Section+6-3+The+Rise+of+Christianity

Section 6-3: The Rise of Christianity

Jesus- A Jew boy who was born in Bathleham in Judea apostles- one of the followers of Jesus who preached and spread his teachings. Paul- had large influence on Christianity development. Was an enemy to Christianity but he claimed he saw Jesus and he went around preaching and telling of Jesus' teachings. Diaspora- the dispersal of the Jews from their homeland in Palestine– especially during the period of more than 1,800 years that followed the Romans' destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Constantine- A roman emperor. Was fighting three leaders for the control of Rome. bishop- a high ranking Christian official who supervises a number of local churches. Peter- a apostle traveled to Rome and Jerusalem and became the first bishop there. pope- the bishop of Rome, head of the Roman Catholic Church.
 * Bold:**

- Religion was important to the Roman civilization. As the empire grew so did Christianity in the empire. Because it influenced more person relationships with god to a single human, that attracted people.
 * Setting the Stage:**

- Rome spread to Judea the home of Jews around 63 BC. It remained independent. Rome made it part of their empire in 6 A.D. Accroding to Biblical tradition Messiahg was going to free the Jews again.
 * The Life and Teachings of Jesus:**

- Although the time is 100% A boy named Jesus was born around 6 to 4 A.D. in the city of Bethlehem in Judea. He was raised in Nazareth in northern Palestine. He was baptized by a profit name John the Baptist. As a young boy he took to trade and carpentry. - When he was 30 Jesus became a public minster. He preached taught and preformed miracles. His teachings had Jewish ideas like monotheism and ideas from the Ten Commandments. Jesus emphasized God's relationship with each human. He stressed people loves for themselves, god, their neighbors and their enemies. He preached that god could end world wickedness and would make a world for after death.
 * Jesus of Nazareth:**

- Records from the time list very little about Jesus. The most information is in the Gospel (the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible.) The Gospels were thought to be written by Jesus' pupils who were later called apostles. - as Jesus continued to preach he became more popular. Many people were touched by his teachings. Since Jesus ignored wealth and status he appealed to the poor.
 * A Growing Movement:**

- Jesus' popularity growth concerned Roman and Jewish leaders. When Jesus visited Jerusalem in about 29 AD he was greeted as Messiah or king. The Jews denied that he was Messiah. They said his teachings were blasphemy or contempt to God. The Romans accused him of defying the Roman authority. Pilate arrested him and he was crucified or nailed to a large wooden cross hung to die. - After his death he was placed in a tomb. The Gospels said that three days later his body was gone only to be seen by his followers. The Gospels say then he ascended to heaven.
 * Jesus' Death:**

- The followers of Jesus continued to spread his ideas. His first followers were Jews and his teachings did not contradict Jewish Laws. His followers started to make a new religion based on his teachings. The religion Christianity spread slowly but consistently through the Roman Empire.
 * Christianity Spreads Through the Empire:**

- Paul was an enemy of Christianity at first while traveling to Damascus in Syria he claimed he had a vision of Christ and started to spread his teachings and interpreting them. - The Pax Romana made it safe to travel so the spread of Christianity were ideal. Common languages of Greek and Latin let the teachings be able to understand. He wrote letters called Epistles to groups of believers. In his teachings Paul said Jesus was son of god and died because of people's sins. He also said Christianity was ok for anyone to worship Jews and non-hews or Gentile.
 * Paul's Mission:**

- During the early part of Christianity attention was on the Jews and Jesus' birth place. In AD 66 a group of Jews rebelled against Rome. In 70 AD Rome attacked Jerusalem destroying their Temple. At that stood was the west side wall which is now the holiest place for Jews. - The Jews tried to break away from the Romans again in 132 AD another half a million Jews died after three years of fighting. The Jewish religion survived but the political state was made fort the next 18,00 years.
 * Jewish Rebellion:**

- Christianity was also a threat to the Romans because they didn't warship Roman gods which was against Roman rule. - As Pax Romana started to end the persecution of Christians increased. They were executed, exiled, imprisoned for refusing to worship deities. Martyrs people who are willing to give their lives for a cause.
 * Persecution of the Christians:**

-Christianity became a powerful force. There were millions of Christian followers. Christianity grew because it embraced all people, gave hope top the powerless, promised eternal life after death, offered personal relationship to a loving god and appealed to those who were repelled by the advantages of the imperial Romans.
 * A World Religion:**

- During a war to control Rome Constantine marched his men across the Tiber River to battle his chief rival. he day before the battle he prayed for divine help. He said he saw the an image of a cross. he had the cross put on his soldiers shields and he won the battle and he gave his success of the battle to the Christian God. - In the year 313 Ad he ended the persecution of Christians. He also declared Christianity to be one of the relgions of the Empire aprroved by the emperor. Christianity continued to grow strength. In 380 AD it was made the empire official religion by Theodosius.
 * Constantine Accepts Christianity:**

- The priest lead each small group of Christians, a a bishop supervised local churches. The apostle Peter became the first Roman bishop. Tradition said Jesus referred to Peter as the "rock" on which the Christian Church should be build. All the priest and bishops traced their authority to him. - Rome had more pope that claimed to be heirs of Peter. Peter was said to be Romes first pope. They said whoever was bishop of Rome was the leader of the whole Church. Since Rome was the capital of the empire it was logical to make the center of the Church.
 * Early Christian Church:**

- As Christianity grew arguments about the beliefs did as well. Church leaders said any belief would contradict the basic teachings. To stop the arguments the Church leaders n=made the New Testament which contained four Gospels. They were added to the Hebrew bible that was called the Old Testament. They wrote the Nicene Creed which defined the basic beliefs of the Church.
 * A Single Voice:**

- Also interested in define the Church's teacher were early scholars and writers called the Father's of the Church. One of most important was Augustine who became bishop of Hippo. - Famous book called The city of God. - As Christianity rose the roman empire slowly weakened.
 * The Fathers of the Church:**