The Origins of Democracy: The Judeo-Christian Tradition World History Mr. Gonzalez

The Ancient Israelites The Israelites were from the eastern Mediterranean and over time developed a monotheistic religion Monotheism: Belief in only one God According to the Torah, the father of Israel was Abraham The Israelites suffered a number of foreign invasions that shaped their monotheistic religion

The Jewish Worldview The Israelites believed that they had a covenant with God, and that all events in their history were tied to how well they were fulfilling their covenant Over time, the Jews developed and wrote down the Torah, which is the first 5 books of the Bible The Ten Commandments become the basis of Jewish law Through a series of invasions and revolts, the Jews become scattered throughout the Mediterranean World

The Rise of Christianity Around the year zero, Judea (the Jewish homeland) was going through turmoil in response to foreign influences A young preacher named Jesus and his twelve apostles begin to spread a new message and get in trouble with the Jewish priests Jesus is crucified and is reported to have resurrected, leading many people to believe that Jesus was the Messiah (savior) that was foretold in Jewish tradition

The Spread of Christianity Immediately after Jesus’ death, his followers start to spread his message The apostle Paul becomes influential in spreading Christianity to the Mediterranean World Greek philosophical influences in Christianity made the new faith appealing to Greek and Roman intellectuals Christians were initially persecuted by the Roman Empire, but the Roman Empire eventually adopts Christianity when the Emperor Constantine converted in A.D. 313

Christianity and Western Civilization Despite the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D., Christianity had become the primary religion of Europe The Christian (Catholic) Church becomes the most powerful institution of Medieval Europe Judeo-Christian beliefs shaped the culture and ethical values of Europeans, who would then transplant those ideas across the world To this day, Christianity has over 2 billion followers worldwide

Quiz yourself... 1. What is monotheism? 2. Who did Christians adopt as their Messiah? 3. Why is Christianity important?