I’d never realized how weird the Lectionary is, knowing every reading years in advance. It’s always felt like a reassuring constant, shaping the cycle of the church year in my mind. What’s new is never truly new, and what’s old is never far behind us.
Growing up Irish Catholic, seeing how religion influences culture so intensely is really interesting. I don't believe in god, but if I say I'm an atheist I feel like I'm erasing a huge part of my culture and history. Great video as usual
Dear John, you did such a good job explaining. I grew up United Methodist, in a small church which experienced the Pentecostal phenomenon in the late 70s. I often visited my grandmother’s Presbyterian church and later joined my grandfather’s and father’s Assembly of God. Married to a Serbian/Russian Orthodox, whose father advised living by “ the Words in red”, I am now in an affirming United Church of Christ. Everything you said bears truth. Perhaps loving God and loving others, (which includes ourselves), in all our diverse ways will help.
Thank you for the great content. I still don't fully understand the narrative of Christianity though. If Jesus was resurrected, why is his crucifixion treated like the ultimate sacrifice? And what does it mean that he absolved us of our sins? Isn't it understood that we still have original sin in any case? Not trying to be a clever-clogs, I'd like to hear from Christians how they answer these questions. Thanks!
I was expecting to hear a bit more about the largest Christian denomination in the world, and my own, Catholicism... But I was glad to see the Lord's Prayer and Nicene Creed up there so I still feel like this video did a decent job of representing Christianity as I know it, as much as a 13 minute video trying to describe all of Christianity for a secular audience can.
Yeah, that's the challenge with crash course is by definition it's too short. I would love to see discussion about Faith vs. Works, restorationist groups etc.
I mean, you kinda got a proportional amount of screen time. Look at all the other types of Christianity that got "oh yeah, churches exist for these" or absolutely nothing at all, like Calvinism and Lutheranism.
The joke was hilarious. There's such a huge variety of beliefs and practices within Christianity, and many people who profess Christianity aren't aware.
John - I want to thank you not only for your devotion to creating insightful & edifying content here on RUclips over the past decade-or-more I've been following you, not even only for your herein statement of faith in such an agreeable way - but for through your fiction empowering me as a Christian creative writer to engage with gnarly subject-matter in a holy & life-giving way even when those topics seem superficially secular. you have truly helped educate me in communication. bless you
The historical study of Jesus of Nazareth is a really interesting field of research. For anyone interested more in historical perspectives on Jesus as a millenarian, or apocalyptic, Jewish prophet, Dale C. Allison’s books “Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet,” “Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History,” and “The Resurrection of Jesus: Apologetics, Polemics, History” are all very well researched, balanced, and engaging sources in this field.
I've been eagerly awaiting this video but the timing could not have been worse. I am a Christian - maybe I /was/ a Christian, I'm not sure anymore. I've been struggling to unify the love and compassion I was taught as a child and preached myself into my late 20's with the hate and apathy I've experienced over the last decade. Today a lot of things have come to a head and I'm really struggling with this. Thanks for the video and the introspection. I hope we can all grow through this difficult experience but today has just been difficult to experience.
Thank you for leaving the comments on for this one. I think a good follow up topic could be why there have been so many Christian denominations created in the USA, but maybe that's too much detail for this crash course
I just want to comment that 8:05 most Catholics revere the virgin Mary in part due to the reach of her apparitions. I don’t think that calling our lady of Guadeloupe a indigenous version of Mary is fully accurate The catholic perspective is that that the people of Mexico are just venerating the same Mary of Jerusalem IN Mexico through the apparition. Where there are or were catholic majority populations there is an apparition of our lady. This is the position of the church and therefore “most Catholics” Good video!
