Resources for a sand nigger to learn more about Christianity

[Dread First]

I'll cut to the chase: I've been watching a lot of Kings & Generals as of late and their episode on the Great Schism and the Sack of Constantinople got me interested in learning more about Christian history and/or theology. I'm good with either because they're both pretty big blind spots.

Some general areas of interest I have:
- The Ecumenical Councils that were held prior to the Schism.
- The non-Chalcedonian denominations of Christianity that still exist to this day in places like Syria, Lebanon, and so on.
- Orthodox theology and how it had to adapt to centuries of Islamic rule and a few decades of communist rule too.
- Comparisons of the Sacraments between the Catholic Church and the Orthodoxy.
- The relationship that Protestantism has with both Catholicism and the Orthodoxy.
- Eastern Catholicism and its relationship to the greater Catholic Church

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the areas I've got interest in, but they are the ones I've done surface-level reading on at the bare minimum.

 

[Uncle Sid]

Maybe divinity school? Also, can't go wrong with reading the bible - King James version is best.

 

[Margo Martindale]

The fucking bible

 

[Dread First]

Maybe divinity school? Also, can't go wrong with reading the bible - King James version is best.

The fucking bible

We don't do sola scriptura in this household.

 

[Poison Apple]

The non-Chalcedonian denominations of Christianity that still exist to this day in places like Syria, Lebanon, and so on.

Of what I could find, there only appears to be two churches of significance which are non-Chalcedonian that remain in MENA. Both of which of are Orthodox:

• Syriac Orthodox Church, located mostly in Syria and Iraq.
• Coptic Orthodox Church, located in Egypt.

Most of the other churches in MENA are Chalcedonian, including the Assyrian Church of the East who is a direct signatory to the council, and both the Chaldean Catholic Church and Maronite Church, who are by virtue signatories to the council by being in communion with the Catholic Church.

 

[D_Tractor]

Do your own research for your 10th grade high school comparative religion essay, you fucking lazy nigger.

 

[Jewthulhu]

I want to say a large chunk of my knowledge comes from talking to my priest, other (Orthodox) Christians, and just looking up certain topics online. Talking to a priest, Christian friends/anons, or just googling stuff can probably get you a good head start.

I can give you a quick tldr on some of the topics you're interested in

Spoiler: (Not so) TL;DR

The Ecumenical Councils that were held prior to the Schism.

Seven councils called by the emperors of Rome that addressed specific heresies and rifts in the church. They ended up setting the official cannon and theology for the church. The first council is especially notable for establishing (an early version of) the Nicene Creed, which is the official "statement of faith" for all of Christendom.

Orthodox theology and how it had to adapt to centuries of Islamic rule and a few decades of communist rule too.

The bulk of Orthodox theology remained fairly consistent after the Ecumenical Councils, largely because it's decentralized nature compared to the Roman Catholic Church requires all the various Patriarchs reach a unanimous agreement before a significant change to the theology is made. The church did face harsh repression under Islamic and Communist rule though; through repressing expression of faith, large numbers being martyred, and corruption of church officials (the offices were often sized by the government and sold or given to loyal stooges).

Comparisons of the Sacraments between the Catholic Church and the Orthodoxy.

Both denominations hold the same seven sacraments (though they're called "mysteries" in Orthodoxy). There are some differences between the specific administration of the sacraments, though the core theology of the sacrament remains the same.

The relationship that Protestantism has with both Catholicism and the Orthodoxy.

The relationship between Protestants and Catholics can best be described as complicated. Historically, there was a lot of outright violence and hostility between the two groups. Nowadays, it's a little more one-sided. The Catholic Church have "modernized" a lot of their practices and theology in an attempt to "win over" protestants (though a lot of the more "traditional" adherents still see the protestants as heretics). Meanwhile, most protestants (from my experience) continue to see Catholics as backwards and corrupt at best. The dislike is still there, but it's a lot more passive-aggressive and likely won't end friendships anymore. I don't think most Protestants think much about Orthodoxy. If they do, they're either an extension of the Catholics or of Protestantism depending on whether they're talking about Sola Scriptura or the Pope.

Eastern Catholicism and its relationship to the greater Catholic Church

Eastern Catholics follow all the traditions of Orthodoxy, keep some of the theology, but are in communion with Rome and as such recognize the authority of the pope. From what I understand a lot of Eastern Catholics don't even know they're Catholic.

 

[BoingBoingBoi]

Justin Martyr and/or Eusebius.

Also Philo of Alexandria

 

[Blasterisk]

We don't do sola scriptura in this household.

Who cares about a bunch of dead nerds' opinions on a book you refuse to read?

 

[Dread First]

Who cares about a bunch of dead nerds' opinions on a book you refuse to read?

Just saying man: I don't buy into the idea of sola scriptura. Speaking purely from my experience with Islam: scripture alone isn't enough to "ground" any religion. It was only within the last 500 or so years that religious texts of any kind were available easily thanks to the printing press. Even then, widespread literacy was rarer still until the Industrial Revolution (if I'm not mistaken). But I digress.

Reading the scripture is an obvious first step, so I never bothered mentioning it in the first place. I do plan on reading it, but there are things to consider here. Reading scripture in any religion isn't as simple as approaching it with a rational, analytical mind. How many concepts in the current New International Version get lost in translation because English doesn't have 1:1 equivalents for specific religious terms used in Koine Greek? Also, how many books of the Bible get excluded from the translation by virtue of being either deuterocanonical or outright apocryphal? If I'm not mistaken, the Protestant biblical canon has around 65 some odd books whereas the Catholic/Orthodox canons have roughly 75-78 books (going off the top of my head).

 

[Blasterisk]

Speaking purely from my experience with Islam: scripture alone isn't enough to "ground" any religion.

Yes, lesser copies of the real deal can give anyone a jaded view of anything. On that we agree.

 

[Beautiful Border]

If you're interested in learning about the history of the development of Christianity as a religion, you might want to check out this youtube series. Talks about the importance of things like Saint Paul and the Council of Nicaea

 

[Vingle]

A bullet to the head actually really helps.

 

[Beautiful Border]

Maybe divinity school? Also, can't go wrong with reading the bible - King James version is best.

No, New International Version, surely? People only like the KJV because they like the flowery Shakespearean language and they don't care that it comes at the expense of accuracy of translation

 

[Uncle Sid]

No, New International Version, surely? People only like the KJV because they like the flowery Shakespearean language and they don't care that it comes at the expense of accuracy of translation

This is the only schism I really care about.