Church History
7th -8th Centuries

Article VIII

The Origen of Islam

As we approach the 7^th century, history shows that Pope Gregory had a positive effect on Roman Catholic Christianity.  During that time, the Arians had embraced Nicene Orthodoxy, whereas before, they opposed it with great zeal.  After Gregory's death, however, European Catholicism began to declined. The papacy was beginning to suffer at the hands of both the Lombards in Italy and the Byzantine rulers. In Frankish Gaul the Merovingian kings became increasingly ineffective, and the moral, spiritual, and intellectual quality of the clergy steadily declined. The door opened wide for a move of Satan to enter on the global scene. 

Mohammed of Arabia

Out of Arabia, on the other side of the empire, in a forgotten corner of the world, a tidal wave of conquest arose that threatened to engulf the world. Mohammed, an Arab merchant and camel driver, had come in contact with both Judaism and the various Christian unorthodox cults that existed in Arabia.  Mohammed claimed he received a revelation from the angel Gabriel claiming there was only one God, called Allah, who rules all things and requires obedience from all. He was claimed as both just and merciful. From that revelation, Mohammed came to believe that he was a prophet of the “Great Allah.” He declared that he was not preaching a new religion but simply the culmination of what God had revealed in the Hebrew prophets and in Jesus, whom he believed was a great prophet, but not divine as the Christians claimed. The merchants in Mecca, however, opposed the preaching of Mohammed because their pagan belief was in many gods and businesses thrived on their polytheistic beliefs. Mohammed was ridiculed intensely, so he left Mecca. [1]

The beginning of the Muslem era – 622 A.D.

Mohammed took refuge at the nearby oasis of Medina. There he gathered a group of followers and founded the first Muslim community. In this community, in which they worshipped God, as well as conducted civil and political life, the followers of Mohammed followed the guidelines as were set up by him.

Eight years later, when they were a strong force, Mohammed and his followers set out on a military and political campaign, which eventually gave them control over Mecca. At that point Mohammed decreed that his former enemies, who were those who opposed him, were forgiven. He ordered, however, that all idols be overthrown and the people were forced, on penalty of death, to become a Muslim.

By the time of Mohammed’s death in 632 A.D., a large part of Arabia was already in Muslim hands. By order of the succession of leadership, the Islamic religion continued to grow. The theme of Muslim rule came to be - “Become a Muslim or die.” By 634 A.D. the Muslims had their first victory over the Byzantine armies, which were part of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. Damascus and Jerusalem were overtaken by Muslims in 638 A.D.

The Qur’an

The basic source of Mohammed’s revelation is written in the Qur’an. Often spelled Koran, the revelations were collected and committed to writing by Othman, the successor after Mohammed. This work, which is two-thirds the length of the New Testament, is arranged in 114 chapters. It is very repetitious and unorganized. The belief in one God, known as Allah, is the central theme of Islam. Allah supposedly made his will known through twenty-five prophets, including biblical characters such as Abraham, Moses, and Christ. They, however, deny both Christ’s deity and His death on the cross. Mohammed was considered the latest and greatest of the prophets. Taught in the Qur'an is the belief that Mohammad ascended to Allah from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The religion of Islam is fatalistic, having its idea of passive submission to the will of Allah. After judgment, the Qur’an teaches, men will enjoy a rather “sensual” paradise in heaven or must face the terrors of hell. Women’s role, on the other hand, is one of total submissiveness to the authority of man. Their teachings included the impending judgment of the world, with rewards and punishment for each individual’s actions by Allah, the creator and judge of all.