12 minutes on all of Christianity?! 9.2/10. Would've switched out the Pentecost section for the doctrine of grace, not cause it's not significant, but since grace is a major difference of Christianity from the others, but can't complain on what you did cover🕊✝
As a lifelong Christian, I had to snicker at your well placed joke between 7:10 and 7:30 about baptism 😂 Personally, I’ve always thought that since protestants believe that baptism is a ceremonial action you do to demonstrate to the world that you have chosen to die to your Self forever, and are beginning a new life in Christ, that the ceremony of baptism should be taken more seriously, and reserved for those at least 16 and older. I think it’s beautiful when a child decides that they believe in the God of the Bible, and love him, and want to follow him!… But I don’t think they’re mentally capable of understanding the full breadth and depth of the decision they’re making until they’re at least 16, and have the reasoning capability to really understand WHAT they’re committing to. Thankfully though, this doesn’t “split” me from any other Christian I know who believes differently! It’s a secondary theological issue, not a primary one. Just one of the many ways that Christianity is flexible and interesting! 😊
"The last shal be first"? Yeah, he said that and it'sa powerful statement, but if giving one or two quotes that summarize Jesus's teachings, why not "Love thy neighbor as thyself"?
But I do have a question, if Jesus "rose from the dead" for the sole purpose of ascending to heaven, how is his resurrection significantly different from just still being dead with more steps? What did his resurrection really accomplish, why do people put so much emphasis on it?
I'm sure the answer to this will vary significantly depending on the Christian sect. If you're interested in the perspective of someone from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, happy to share that doctrine.
Because he didnt die then ascend. He was dead and rose again on the third day after. then he preached for a couple more weeks then ascended into heaven. not undergoing death a second time.
If Jesus was still physically dead, we might not be convinced that he had power over death, or convinced that his death really did pay for our sin. He also put a timeline on his resurrection (Matthew 17:22-23). If he didn't rise in three days, he would have been a liar, and therefore not the Messiah because God is truthful. His resurrection is emphasized a lot because it means that God (who is Jesus) is not destroyed by sin. Hope this might help some!
The idea is that by sacrificing himself and rising from the dead, Jesus triumphed over death and in so doing cleansed humanity of its original sin, allowing all of humanity past and future to ascend to heaven (the implication being that people couldn’t get to heaven beforehand). The image of a sacrifice leading to cleansing and uplifting was a common one in many ancient cultures. For Christians, it is seen as important because they see Christ’s death as a powerful example of personal sacrifice by a loving God that reflects the potential of all people to be redeemed. Note: I’m no longer much of a Christian, but the image of individual redemption in the face of suffering and death can still be poignant even for non-believers.
He did it to reassure his followers amongst other things, after the crucifixion the disciples were understandably pretty disheartened, their Messiah was dead. If he had actually been the Messiah, he would not be dead, you can see the dilemma. On a sidenote, I think that is actually one of the main reasons why Christianity grew and spread exponentially while the other hundred or so sects of apocalyptic Judaism that were all in the Levant at about the same time faded and died out, if it had not been for the resurrection Christianity would have faded and died out, and then where would we be?
Having read the torah quite a few times, I found reading the 'Hebrew bible' pretty funny. Like, they got the themes ok but the translations were terrible and often completely wrong.
Would have been helpful to note that the spread and establishment of Christianity in Europe was tied to secular power and not the messages preached by Jesus.
I grew up UMC so seeing the denomination accept LGBTQ folks was very satisfying for me. Sadly, my childhood church kinda doesn’t exist anymore thanks to Church Drama, but like. Might be for the best given it probably would’ve joined that schism to part from it, all things considered and why I stopped going to church around college, alas. 😩
As always, thoughtful and compassionate. I'm afraid I do take issue with "8:53 Historians can vouch that Jesus of Nazareth was an apocalyptic prophet living in the Middle East who was executed by the Romans around 30 CE." Because, no, no they can't. Particularly that "executed by the Romans" bit. Romans, in spite of their record keeping on such things, kind of missed the whole drama offered by the gospels. You'd think Pliny the Elder would have written an entire book about it. All accounts of Jesus outside the Bible start showing up around 100CE, mostly in relation to his followers who clearly existed at that time.
