Download BS09 -HANDOUT - TheRiseOfChristianity

Grade 9: Global History (Period
4,5,6,8,9)
UNIT TITLE: Ancient Rome and Early Christianity
Lesson 4
Topic: The Rise of Christianity
1/22/09
Aim: Why did Christianity spread in the Roman Empire?
Objectives: At the completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
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Summarize the life of Jesus.
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Explain the reasons for the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
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Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the characteristics of Christianity and Judaism.
Materials:
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Reading Activity – The Rise of Christianity.
Venn Diagram – Comparing Religions: Venn Diagram
Handout – The Persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire.
Anticipatory Set:
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Write the definition of “Persecution” on the board (mistreatment of an individual or group by another
group) Ask students to list an example of persecution that they have experienced or learned about.
Input:
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Conduct Motivation exercise. (5 Min)
o Explain to students that Christianity arose and spread during Roman times. This faith
became extremely common in the United States and around the world.
Distribute Reading Activity – The Rise of Christianity. (15 Min)
o Volunteered or selected students will read each paragraph and the teacher will provide
a summary of the paragraph’s contents.
o Students will be given time with their partners to identify the provided historical
characters and terms.
o Students will use the organizer to outline the reasons why Christianity spread in the
Roman Empire.
Distribute Venn Diagram – Comparing Religions: Venn Diagram (15 Min)
o
Pairs of students will use what they have learned about the religions of
Christianity and Judaism in order to compare and contrast each faith.
Guiding Questions:
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How were Jesus’ teachings at odds with Roman values and religious ideas? (taught love and acceptance
rather than strength and power; taught monotheism vs. worship of many gods)
Why might both the Romans and the chief Jewish priests have felt threatened by Jesus? (He was popular
and preached to the poor and the powerless)
Guided Practice:
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Teacher will circulate the classroom in order to ensure student understanding and completion of the
activity.
Closure:
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Class will reconvene and students will share their responses. (10 Min)
Ask students: “Why do you think Roman leaders were so opposed to the rise of a new religion among
their subjects? Explain your answer.”
Possible answer: They feared that it would lead to a rebellion.
Distribute Handout – The Persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire
Independent Practice:

Handout – The Persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire
Name:
Global History
Mr. Lombardi
Date:
One group of people that lost its land to the Romans was the
Jews. Many Jews wanted the Romans to leave their land.
Others hoped for the coming of the Messiah, the savior.
According to Jewish tradition, god promised the Messiah
would restore the kingdom of the Jews.
At age thirty, Jesus began to preach many ideas from Jewish
traditions, such as the Ten Commandments and the belief in
one god (monotheism). According to Jesus’ followers called
apostles, he performed many miracles, which caused his
popularity to grow. Some believed him to be the long awaited Messiah. However, the Jews
did not believe that his teachings were from god. During the Diaspora, Jews were driven
from their homes by the Romans and became scattered around the world. The Romans put
Jesus to death when they feared that his teachings would motivate the people to rebel.
The Roman government viewed Christians as a threat to the Empire because they refused to
obey the Emperor. Therefore, many were crucified or burned alive for not abandoning
(leaving) their religion. However, Christianity continued to spread for many reasons. First, it
accepted all believers, whether they were rich or poor or male or female. Second, it gave
hope to those being harmed by the Romans and made them moral. Third, it allowed for a
personal relationship with God and offered the promise of life after death.
As the church grew, it became more organized. Bishops were in charge of the small churches
in each area while the pope was the head of the church. In AD 313, the Roman emperor
Constantine said that Christians would no longer be persecuted (harmed) and accepted their
religion. Soon after, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Define/ Identify:
1. Messiah - __________________________ 4. Diaspora -________________________
2. Jesus - ____________________________ 5. Bishops - ________________________
3. Apostles - _________________________ 6. Pope - ___________________________
Use the organizer below to outline the reasons why Christianity spread in the Roman
Empire.
Spread of Christianity
Name:
Global History
Mr. Lombardi
Date:
Christianity
TEACHER COPY
Belief that Jesus is the Messiah
Acceptance of all people
Persecuted by the Romans
Holy Book: Bible
Holy day: Sunday
Holy city: Jerusalem
Belief in One God (Monotheistic)
Ten Commandments
Believe in Messiah
Worshipers have a relationship with god
Acceptance of all people
Holy Books are Similar
Both have a holy day every week
Judaism
Believe in Messiah
Believe that Jews are the chosen people
Acceptance of all People
Holy Book: Torah
Holy Day: Friday night to Saturday night
Holy city: Jerusalem
BOTH
Name:
Global History
Mr. Lombardi
Date:
Christianity
Messiah: ___________________
Acceptance of__________________________
Persecuted by: __________________
Holy book: ____________________
Holy day: _____________________
Holy city: _____________________
Belief in _____ God (_______theistic)
Ten _________________
______________________________________________________
Worshipers have a relationship with god
_________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
____________________________
Judaism
Messiah: _________________________
Believe that Jews are the chosen people
Acceptance of _______________________
Holy book: ______________________
Holy day: _____________________
Holy city: _____________________
BOTH
Name:
Global History
Mr. Lombardi
Date:
Historical background:
Between the years 30 AD and 33 AD, a Jew named Jesus
preached his religious message in the Roman controlled
state of Palestine in the Middle East. Fearful of the
growing power of Jesus and his followers, the Roman
governor of Palestine arrested Jesus as a political rebel
and ordered that he be crucified, the typical punishment for criminals.
Jesus’ followers (apostles) spread the message of Christianity throughout the Roman
Empire following the death of Jesus. Those who converted to Christianity were often
persecuted and executed by Roman authorities.
Directions:
Analyze the following document to the best of your knowledge and answer the questions that
follow.
“The teachings of Christ tells us that “Thou shall not kill” and that “Those who take
up the sword, shall perish by the sword.” Therefore we shall not join the Roman
legions (army) and kill strangers in a strange land. And if the Emperor decides that we
must be executed for upholding our beliefs, we gladly become martyrs.”
– Paulus, Roman Christian
1. According to the document, how are the teachings of Christ similar to the laws of
the Ten Commandments?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. Based on the document, why does the emperor want to execute the Christians?
Explain your answer using evidence from the document.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________