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lived within this context of Jewish expectations and longings. Began to preach at the age of thirty and had views such as
- Need to repent
- Elimination of base, lustful, hostile, selfish feelings in order to gain entrance to the kingdom of God.
- Denounced oppression
- Urged mercy and compassion
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Saint Paul was an apostle who taught the gospel of Christ to the first-century world. Paul was the first to use the name "Christ" in reference to Jesus. He was breaking from the Jewish roots and transforming an obscure Jewish sect into a new religion that was far more attractive to a much wider base.
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The earliest surviving Christian writings are Paul's Epistles, written 25-30 years after the death of Jesus. Eventually around 66-70 ce, 40 years after the crucifixion of Christ, Sts. Mark, Matthew, and Luke began writing accounts of events of Jesus' life. This all was almost two generations after Jesus had passed.
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In the year 325,the first ecumenical council was formed.They condemned Arius, stated that God and Christ were equal, and they had originally adopted the Nicene Creed.
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Saint Jerome schooled in classical Latin. His major contribution was translating the bible, Old and New Testaments, into common (vulgar) language. These are referred to as The Vulgate.
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Saint Ambrose was the Bishop of Milan who tried to clean up the reputation of other Bishops that made themselves appear as luxurious. He urged clerics to practice humility and avoid wealth. He sought to defend autonomy of the Church against power of the state, and believed that Emperors are not judges of bishops.
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Saint Augustine was the bishop of Hippo. He struggled with the concept of good and evil, and turned to a hierarchical belief of the church. He was influenced by the sermons of St. Ambrose and became a priest due to inspiration. St. Augustine wrote an autobiography known as the "Confessions." His most influential work is "The City of God."
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Saint Amselm believed that
- faith is a precondition for understanding.
- Without faith, there can be no proper knowledge.
He also developed a philosophical proof for the existence of God . -
Peter Abelard was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, theologian, and preeminent logician. His love for, and affair with, Héloïse has become a great metaphorical symbol of tragic love. Abelard wrote on the Trinity and was accused of endangering the faith, so he was confined to monastery for the rest of his life.
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Robert Grosseteste was a Chancellor of Oxford University that found that the roundness of the earth could be demonstrated by reason. He believed that mathematics is necessary to understand the physical world. He experimented on the refraction of light.
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Albertus explored natural science all while keeping the idea of faith central to it. He retained the emphasis on revelation and supernatural. He valued experimental knowledge, observation and sought to find rational explanations for natural phenomena.
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Roger Bacon valued the study of mathematics and and also looked into the reflection and refraction of light. He observed that light travels much faster than sound, and understood the anatomy of the eye of the vertebrates.
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Saint Thomas rejected the conservative belied that philosophy and reason would contaminate faith. He upheld the value of human reason and natural knowledge. Saint Thomas divided revealed truth into two categories: beliefs whose truth can be demonstrated by reason and beliefs whose truth cannot be proved or disproved by reason. Although he received lots of opposition from the church during his life time, the church eventually came around and began to accept and value his ways.
