The Rise of Christianity

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The Rise of Christianity

• Rome conquered Judea in 63 BCE
• The Jews ruled their own territory but didnt
  like being under Roman influence
• To help control the population the Romans let the
  Jews control religious local affairs
• Different groups developed One called Zealots,
  another looked for the Messiah, or savior

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Rise of Christianity

• Judea was ruled by Herod (the Great) who ruled
  with an iron hand
• After his death the Jews revolted against the
  Romans

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Talks began about the coming of the Messiah, or
anointed one, who would defeat the Romans
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• Jesus was born in a town called Bethlehem
• The exact date isnt known, but probably
  somewhere between 6 4 BCE

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• Except for the 4 Gospels, there are no
  present-day historical records referring to
  Jesus, so these books are what we base our
  historical knowledge on

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• Little is know about his childhood
• He actually doesnt begin teaching until he was
  30
• Many of his teachings were based upon the Jewish
  traditions. Monotheism, 10 Commandments, love for
  everyone including God
• Here is being baptized by his cousin, John the
  Baptist before he begins his preaching

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• He spoke of an end of times when evil would end
• Jesus had 12 core followers called disciples or
  apostles
• Like other religions founded on an individual,
  Jesus distained wealth and material objects and
  status. He preached that the meek would inherit
  the earth. Within Judea he established a large
  following

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• Jesus preached for 3 years staying in a small
  portion of Judah near his hometown of Nazareth.
• Here he his apostles are enacting the
  Last Supper

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• Jesus made enemies with both the Roman and
  Jewish leaders.
• Romans felt he was challenging their authority
  (King of the Jews)
• Jewish religious leaders thought he was a menace
  to their way of life religion
• Pontius Pilate had him arrested and would have
  him crucified sometime between 29-36 CE. The
  emperor at this time was Tiberius

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• Jesus punishment was crucifixion, an extremely
  cruel way to put someone to death (basically the
  subject suffocates when they are no longer able
  to lift themselves up to get a breath). Some
  lasted 3 or 4 days, but Jesus died the same day

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• His body was placed in a tomb.
• 3 days later his body was gone, having descended
  to heaven
• The apostles were convinced he was the Messiah
• He was called Christ, which translated means
  messiah or savior

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• Both Peter Paul were martyred in Rome around
  the time of the burning of Rome in 64CE
• Peter was crucified upside down. Legend says he
  asked to be crucified this way because he didnt
  feel equal to Jesus
• Paul was beheaded (he was a Roman citizen which
  spared him from crucifixion)

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• Peter, whos actual name was Simon, was given the
  name Peter by Jesus (in Greek Petra means rock)
  and said and on this rock I will build my
  church
• The followers began to be known as Christians, or
  followers of Christ
• They took different symbols with the most
  important being the cross to symbolize their
  beliefs.

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• Probably no person is more responsible for the
  spread of Christianity than St. Paul
• Half the New Testament was written by him
• Originally he was one who traveled and persecuted
  Christians, he had a conversion and became their
  most vocal proponent

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• Christians would not worship the emperor as god
  which caused problems between them
• Some Roman emperors didnt like them and would
  periodically have them persecuted
• After the Fire of Rome in 64 CE, to deflect
  rumors that he had caused it, Nero blamed the
  Christians and they were killed by murder,
  crucifixion, and being eaten by wild animals at
  the Colosseum.

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• Under the city of Rome, Christians conducted
  secret meetings and buried members in what are
  called the catacombs

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• There are no reliable numbers as to how many
  died
• Persecution continued in various degrees
  (Diocletians Edict against Christians in 303 was
  the last 3,500 5,000 killed
• Not only did is survive but it thrived.

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• The appeal of Christianity was for a number of
  reasons
• Like Buddhism, it embraced all levels of society
  
• Gave hope to the powerless (meek shall inherit
  the earth)

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Appealed to those repulsed by the extravagances
of Imperial Rome
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• Offered a personal relationship with a loving
  God
• Promised eternal life after death

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• Learning from Rome itself the early church
  created a structure hierarchy.
• At the local level was the PRIEST

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• Supervising several churches was the BISHOP
• Later the bishop of Rome would become the leader
  of the Western Church called the POPE

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• The new faith gets a strong endorsement from
  Constantine
• As typically happened when the emperor died, the
  generals with the strongest armies would fight to
  see who would be the next emperor.
• Constantine was facing opposition from a number
  of upstarts (by 305 he was recognized as the
  Western Emperor)

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• Outside of Rome, at the Milvian Bridge,
  Constantines army faced Maxentius (Bridge on
  the Tiber seen above)

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Outnumbered, Constantine had a dream he was to
put the sign of the cross on his soldiers shields
and God would give him the victory. Constantine
was victorious
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• The next year, 313 CE, Constantine ended
  Christian persecution
• Later Christianity would become an approved
  religion and in 325 had convened a council at
  Nicaea to make determinations on issues that were
  affecting the empire in regards to Christianity
• This is from a 30 foot high statue of
  Constantine

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• The hand is 5 8 ½

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• At the council it was agreed that any belief that
  conflicted with the basic teachings would be
  heresy.
• They ruled that Arianism, a belief that God was
  supreme and Jesus the Holy Ghost were inferior,
  was heresy
• They also wrote the Nicene Creed, a kind of oath
  about ones belief in the church

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• There were 4 key men whos writings and actions
  helped the church in the troubling times leading
  up to the Dark Ages.
• They were St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, Pope Gregory
  I, and St. Augustine, who was probably the most
  influencial.
• In his book, The City of God, he explains that
  earthly cities may fall disappear, but the
  heavenly city of God can never be destroyed