Transcript The-rise-of
63BC – 312 AD GPS WHSS3 d What’s the Main Idea!? Christianity arose in Romanoccupied Judea and spread throughout the Roman Empire Why it matters… Christianity has spread throughout the world and today has more than a billion followers Life and Teachings of Jesus Rome took control of Judea by 63 B.C. Jewish tradition spoke of a savior, or Messiah that would return freedom to Judea Soon, many believed such a savior had arrived Jesus of Nazareth Born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth All our knowledge of his life comes from the first four books of the New Testament (the Gospels) Began to preach his monotheistic view of religion when he was 30 His Word Spreads Jesus appealed to the poor and meek; he attracted great attention and a quick and powerful following The Death of Jesus Roman AND Jewish leaders were concerned about his popularity Jewish crowds in Jerusalem were already praising him as the Messiah (to the disagreement of chief Jewish priests) Eventually, Roman governor Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to death for defying the authority of Rome Christianity Spreads Anyway… Strengthened by the convictions, followers of Jesus continued to spread his ideas Pax Romana helped the ideas of Christianity to spread (Why?) The “versatility” of Christianity also helped it diffuse Jewish Rebellion During the early years of Christianity, Rome was occupied with the Jews Jews rebelled for nearly one hundred years, before finally being crushed in 132 A.D. Jews would not have a political state for the next 1800 years… Their defeat, and subsequent fleeing of their homeland is known as the Diaspora Persecution of Christians Christians refused to worship Roman Gods They were then seen as a threat to Roman rule As the Pax Romana began to end, Christians were increasingly persecuted (what does persecute mean, and why is it related to the end of Pax Romana?) Still Grew Stronger, because: Embraced all people Gave hope to the powerless Appealed to those who were outcasts Offered a personal relationship with God Promised eternal life Rome Accepts Christianity In 313, Emperor Constantine of Rome ends persecution of the Jews By 380, Emperor Theodosius makes Christianity the official religion of Rome The Early Christian Church A structure began to form in the religion Priests supervised churches, Bishops supervised several priests… Peter: the source of priestly authority, and therefore the first Pope… Let’s Unify Disagreements about beliefs were often strong Solution?: New Testament The New Testament was written to bring “unity” to the belief in God The Fathers of the Church Christianity Rises / Rome Falls As Christianity spread, the empire began to weaken due to economic decline, invasion, and poor leadership The end of the reign of Marcus Aurelius marked the end of the “Pax Romana”