Transcript Review (5-3)

REVIEW (5-3)
• Why were the Romans able to construct massive
buildings “undreamed of by the Greeks”?
• Who were the most famous Roman writers? What
are they known for?
• How is Roman family life different from Greek family
life?
• Who was Spartacus and why is he important?
• What was life like in Rome for the poor?
• What did the wealthy in Rome think of the poor?
THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CHRISTIANITY
5-4
BACKGROUND: ROMAN RELIGION
• Official state religion: polytheism (similar to Greek
mythology)
• Romans were tolerant of other religions
• Allowed worship of native gods and goddesses
• As the empire grew, more religions (especially eastern
religions) were brought into the Roman culture
THE JEWISH BACKGROUND
• By 6 AD Judaea was a Roman province under the
control of a Roman official called a procurator
• Widespread unrest after a long period of semiindependence
• Jews differed on how to handle Roman rule
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Sadducees favored cooperation with Rome
Pharisees focused on religion to preserve Jewish identity
Essenes lived apart from society in communes
Zealots called for the violent overthrow of Roman Rule
THE MESSAGE OF JESUS
• His mission was to complete the
salvation that God had
promised to Israel throughout its
history
• “So in everything, do to others
what you would have them do
to you, for this sums up the Law
and the Prophets”
• Preached love, humility, and
charity toward others – not strict
adherence to rituals and rules
• Jesus as a revolutionary?
THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
• Began as a movement within Judaism but
eventually became a separate religion after reports
that Jesus had overcome death (Resurrection three
days after death)
• Apostles (or leaders) traveled throughout Judaea
and Galilee spreading Jesus’s message
• Peter – leader of the apostles
• Crucified upside-down
• Recognized as the first Pope posthumously (after death)
• Paul – educated Roman citizen – brought the message to
the Gentiles (non-Jews) throughout Asia Minor
• Most of the New Testament attributed to him
• Beheaded under Nero
THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY (CONT.)
• Teachings passed down orally at first
• Apostles began writing down the teachings to help
educate communities they had founded through
the eastern Mediterranean
• 40-100 AD – the collection of the accounts of Jesus
and his personal sayings became the Gospels
• The Gospels form the core of the New Testament
(the second part of the Christian Bible)
• By 100 AD Christian churches were established in
most major cities in the eastern Roman Empire
“YOU HAVE HEARD THE LAW THAT SAYS, ‘LOVE
YOUR NEIGHBOR’ AND HATE YOUR ENEMY. BUT I
SAY, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES! PRAY FOR THOSE
WHO PERSECUTE YOU! IN THAT WAY, YOU WILL
BE ACTING AS TRUE CHILDREN OF YOUR FATHER
IN HEAVEN. FOR HE GIVES HIS SUNLIGHT TO
BOTH THE EVIL AND THE GOOD, AND HE SENDS
RAIN ON THE JUST AND THE UNJUST ALIKE. IF
YOU LOVE ONLY THOSE WHO LOVE YOU, WHAT
REWARD IS THERE FOR THAT? EVEN CORRUPT TAX
COLLECTORS DO THAT MUCH. IF YOU ARE KIND
ONLY TO YOUR FRIENDS, HOW ARE YOU
DIFFERENT FROM ANYONE ELSE?
( M A TTH E W 5 :4 3 - 4 7 )
“ TE A C H E R , WH IC H IS TH E M O S T IM P O R TA N T
C O M M A N D M E N T IN TH E L A W O F M O S E S ? ” J E S US
R E P L IE D , “ ‘ Y O U M U S T L O V E T H E L O R D Y O U R G O D
WITH ALL YOUR HEART, ALL YOUR SOUL, AND ALL
YOUR MIND.’ THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREATEST
COMMANDMENT. A SECOND IS EQUALLY
IMPORTANT: ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS
YOURSELF.’ THE ENTIRE LAW AND ALL THE
DEMANDS OF THE PROPHETS ARE BASED ON
THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS.”
( M A TTH E W 2 2 :3 6 - 4 0 )
“YOU KNOW THAT THE RULERS IN THIS WORLD
LORD IT OVER THEIR PEOPLE, AND OFFICIALS
FLAUNT THEIR AUTHORITY OVER THOSE UNDER
THEM. BUT AMONG YOU IT WILL BE DIFFERENT.
WHOEVER WANTS TO BE A LEADER AMONG YOU
MUST BE YOUR SERVANT, AND WHOEVER WANTS
TO BE FIRST AMONG YOU MUST BE THE SLAVE OF
EVERYONE ELSE. FOR EVEN THE SON OF MAN
CAME NOT TO BE SERVED BUT TO SERVE OTHERS
AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM FOR
MANY.”
( M A R K 1 0 :4 2 - 4 5 )
“MY KINGDOM IS NOT AN EARTHLY KINGDOM. IF
IT WERE, MY FOLLOWERS WOULD FIGHT TO KEEP
ME FROM BEING HANDED OVER TO THE JEWISH
LEADERS. BUT MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS
WORLD.”
( J O H N 1 8 :3 6 )
“AND SO I TELL YOU, KEEP ON ASKING, AND
YOU WILL RECEIVE WHAT YOU ASK FOR. KEEP ON
SEEKING, AND YOU WILL FIND. KEEP ON
KNOCKING, AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED TO
YOU. FOR EVERYONE WHO ASKS, RECEIVES.
EVERYONE WHO SEEKS, FINDS. AND TO
EVERYONE WHO KNOCKS, THE DOOR WILL BE
OPENED.
( L UK E 1 1 :9 - 1 0 )
ROMAN PERSECUTION
• At first, Romans paid little attention
to Christians (another sect of
Judaism)
• Christianity began to “threaten
public order” because Christians
refused to worship the state gods
and emperors = treason
• Reign of Nero (54-68 AD) – height of
persecution of Christians
• Persecution only strengthened
Christian faith by forcing it to
become more unified
WHY WAS CHRISTIANITY ABLE TO
ATTRACT SO MANY FOLLOWERS?
1. Roman state-based religion was impersonal (all
“for the good of Rome”) – Christianity was personal
and offered salvation and a purpose to life
2. Christianity seemed familiar (sacrificial death of a
savior-god)
3. Fulfilled the human need to belong – Christian
communities developed and provided assistance
and charity – more personal than the huge Roman
Empire
4. Christianity was especially attractive to the poor
and powerless
THE TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY
• Last great persecution was under Diocletian
(beginning of 4th c.)
• Emperor Constantine
• 312 – Battle of Milvian Bridge
• 313 he issued the Edict of Milan which proclaimed official
tolerance and neutrality toward all religion
• 324-330 – built Constantinople as new Roman capital
• Donated land and money to build St. Peter’s Basilica –
house of the Catholic papacy
• Emperor Theodosius the Great
• 380 – Edict of Thessalonica – Romans adopt Christianity as
their official religion