The message of Mohammed imposes five main obligations upon Muslim believers:

1. The confession of faith (there is no god but Allah, having Mohammed as his prophet),
2. Prayers five time a day,
3. Charitable gifts,
4. Fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, and
5. and he created the pilgrimage to Mecca. [2]

A good Muslim prays five times daily, facing Mecca, and recites his creed. Fasting and almsgiving are also important, and the holiest Muslims are those who, at least once during their lifetime, make a pilgrimage to Mecca. [3]

http://jeru.huji.ac.il/ee21.htm

Many Christians and Jews became Muslim

In the beginning, Christians and Jews were allowed to keep their religion. They were forced, however, to wear distinct clothes and pay tributes and higher taxes than others. In some areas Christians had to wear heavy crosses around their necks.  Both Jews and Christian were publicly mocked by local Muslims. [4]  Pagans, on the other hand, were required to convert to Islam or die. When they converted, it was told to them, they had forgiveness of sins - past, present, and future. When they died they would then have immediate entrance into heaven. While they lived, they would have forgiveness of debts and freedom from taxation. It was a very inviting form of religion. As a result, many Christians and Jews converted to Islamic.  Remembering from the last article, purgatory (an erroneous doctrine) is "supposedly" an abyss place for the dead where a believer had to pay for his or her sins in order to earn the right to go to heaven. The Muslim belief, on the other hand, was claiming that one went right to heaven upon death. This Catholic doctrine swayed many people’s to become Muslim believers.

Over the next 100 years Islam invaded North Africa, Egypt, the Eastern Empire and the Persian countries. During that time Islam had become the most powerful kingdom on earth.

The Dome on the Rock

The Muslims carried the belief that Mohammed ascended to Allah from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  Around 690 A.D., done as a memorial in his honor, the Dome of the Rock was built over the stone from which Muhammad was said to have ascended. This is the same rock that the Bible states that Abraham set out to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice unto God.

The Western Church strengthened

Both the Eastern and Western churches were weakened by losses of people and territories gained to Islam. The strong North African church disappeared and Egypt and the Holy Land were lost to Islamic. The losses in the Eastern churches were much more severe than those of the West. The Eastern Empire Church was able to do little more than hold back the Muslim hordes from sweeping past Constantinople. This weakened condition in the East thus giving a stronger position to the Western Church. The papacy was quick to make the most of the opportunity to strengthen its position.[5]

Continuous rivalry between the Western and Eastern Empire

The Western Church called themselves Catholic, claiming supremacy back to the apostles in the form of their leader – the pope. Under one head - the pope then appointed several archbishops. Under the archbishops there were many bishops. The Eastern Church called themselves Orthodox, meaning “correct glory” – faithful to the Church’s ancient teachings and traditions – all the way back to the apostles. They had bishops over cities or territories, and they were called “Patriarchs.” There were many heads, unlike that of the pope.

Western Church (Catholic) Faithful to the pure teachings of the apostles	Eastern Church (Orthodox) Correct glory - faithful to the Church’s ancient teachings and traditions – all the way back to the apostles
Head of the Western Church - The Pope	Heads of the Eastern Church -The Patriarchs

Each Church claimed themselves as the True Church.

Doctrinal difference between the Eastern and Western Churches

Statues and Icons
Doctrinal differences between the Eastern and Western churches were strong, which caused great division.  One of them was the difference in statues in the worship service.  The Western Church supported the practice of statues and pictures in worship, and had been doing it for centuries. The Eastern Church adopted images (statues) and pictures into their worship service and referred to them as icons. They often issed icons s they entered into theirchurch buildings.  Basing their belief on Hebrews 12:1, they thought that past saints surrounded them.  So by kissing them, they welcomed them into their worship. Constantinople’s grandest icon was a golden image of Christ, set above the palace doors. For many pagans, this didn’t seem any different than idol worship, equaling that of pagan worship.

In 725 A.D. opposition to the use of icons came through the newly crowned emperor of the Eastern Empire. He acted against the “Icon-Kissers” by sending a crew of soldiers to destroy the huge golden image of Christ. A mob of women, armed with pots and pans, kicked a scaffold out from under the crew. Citizens labeled the emperor an “Icon-Smasher.” A bloody struggle between Kissers and Smashers began. [6]

Christological debates
Even after the settlement by the councils of Nicea regarding the Trinity in 325 A.D., and a similar one in Constantinople in 381 A.D., the question of the divinity of the Second Person of the Trinity had caused sharp theological disagreements in the Church. Foremost among these was the question of how divinity and humanity are joined in Jesus Christ. Can they be one and the same?  The Eastern Church believed that the divine was immutable and eternal. The question then was, how can the immutable, eternal God be joined to a mutable, historical man? Two thoughts followed separate paths from the Eastern Church. One stressed significance of Jesus as the teacher of divine truth, meaning the Savior had to be a full and clear revelation of the divine. His divinity must be asserted, even if this had to be done at the expense of his humanity. The other school of thought believed that for Jesus to be the Savior of human beings he had to be fully human. All agreed that the Godhead dwelt in Christ, but this was not be understood in such a way that his humanity was diminished. Both sides agreed that Jesus was both divine and human. The question was how to understand that union.

