EARLY CHRISTIANITY
The CRUSADES were a series of journeys and battles in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries against the expansion of Islam, pagans and Eastern Orthodoxy. They were called for by Pope Urban II. Another reason for his request was to end warring between Europeans as many feudal states had developed there and they were constantly attacking one another.
While actions taken by some of the Christians were shameful, not all of the Crusaders were ruthless. Most were looking for adventure, wealth or were just following their faith. Many of the early Crusaders had no set leaders and were ill-prepared to take over lands that were conquered.
In the long run, the Crusades failed to secure permanent lands that were friendly to Christians in Israel. However, they did manage to wrest control of Spain back from Muslims and set up a temporary defensive perimeter in eastern Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea. Were it not for the Crusades, the whole world might be living under sharia law right now, which is very oppressive to women and freedom in general.
www.conservapedia.com/The_Crusades
Did you watch the BBC series “The Last Kingdom” and wonder how the Britons converted some of the Vikings to Christianity? Did you watch the “King Arthur” movie starring Clive Owen and Keira Knightly and wonder the timeline of Christianity’s introduction to England? I sure did, as I’m a guy who is filled with curiosity.
Here is a brief explanation of the spread of Christianity throughout Europe from the fourth through the tenth centuries. There are some surprises in it that I did not expect...
www.answers.com/Q/How_did_christianity_spread_through_Europe&isLookUp=1
Here is a link to a map showing the expansion as well:
https://www.ocf.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Mapspreadofxity.jpg
What does the term “95 THESES” mean? No, it is not something a doctoral student had to turn in to graduate college in the late 20th Century. In 1517, Martin Luther drafted the 95 Theses in Germany to illustrate many of the things that the Catholic Church was doing wrong. Chief among them being the way people could “buy their way out of Hell” for the sins they had committed. That is nowhere in the Bible.
Although Martin Luther was kicked out of the Catholic Church for this (which was a very light punishment for the time), it led to the formation of Protestant Churches (such as Calvinism and the Lutheran Church) around Europe. This was very good for the common people of Europe as the Catholic Church was not as nice back then as it is today. It taxed people and controlled their lives much as a malevolent king would.
The scores or even hundreds of denominations we have today are the result of Martin Luther’s Reformation of the church on October 31st, 1517.
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/history/luther-posted-95-theses-11629921.html
https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/creeds-confessions/luther-95-theses.html