Section Three: The Rise of Christianity

I. The Life and Teachings of Jesus–Roman worship of gods was impersonal –Christianity, religion born of Judaism, stressed

personal relationship b/w man and God, attracted many Romans

–63 BC- Rome had taken control of Judea, home of the Jews

– Jews believed they would be saved by a “messiah” promised to them by God to restore the kingdom of the Jews

–Many Jews believed that Jesus was this messiah

A. Jesus’ Message• 4 BC- Jesus born in Bethlehem, Judea• began public ministry at age 30• teachings consisted of Jewish traditions such as

monotheism and principles of the Ten Commandments

• Stressed importance of ppl’s love for God• Claimed he was son of Yahweh sent to estb a

“new covenant” faith in Jesus= enter heaven

Jesus’ Teachings continued…• Appealed to poor b/c ignored wealth, taught

that God loved all ppl• 12 special disciples, or students, later known as

Apostles• Most info. about Jesus written in Gospels= first 4

books of New Testament of Jewish Bible • As his fame grew, it was thought that he was the

long awaited Messiah

B. Jesus’ Death• Jesus’ popularity concerned Roman & Jewish

leaders• Chief priests of Jews worried Jesus’ popularity

threatened their power, denied Jesus was Messiah and labeled his teachings blasphemy (against God’s teachings)

• Chief priest persuaded Pontius Pilate to have Jesus arrested/crucified

Jesus’ Death continued… • After death Jesus’ body put in a tomb• According to Gospels, Jesus rose from the dead,

ascended into heaven• became known as Jesus the Christos - Greek

meaning “messiah” or “savior”= Christianity • Follower’s beliefs became stronger since Jesus

had triumphed over death• Peter and other apostles spread Jesus’ teachings

throughout Palestine & Syria

II. Christianity Spreads through the Empire• Jesus’ teachings did not contradict Jewish law

so his first followers were Jews• Followers created new religion based on

Jesus’ teachings called Christianity, • slowly began to spread through Roman

Empire

A. Paul’s Mission• Apostle Paul influenced Christianity’s dev.• Spread and interpreted Christ’s teachings• Travel made easy during Pax Romana; allowed

Paul to spread his message• Koine Greek allowed for spread too

• Paul wrote letters to churches and followers all over the Roman Empire- letters eventually collected & combined w/ other written records of Jesus’ life to make New Testament of the Bible

• Paul stressed Jesus was God’s son and died for people’s sins

• Welcomed all converts Jewish or Gentile (non-Jew)• universality allowed Christianity to become more

than just a local religion

Spread of Christianity

B. Jewish Rebellion• Much Roman attention focused on land of Jesus’

birth• 66 AD Jews rebelled against Rome• 70 AD Romans stormed Jerusalem, destroyed

Temple complex• Half a million Jews killed in rebellion• 132 AD Jews rebel again- another half million

killed• Religion survived, political state did not• After failure of 2 rebellions, Jews driven from

homeland, scattering of Jews around the world= Diaspora

*

Jewish Diaspora

C. Persecution of the Christians• Romans had problem w/ Christians b/c they

refused to worship Roman gods• Used Christians as scapegoats, blamed them

for any political or economic troubles in Rome • Nero blamed Christians for a great fire in Rome

(unclear who/how fire actually started)

• Nero persecuted Christians, had apostles Peter and Paul killed

• Pax Romana began to fall apart, persecution of Christians intensified- Romans began to exile, imprison, execute Christians

• Those executed seen as martyrs-ppl willing to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs

• Despite persecution, Christianity became a powerful religious force

• 3rd century AD- millions of Christians in Roman Empire & beyond

III. A World Religion- Why did so many accept this new religion?A. Appeal of Christianity1. embraced all ppl2. gave hope to powerless3. appealed to ppl repelled by extravagance of

Rome4. personal relationship w/ a loving God5. promised eternal life after death - Which aspect is most appealing to ppl?

B. Early Christian Church• Christians organized their religion similar to structure

of Roman hierarchy• Small groups led by a priest, w/ a bishop leading

several small groups• All major cities had their own Bishop • Bishop of Rome was considered leader of whole

Christian church= Pope

Pope (Bishop of Rome)

Bishop of other City

Priest Priest

Bishop of other City

Priest Priest

C. Constantine Accepts Christianity• conversion of Constantine, Roman emperor • Constantine’s at war, prays for divine help • claims he saw a cross, symbol of

Christianity=ordered cross put on soldiers’ shields• Constantine won battle, gave credit to Christian

God• 313 AD Constantine ordered end of persecution of

Christians • Edict of Milan- granted all men freedom to follow

religion of their choice

D. Discord and Harmony• As Christianity grew, disagreements about beliefs

developed • Any teaching that appeared to contradict basic

teachings= heresy• To end conflicts, Church leaders sought to create a

single standard belief• Eventually wrote Nicene Creed-defined basic

beliefs of the Church• As Christianity continued to grow/spread, the

Roman Empire itself was weakening and beginning to crumble

Top Religions of the World

Religion Members Percentage

Christianity 2.1 billion 33.0%

Islam 1.5 billion 21

Hinduism 900 million 14

Buddhism 376 million 6

Sikhism 23 million 0.36

Judaism 14 million 0.22

Bahaism 7 million 0.1

Confucianism 6.3 million 0.1

Jainism 4.2 million 0.1

Shintoism 4 million 0.0