1 / 20

The Rise of Christianity

Explore the rise of Christianity during the early Roman Empire, including its interactions with diverse religions, the impact of Roman rule on the Jews, the life and teachings of Jesus, the persecution of Christians, and the spread of Christianity as a world religion.

williamsronald
Download Presentation

The Rise of Christianity

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Rise of Christianity

  2. Early Empire Includes Diverse Religions • Polytheism • Stoicism=Cicero • Cult of Isis=started in Egypt, women equal to men • Cult of Mithras=Persian, good over evil, life after death, military following

  3. Roman Government allowed other religions as long as citizens showed loyalty by honoring the Roman gods, paying taxes, and not rebelling.

  4. Jews Come Under Roman Rule • Roman power spread to Judea (Palestine) around 63 B.C.E. • Jerusalem “Romanized”, King Herod • Jews began to revolt

  5. Judea was made a Roman province in A.D. 6 • Sanhedrin, Jewish court, had control • Two factions of Jews: one wanted to rid homeland of Romans, other believed God would send a Messiah to save them (Essenes)

  6. Born in Bethlehem, Judea around 4 B.C.E. • Jew and Roman subject • Raised in Nazareth • Carpenter Jesus

  7. Jesus’ Message: • Began ministry at 30 • Did good works, reportedly performed miracles • Continued traditional Jewish beliefs

  8. Emphasized God’s personal relationship to each human being • Love God, your neighbors, and your enemies • Repent of your sins and go to Heaven

  9. Jesus had pupils or followers that were his disciples. Not much is written in historical records about Jesus.

  10. Most information about him comes from the Gospels (Good News) and epistles written by apostles found in the Holy Bible.

  11. Jesus’ Death: • His popularity grew which upset Jewish and Roman leaders • Jewish priests said he was a blasphemer, not a messiah • Roman leaders thought he challenged Roman authority, “kingdom of God is at hand”

  12. Jesus was arrested and sentenced to death by crucifixion by Pontius Pilate, the Governor of Judea, for plotting to overthrow the Roman government.

  13. After Jesus’ death his body was placed in a tomb. According to the Gospels, three days later his body was gone, and a living Jesus began appearing to his followers. Then Jesus ascended into heaven. Jesus came to be known as Christ, from Christos the Greek word for “messiah” or “savior”.

  14. Christianity Spreads: • First followers were Jews, then non-Jewish peoples converted • Paul of Tarsus, traveled and wrote to churches (epistles) • Common languages in Empire, also roads helped it spread • Universal, accepted everyone

  15. Jewish Rebellion (Jewish War): • A.D. 66, Zealots rebelled against Rome • A.D. 70, Romans destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem, except West Wall • A.D. 132, another rebellion • The Jewish political state ceased to exist until 1948. • Diaspora or dispersal from homeland

  16. Persecution of the Christians: • Christians refused to worship Roman gods or emperor • Peter and Paul put to death around 60 C.E. • Many Christians became martyrs • Numbers kept rising, missionaries spread the faith

  17. Christianity, A World Religion: • Embraced all people (male/female, rich/poor) • Gave hope to the powerless • Offered a personal relationship with a loving God • Eternal life after death

  18. Structure: priests at local level, bishop over several churches, bishop of Rome was the Pope • Peter: first bishop of Rome, the “rock”, first Pope or head of Christian Church

  19. The conversion of Emperor Constantine made it legal to be Christian through the Edict of Milan in 313 C.E. • 325 C.E., disputes over beliefs led to the Nicene Creed • 380 C.E., Emperor Theodosius made it the official religion of the Empire

More Related