Chapter 10

Global Christendom
In Chapter 10 we look at Christianity in the lens of its expansion into the biggest religion in the world. With its various sects, and sub sects, it is a complex world of specificity, all built around the teachings of Jesus. Its initial spread was, by one of the very institutions that had tried to destroy it in totality. The Roman empire, had in fact killed the founder of the religion. However Constantine, A roman Emperor embraced the religion as his own, and in doing so set forth a path for Christianity to spread to every corner of the globe. Similarly when the Arab-Muslim Empire expanded its borders time and time again, the “christian world” began to contract.
Physically no location on earth describes the complicated relationship of the Abrahamic religions as well as the “Dome of the Rock/ the location of the Second Temple.” The site where Abraham himself offered his son Isaac to god, and later generations built the first and second Jewish temples. In the second temple is where Jesus himself was lost as a child and argued with the wise men. So its current iteration as a mosque built by Muhammad's initial successor, is a physical embodiment of change. However it is also shows how the expansion of Islam displaced or replaced christian communities. The consequence of this is Christianity being seen as essentially, a “western” religion. However thanks to different social movements, that could not be more wrong.
Thanks to the “Nestorian church” Christianity had taken hold in Tang China. A Persian monk was able to gain a small following by way of using Christian concepts, through the lenses of Daoism and Buddhism, two religious schools of thought that can coexist with Christianity.  However as the rulers changed so did the Chinese states willingness to accept foreign religions. Yet during the Mongol invasion and empire, the nestorians were again allowed to practice freely. Eventually many prominent mongols converted, establishing the religion as one practiced by nobles, and peasants alike

All of the further examples point to a series of trends that third wave civilizations were facing. While a state was responsible to regulate the rules, the borders, and even historically the religion. What happened to multicultural-multi ethnic societies with more than one religion? How could a state show tolerance to a minority, while also showing veneration for the God(s) of their culture. Furthermore, what is the minimal level of piousness and religiosity that is accepted? These brain warping questions were what the third wave civilization states were facing, not regulation of resources or borders, but regulation of thought.

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