1. Discuss the reasons for the secular opposition. There were 6 primary reasons for secular opposition to the Papacy. Some objections were by religious people outside the church, and some were by the secular and non-religious. The 6 primary reasons for opposition were: (1) Julian the Apostate (361-363AD) resented the church because his family had been persecuted during the reign of Constantine (He became a Neoplatonist which was anti-Christian), (2) those on the opposition side wanted to control the church and Christianity, (3) some Germanic tribes wanted at the church's money and property, (4) some objected to the Papacy because of the intense rivalry, (5) there were also controversies in the church, and (6) some secular rulers saw the immorality in the Papacy as it gained power.

2. Discuss the opposition from the old Roman Empire and the Germanic Tribes. The first form of opposition came from the old Roman Empire. Constantius was Constantine's son, but he became an Arian Christian. Next, Julian the Apostate objected to the pope because of his family situation. Finally, Augustine wrote "City of God" to show a contrast between secular and religious power. He wrote that religious rulers should have more power than secular rulers, so naturally, the secular rulers resented that.

The next form of opposition came from the Germanic tribes. First, the German kings (476-493AD) did not automatically agree with the bishops of Rome because they did not like their rule. They prefered the rule of their own armies. Second, Theodoric the Ostrogoth (493-526AD) had a conflict with the bishop of Rome. Third, Justinian the Great (535-572AD) got rid of the Franks and the Ostrogoths, so he did not wish to consider the bishop of Rome to be his equal in power. Fourth, the Lombards (572-754AD) started taking control from Constantinople, and they did not buy into everything that the bishop of Rome said, either. Fifth, during the era of the Franks (754-880AD), Clovis (481-511AD) adopted Christianity after winning a big battle. Charles Martel, early 8th century, was father of Pepin the Short, and he saw the increasing power of the bishop of Rome. The Franks were the first to finally begin accepting the Papacy and the bishop of Rome. Pepin gave land (the Papal States) to the bishop of Rome, and Charlemagne was already king when Leo III came up behind him with the crown.

3. Discuss the conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Roman Empire was a force against the Papacy, and the Papacy continually objected to the empire's rise. Sometimes, the Papacy was even dominated by the empire. The pornocracy occurred at the end of the Frankish reign after Charlemagne had died. The pornocracy was controlled by immoral women, and all this led to the reestablishment of the German Empire. Otto was in charge, and feudalism was still in place. So, the Papacy did not exist without some significant opposition.

4. Discuss the religious opposition. From 325AD, there was always objection to one bishop being over all the other bishops. Never has the Christian world totally accepted the Papacy, so the Papacy has always had some kind of religious opposition. Some early church fathers objected to the Apostolic foundation claimed by Rome because other churches had had much earlier Apostolic Succession. Even Gregory I, in trying to settle a dispute, acknowledged that the churches in Antioch and Alexandria were equal to Rome and maybe even better than Constantinople. Not all of the early church fathers agreed on Peter as the first bishop of the church of Rome, either. Some of the men who did not agree were Ambrose, Christenden, Jerome, and Augustine. The early church fathers had held to equality among all the churches. For example, Origen did not believe that Peter was the foundation (rock) of the church. He said that all the Apostles and Scripture were foundational for the church. Numerous cities (i.e., Antioch, home to the first church, and Alexandria) objected to the primacy of Rome. The Council of Nicaea accepted the churches at Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria as equals. Constantinople was added later to this list, and the Council of Chalcedon (451AD) added Jerusalem.

So how did the Papacy expand with all this opposition? Being in the west, the church of Rome avoided the conquest of Islam. Islam wiped out Carthage and Alexandria, and these churches had to go underground. Palestine and Antioch were destroyed, so only Constantinople remained. All other competition was gone. Ironically, neither big city, Constantinople or Rome, had been formed by an Apostle, and neither should have been supreme. In 732AD, the Islams were finally stopped by Charles Martel.

5. Discuss Islam and the life of Mohammed (570-632AD). The time was the Dark Ages because of the Moslem conquests, feudalism, and general ignorance. Islam began in the middle of Arab country. Mohammed wanted his people to be equal to the religious powers of the world. He died before the Islamic conquests, but he did provide the vision that spurred his followers on. He was by trade a camel driver, and he experienced many personal tragedies. His whole life was a tragedy. At age 4, he developed epileptic seizures that plagued him for his whole life. At age 6, his mother died, so he went to live with his grandparents. At age 9, his grandfather died, so he went to live with an uncle, who was a caravan trader that went everywhere (Palestine, Mecca, Egypt and other places).

Through his travels, Mohammed became very familiar with Judaism, Christianity, and Arab faith. But he saw the eastern Christian churches, and they were very dead and ritualistic. He saw the small impact of Judaism and the superstitions of the Arab people. Therefore, he thought that the world needed a real religion and hoped that God would give him a special vision. He was able to gain followers because he was an intellect, a good thinker, he studied hard, and he had his seizures. The people thought his seizures were of a spiritual nature and that he was getting special revelation from God, and Mohammed played along. His biggest success was marrying a woman named Khadijah (15 years older than him and wealthy), but all their sons died during infancy. His life's goal was to rescue Mecca from idolatry and give them one God. He used the monotheism idea from Judaism and Christianity and came up with Allah. He did not accept the deity of Jesus.

				Tom of Bethany

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Lesson 22. Religious Opposition

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