... Jesus" disciples, on Pentecost. (Acts 2:41) Pentecost is the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Jesus. "What had been a small, local movement within Judaism was transformed into a far-reaching fellowship of many different peoples, well organized and with distinctive worship." Bainton (1964, p. 47) Was this movement ... born of divine intervention? Some authors believe so. During the first century Christianity exploded throughout the Mediterranean. However Jesus had only a handful of men, the apostles, who functioned as leaders of his cause. Some believe the growth seen by this faith...

• Word Count: 1507
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Amer. Lit I Thomas Paine, Reasoning the Enlightenment In the first few lines of his argument against the church and state, Thomas Paine writes: "I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, Roman church, Greek church, Turkish church, Protestant ... entire line of reasoning inexplicable, that God's prophet would be evil and working through God's evil spirit. Since to Paine, God contains no evil within him. The problems that Paine has with the entire idea of Christianity are intricately exposed through Enlightenment ideals, particularly the Catholic ideal that beliefs in the ....

• Word Count: 1321
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate