Download Christianity and the Roman World

Christianity and the
Roman World
The Gospels were attempts by various early Christian
writers to come to terms with the challenges facing the
new religious community which still saw itself as being
Jewish.
These accounts were written 40 to 60 years after the life
of Jesus. Needless to say, each gospel gives a different
account of who Jesus was and what his life and ministry
meant to the community.
Who was St. Paul?
•Originally called Saul, he was a Pharisee
who believed that Christianity was a
threat to the Jewish religion.
•He had a conversion experience on his
way to Damascus. He changed his name
from the Jewish “Saul” to the Roman
name “Paul”.
•He became the greatest Christian
missionary of the 1st century.
•Much of Christian scripture is his letters
to various churches he started around the
Roman Empire.
Paul was successful as a missionary for a variety of reasons:
•He spoke and wrote Greek, the language of the eastern half of the
Roman Empire.
•Paul was a Hellenized Jew. He was familiar with Greek thought and
culture and could frame the Christian message in a way that appealed
to many in Greek society.
How Paul Changed The Christian Message:
Opened Christianity up to all people – no difference between Jew and Gentile
–
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the
deeds of the law (Torah). Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not
also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one
God who will justify the circumcised (Jews) by faith and the uncircumcised
(Non-Jews) through faith.”
Romans 3:27-30
•Christianity takes on a decidedly universalistic and egalitarian bent.
•Christianity becomes the spiritual equivalent of Roman citizenship.
The Jewish Diaspora
In 70 CE the Roman Empire decided to end the
Jewish rebellions once and for all.
The Roman Army entered Jerusalem and destroyed
the Temple.
Fleeing for their lives Jews and Jewish-Christians fled
the city and moved to different parts of the Roman
Empire.
This Diaspora helped spread the Christian message to
new parts of the empire.
It is the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple that leads to the writing of the first gospel –
Mark.
It also seems to be the first attempt by the Christians to create an identity separate from
Judaism.
Why Were The Christians Persecuted?
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Christianity met with much success
but also with much suspicion.
They denied the existence of the
Roman gods and were therefore
considered to be atheists.
Their refusal to worship the
emperor was considered treason.
The actual presence of Jesus’ body
and blood in the Eucharist was
distorted into cannibalism.
Because the Christians saw
themselves as a separate and holy
people they limited their contact
with outsiders and were therefore
considered ‘haters of humanity’.
Christ as Emperor
Persecuted for two centuries, Christianity in the 4th century found its status
changed from outsider to imperial insider.
How Did Christianity Become The Religion of
The Late Roman Empire?
•The classical ideals that had held the Roman
Empire together were beginning to weaken.
•The sheer multiplicity of religions and
philosophies made it impossible for a
common, centralizing vision to hold all/most
of the people together.
•Roman citizenship did not have the status it
once had under Augustus and the “good
emperors”.
•Constantine, if he was to hold the empire
together, needed something to unify the
empire once again.
•Christianity seemed to have the right mix of classical
thinking and mystery religion influences to appeal to a
wide spectrum of people.
•Its universalist message would allow all segments of
society to join.
•Christianity inspired devotion which if harnessed
correctly by the government could help rebuild Roman
society.
•In 313 CE Constantine issued the Edict of Milan –
Christianity was now to be tolerated like the other
accepted religions of the empire.
•By the time of Theodosius I in 392 CE Christianity had
become the state religion of the empire.
•Christian bishops now used their new found power to
begin persecuting and stamping out the old religions of
the empire.
•Bishop of Hippo in Northern Africa (354-430CE)
•Attended school in Carthage where he studied the Latin
classics.
•The problem of evil motivated his personal searches for
truth.
•Was a Manichaean but eventually became a Christian
through the influence of St. Ambrose the bishop of Milan.
•Was appointed bishop of Hippo in 395.
•Confessions impacts Western literature to this day.
•His most famous and influential work was:
The City of God
St. Augustine
•In The City of God Augustine created what would be the
Christian outlook for centuries and heralds the end of the
Classical Age.
•Augustine believed that the ideal city on earth was
impossible. Original Sin made it impossible to establish a
perfect society. The only “perfect city” was in heaven.
•Although reason was useful, by itself it could not discover
nor comprehend the mysteries of the divine that were
revealed through the person of Jesus
•Society would always have abusive aspects – the Christian
can only hope to limit the extent of the abuse
•The City of Man (Rome) should not be confused with the
City of God (Heaven). Therefore, the sacking of Rome did
not impact the validity of the Christian Faith.
In 529 CE Plato’s academy in Athens closes its doors forever.
It is the same year that St. Benedict opens his monastery in
Monte Cassino.