Image 3.3 DOMENICO GHIRLANDAIO, VOCATION OF THE APOSTLES (1481)1 Christianity experienced powerful movements for renewal throughout its history, far more frequently and consequentially than any other major religion. Why? First, it was heir to the Hebrew prophetic tradition. From the time of Abraham, several dozen seers imparted to the Jewish people divine revelations of God’s wrath, promises of glory and protection, impending destruction, calls to righteousness, and assurances of the coming of a messiah. Christians enthusiastically embraced these stories of intimate connection to God and saw their complete fulfillment in the person of Jesus, whom they proclaimed the Messiah. Yet, secondly, Jesus himself presented a vision of apocalyptic redemption beyond anything foreseen in the Old Testament. Instead of earthly success and political security, which most Jews hoped for, Jesus promised a Kingdom of God to all who believed in him, including and most especially the poor and the meek. This Kingdom would bring love, peace, and justice for eternity at the time of Christ’s second coming. In the meantime, Jesus imposed on his followers demands all but impossible to fulfill: to love one’s enemies, to attach little importance to material things, and to become a servant to others. Inevitably the ecclesiastical institutions that arose to promote these deeds fell woefully short. The image reproduced below is a fresco painted for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican in Rome by the Italian Renaissance artist Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449–94). For the image’s original Internet location, click here. 1 Image provided courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. .