The Western Church revived Tertullian’s old formula – that in Christ there were two natures united in one person.  Since the Eastern Church was divided, and the Western Church played a balancing role, the Western Church rose above the controversies with enhanced prestige and power.

The next Christological controversy was brought on by Nestorius who became the patriarch of Constantinople in 428 A.D.  He declared that Mary should not be called “theotokos,” that is, bear of God, and proposed that she be called “Christotokos – bearer of Christ.  It was not meant as a question of what honors were due to he, but how one was to speak of the birth of Jesus. Nestorius was affirming that in speaking of the incarnate Lord, one must distinguish between his humanity and his divinity - in that some of the things apply to his humanity and some to his divinity. Nestorius feared that if the two were too closely joined together, the divinity would be more important than his humanity, and people would no longer be able to speak of the true man Jesus. Nestorius was declared a heretic and was deposed. He spent the rest of his life in exile.

The Six Basic Heresie Regarding the Person of Christ

Cultic Views of Jesus
True God = Ebionism: Jesus was not God
Tru God = Arinism: Jesus was not fully God
True Human = Docetism: Jesus was not human
True Human= Apollinarianism: Jesus was not "fully" human
Orthodox View of Jesus
One Person = Nestorianism: Jesus was two distinct persons
Two Natures = Eutyhianism:  Jesus had one blended nature
Erickson, Millard. Introduction to Christian Doctrine. 2^nd ed. Pg. 239. Baker Academic 2001

The traditional biblical view of Jesus is that He has two natures, bended into one.

The final debate in the Christological debates were regarding the use of images. In 754 A.D. Constantine V of the Western Empire called a council that forbade their use altogether and condemned those who defended them. Soon the entire Empire was divided between “iconoclasts” – destroyers of images, and “iconodules” – worshippers of images. [7]

Another Nicean Council

In 787 A.D. another church council was gathered again in Nicea. It had been 400 years since the Church had met as a council together to dispute their differences – the last being the doctrine of the Trinity. Approximately 350 overseers gathered together over the Icon dispute. The results were: Smashers, or iconoclasts, were denounced, idol worship banned, but icon reverence was permitted. Although the iconoclasts had gained power for a time, by 842 A.D. images were restored in the Eastern churches. Today the Eastern Church still celebrates the “Feast of Orthodoxy,” which honors the restoration of the icons. The Western Church took on the belief of "veneration" (meaning to regard with respect, reverence, or heartfelt deference) of the images. Those practices are still maintained today. [8]

The question arises here?  How can one distinguish between veneration and icon-reverence from that of worship?  Can the average nominal Christian tell the difference? Read the following scriptures verses and then answer the above two questions.

Old Testament                                New Testament

The end of Muslim invasion

Muslim invasion continued across the empire. Between 685 and 705 A.D. the conquest of North Africa was completed. In 711 A.D. the Muslims invaded Spain and seven years later reached the borders of France. It seemed as if nothing could stop them. They were, however, defeated at the Battle of Toirs, (today’s France) in 732 A.D. [9] The Arab conquest had came to a halt.

The Muslim world in 732 A.D.
Vos, Howard F. Exploring Church History. Thomas Nelson. Nashville. 1996.

Relations between Rome and Constantinople

Relations between Rome and Constantinople grew steadily worse, and division was soon to come. Those in the Western Empire continued to use the word Catholic, which they considered the pure teachings of the apostles. The Eastern Church, however, used the words Orthodox, meaning “correct glory” - faithful to the Church’s ancient teachings and traditions – all the way back to the apostles. Both meanings basically stated the same thing which brought strong division between the two Churches because each one claimed to be the True Church.

