Who was Mark? List as many likely facts about him as you can remember.

1. Who was Mark?List as many likely facts about him as you can remember. An Aramaic speaking Jew Knew Greek & wrote in Greek Missionary & Peter’s interpreter Also travelled with Paul? Argument. Wrote in Rome, AD 70 Possibly from Jerusalem - knew the disciples, but not himself a disciple of Jesus Possibly the young man who ran away naked in Gethsemane

2. Rome and the Early Christians • Read p. 12 in the AQA textbook “Rome in the 1st Century”. • 1. What was Rome like in the 1st Century? • Culturally/ racially • Religions practiced • **What would be the average Roman’s view of a Christian? To describe what life was like for the early Christians in 1st century Rome To explain why Romans were suspicious of Christians To explain why Mark’s gospel was written at this time

3. Write down the questions below, spacing them out. • Watch the video and answer the questions: • Who started the persecution of Christians in AD 64? What event? leave 2 lines. • Why did people hate the Christians? 4 lines. • What happened to them? 2 lines. • Which famous disciples died during this time? 2 lines. **What kind of people still chose to believe in Christianity? Why? From 12:40 -24:35

4. Read p. 22-23 AQA textbook. Mindmapthe reasons why Christians alone, out of all other religions in Rome, were mistrusted under 2 headings: 1. Enemies of the state, 2. Immoral. Why could suspicion of Christians be a reason for Mark writing his gospel? **How could Mark’s gospel help Christians during Nero’s persecutions ? • Enemies of the state? • refuse to recognise Roman gods/ sacrifice to them • antisocial – don’t go to city sacrifices, don’t accept invites where sacrificed meat eaten • Getting lots of converts - dangerous? • Threat to politics? (believe all people are equal) • Threat to trade - in idols/ lucky charms Christians Are Not Dangerous! • Immoral • Drowned their children? • Cannibals: ate human meat? • Incestuous: calling wives/ husbands “brothers” or “sisters”

5. Mark’s Gospel was written… • From faith, for faith… • For the Romans … • For the Christians.. Expand on these points to explain 3 reasons why Mark’s gospel was written. If you were a Roman living in Rome, with Christians being persecuted “made into sport” around you, how would you react??

6. Tacitus clearly hated the Christians. (How can you tell?) Why might he have hated them? Why did he feel some pity for them? **Does his account give evidence for Christianity? What does it prove? The Roman historian Tacitus wrote the following, in his book Annals a few years after Nero set fire to Rome (AD 116). Tacitus was a young boy living in Rome during the time of the Christian persecutions. "Therefore, to stop the rumour that he had set Rome on fire, he [Emperor Nero] falsely charged with guilt, and punished with the most fearful tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were generally hated for their enormities. ..but the pernicious superstition - repressed for a time, broke out yet again through the city of Rome also, whither all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters, as to a common receptacle, and where they are encouraged. Accordingly the first to be arrested, were those who confessed they were Christians… [and they were charged] not so much on the charge of burning the city, as of "hating the human race." In their very deaths they were made the subjects of sport: for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights. Nero offered his own garden players for the spectacle. For this cause a feeling of compassion arose towards the sufferers, though guilty and deserving of exemplary capital punishment, because they seemed not to be cut off for the public good, but were victims of the ferocity of one man."