Download The Rise of Christianity

The Rise of Christianity
Chapter 6 Unit 3
Notes
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
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
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
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
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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
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)
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
The Life and Teachings of Jesus
Jesus’ Death con’t….
 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
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
Christianity Spreads Through the Empire
Paul’s Mission
 Apostle, didn’t follow Jesus, but had a vision
of Christ and then devoted his life to Christ’s
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)
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.
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
A World Religion
 Late 3rd c. million Christians in Roman
Empire
 Christianity grew because:
– Embraced all people
– Hope to powerless
– Appealed to people who didn’t like
extravagance of Rome
– Personal relationship with God
– Promised eternal life after death
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
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
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
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 God’s city
could never be destroyed
 Meanwhile Rome was crumbling….
Christianity
BOTH
Jewish
-belief that Jesus
is Messiah
-Belief in one
God
-Acceptance of
Gentiles and
Jews alike
-10
Commandments
-Belief that Jews
are the chosen
people
-Adherence to
Jewish laws
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
What is Christianity?
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


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