(Teacher)
The Ancient world was a time when humans were still attempting to figure out how the earth worked, why that natural world worked the way it did, and how to communicate effectively. The ancient world is one way to define that time period before the middle ages after Christianity began to take over most of Europe, North Africa, and parts of China. The ancient world is a time in the history of humanity that is viewed through many different lenses, depending on who is viewing it and for what purpose. Christianity is certainly a pivot point between the ancient world and the modern world.
Christianity was born out of Judaism, after Jesus died in 33AD. Through Judaism, male worshippers were required to be circumcised in order to follow God’s law. However, through the birth of Christianity, circumcision was no longer an issue, as anyone could worship God. This allowed the masses who wanted to convert to a monotheist religion, the opportunity to follow one closely related to Judaism. Christianity became popular across the Ancient world, especially around Rome, where early Christians spread the religions to even the Roman soldiers.
The emperor Constantine was introduced to Christianity through his mother, Helena. However, there are many stories about how Constantine finally came to the decision to make Christianity the official religion of Rome. There are also numerous different accounts about how much Constantine actually followed Christianity and how much Pagan influence he continued to use. Whatever the true story is, many historians view the fall of the Roman Empire to be the beginning of the Middle Ages and the true rise of Christianity in the form of Roman Catholicism. No one really knows for sure, because history is written by the victor of any battle, and although there are plenty of written texts during the ancient Roman times, the viewpoints of the authors are somewhat skewed. One thing is for certain, monotheism was now at battle with polytheism for religious control. ("BBC - History - Ancient History In Depth: Christianity And The Roman Empire")
Monotheism is a belief system that has only one god. Alternatively, polytheism is a belief system that has multiple gods and goddesses. Both belief systems have rituals, stories, and myths that accompany the religions. However, most monotheists do not agree on how they should worship the same god that they all seem to worship. In contrast, polytheists allow the religion to change with time and give other belief systems the freedoms to explore what is right for the individual person. (Wasson and Wasson)
Monotheist religions include, but are not limited to; Christianity Judaism, Islam, Scientology, Mormonism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Elohim, Sikhism. Each of these religions believe that there is only one true God and that only their one true god is to be worshipped. They do not agree with each other on who that one true god is, the holy book or how to worship him. Alternatively, polytheism includes but is not limited to, Taoism, Shinto, Hinduism, Wicca, and Heathenry. These religions believe in numerous gods and goddesses and that each one has his or her own attributes that are worthy of worship. Each polytheist group seems to not only allow the function of other groups to worship in any way that seems right at the time, some group members blend with another group to join the festivities and rituals. One religion worth mentioning is that although Buddhism has several iconic representations, there are no specific gods or goddesses and it is referred to as non-theistic. This does not mean atheist; this means that the worshipper does not think that any one deity is worthy of worship. It is more a philosophy than a religion. It follows the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince who lived over 2,500 years ago. Although individual Buddhists may believe in Gods and Goddesses, the religion is not centralized around deities. Buddhism was introduced in Tibet in eastern China. No one is for sure when Chinese religions began. ("Buddhism - Religionfacts”) However, archeology and historical documents point to Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism as the earliest forms of religion in China. ("China’S First Empire | History Today")
The Chinese have practiced a few different religions or forms of spirituality throughout each dynasy. The earliest known form of religion was during the Shang Dynasty, which was from about 1600-1046 BC. At that tie, it seems that divination was common. Divination included lucky or unlucky signs from nature, such as a crack shaped like a cross, or T, or another shape. Each shape had a meaning or a message. This practice changed during the Ch’ou Dynasty from 1111-255 BC. During this time period, the great wall of China was constructed and several things changed. For example, Emperor Shih huabg-ti was infamous because he suppressed the imaginaition of the people. He banned books, censored them, and squashed anyone who presented an intellectual idea that was not his to begin with. After his death, around 206 BC, the Han Dynasty embraced change and Confucianism. That Han Dynasy also encouraged the development of art, literature sciences, and religion. This was a period of terrific growth and prosperity in China.
The rituals of Chinese religion encompassed the five elements of earth, fire, water, wood, and metal, which closely resembles many other earth centered religions of the ancient times. Although the great periods of peace and intellectual, artistic, and religious growth seem enticing, there were many bloody battles surrounding religions and arguments between leaders about who was right and who was wrong and what religion should be followed, it is not central to only China. These battles occurred across the ancient world, and some continue in modern times for similar reasons.
Perhaps the world could use some important lessons from the ancient world peace religions of Buddhism, the ancient Christianity before it became a political mess, and Taoism. Buddhism could teach everyone how to meditate on important decisions and find a solution that is neither harmful nor would it be self-serving. Christianity could teach that everyone is the same in God’s eyes and that no one is more important than anyone else. Taoism might teach that it is more important to live in balance than to embrace total chaos or total peace, gracefully.
Works Cited
"BBC - History - Ancient History In Depth: Christianity And The Roman Empire". Bbc.co.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
"Buddhism - Religionfacts". Religionfacts.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
"China’S First Empire | History Today". Historytoday.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
Wasson, Donald and Donald Wasson. "Fall Of The Roman Empire". Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