Didn’t mention the Seventh Day Adventist branch of Christianity and I wonder why…. Almost makes me wonder what information might have left out in the other videos…dang! I loved these too
On today of all days, I'm happy for an educational scholarly lesson about Christianity by a Christian who isn’t trying to convert anyone.
Okay, you got me with the heretic story 😂😂
I’d never realized how weird the Lectionary is, knowing every reading years in advance. It’s always felt like a reassuring constant, shaping the cycle of the church year in my mind. What’s new is never truly new, and what’s old is never far behind us.
Growing up Irish Catholic, seeing how religion influences culture so intensely is really interesting. I don't believe in god, but if I say I'm an atheist I feel like I'm erasing a huge part of my culture and history. Great video as usual
Dear John, you did such a good job explaining.
I grew up United Methodist, in a small church which experienced the Pentecostal phenomenon in the late 70s. I often visited my grandmother’s Presbyterian church and later joined my grandfather’s and father’s Assembly of God. Married to a Serbian/Russian Orthodox, whose father advised living by “ the Words in red”, I am now in an affirming United Church of Christ.
Everything you said bears truth.
Perhaps loving God and loving others, (which includes ourselves), in all our diverse ways will help.
I was curious to see how you tackled staying fair to all the many differing beliefs wrapped up in Christianity. Well done!
Thank you for the great content. I still don't fully understand the narrative of Christianity though. If Jesus was resurrected, why is his crucifixion treated like the ultimate sacrifice? And what does it mean that he absolved us of our sins? Isn't it understood that we still have original sin in any case? Not trying to be a clever-clogs, I'd like to hear from Christians how they answer these questions. Thanks!
John, you being sane yourself today, talking very humanly about religion is why I keep faith in good in people.
There could be a whole crash course series of all the types of Christianity.
🎉 Quakers mentioned 🎉
I hate that I have to wait a week for each episode! I really enjoy these!
I was expecting to hear a bit more about the largest Christian denomination in the world, and my own, Catholicism... But I was glad to see the Lord's Prayer and Nicene Creed up there so I still feel like this video did a decent job of representing Christianity as I know it, as much as a 13 minute video trying to describe all of Christianity for a secular audience can.
Yeah, that's the challenge with crash course is by definition it's too short. I would love to see discussion about Faith vs. Works, restorationist groups etc.
I mean, you kinda got a proportional amount of screen time. Look at all the other types of Christianity that got "oh yeah, churches exist for these" or absolutely nothing at all, like Calvinism and Lutheranism.
The joke was hilarious. There's such a huge variety of beliefs and practices within Christianity, and many people who profess Christianity aren't aware.
John - I want to thank you not only for your devotion to creating insightful & edifying content here on RUclips over the past decade-or-more I've been following you, not even only for your herein statement of faith in such an agreeable way - but for through your fiction empowering me as a Christian creative writer to engage with gnarly subject-matter in a holy & life-giving way even when those topics seem superficially secular. you have truly helped educate me in communication. bless you
Blessed are the cheesemakers, or indeed any other purveyors of dairy products.
The historical study of Jesus of Nazareth is a really interesting field of research. For anyone interested more in historical perspectives on Jesus as a millenarian, or apocalyptic, Jewish prophet, Dale C. Allison’s books “Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian Prophet,” “Constructing Jesus: Memory, Imagination, and History,” and “The Resurrection of Jesus: Apologetics, Polemics, History” are all very well researched, balanced, and engaging sources in this field.
I've been eagerly awaiting this video but the timing could not have been worse. I am a Christian - maybe I /was/ a Christian, I'm not sure anymore. I've been struggling to unify the love and compassion I was taught as a child and preached myself into my late 20's with the hate and apathy I've experienced over the last decade. Today a lot of things have come to a head and I'm really struggling with this. Thanks for the video and the introspection. I hope we can all grow through this difficult experience but today has just been difficult to experience.
