Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

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Appendix 59 What You Should Know about Christian History AD 1510-1767 From Timothy Paul Jones, Christian History Made Easy , Torrance: Rose Publishing, 2005. p. 92. Three Events You Should Know 1. Persecution of Japanese Christians (1596-1643): In 1597, the Japanese government crucified 26 native Christians for their faith. Persecution continued until 1643. In 1859 and 1890, the Japanese government issued agreements that legalized Christianity again. 2. Chinese Rites Controversy (1704): Dominican monks taught Chinese Christians not to venerate their ancestors or partake in Confucian rites. Jesuit monks allowed both practices. The pope decided the Dominicans were correct. Severe oppression erupted against Catholics in China. 3. Suppression of the Jesuits (1759-1767): Theological and political disputes led to the removal of Jesuit priests from Portugal, Spain, and the Americas. Eight Names You Should Know 1. John I of the Cross (1542-1591): Mystical Doctor of the Roman Catholic Church. 2. Matteo Ricci (1552-1610): Jesuit missionary to China. Believed the Confucian Supreme One was also the threefold God of Christianity. 3. Rene Descartes (1596-1650): French philosopher. To find a firm basis for thought, he decided to doubt everything. He concluded that everything could be doubted except his own existence (hence his famous maxim, “I think, therefore I am”). He reasoned all other truths from that basis. 4. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662): French scientist and Catholic thinker. Supported Jansenism. Fragments of his defense of Christian faith were published after his death as the Pensees. 5. Johannes Amos Comenius (1592-1670): Bohemian educator. For him, the final goal of education was not learning, but the development of Christian character. 6. John Milton (1608-1674): English Christian poet. Argued for the separation of church and state. Wrote Paradise Lost .