When Power Hijacks Institutions: Christianity and the Empire
The medieval church's corruption is real, but it began when Rome took up Christianity for its own ends under Constantine.
Church historyChurch institutions
Selected published articles.
Articles in this collection
Where Did Non-denominational Churches Come From?
Non-denominational churches are now among the largest groupings of Protestants in America. Where they came from and what they trade away.
Church historyWhere Did the Pentecostal Church Come From?
The Holiness roots of modern Pentecostalism, Topeka and Azusa Street, the denominations that formed, and the later charismatic movements.
Church historyWhere Did the Seventh-day Adventist Church Come From?
This tradition began with a date that passed, and the question of what to do afterward. Its origins, beliefs, and the cult charge.
Church historyWhere Did the Church of Christ Come From?
The Churches of Christ arose from a movement that set out to abolish denominations, and which produced three of them.
Church historyWhere Did the Methodist Church Come From?
Methodism did not begin as a church. It began as a nickname, and an unkind one. How it became a separate tradition.
Church historyWhere Did the Quakers Come From?
The proper name is the Religious Society of Friends. Quaker was an insult. Where the movement began and what it actually holds.
Church historyWhere Did the Congregational Church Come From?
The Pilgrims were Congregationalists, as were the founders of Harvard and Yale. How the tradition began and what became of it.
Church historyWhere Did the Presbyterian Church Come From?
Presbyterian is not a doctrine but a form of government, and the name says so. Where it began and what it was reacting against.
Church historyWhere Did the Anglican Church Come From?
Henry VIII wanting a divorce is right about the occasion and wrong about the cause. What the 1530s actually changed in England.
Church historyWhere Did the Mennonites and Amish Come From?
The Amish are not a separate religion from the Mennonites. Both descend from one act in a Zurich house in 1525, and divided in 1693.
Church historyWhere Did the Lutheran Church Come From?
Martin Luther asked his followers not to use his name. How a dispute over indulgences in 1517 became a separate church.
Church historyWhere Did the Eastern Orthodox Church Come From?
Orthodoxy claims no founder and no founding date. How the Christian world came to be divided between East and West, and why 1054 misleads.
Church historyWhere Did the Catholic Church Come From?
The church began as local congregations with no legal standing. This traces how it became the religion of the empire and then claimed authority over every ruler in Christendom.
Church historyWhat Happened to Jewish Christianity?
The first Christians were overwhelmingly Jewish, yet within two centuries Jewish Christianity had virtually disappeared. Explore how the Jewish revolts of AD 70, 115, and 132-135 shattered...
Church historyWhere Did the Baptist Church Come From?
Trace the Baptist tradition from its roots in the English Reformation through Puritan Separatism, John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, and the rise of believer's baptism and congregational...
Church historyCatholics vs. Anglicans: The Real Difference
The Anglican break from Rome began as a political act, not a theological one. Discover how Henry VIII's power struggle produced a church caught between Catholic heritage and Protestant...
Church history