Transcript Christianity

Roman Empire and the Rise of
Christianity
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The Roman Empire
• Augustus is the first Roman
Emperor
• Augustus wore a crown and the
color purple (the most expensive
color at the time)
• Augustus was a great ruler but
he produced some pretty terrible
offspring.
“I inherited a city of bricks and
made it a city of Marble”
Augustus
You probably Wouldn’t Want to Be
Emperor
Augustus’s Decedents:
1. Tiberius-Murdered
2. Caligula-Assassinated
by his own body
guards
3. Claudius-Poisoned by
his own wife.
4. Nero- Most Crazy
Emperor of all.
Nero (Crazy Nero)
• Ruled jointly with his mother (Had
a problem with sharing power)
• Tries to kill his mother by sinking
her boat. (she swam to shore)
• Murder two wives (Kicked one to
death while she was pregnant.
• Finally his army had enough and
tried to kill him.
• He eventually stabbed himself.
“What and artist dies in me”
Pax Romana
• Pax Romana-Roman Peace
• was the long period of
relative peace and minimal
expansion by military force
experienced by the Roman
Empire in the 1st and 2nd
centuries.
Christianity
-Early on in Pax Romana, a new
religion, Christianity emerged
in a distant corner of the
Empire
-Many different religions in the
empire
-By 63 B.C., Romans had
conquered Judea where most
Jewish people lived.
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Roman Occupation of Judah
Romans allowed
Jewish people to
worship their one
god
Many Jews
reluctantly lived
under Roman rule,
however, some
wanted a revolt
against Rome and
believed a messiah
would come to lead
their people to
freedom
Jesus
-Born in 4 B.C. in Bethlehem
-worshipped God and followed Jewish law
-at 30 began preaching to villagers, used parables-short
stories with simple moral lessons to communicate his ideas
-Recruited 12 disciples to help him spread his ideas, called
apostles, in Jerusalem
-Some Jews in Jerusalem welcomed Jesus, many of the priests
felt he threatened their leadership
-Roman authorities felt Jesus would lead the Jews in a revolt
against their rule
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Death of Jesus
-According to the gospels,
Jesus was betrayed by one
of his disciples, arrested by
the Romans, and killed by
crucifixion-a person was
bound to a cross and left to
die
-Rumors then spread that
Jesus had not died but had
risen from death and
commanded his disciples to
spread his teachings
-After the disciples reported
he ascended into heaven
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Christianity Spreads
-Followers called Christians
-Disciples preach the messages of
Christianity throughout the
Roman world
-Peter established Christianity in
Rome itself
-Paul played the most influential
role in spreading Christianity
-His letters became part of the
New Testament in the Bible
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Christians Oppressed
-Romans were not tolerant towards Christians
because:
-they refused to honor the emperor with
sacrifices
-they refused to worship Roman gods to
protect the state
-Christians were used as scapegoats, blamed for
social and economic problems
-Many Christians became martyrs- or people who
suffer or die for their beliefs
-However, Christianity continued to spread due to
the fact that all people were welcome
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Key Beliefs: Christianity
• Christians believe that Jesus was the
Messiah promised in the Old Testament and
the Son of God.
• Christians believe that God sent his Son to
earth to save humanity of its sins.
• One of the most important concepts in
Christianity is that of Jesus giving his life on
the Cross and rising from the dead on the
third day (the Resurrection).
• Christians believe that there is only one God,
but that there are three elements to this one
God: (Trinity)
• God the Father
• God the Son
• The Holy Spirit
Early Christian Church
-Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313.
-The Edict granted
freedom of
worship to all
citizens of the
Roman empire
-By the end of the century, Emperor Theodosius made
Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire
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Structure of the Church
The Christian Clergy
Pope
Bishop
Diocese
Priest
+
Community
Bishop
Diocese
Priest
+
Community
Bishop
Diocese
Priest
+
Community
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