Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources
Reading Comprehension Worksheets
World Religion
The History of Christianity

World Religion
World Religion


The History of Christianity
Print The History of Christianity Reading Comprehension


Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 9 to 12
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.62

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    holiness, sacked, cornerstone, friar, foreground, monastery, plague, reading, casket, spans, devotion, monk, nuns, drama, brutal, unravel
     content words:    Jesus Christ, Roman Empire, Many Christians, Most Christians, Holy Spirit, Saint Patrick, Orthodox Christians, Western Catholic, Holy Land, Pope Urban II


The History of Christianity
By Colleen Messina
  

1     Have you ever seen a medieval tapestry? In one corner, knights on horseback might be fighting. In another section, there might be a peaceful monastery full of praying nuns. A lady might sit under a tree reading a book in the foreground. Pockets of people dot the hills as they chat about their medieval problems like the plague and how many baths were safe. The story of Christianity is like a tapestry. It has many colorful threads of crusading and contemplation, and it is full of surprising details!
 
2     Christianity started over two thousand years ago with the birth of Jesus Christ. He preached a message about the Kingdom of God. According to the Bible, he went all through Judea, performing many miracles and healing the sick. He was thought of as a rebel by the Roman authorities, who eventually crucified him. After his death, it is believed that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Jesus' message became the cornerstone of Christianity.
 
3     Jesus' closest students, called the disciples, began to travel and tell people about his teachings. The disciples and other apostles set up many churches throughout the Mediterranean, and Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire. The Romans did not like this one bit! Many Christians were brutally executed for their beliefs. Christians expected that Jesus would return to help them. After a while, many realized that Jesus wasn't coming right away. In the meantime, they decided to work to create the Kingdom of God on Earth.
 
4     Christianity splintered into different groups. Most Christians believed that God is expressed as a trinity of the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit, but they disagreed about other details of their beliefs. A saint named Saint Patrick used the shamrock with its three equal leaves as a symbol of the Trinity. Christians didn't agree on a statement of belief, called a creed, until 390 A.D. This statement is called the Apostle's Creed.
 
5     Even though Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century A.D., Christians didn't agree about the role of Jesus. Some groups thought he was purely divine, while other thought he was also human. This is the main argument between the Orthodox Christians and the Western Catholic traditions, or churches. Other arguments centered on the role of Mary, his mother.

Paragraphs 6 to 12:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable



Weekly Reading Books

          Create Weekly Reading Books

Prepare for an entire week at once!


Feedback on The History of Christianity
Leave your feedback on The History of Christianity   (use this link if you found an error in the story)



World Religion
             World Religion


More Lessons
             High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons


Social Studies
             Social Studies


    United States History and Theme Units  
 
    American Government  
 
    Ancient America  
 
    Ancient China  
 
    Ancient Egypt  
 
    Ancient Greece  
 
    Ancient India  
 
    Ancient Mesopotamia  
 
    Ancient Rome  
 
    Biographies  
 
    Canadian Theme Unit  
 
    Country Theme Units  
 
    Crime and Terrorism  
 
    Economics  
 
    European History: 1600s-1800s  
 
 
    Explorers  
 
    Famous Educators  
 
    Geography  
 
    Grades 2-3 Social Studies Wendy's World Series  
 
    History of Books and Writing  
 
    History of Mathematics  
 
    How Can I Help?  
 
    Inventors and Inventions  
 
    Middle Ages  
 
    Renaissance  
 
    World Religion  
 
    World War I  
 
    World War II  
 
    World Wonders  
 



Copyright © 2018 edHelper