Section 2 Christianity and the Roman Empire Chapter 9 Section 2 Christianity and the Roman Empire

I. Rise of Christianity Romans conquered Judea in 63 BC. Respect was shown to the Jew’s right to worship their God Jews resented Roman rule. Reason-They believed a Messiah (Jewish King) was coming to bring justice and freedom back to their land 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 D. Jesus was born during Herod’s rule in Bethlehem. (census) He spent time in Egypt and grew up in Nazareth. He 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 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 parables (stories), had a small group of followers called disciples/apostles. He embraced all people( male, female, rich, poor). He taught that he was the Messiah come to give the good news to all.

II. Fears of Christianity A. Some feared his teachings so they complained to the Romans that he was teaching that God is greater than the emperor B. Jewish leaders were upset because of WHO he said he was. They expected the Messiah to be a king (like King David) just for the Jews Not a carpenter’s son. -expected Messiah to get Romans out, bring Jews home, rebuild the temple C. Over time people began to refer to him as the Christos(Christ) and the followers as Christians (little Christ) to make fun of them

D. The Romans were angry at his growing popularity especially among the poor and afraid that he might lead a revolt against Roman government. E. He was arrested by the Jewish leaders and turned over to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. He was condemned to death. F. 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 and ascended to heaven.

III. Christianity Spreads A. The young religion would spread from Jerusalem across the empire even into Rome. B. 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. C. Early Christians sang, prayed, read and interpreted Paul’s letters D. 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 seen as not respecting the Emperors. They were viewed as enemies of the empire. Nero began an official 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) It was a crime to be a Christian and the punishment was death The faith still spread despite the best efforts of many emperors. By AD 300, 1 out of 10 Romans were Christians