background
- religion has always played a large role in Roman society
- however, the polytheistic system was very impersonal
- so...as the empire grew so did the new religion call Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth
- viewed as the Messiah or savior by Christians
- born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea
- baptized by John the Baptist
- he took up carpentry
- at the age of 30, he then took up ministry
history of Jesus
- historical records of the time mention very little about Jesus
- main source of information about his main teachings are the Gospels
- these gospels were written by his disciples or pupils, called apostles
Jesus death
- Jesus was growing in popularity and this concerned Roman and Jewish leaders
- a government of Rome named Pontius Pilate accused Jesus of defying the authority of Rome
- he then was crucified on a wooded cross
spreading Christianity
- after Jesus' death, the followers of Jesus continued to spread his ideas
- despite the large amount of political and religious oppositions
paul
- a man who really influenced the spreading of Christianity
- was once a Jew, and against Christianity
- he was able to do many of his speeches, and travel throughout the Roman empire because it was during Pax Romana
Charts
- Christian
- belief that Jesus is the Messiah
- acceptance of Gentiles and Jews alike
- Jewish
- belief that Jews are the chosen people
- adherence to Jewish law
- both
- belief in one God
- believe in the 10 commandments
organization chart
pope
Bishops Bishops Bishops
Priest Priest Priest Priest Priest
the people
persecution of Christians
- the main reason was that the refused the worship Roman Gods
- as Pax Romana began to crumble, persecutions of the Christians increased
- thousands were crucified, burned, or killed by wild animals in the circus arenas
- MARTYRS-were people willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of a belief or cause
popularity
- became a world religion for multiple reason
- embraced all people
- gave hope to the powerless
- appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome
- offered personal relationships with a loving God
- promised eternal life after death
Constantine accepting Christianity
- Constantine was fighting over the leadership of Rome
- he then prayed to the Christian God, and saw a cross
- he then ordered the artisans to paint the Christian symbols on the shields
- he was a successful in battle so began to accept Christianity
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