Download Judaism and Christianity

Judaism and Christianity
(Western World’s two first monotheistic religions)
• 1) Define Monotheism and explain 2 ways
Judaism was different from previous religions of
the time.
• 2) Explain 2 reasons why people were attracted
to Christianity.
• 3) Explain why Rome feared Christianity and later
helped Christianity.
• 4) Explain how the ideas of Christianity and
Judaism are reflected in American society and
politics today.
• Judaism- Jewish religion
– Torah- Jewish bible (Old Testament- story in the bible
before the birth of Jesus is based on Torah)
– Abraham- founder of Jews (2000BC), moved followers
to Canaan (Israel)
• Both Christian and Islamic ideas and beliefs are began with
Judaism
•
Beliefs of Judaism
– Monotheism- belief in one god (Judaism first Mono. religion)
– Morality- based on living a good life (not sacrifice and rituals to honor a god)
– Old Testament- People are created in god’s image, each person has a divine spark
and is therefore special
• *Each person has the ability to choose between good and evil, this is the origin
of the belief that all people can make wise decisions and can even decide what
is best for a country by voting (Democracy)
– **Analyze why Kings often made the claim they were more important than
ordinary citizens even though Judaism, which influenced Christianity, came
to the conclusion that all people are equal before God. How could Kings
claim to be more important that ordinary people when God said all people
are equal?
• Laws- Moses “founded” God’s Jewish laws 1200 BC
– Ten Commandments- based on morality, even leaders had to follow
the commandments (*Law is the same for everyone)
• Explain how 1 Commandment is still evident in our society today and
explain why? Explain why one commandment is no longer valid and
explain why?
– Prophets (700 BC) messengers from god, said life on earth could be
improved *Similar to American dream
• **Jewish laws are the basis of Christianity
• Christianity- Rome ruled the holy land when Jesus was born
– Jesus- “born 6-4 BC, he was a Roman subject and a Jew, began
preaching at thirty years old”
• Jewish ideas (preached by Jesus) monotheism and Ten
Commandments
– *Christianity emphasized God’s personal relationship with each
human being
– Identify what groups are most attracted to Christianity and
explain why?
• “King of the Jews”- Rome feared Jesus could be a political threat,
Jesus said people should not follow Rome’s laws and religion based
on Greek God’s, but God’s laws, Rome had Jesus killed by Crucifixion
at 33 years
– Christos- Greek word for “Messiah” or savior
– *Christos= Christianity
• Analyze why Rome found Jesus to be a threat by preaching
each person had a special relationship with God and that each
person was important before God?
• Teachings of Jesus- Spread slowly across Europe, previous Roman religion
based on Greek Gods
– Paul- spread Christianity, said Christianity a universal religion for all
people
• Stressed equality of all human beings and idea all people can be
saved
• Equality the basis of democracy and the US
– Explain why Christianity gained so much support and continues
to be the most popular religion in the world today? Can you
identify any regions around the world where Christianity is
incredibly popular?
• Rome- at first against Christianity (fed Christians to lions at Gladiator events
for entertainment)
– Official Religion- Christianity became the state religion of the Roman
Empire in 380 AD (helped spread Christianity around Europe)
• *Christianity now the main religion of Europe until the present
– Look at the map and describe how Rome helped spread Christianity and
make Christianity the most popular religion in Europe.
– Predict how Christianity is going to spread beyond Rome’s borders.