christian theology , natural theology , and philosophy in an attempt to present

8774-782: The last century have been significant, since 1900, Christianity has spread rapidly in the Global South and Third World countries. The late 20th century has shown the shift of Christian adherence to the Third World and the Southern Hemisphere in general, with the West no longer the chief standard bearer of Christianity. Approximately 7 to 10% of Arabs are Christians , most prevalent in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon . While Christians worldwide share basic convictions, there are differences of interpretations and opinions of

8881-663: The middle of the 1st century in Egypt and by the end of the 2nd century in the region around Carthage . Mark the Evangelist is claimed to have started the Church of Alexandria in about 43 AD; various later churches claim this as their own legacy, including the Coptic Orthodox Church . Important Africans who influenced the early development of Christianity include Tertullian , Clement of Alexandria , Origen of Alexandria , Cyprian , Athanasius , and Augustine of Hippo . King Tiridates III made Christianity

8988-695: The monastery and into the new urban setting. The two principal mendicant movements were the Franciscans and the Dominicans , founded by Francis of Assisi and Dominic , respectively. Both orders made significant contributions to the development of the great universities of Europe. Another new order was the Cistercians , whose large, isolated monasteries spearheaded the settlement of former wilderness areas. In this period, church building and ecclesiastical architecture reached new heights, culminating in

9095-516: The most vulnerable of our Jewish people into their ranks", Jews for Judaism is the largest counter-missionary organization in existence, today. Kiruv Organization (Mizrachi) , founded by Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi, and Outreach Judaism, founded by Rabbi Tovia Singer , are other prominent international organizations that respond "directly to the issues raised by missionaries and cults, by exploring Judaism in contradistinction to fundamentalist Christianity." Some pantheists have formed organizations such as

9202-490: The now-Catholic Church, and an Eastern , largely Greek, branch (the Eastern Orthodox Church ). The two sides disagreed on a number of administrative, liturgical and doctrinal issues, most prominently Eastern Orthodox opposition to papal supremacy . The Second Council of Lyon (1274) and the Council of Florence (1439) attempted to reunite the churches, but in both cases, the Eastern Orthodox refused to implement

9309-571: The orders of Romanesque and Gothic architecture and the building of the great European cathedrals. Christian nationalism emerged during this era in which Christians felt the desire to recover lands in which Christianity had historically flourished. From 1095 under the pontificate of Urban II , the First Crusade was launched. These were a series of military campaigns in the Holy Land and elsewhere, initiated in response to pleas from

9416-558: The organization existed merely to "prop up faith in the Book of Mormon" and that its work "stretched the bounds of credibility to breaking point on almost every critical issue." Some have accused FARMS of engaging in mean-spirited polemics . One example of this occurred with Signature Books ' publication of Grant H. Palmer 's book An Insider's View of Mormon Origins . The publication of this book immediately resulted in five negative book reviews by FARMS. Ron Priddis of Signature Books responded to these reviews by stating: "Is nothing beyond

9523-707: The papacy. This conflict came to a head in the First Vatican Council , and in Germany would lead directly to the Kulturkampf . Christian commitment in Europe dropped as modernity and secularism came into their own, particularly in the Czech Republic and Estonia , while religious commitments in America have been generally high in comparison to Europe. Changes in worldwide Christianity over

9630-402: The peaks in Christian history and Christian civilization , and Constantinople remained the leading city of the Christian world in size, wealth, and culture. There was a renewed interest in classical Greek philosophy , as well as an increase in literary output in vernacular Greek. Byzantine art and literature held a preeminent place in Europe, and the cultural impact of Byzantine art on

9737-502: The reach of sarcasm by FARMS polemicists?" Priddis refers to the book reviews by FARMS as "tabloid scholarship." Some authors associated with FARMS have been accused of making ad hominem attacks. FARMS has also been criticized for employing the label " anti-Mormon ", and then discounting such works as biased based largely on this pronouncement. In a speech offered before the Sunstone Symposium (titled "Why I No Longer Trust

9844-588: The resurrection of Jesus to be the cornerstone of their faith (see 1 Corinthians 15 ) and the most important event in history. Among Christian beliefs, the death and resurrection of Jesus are two core events on which much of Christian doctrine and theology is based. According to the New Testament, Jesus was crucified , died a physical death, was buried within a tomb, and rose from the dead three days later. Apologetic Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία , apología , 'speaking in defense')

9951-417: The role of tradition, the seven sacraments , and other doctrines and practices. The Reformation in England began in 1534, when King Henry VIII had himself declared head of the Church of England . Beginning in 1536, the monasteries throughout England, Wales and Ireland were dissolved . Thomas Müntzer , Andreas Karlstadt and other theologians perceived both the Catholic Church and the confessions of

10058-402: The state actively opposed itself to the authority of the Catholic Church. The combined factors of the formation of nation states and ultramontanism , especially in Germany and the Netherlands, but also in England to a much lesser extent, often forced Catholic churches, organizations, and believers to choose between the national demands of the state and the authority of the Church, specifically

