Michael F. Russell - The Everything Christianity Book: A Complete and Easy-To-Follow Guide to Protestant Origins, Beliefs, Practices and Traditions

Dear Reader:

Baptized a Catholic, raised in Anglican schools in Canada, and having attended Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Episcopal services as an adult, I may have one of the most eclectic Christian backgrounds of anyone I know. I guess Im just a good example of religious diversity and tolerance in North America today. In fact, my mother jokingly listed me as a Druid in an elementary school roster once and giggled herself all the way to the mailbox. My parents were all about diversity, not to mention humor!

My father, an historian and scholar, may have been my greatest teacher of all things Christianityafter all, he seriously considered becoming a Jesuit in his youth! However, instead of choosing a life in the church, he surrounded himself with Jesuits in some of the finest learning institutions in the country and was certainly one of the best teachers I ever had. It would have been amazing to have had his input while writing TheEverythingChristianity Book, but Im sure he was watching me from his well-deserved seat in heaven. He was the inspiration behind my research.

One thing my father always loved was the ritual of Christian services, the more traditional the betterthe incense, a good Latin mass, perhaps a Gregorian chant or two he loved it all. Ive noticed through my own Christian experiences that the major differences from service to service are their degrees of formality and ritual. For example, you will not find any incense waved through the pews of a Lutheran service, nor will you see images of Jesus on the cross in a Presbyterian Church. The one thing you will find they all have in common, however, is devotion to Jesus Christ.

Despite all the differences, the years of persecution, burnings, hangings, corruption, and general chaos, Christians in most parts of the world eventually came back to the very thing that united them in the first placethe man and his message.

Editorial

Visit the entire Everything Series at everything.com

THE

CHRISTIANITY
BOOK

A complete and easy-to-follow guide to Protestant
origins, beliefs, practices, and traditions

Michael F. Russell M. Div. Amy Wall

Id like to thank everyone at Adams Media for their advice and guidance; Jacky Sach of Bookends for her continued support; and Pastor Mike Russell for his invaluable knowledge and assistance throughout this project. Id also like to thank my parents for the Easter baskets, the Christmas readings from the King James Bible, and the shiny black patent leather Sunday school shoes (or Mary Janes)but mostly Id like to thank them for encouraging me to learn everything I can about the world around me with an open mind.

1. John Wyclif (13281384): Led English Bible translation movement.

2. John Hus (13691415): Critic of Roman Catholic Church practices.

3. Martin Luther (14831546): Founder of Lutheranism; credited with starting the Protestant movement.

4. John Knox (15051572): Founder of Presbyterianism.

5. John Calvin (15091564): Founder of Calvinist movement.

6. Ulrich Zwingli (14841531): Founder of the Anabaptist movement.

7. Henry VIII (14911547): Established the Church of England.

8. William Tyndale (14941536): Translated Bible into English.

9. John Wesley (17031791): Founder of the Methodist movement.

10. Charles Wesley (17071788): Cofounder of Methodism with brother John Wesley.

IT IS REALLY QUITE REMARKABLE that a country so diverse with multiethnicities and cultures is capable of maintaining a structure that includes religious tolerance. Americans live in a society of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, those of Jewish faith, and many more religions, yet we manage to live in harmony, for the most part. Of course, there are problems that ariseno society is perfectbut overall, in a world where religious warfare is status quo, the United States remains true to the original intention of the colonists. After all, it is the air of religious freedom that inspired the American leaders to write the Declaration of Independence, to which we still adhere.

As you delve into the world of Christianity and the Protestant Reformation in this book, you will not only see why this is true, but youll also learn the chronology of events that brought us to this point. It all began with a man named Jesus and a handful of his followers. While most European countries still lean toward one particular faith, the ideal of religious tolerance has taken hold in most portions of Western society. For example, the Church of England still dominates England, but you will also find Methodists, Lutherans, and Presbyteriansjust like you do in the United States.

The Protestants and Catholics still struggle with one another in some regions of the world, but great strides have been made to find peaceful solutions. Of course, it will take work, time, and a change of mind-set, but nothing is impossible, as you will learn from the struggles the Christians have faced over the last 2,000 years.

If you look around the world in which you live, you will see Christian influence everywhere. There are churches and cathedrals on almost every street corner, Western governments have established national holidays around the Christian rituals, and we live by a calendar that measures time by before and after the life of Christ. Some might argue that these are the markers of a noninclusive societyand they are most likely correctbut the more we understand about each other and our various faiths, the more chance we have of keeping the peace.