How did a Jewish teacher executed around 30 CE become, within a few centuries, the centre of an elaborate theology defining him as fully divine? This article follows the development from Paul and the Gospels through Marcion, Irenaeus, Arius, Athanasius, Constantine and the great councils of the fourth and fifth centuries.
What happens to the memory of a charismatic teacher after his death? From Jesus to Osho, the growth of institutions, rival interpretations and later doctrines may be less surprising than it first appears.
Christianity began as a Jewish messianic movement, not as the fully developed religion later enforced by Rome. This article traces how Jesus, the hoped-for deliverer of Israel, was transformed through resurrection belief, Pauline theology, Greek philosophy and imperial authority into the universal saviour of Christian orthodoxy.
Christianity began as fluid storytelling, not as a system of rules. Yet within four centuries, oral traditions hardened into authoritative texts used to define doctrine, regulate behaviour, and support imperial power. This essay traces how the Gospels moved from living memories of Jesus to instruments of governance, shaping the Church and the civilisation built around it.