Transcript Section 2: Christianity and the Roman Empire

CHAPTER 9
SECTION 2: CHRISTIANITY
AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE
I. RISE OF CHRISTIANIT Y
A.
Romans conquered Judea in 63 BC. Respect was shown to
the Jews’ right to worship their God
B. Jews resented Roman rule. Reason : they believed a
Messiah (Jewish King) was coming to bring justice and
freedom back to their land
C. Romans punished the Jews for their views by appointing
Herod as their governor in 37 BC
( Romans did not like Jews or their land)
D. Jesus was born during Herod’s rule in Bethlehem. (census)
He grew up in Nazareth, was raised in the Jewish faith and
would become a carpenter. He began teaching at age 30
E. Jesus taught for 3 years . He taught of a one true God who is
loving and forgiving. He promised that if you believed in Him
(Jesus) you would have everlasting life
F. Jesus taught using stories called parables, had a small group
of followers called disciples/apostles. He taught that he was
the Messiah come to give the good news.
II. FEARS OF CHRISTIANIT Y
A.
B.
C.
D.
Some feared his teachings so they complained to the
Romans that he was teaching that God is greater than the
emperor
Jewish leaders were upset because of Who he said he
was. They expected the Messiah to be a king just for the
Jews-not a carpenter’s son
Overtime, people began to refer to him as the
Christos(Christ) and the followers Christians to make fun
of them
The Romans were afraid he would lead a revolt, so they
condemned him to death
 E. He was crucified (punishment reserved for non -Romans)
after Passover. According to the gospels, he rose from the
dead and spoke to the disciples, telling them to spread the
good news.
III. CHRISTIANIT Y SPREADS
A.
B.
C.
D.
The young religion would spread from Jerusalem across the
empire even into Rome.
Paul had a vision that Jesus spoke to him. He decided to
travel and spread the word of Jesus. His epistles or letters
helped to turn Christianity into an organized religion
Early Christians sang, prayed ,and read and interpreted
Paul’s letters.
Sunday was set aside for worship and two holy acts were
practiced by early Christians –baptism and the Lord’s
supper
IV ROME REACTS
Christians would stop worshipping Roman gods and were not
respecting the emperor-seen as enemies of the empire
A. Nero began an of ficial campaign against the Christians in
64 AD. The fire in Rome was blamed on them and gave
Nero a reason to arrest and execute many, including Paul
B. It was a crime to be a Christian and the punishment was
death
C. The faith still spread despite the ef forts of many
emperors, including Diocletian ,to stop it. AD 300 - 1 out of
10 Romans were Christian