Section 4: The Rise of Christianity

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Section 4 The Rise of Christianity

• Mystery Religions
• Cult of Isis
• Offered women equal status with men
• Mithras
• Championed good over evil and offered life after
  death
• Rome tolerated the various religious traditions
• As long as citizens showed loyalty to Roman gods
  and acknowledged the divine spirit of the emperor.

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Divisions in Judea

• 63 B.C. Romans conquered Judea, where most of the
  Jews of the time lived.
• Romans excused Jews from worshipping Roman gods.
• Zealots
• Called on Jews to revolt against Rome and
  reestablish an independent state.
• Messiah, anointed king sent by God, would soon
  appear to lead to Jewish people to freedom.

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Jewish Revolt

• A.D. 66 Roman forces crushed the rebels
• Captured Jerusalem
• Destroyed the Jewish temple
• Roman armies leveled Jerusalem
• Many Jews decided to leave Judea
• Jewish rabbis extended and preserved the
  religious law as set forth in the Talmud

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Jesus and His Message

• Founder of Christianity
• Gospels
• First four books of the New Testament
• Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
• Born about 4 B.C. in Bethlehem
• Worshipped God and followed Jewish law
• Apostles, a person sent forth
• Twelve close followers
• Roman authorities? a revolutionary who might lead
  the Jews in a rebellion against Roman rule.

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Spread of Christianity

• Paul
• Jew from Asia Minor
• Had never seen Jesus
• Had a vision in which Jesus spoke to him
• Spread the teachings of Jesus to gentiles,
  non-Jews
• Journeyed around the Mediterranean and set up
  churches from Mesopotamia to Rome.
• His letters explained difficult doctrines, judged
  disputes, and expanded Christian teachings
• Apart of the new Testament

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Persecution

• Rome did not tolerate Christianity
• Christians refused to make sacrifices to the
  emperor or to honor the Roman gods.
• Roman rulers used Christians as scapegoats,
  blaming them for social or economic ills.
• Thousands of Christians became martyrs, people
  who suffer or die for their beliefs.

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Reasons for Christianitys Appeal

• Found comfort in Jesus message of love
• Welcomed all people
• Equality, human dignity, and the promise of a
  better life
• Incorporated the discipline and moderation of
  Greek philosophy
• Christian documents written in Greek or Latin,
  languages that many people understood
• Impressed by the strength of Christians belief.

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Triumph

• Persecution ended with the Edict of Milan
• Emperor Constantine
• Granted freedom of worship to all citizens of the
  Roman empire

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The Early Christian Church

• A person fully joined the Christian community by
  renouncing evil in the rite of baptism.
• Through baptism sins were forgiven by the grace
  of God
• Members of the community are equals
• Gather each Sunday as a thanksgiving to God
• Eucharist
• Sacred meal in which baptized ate bread and drank
  wine

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Structure of the Church

• Each Christian community had its own priest
• Only men allowed to be members of the clergy
• Bishop? church official responsible for all
  Christians in a diocese? district or region under
  the care of a bishop.
• Patriarch? highest church official in a major
  city.

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Divisions in the Church

• Bishops in Rome? popes began to claim greater
  authority over all other bishops.
• Greek-speaking east patriarchs felt that the five
  patriarchs should share spiritual authority as
  equals.
• Heresies? beliefs said to be contrary to official
  Church teachings.
• Church leaders met to decide official Christian
  teachings.
• Sent out missionaries to convert people to
  Christianity

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Theology and Scholarship

• Theology? talk or discourse about God.
• Clement and Origen
• Leading scholars of the early Christian Church
• Lived and worked as teachers in Alexandria
• Both wrote in Greek
• Could reach a deeper understanding through
  reflection
• Augustine
• Bishop of Hippo in North Africa
• Wrote The City of God