The beginning of the final split of the Eastern and Western Church

The split between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches continued and eventually a permanent split came between the two. Several factors were responsible for the split:

1) The two churches engaged in the iconoclastic controversy
2) A conflict over the procession of the Holy Spirit, known as the Filioque Controversy. The East taught that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father alone, and the West, believing that such a view did not give proper recognition to the Son, asserted that He proceeded from the Father and the Son. (Filioque means and the son )
3) The patriarch of Constantinople and the pope at Rome were unwilling to be subservient to each other
4) There was no sharp definition of the boundaries between territories to be ruled by Rome and Constantinople – frequent struggles arose over administration of borders
5) Basic differences in cultural background and influence between East and West hindered understanding and cooperation
6) In the East, the churches was subservient to the emperor; the churches in the West insisted on independence from the state and demanded the church’s right of moral superintendence over rulers of state;
7) There were numerous liturgical differences between the two churches (e.g., whether leavened or unleavened bread was to be used in the Eucharist, whether clergy were to be bearded or clean shaven, or married or single.) [10]

The revival of the Western Church

As was mentioned in the last article, the year 410 A.D. is the considered the official date of the beginning of the fall of Rome. The Middle Ages had begun. The Middle Ages power was eventually won over by the pagan Franks, which is present-day western Germany. Around 496 A.D. Clovis, the Frankish battle-chief, led his people to turn to the Christian God. Clovis had accepted the Nicene Creed, so when the Franks began their conquest of what was once the Western Empire, few church members resisted them.  By 600 A.D., the Franks ruled large portions of central Europe. As the Franks’ power increased, so did their support of the Roman Church.

The Donation of Constantine

The pope’s claim to sovereign rule and independence from the Eastern Roman Empire was reinforced by the appearance of one of the great "forgeries" of the Middle Ages – the Donation of Constantine. This document alleged that when Constantine relocated the capital of the Empire to Constantinople at the Eastern Empire, he bequeathed a section of the territory of Italy to the bishop of Rome. Because of this, King Pepin III, of the Franks, gave all of central Italy over to the Roman church in 754 A.D., which would later be calledd the Vatican.  It wasn’t until the fifteenth century that it was discovered that this document was a forgery. Some of the Vatican (will be discussed in a later article) had been built by that time.

Charlemagne

Charles Martel was a member of the Carolingian family, the eldest son of Pepin III. Another name given to him was Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus, meaning Charles the Great. In an era when most men were little more than five feet tall, Charlemagne stood six feet, four inches. In 768 A.D., he followed his father becoming king of the Franks. Charlemagne's goal was to unite all of the Germanic tribes into a single Christian kingdom. It was decided that it would be a union of force. When the Lombards attacked the papal territory in 774 A.D., Charlemagne marched into Italy and defeated them, rescuing the pope. [11]

 

Around 780 A.D. Charlemagne launched an evangelistic campaign against his enemies – the Muslim and pagans. By force, similar to that of the Islamic invasion, Charlemagne, king of the Franks went on his campaign for Christianity. He purposed to take over Islamic and paganism and turn it into a Christian empire. Charlemagne’s main territory was targeted toward Britain with the Anglo Saxons and their allies. As soon as his troops would leave, however, the people would revert back to their old gods or the Islamic religion. So, by force again, he used the power of public baptism to demand people to stay within Christianity. The idea was that to publicly go through Christian water baptism, a person publicly forsook their gods. If they tried to revert back to their old belief, they would be refused entrance back into their family and friends, and would face public humiliation. 90% of the people submitted, and most stayed within a forced type of Christianity. Those who refused, were killed.

The Roman bishops did not object to this force submission to Christianity because Rome was in ruins, physically, morally, and spiritually. To them, his efforts were furthering the advance of Christianity, which meant regaining the advances of the Western Roman Empire. By 800 A.D. Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His vast realm encompassed what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It also included half of present-day Italy and Germany, and parts of Austria and Spain. By establishing a central government over Western Europe, Charlemagne restored much of the unity of the old Western Roman Empire.

