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The Ancient Romans
The Beginnings of Christianity
Religion and the Romans
• The Greek culture influenced Roman
religion. The Romans basically renamed all
of the same gods and goddesses.
gods was an important
• Worship of the __________
part of Roman public and private life.
Religion and the Romans
worship of the
• The Romans believed that proper _____________
protected the empire from harm.
gods _________________
governmenttook control of
• As Rome grew, the ___________________
choosing religious leaders and made laws to
________________
those who did not worship the Roman
punish
gods.
A New Alternative
• Unlike the Roman religion, some other
religions promised rewards for believers.
• In Roman ______________
provinces some people followed
a religion that promised believers that their
soulsbe saved from evil and that
__________ would
there would be life after death.
salvation
• This promise of ___________________
changed
people’s thinking about religion and made
Christianity very popular.
Jesus and His Teachings
• ___________________
Christianity is based on the life and
teaching of Jesus.
• He taught that there is one God and told of the
coming of God’s Kingdom.
• People followed him.
•
•
Under Roman Control
Wherever Jesus taught, he gained new followers.
He told his ________________, his closest followers,
disciples
to love their enemies.
A Savior Arrives
• One belief of Judaism is that
person sent by God will come to
bring justice to the world. Some
people started to think that he
messiah
was the ______________
sent by
God.
• Roman leaders were afraid that
Jesus’ teaching would stir
________________
rebellion against
Roman rule. They ordered his
death.
Back From the Dead
• Jesus’ followers said that three days after his
death, he rose from the dead.
• The story of this __________________
resurrection spread
throughout the empire.
The Spread of Christianity
apostles
• The ________________,
or people sent
out to teach others, taught about
Jesus.
• Christians refused to worship
Roman gods, so Romans began to
persecutethem.
_________________
• Many Christians died as
martyrs for their beliefs.
_____________
Spreading the Word
• Christians began writing about
Jesus’ life, death, and
resurrection in the
Gospels
______________________.
• Writings by Christians played
an important role in the spread
of Christianity.
• Paul’s letters, the Gospels, and
other writing were combined to
form the New Testament.
Rome and the New Religion
• Around A.D. 313, the Roman emperor
Constantine made Christianity an accepted
religion, so persecution stopped.
Theodosius I
• In A.D. 392, under the emperor ________________,
Christianity became the empire’s official
religion.
• Its leader was a ____________.
pope