REL 231 - History of the Christian Church
Course Notes
Week 14
Notes on Topics not covered by the Textbook
Resistance to Nazism took many forms. The textbook describes how Christian leaders spoke out against the system, and were persecuted and in some cases killed. There were also many less prominent people who resisted the system, sometimes by aiding Jewish neighbors to escape, or by hiding Jews from the Nazis.
"The Diary of Anne Franke" is the diary of a Jewish teenager who lived in hiding for a number of years until she and her family were betrayed and killed.
If found out, the families who sheltered Jews were often killed or sent to concentration camps. One such family was that of Corrie ten Boom in Holland. They hid Jews in the cellar of their house, but were betrayed to the Nazis. Corrie's father was taken to a hospital and left to die without treatment. Corrie and her sister were sent to a concentration camp, where her sister died. Corrie ten Boom survived, and lived to work for reconciliation between the nations in post-war Europe.
The Cursillo Movement started in Spain, at a time when the Fascist government was trying to suppress Christianity. Groups of young men started meeting together to study what it meant to be a Christian, and to encourage one another to live as Christians in a hostile world. One young man in particular, Eduardo Bonnin, spearheaded a movement to make an impact on society by encouraging Christians to "Make a friend, be a friend, bring a friend to Christ" The movement took on some of the aspects of a pilgrimage and a retreat - the basics are usually taught during a weekend of living in Christian community, with talks, prayer, worship, music, and the building of friendships and support groups which will continue after the weekend. "Cursillo" is short for "Cursillo de Cristianidad" (A Little Course in Christianity). The movement has spread all over the world, generally within the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches.
"Walk to Emmaus" grew from Cursillo, when Methodists and other Protestant denominations wanted to run similar weekends, but wished to change some of the talks
The Alpha Course, mentioned in the textbook, was developed in an Anglican Church in London, in response to groups of University students and faculty who were asking questions about Christianity and what it might mean to live as a Christian in today's world.
The Alpha Course normally runs for about 12 weeks, meeting once a week for a meal, a study session, and an open discussion. Because some of the material deals with adult situations and problems, the participants usually have to be eighteen or older.
Copyright © 2005 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
