The Rise of Christianity
Life and Teachings of Jesus
- Roman power spread to Judea a town of the Jews in 63 BC
- Rome took control of it and made it a province of the empire
- roughly 2 decades after this, the Jews believed the Messiah was on his way
- Jesus of Nazareth
- historians believe around 6 to 4 BC the king of the Jews, Jesus, was born in Bethlahem in Judea
- he was baptized by John the Baptist
- began his public ministry at age 30
- A Growing Movement
- historical records mention very little about Jesus
- main source of information is from the Gospels, some thought to be written by his apostles
- Jesus' fame grew as he preached from town to town
- his minstry reached out to the poor
- Jesus' Death
- his growing popularity concerned Roman and Jewish leaders
- crowds greeted him as he entered Jerusalem about AD 29
- the chief priests of the Jews denied he was the Messiah
- Pontius Pilate let the Romans crucify him
- three days after his burial he rose
- Christos is a Greek word meaning "messiah" or "savior"
Christianity Spreads Through the Empire
- Jesus' followers spread his ideas
- the new religion of Christianity spread slowly but steadily through the Roman Empire
- the apostle Paul majorly influenced Christianity's development and spent his life spreading and interpreting his teachings
- the Pax Romana allowed Christianity to spread
- Paul declared Gentile or Jew to follow Jesus, this diversity allowed the religion to spread
- Jewish Rebellion
- in AD 66 a group of Jews rebelled against Rome
- in AD 70 the Romans stormed Jerusalem and destroyed the temple
- about half a million Jews were killed in this rebellion
- in AD 132 the Jews tried to escape Rome again, with another half million killed throughout 3 years of fighting
- Jewish political state ceased to exist for more than 1,800 years
- most Jews were driven into exile, called the Diaspora
- Christians also refused to worship Roman gods and were persecuted
- crucified, burned, or killed by wild animals in circus arenas
- persecuted christians were known as martyrs, people who die for their faith
A World Religion
- Christianity became a powerful force
- by late 3rd century AD, millions of Christians were in the Roman Empire and more
- it grew because
- embraced everyone
- gave hope to the powerless
- appealed to those repelled by Rome
- offered a personal relationship with a loving God
- promised eternal life after death
- in AD 312 Roman emperor Constantine was fighting three rivals for leadership of Rome
- prayed for help before the battle and swore he saw an image of a cross and ordered it to be put on his soldiers' shields
- victorious in battle, gave credit to God
- in 380 emperor Theodosius made it the official religion
- Early Christian Church
- religion had some structure: bishop, priests, all that traced their authority back to Jesus' disciple Peter
- eventually every major city had its own bishop
- later bishops claimed to be heirs of Peter and that he was the first Pope, and that the bishop of Rome was the leader of the church, and that as Rome was the capital it seemed logical for it to be the center of the church
- as Christianity grew, disagreements about beliefs developed
- church leaders tried to set a single official standard of belief compiled in the NT
- in AD 325 Constantine had the Nicene Creed written defining the basic beliefs of the church
- the "Fathers of the Church" were influential in defining the teachings
- one of the most important was Augustine bishop of Hippo
- his book "The City of God" was written after Rome was plundered in the fifth century
- as Christianity grew, Rome began to crumble
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