Catholicism

Paper Summary:

This paper begins with a general definition on the Roman Catholic denomination of Christianity. The paper focuses on the the origins of Catholicism and offers a historical review on this topic. In the conclusion the author offers a personal opinion on findings, and mentions the theories that doubt the existence of a historical Jesus.

Table of Contents:
The Roman Catholic Version
The Historical View of the Origins of the Catholic Religion
Conclusion
Works Cited

From the Paper:

"Very few non-Christian writings from the period mention Jesus or Christianity. Only the work of four major non-Christian historians contains any mention to Jesus or Christianity. They include Josephus, a Jew and Roman citizen who wrote Antiquities of the Jews in 93 AD; Pliny the Younger (c. 63-113 AD) who was a lawyer and philosopher in ancient Rome; Suetonius (c. 69-110), a Roman historian and biographer; and Tacitus (c. 56-117) another important Roman historian. Even the writings of these writers about Christianity are extremely sketchy and do not throw significant light on the light and teachings of Jesus, his early followers or the origins of Christianity. In fact the passage in Josephus' "Antiquities" about Jesus has been noted by some scholars to contain several "internal indicators" that are seem to be inconsistent with the rest of Josephus' writing, indicating that part or all of the passage may have been interpolated by later Christians."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Coppens, Charles. "A Systematic Study of the Catholic Religion." Chapter I: The Formation of the Church. The University of Notre Dame. 1903. October 20, 2006<http://www2.nd.edu/Departments//Maritain/etext/sscr08.htm>
• Dolan, Jay P. "Roman Catholic Church," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006. October 20, 2006. <http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573737_1/Roman_Catholic_Church.html>
• Goguel, Maurice. The Birth of Christianity. Trans. H. C. Snape. New York: Macmillan, 1954.
• Kirby, Peter. "Testimonium Flavianum." Early Christian Writings. 2001. October 20, 2006. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/testimonium.html#reference>
• O'Collins, Gerald, and Mario Farrugia. Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2003.

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