The Rise of Christianity

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The Rise of Christianity

• Chapter 6 Unit 3
• Notes

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The Rise of Christianity

• Main Idea
• RELIGIOUS AND ETHICAL SYSTEMS Christianity rose
  in Rome occupied Judea and spread through the
  Empire
• Why Now?
• Christianity has over a billion followers
• TERMS
• Jesus, Apostle, Paul, Diaspora, Constantine,
  bishop, Peter, and pope

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The Rise of Christianity

• Setting the Stage
• Roman gods were worshipped in an impersonal way
  and without emotion
• Christianity developed out of a movement in
  Judaism, emphasized personal relationships with
  God and people
• Attracted Romans

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The Life and Teaching of Jesus

• 63 BC Judea under Roman control, maintained
  independence till AD 6 province of the empire
• Jews believed that a Messiah (savior) would
  arrive and restore the Kingdom of the Jews

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The Life and Teachings of Jesus

• Jesus of Nazareth
• Between 6-4 BC a Jew names Jesus was born in
  Bethlehem, Judea
• Raised in Nazareth (N. of Palestine)
• Baptized by John the Baptist and became a
  carpenter
• 30 began public ministry
• 3 years taught, did good deeds, and performed
  miracles
• Monotheism
• 10 Commandments
• Emphasized personal relationship with God
• Love (for ALL, even enemies)
• Reward of eternal kingdom after death for those
  who repent

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The Life and Teachings of Jesus

• A Growing Movement
• Main source of information is from the Gospels
• Apostles Jesus disciples (pupils) wrote the
  Gospels
• Message appealed to poor (Jesus ignored wealth
  and social status)

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The Life and Teachings of Jesus

• Jesus Death
• His popularity concerned Roman leaders
• AD 29 he was greeted as a King (Messiah) in
  Jerusalem
• Chief Jewish priests denied he was the Messiah
  and said his teachings were blasphemy
• Roman Governor Pontius Pilate accused him of
  defying the authority of Rome
• Arrested and crucified

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The Life and Teachings of Jesus

• Jesus Death cont.
• Placed body in tomb - according to Gospels his
  body was gone after 3 days and he started
  appearing to his followers
• Then he ascended into heaven
• Ascension made his followers believe he was the
  Messiah
• Jesus Christ (Christos, Greek for messiah and
  savior) derives Christianity

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Christianity Spreads Through the Empire

• Followers continued to spread beliefs about Jesus
• Teachings were based on Jewish traditions BUT
  soon began to create a new religion
• Christianity spread slowly but steadily

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Christianity Spreads Through the Empire

• Pauls Mission
• Apostle, didnt follow Jesus, but had a vision of
  Christ and then devoted his life to Christs
  teachings
• Pax Romana allowed ideas to spread safely
• Common language - Latin and Greek
• Paul wrote Epistles (Letters) to believers
• Stressed Jesus as son of God who died for our
  sins
• Welcomed converts Jews or Gentiles (non-Jews)

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Christianity Spreads Through the Empire

• Jewish Rebellion
• In 66 a group of Jews revolted against Rome
• In 70 Rome stormed and destroyed the temple
• All that is left is the western wall (today the
  holy shrine of the Jews)
• 1/2 million Jews were killed in the rebellion
• 132 tried again to break free from Rome
• 1/2 million died again
• Religion survived but Jews were driven from
  homeland in what is known as the Diaspora.

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Christianity Spreads Through the Empire

• Persecution of the Christians
• Christians refused to worship Roman Gods\
• Rome saw as an opposition
• Also used to scapegoat political and economic
  problems
• Conclusion of the Pax Romana persecution
  intensified
• Made martyrs (person who sacrifices life for
  beliefs) for Christianity

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A World Religion

• Late 3rd c. million Christians in Roman Empire
• Christianity grew because
• Embraced all people
• Hope to powerless
• Appealed to people who didnt like extravagance
  of Rome
• Personal relationship with God
• Promised eternal life after death

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A World Religion

• Constantine Accepts Christianity
• 312 emperor Constantine was fighting in a battle
  and he prayed for divine help
• Saw a cross in the sky (symbol of Christianity)
• Ordered his men to put crosses on their shields
  and they WON
• Credited his success to the Christian God
• 313 ended the persecution of the Christians
• Edict of Milan declared Christianity to be one
  of the approved religions of the empire
• 380 Theodosius made it the official religion

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A World Religion

• Early Christian Church
• Hierarchy organized in ranks in an order where
  the levels are subject to authority of levels
  above
• Local level priests
• Bishops supervise priests and local churches
• Peter was the 1st bishop rock on which to build
  the church
• Pope father (head) of church, is the bishop of
  Rome should be the leader of the entire church

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A World Religion

• A Single Voice
• As Christianity grew disagreements grew
• New Testament official standard beliefs
• Added Hebrew bible, Christians call it the Old
  Testament
• 325 Constantine called a meeting in Nicaea,
  Anatolia Nicene Creed or basic beliefs of the
  Church

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A World Religion

• The Fathers of the Church
• Augustine, bishop in Hippo, N. Africa
• People needed the grace of God to be saved
• Had to received Sacraments to belong to the
  Church and achieve grace (salvation)
• The City of God written after the fall of Rome,
  fate of Rome not important because Gods city
  could never be destroyed
• Meanwhile Rome was crumbling.

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• Christianity
• belief that Jesus is Messiah
• Acceptance of Gentiles and Jews alike

• BOTH
• Belief in one God
• 10 Commandments

• Jewish
• Belief that Jews are the chosen people
• Adherence to Jewish laws

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What is Judaism

• First religion to teach the existence of one god
• The Torah (5 books of Hebrew Bible)
• 3 sects of Judaism (split happened in 19th c.
  over intepretation of the Torah)
• Reform Tried to adapt to western world
• Orthodox Follow dietary (kosher) laws and follow
  Torah literally
• Kosher Laws
• beast of earth that chew cub and have cloven
  hooves
• Fish must have fins and scales
• All fruits and vegetables are kosher (excluding
  grapes) unless there is a bug on it
• Conservative Tries to balance the Reform and the
  Orthodox Jews

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What is Christianity?

• Belief that Jesus is the son of God
• It is based on the life and teaching of Jesus
• Largest world religion - 2 billion followers
• Christianity can be broken into 3 groups
• Roman Catholic
• Protestant (Lutheran, Episcopal, Mormon,
  Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist)
• Eastern Orthodox