The most important thing I gained in making this mind map is just how many different parts there are to Christianity, how they grew over the years, and how they all tie back to Jesus. Having it mapped out helped make the divide between the story of Jesus’ life, the gospels written about him, and how the early Church based their beliefs on those writings. I was able to understand how the canon gospels were selected, how things like the Gospel of Thomas or Gospel of Mary fit into early argument about doctrine, and why the Church itself emphasized ideas like trinity or apostolic succession. Once I had the whole picture, I could see better how teachings of Jesus became separate traditions like Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Events that felt like isolated historical fact, like the council of Nicea or Protestant refomation, had context and showed how they shaped what Christians believe today. In general, making the mind map helped condense a lot of information and gave me a lot more clarity on the development of Christianity.
