2000 Years Of Christianity: Episode IX - God And The Burdened

With the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, the Earth finally became round. Spanish and Portuguese adventurers assaulted and enslaved whole nations in the Americas. Millions of Native Americans succumbed to disease and exhaustion, therefore Christianity became the conqueror in their eyes. Their forced acceptance of it was merely superficial while they secretly retained their belief in their old gods and customs.

Only a very few voices against this genocide were raised in the Christian camp. To protect the native population fro the slave hunters, missionaries withdrew with them to isolated reservations. The attempts of individual missionaries to adapt to local traditions were successful on site but ultimately failed because of Roman centralism, which refused to tolerate any adaptation.

In 1620, The Mayflower landed the Pilgrims on the east coast of North America. The continent received a Calvinistic character and became the Promised Land for immigrants from Europe. Countless Protestant groups branched out farther and farther, mostly practicing peaceful coexistence.

This series explores the archeology and origins of Christianity and how it came into the world. Filmed on location in actual historical and biblical sites, this series features many memorable, full-scale dramatic re-creations.