Transcript The Rise of Christianity

6.3
The Rise
of
Christianity
6.3 OBJECTIVES
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3.
Summarize the life of Jesus.
Trace the spread of Christianity
in the Roman Empire.
Analyze Christianity’s appeal.
The Life and Teaching of Jesus
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Romans take control of Judea in 63 B.C.
Judea becomes part of the Roman Empire in 6
A.D.
A Savior will come to restore the
land of the Jews.
Jesus of Nazareth
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Born 6 to 4 B.C.
Born in Bethlehem
Raised in Nazareth
Baptized by John the Baptist
Occupation: Carpenter
Began preaching at the age of 30
Stressed love, (God, neighbors, enemies)
Eternal kingdom for those who repent
A GROWING MOVEMENT
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Main source about his life came from Gospels
First 4 books of the New Testament
 Some are written by Jesus’ disciples
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12 men later called apostles
Became popular
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Ignored wealth and statues; appealed to the poor
Jesus’ Death
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Rulers where concerned, both Jewish and
Roman leaders
In Jerusalem, people greeted him as a savior and
messiah, or king.
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Jewish priests disagreed
Pontius Pilot, Roman leader, accused Jesus of
breaking Roman law
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Sentenced to crucifixion
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Nailed to a wooden cross
Jesus’ death cont…
Jesus’ Death cont…
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Jesus died on the cross
Placed in a tomb
Body was gone three days later
Gospels say, he ascended to heaven
Because he was believed to be the messiah or
“savior”, he was called Jesus Christ
Christianity Spreads Through the
Empire
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Disciples carried on his teachings
Did not contradict Jewish law
First followers were Jews
New religion began
Christianity spread throughout the empire
What did Jesus Teach?
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Forgiveness
Repentance
Turn the other cheek
Do you know anymore of the teachings of
Jesus?
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Name them…..
Paul’s Mission
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Paul
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Never met Jesus
Enemy of Christianity
Had a vision of Jesus
Spent the rest of his life
spreading Jesus’ message
Paul’s Mission Cont.
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Christianity spread
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Pax Romana made the
spread ideas easy
Common language- Latin
Paul wrote letters,
Epistles
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Stressed that Jesus was
the son of God who died
for people’s sins
Christianity welcomes
converts Jew of Gentile
Jewish Rebellion
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Jewish rebellion in 66 A.D.
against Rome
Temple destroyed by
Romans in 70 A.D.
Only western portion
remains
Jewish fortress, Masada, held
until A.D. 73, half million
dead
Tried again in A.D. 132, half
million died
Diaspora- dispersal of Jews
Persecution of Christians
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Christians would not worship Roman gods
Crucified, exiled, imprisoned, executed
 Sent to the gladiator games
 Looked at as martyrs
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Willing to sacrifice their lives for their belief
Used as scapegoats of economic and political
trouble
A World Religion
Christianity was growing rapidly throughout the Roman
Empire and beyond
 Why?
1. Embrace all people
2. Gives hope to the powerless
3. Appealed to those who were repelled by the
extravagances of imperial Rome
4. Offered personal relationship with a loving
God
5. Promised eternal life after death
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Constantine Accepts Christianity
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Constantine- Emperor of
Rome A.D. 312
Fighting 3 rivals of the
Rome
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Battle was at the Tiber
River
Prayed for divine help
Saw the image of a cross
Put the cross on the
shields of his soldiers
THEY WON
Constantine Accepts Christianity
cont.
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Constantine made
Christianity an accepted
religion of the empire
Emperor Theodosius
made it the official
religion of the empire.
Early Christian Church
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Priest led small groups of
Christians
Bishop supervises local
churches
Peter
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Became first bishop of
Rome
Apostle
“rock” on which the
Christian Church will be
built
First “pope” (head) of the
church
A Single Voice
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Many disputed the beliefs that developed amongst
believers
Became intense
Church officials tried to set the standards of belief
Combine the Old Testament (Jewish Torah) + New
Testament (Story of Jesus)= The Holy Bible
Met and created the Nicene Creed- define the basic
beliefs of all Christians
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“I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven
and Earth……
The Fathers of the Church
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Fathers of the Church
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Early writers who also defined the teachings
Augustine
Bishop from N. Africa
 Humans need the grace of God
 Can not get God’s grace without being a member of
the Church
 Wrote “City of God”
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