Thank you for leaving the comments on for this one.
I think a good follow up topic could be why there have been so many Christian denominations created in the USA, but maybe that's too much detail for this crash course
I just want to comment that 8:05 most Catholics revere the virgin Mary in part due to the reach of her apparitions.
I don’t think that calling our lady of Guadeloupe a indigenous version of Mary is fully accurate The catholic perspective is that that the people of Mexico are just venerating the same Mary of Jerusalem IN Mexico through the apparition.
Where there are or were catholic majority populations there is an apparition of our lady. This is the position of the church and therefore “most Catholics”
Good video!
💖 thankyou all at Crash Course for this wonderful series.
12 minutes on all of Christianity?! 9.2/10. Would've switched out the Pentecost section for the doctrine of grace, not cause it's not significant, but since grace is a major difference of Christianity from the others, but can't complain on what you did cover🕊✝
Nice. Really appreciating the nuance packed into 15 minutes from this series.
As a Lutheran I hope to hear you talk about Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation!
Nice job! An insider delivers an unbiased picture of Christianity
YES!!! THE QUAKER SHOUT OUT THAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS WHOLE SERIES! WOOOOT!
Not surprisingly, this was beautiful. Thank you, Crash Course!
This crash course is hella underrated
who wants Crash Course Maths ?
I hope you do an episode about the Baha'i Faith.
Yes! I was excited to see the Badi Calendar mentioned in the opening, and I hope we get to hear more.
4:12 OMG, that’s my hometown, or at least the street that goes along it by the same name
Here's my engagement comment
awesome sauce. i have never seen a better framing of christianity--so not jingoistic and the native american episode was refreshingly respectful
Shout out to Emo Philips for the classic joke
Thank you so much for this series!
As a lifelong Christian, I had to snicker at your well placed joke between 7:10 and 7:30 about baptism 😂
Personally, I’ve always thought that since protestants believe that baptism is a ceremonial action you do to demonstrate to the world that you have chosen to die to your Self forever, and are beginning a new life in Christ, that the ceremony of baptism should be taken more seriously, and reserved for those at least 16 and older.
I think it’s beautiful when a child decides that they believe in the God of the Bible, and love him, and want to follow him!… But I don’t think they’re mentally capable of understanding the full breadth and depth of the decision they’re making until they’re at least 16, and have the reasoning capability to really understand WHAT they’re committing to.
Thankfully though, this doesn’t “split” me from any other Christian I know who believes differently! It’s a secondary theological issue, not a primary one.
Just one of the many ways that Christianity is flexible and interesting! 😊
Never have I known someone who screamed Episcopalian in his mannerisms so much.
John, that was beautiful. ❤
Another wonderful video, learnt a bunch of new stuff
Plus the video strengthened my faith, a little
That joke got me. Good stuff 😂
I appreciated this, John. Thank you.
Copt here! Mad respect for what you do
I really like the way you present it, it's clear and meaningful, thank you
me and my friends love hanging around watching your videos
Thanks
I hope John covers atheism too
Now this is going to be interesting, can’t wait to learn something new about my former religion!
"The last shal be first"? Yeah, he said that and it'sa powerful statement, but if giving one or two quotes that summarize Jesus's teachings, why not "Love thy neighbor as thyself"?
An excellent encapsulation- bravo!!
I notice this one didn't have any computer game metaphors or computer game-themed graphics.
Thank you. This was really wonderful information 🙌😊
Wow thank you
The best jokes are completely unexpected--that was good.
1st Rule: DFTBA.
Good stuff! ☦
All major religions are unique and beautiful in some ways. And of course Christianity is full of beauties, especially when it expressed by John Green.
Doing an amazing , objective job of explanation, and discovery :) like the rando phone guy :)
QUAKERISM MENTIONED RAHH!!! (great video btw)
Such a good job!
