Section Three: The Rise of Christianity
Dec 31, 2015
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
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
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