The Spread of Christianity

When Paul of Tarsus started his Christian missionary work among the gentiles, Christianity was little more than a loosely organized faction of Judaism.[1] Paul would begin to spread the Christian gospel and lay the framework for a church organization that would come to dominate much of the Western world. The views of Paul and the great theologians who followed him would have widespread effects on the history of the church, and with it, the history of the West.

The Book of Acts, a historical recount of Paul’s missionary work, shows the loose organization of Christians during his time. During Paul’s journeys, he encountered Christians claiming to be prophets[2], a phenomenon that needed to be eliminated if the church was to have uniformity and stability. Paul’s ministry itself was the subject of some controversy; some of the Jewish believers felt that Gentiles should not be taught Christianity unless they were circumcised[3]. This controversy was ultimately resolved at a council led by Christ’s apostles[4]. Acts makes it evident that a church organization was arising, and by the time of the letters to Timothy and Titus, commonly attributed to Paul, a definite local church organization had arisen, with clear roles for each church officer[5].