I missed you john green
i am subscribing😁😁😁😁😁😁
haha love the shoutout to coptic orthodoxy!
But I do have a question, if Jesus "rose from the dead" for the sole purpose of ascending to heaven, how is his resurrection significantly different from just still being dead with more steps? What did his resurrection really accomplish, why do people put so much emphasis on it?
I'm sure the answer to this will vary significantly depending on the Christian sect. If you're interested in the perspective of someone from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, happy to share that doctrine.
Because he didnt die then ascend. He was dead and rose again on the third day after. then he preached for a couple more weeks then ascended into heaven. not undergoing death a second time.
If Jesus was still physically dead, we might not be convinced that he had power over death, or convinced that his death really did pay for our sin. He also put a timeline on his resurrection (Matthew 17:22-23). If he didn't rise in three days, he would have been a liar, and therefore not the Messiah because God is truthful. His resurrection is emphasized a lot because it means that God (who is Jesus) is not destroyed by sin. Hope this might help some!
The idea is that by sacrificing himself and rising from the dead, Jesus triumphed over death and in so doing cleansed humanity of its original sin, allowing all of humanity past and future to ascend to heaven (the implication being that people couldn’t get to heaven beforehand). The image of a sacrifice leading to cleansing and uplifting was a common one in many ancient cultures.
For Christians, it is seen as important because they see Christ’s death as a powerful example of personal sacrifice by a loving God that reflects the potential of all people to be redeemed.
Note: I’m no longer much of a Christian, but the image of individual redemption in the face of suffering and death can still be poignant even for non-believers.
He did it to reassure his followers amongst other things, after the crucifixion the disciples were understandably pretty disheartened, their Messiah was dead. If he had actually been the Messiah, he would not be dead, you can see the dilemma.
On a sidenote, I think that is actually one of the main reasons why Christianity grew and spread exponentially while the other hundred or so sects of apocalyptic Judaism that were all in the Levant at about the same time faded and died out, if it had not been for the resurrection Christianity would have faded and died out, and then where would we be?
Having read the torah quite a few times, I found reading the 'Hebrew bible' pretty funny. Like, they got the themes ok but the translations were terrible and often completely wrong.
3:16 Assemblies of God congregant here
Would have been helpful to note that the spread and establishment of Christianity in Europe was tied to secular power and not the messages preached by Jesus.
Taking on Christianity, hooo boy.
One common figure head, shoulders, and crucifix above the rest
nice.
Jesus = Yeshua (Joshua)...It's crazy how the letter "J" was invented in the 1500's
Hilarious that John waited eight and a half minutes to talk about Jesus
Thank you John. I am genuinely enjoying the series. Interesting to know we share a denomination. PCUSA or PCA?😉
❤
What is the name of the painting with the two ladies and a bible, one looking exasperated.
I grew up UMC so seeing the denomination accept LGBTQ folks was very satisfying for me. Sadly, my childhood church kinda doesn’t exist anymore thanks to Church Drama, but like. Might be for the best given it probably would’ve joined that schism to part from it, all things considered and why I stopped going to church around college, alas. 😩
As always, thoughtful and compassionate. I'm afraid I do take issue with "8:53 Historians can vouch that Jesus of Nazareth was an apocalyptic prophet living in the Middle East who was executed by the Romans around 30 CE." Because, no, no they can't.
Particularly that "executed by the Romans" bit. Romans, in spite of their record keeping on such things, kind of missed the whole drama offered by the gospels. You'd think Pliny the Elder would have written an entire book about it. All accounts of Jesus outside the Bible start showing up around 100CE, mostly in relation to his followers who clearly existed at that time.
Thanks for using CE as opposed to AD.
Didn’t mention the Seventh Day Adventist branch of Christianity and I wonder why…. Almost makes me wonder what information might have left out in the other videos…dang! I loved these too
Many have died in the name of Christianity.