John Degnan

Cunningham Ch 8: Missionary Character

Part 1
1. Where did Christianity spread to? Christianity spread to the
Roman Empire, which was geographically huge at the time in which Jesus
Christ had died and sent his disciples to spread his word.
2. How? (three ways, briefly) The Roman Empire had many trade
routes, it encompassed much of the know world, mostly by way of
missionary.
3. Why? (three ways, briefly) The romans were tolerant towards
Christianity, Christians felt as though they were called to spread their faith,
the disciples were told to profess the works of Jesus to all the ends of the
earth.
4. What were three things Constantine did? Constantine granted
toleration to the Christians in the early fourth century. He also moved the
Roman capital to the east, which allowed for missionary activity in the
Syriac-speaking world. He also congratulated the king of Persia because
some of the finest provinces of his kingdom were hospitable to Christians
living there.
5. What kinds of encounters did Christians and Muslims have in
the Middle Ages according to Cunningham? What was the result of
those encounters? According to Cunningham, Muslims often imposed their
religion on many using force. . They would conquer villages and impose their
religion on them. As a result, many countries that had been largely Christian
ended up as small communities under Islamic rule. To prevent this, there
were crusades on the Muslim-controlled holy land.
Part 2
6. What ideas about Muslims have been passed down in western
Christianity because of the crusades? What has been the result in
todays world? Clearly the violence associated with the crusades has been
passed down and it has negatively affected the world outlook on the Muslim
religion.
7. What were 3 kinds of encounters Christians had in what
Cunningham calls the Age of Exploration? Columbus brought
missionaries with him to the new world, Christians created schooling
systems, a new style of teaching was encountered.
8. Do you think it should be called the Age of Exploration? What
are the repercussions of colonialism in todays world? I think Age of
Exploration is a fitting title. Colonialism often leads to rebellion in the
colonized region due to the oppression of the colonists. These rebellions are
often bloody.
9. What was the Second Vatican Council? It was the 21st
ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church.
10.
What did the council declare relative to missions? The
council declared that missionaries would represent a world church.

John Degnan

Part 3
1. What are your own views and personal opinions on certain
religions?
2. Is it fair to shun people because of their religion based on the
actions of extremists who associate with that religion?
3. Is it ethical to press ones religion onto other people who may
not be educated enough to know what they are following?
In Cunninghams An Introduction to Catholicism, Cunningham states how
at the time Christianity was spreading, the Islamic religion was also
spreading across most of the known world. He explains how the Islamic
religion was often spread by way of invasion and the sword (176).
Additionally, there would be looming tension between Christians and
Muslims, and the Christians would have a raid on the Muslim holy land (179).
These instances in the worlds history are bloody reminders of how religion
can lead to the loss of life even though most religions value life above all
else.
In todays world, war over religion still rages on. In the Middle East,
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to be a large issue in todays world.
Nowadays, there have been some level of politics involved, but the root of
the conflict is religious. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians feel as though
they are entitled to the Holy Land. This is a location in todays Israel,
which has strong religious connections to both Judaism and Islam. According
to the Jews, God promised them Israel to them as their homeland. As a
result of World War II and some politics, Jews were encouraged to return to
the homeland, which was part of Palestine. The Palestinians were obviously
upset by this since the land was sacred to them as well. This would lead to
conflict between the two nations.
The difference in todays world is that fighting is now done with guns
and bombs,
and conflict is much more bloody. There have been multiple instances of
fighting and terror in the past few decades, which have resulted in the
deaths of thousands of innocent people. It seems that there is little
diplomatic progress being made. It is interesting to see how religion tied
with politics can lead to such serious conflict over a span of so many years.
Word Count: 310 words