10165-608: The state. Variables were the relative sizes of the denominations and the religious, political, and ideological orientation of the states. Urs Altermatt of the University of Fribourg , looking specifically at Catholicism in Europe, identifies four models for the European nations. In traditionally Catholic-majority countries such as Belgium, Spain, and Austria, to some extent, religious and national communities are more or less identical. Cultural symbiosis and separation are found in Poland,

10272-463: The views of individual authors and editors." John A. Tvedtnes, formerly with FARMS and now retired, claims that "the academic credentials of people who publish with FARMS are questioned only by the critics, never by bona fide scholars," noting that "[t]he list of articles and books published in non-LDS scholarly presses by FARMS authors is impressive indeed. If the critics do not accept FARMS authors as scholars, those authors are at least so acknowledged by

10379-658: The world's scholarly community." Two evangelical Christian scholars, Carl Mosser and Paul Owen, examined the scholarship produced by FARMS. Their subsequent report at the April 25, 1997, Far West Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, praised the high quality of FARMS' scholarship, concluding that their fellow evangelicals had lost the apologetic battle against the Mormons largely due to excellent research and publication by FARMS. FARMS

10486-547: The world, particularly in the Middle East , North Africa , East Asia , and South Asia . Early Jewish Christians referred to themselves as 'The Way' ( Koinē Greek : τῆς ὁδοῦ , romanized:  tês hodoû ), probably coming from Isaiah 40:3 , "prepare the way of the Lord". According to Acts 11:26 , the term "Christian" ( Χρῑστῐᾱνός , Khrīstiānós ), meaning "followers of Christ" in reference to Jesus's disciples ,

10593-539: Was raised from the dead and is the Son of God , whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in Christianity) and chronicled in the New Testament . It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with over 2.4 billion followers, comprising around 31.2% of the world population . Its adherents, known as Christians , are estimated to make up

10700-433: Was an important center for producing work that analyzed the Book of Mormon as an ancient text. It also produced work which critiqued claims by both Mormon enthusiasts, disaffected Mormons, and opponents from evangelical Christianity. Such work has been published in the FARMS Review until 2010, when it was replaced by Mormon Studies Review . Scholars, such as John L. Sorenson, say that the publications of FARMS represented

10807-534: Was committed to the conclusion that LDS scriptures are authentic, historical texts written by prophets of God. FARMS has been criticized by scholars and critics who classify it as an apologetics organization that operated under the auspices of the LDS Church. FARMS was organized by John W. Welch in California in 1979 as a private, not-for-profit educational organization, and Welch brought the foundation with him when he came to teach at BYU in 1980. In 1997, FARMS

10914-464: Was ended with the Edict of Toleration in 311 and the Edict of Milan in 313. At that point, Christianity was still a minority belief, comprising perhaps only 5% of the Roman population. Influenced by his adviser Mardonius , Constantine's nephew Julian unsuccessfully tried to suppress Christianity. On 27 February 380, Theodosius I , Gratian , and Valentinian II established Nicene Christianity as

11021-414: Was first used in the city of Antioch by the non-Jewish inhabitants there. The earliest recorded use of the term "Christianity/Christianism" ( Χρῑστῐᾱνισμός , Khrīstiānismós ) was by Ignatius of Antioch around 100  AD . The name Jesus comes from ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἰησοῦς Iēsous , likely from Hebrew / Aramaic : יֵשׁוּעַ Yēšūaʿ. Christianity developed during the 1st century AD as

11128-529: Was invited to become part of BYU by Gordon B. Hinckley , LDS Church president and chairman of the BYU Board of Trustees. Hinckley noted: "FARMS represents the efforts of sincere and dedicated scholars. It has grown to provide strong support and defense of the Church on a professional basis. I wish to express my strong congratulations and appreciation for those who started this effort and who have shepherded it to this point." In 2001, BYU consolidated FARMS with

11235-530: Was named as the new editor of the Mormon Studies Review , along with a new board featuring a variety of scholars interested in Mormon studies . Work produced under FARMS's auspices has been critiqued by Mormons, ex-Mormons, secular scholars, and evangelical Christians. FARMS has stated that the work it supported "conforms to established canons of scholarship, is peer reviewed, and reflects solely

11342-400: Was not new—Augustine of Hippo said that Jews should not be allowed to enjoy the citizenship that Christians took for granted—but the growing antipathy towards Jews was a factor that led to the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 , the first of many such expulsions in Europe. Beginning around 1184, following the crusade against Cathar heresy, various institutions, broadly referred to as

11449-465: Was the first of a series of ecumenical councils , which formally defined critical elements of the theology of the Church, notably concerning Christology . The Church of the East did not accept the third and following ecumenical councils and is still separate today by its successors ( Assyrian Church of the East ). In terms of prosperity and cultural life, the Byzantine Empire was one of

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