The Western Empire under King Charles could mean that the popes no longer needed the support of the Byzantine (or Eastern) Empire, which was now in the hands of a woman – Empress Irene. On December 23, 800 A.D. the western Pope Leo III placed a crown upon the kneeling Charles head as the new Western emperor. For the first time the Church had created an emperor in Charlemagne. [12]

Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3^rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.

The Holy Roman Empire

The year 800 A.D. serves as a pivotal date in history. With the pope crowning Charlemagne “emperor of the Romans,” Charlemagne interpreted it to mean that he was the leader of Western Christendom, the monarch of a new “Christian Empire,” rather than the inheritor of the old Western Roman imperial office. Hence there came into being the concept of a “Holy Roman Empire.” The Empire was called “Roman” because it was meant to succeed the defunct power of Rome in the West and “holy” because it was to be supreme over Christendom. [13] This new arrangement constituted an alliance between the pope and the emperor, according to which each was to have dominion within his own sphere and each was to cooperate with the other and promote the interest of the other. It turned out to be, however, popes and emperors engaged in periodic struggles to see who could dominate the other. [14]

Charlemagne was still the Frank King, whose territory covered a large portion of Europe. So while the pope and the Roman bishops lived in Rome, Charlemagne, the Western Emperor, resided in Germany. Charlemagne, similar to Constantine, viewed himself as the guardian of Roman Christianity, even though he himself was far removed from Rome.

All citizens of the Holy Roman Empire were baptized into Roman Catholicism

Everyone born within the Empire automatically became a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church and had to remain such throughout life. Even beyond the Empire, in England and Spain, the Roman Church became the recognized religious authority.

Charlemagne divided his territory religiously into dioceses ruled by bishops. He commanded monasteries to preserve and copy ancient texts and to increase literacy by reforming schools. Charlemagne, himself, learned to read Latin and some Greek but apparently did not master writing. At meals, instead of having jesters perform, Charlemagne listened to visiting scholars read from learned works. Charlemagne believed that government should be for the benefit of the governed. He was a tireless reformer who tried to improve his subjects. He set up money standards to encourage commerce, urged better farming methods and worked to spread education and Christianity. [15] Those in power lived the affluent and prestigious lives.

Charlemagne was a man of continuous war. He engaged in over fifty campaigns during the course of his reign in an attempt to end anarchy within his kingdom and to expand its borders into Italy. As long as Charlemagne was in power the Empire prospered.  In the last fourteen years of his reign Charlemagne made the papacy subordinate in his Empire. He ended up having control over them. [16]

In 811 A.D. Charlemagne began the march to war with the king of the Norsemen. Before Charlemagne could meet with him, the Norsemen king was brutally murdered. Charlemagne, now seventy years old, began the trip back home with what would be his last expedition. In 813 A.D. his health had declined greatly so he delegated power to his son Louis (the Pious). Less than a year later, Charlemagne was dead. [17] The fate of the Holy Roman Empire was about to change.

End Notes

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[1] Jones, Timothy Paul. Christian History made Easy. Rose Publishing. Torrance, CA. 1999
[2] Dowley, Tim. Introduction to the History of Christianity. Fortress. 1995
[3] ibed
[4] Jones, Timothy Paul. Christian History made Easy. Rose Publishing. Torrance, CA . 1999
[5] Dowley, Tim. Introduction to the History of Christianity. Fortress. 1995
[6] Jones, Timothy Paul. Christian History Made East. Rose Publishing. Torrence, CA. 1999.
[7] Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. vol. 1. HarperSanFrancisco. 1984.
[8] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 3^rd ed. Electronic. 1992.
[9] Vos, Howard F. Exploring Church History. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nashville. 1994.
[10] ibed
[11] http://www.mrdowling.com/703-charlemagne.html
[12] Dowley, Tim. Introduction to the History of Christianity. Fortress Press. Minneapolis. 1995.
[13] Vos, Howard F. Exploring Church History. Thomas Nelson. Nashville. 1996.
[14] Jones, Timothy Paul. Christian History made Easy. Rose Publishing. Torrance, CA. 1999
[15] http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96apr/charlemagne.html
[16] Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3^rd ed. Zondervan. 1996 .
[17] http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Blair/Courses/MUSL242/f98/charles.htm