The Rise of Christianity

Early Christianity has a rich history between 0 and 400 CE ("common era," or AD, or "after death"). It will not be covered in this short presentation, but more detail can be found here.The great theologian, Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE), authored a number of treatises that become the foundation of modern Christian theology. He was heavily influenced by Platonism (Plato: 427-347 BCE), NeoPlatonism, and Stoicism, and brought Greek influence into Christian theology at this point. However, he missed much of Greek natural philosophy (such as works by Aristotle) and insisted on basing Christian theology on faith rather than reason. The main cause of this omission was the few scholars in the Roman empire who could read and write Greek. Thus, so much of Greek science and philosophy was lost to Roman scholars for centuries to come.