Lecture 9: The Rise of Christianity Introduction to Western Civilization

Judaism and the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament The Jews wrote down their stories about history and religion in the Hebrew Bible This was later called the “Old Testament” by Christians The stories of the Old Testament have formed a foundation for the three “Abrahamic” religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; and form an important element of traditional Western culture

The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: Story of the Creation of the World “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1 God created the earth in six days, and on the seventh day he rested – this began the tradition of the Sabbath – a day of rest and religious devotion once a week; in Christianity this is usually observed on Sundays On the sixth day, God created the first humans – Adam and Eve

The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: The Garden of Eden Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden – a paradise where every need was provided for them God told them: “Don’t eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge!” But the serpent (snake) tricked Eve into eating it; then she convinced Adam to eat it too As a result, God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden This is known as “Original Sin”, or the “Fall of Man”

The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: Noah’s Ark Several generations after Adam and Eve, God became angry with the evil of humans in the world, and decided to make a great flood to wipe out all human life… Except for Noah and his family God told Noah to build an ark (ship) that could carry Noah’s family, and male and female pairs of every living creature, to survive the flood After forty days, the flood ended, and God made a rainbow as a promise to never destroy the world again

The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: Abraham After the flood, however, the world soon becomes evil and corrupt again But instead of destroying it again, God chooses Abraham, and makes a “covenant” (agreement) with him, promising that he would be the father of a “great nation” God tests Abraham’s loyalty by ordering him to kill his son, Isaac, but stops him right before he is about to kill him

The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: Slavery in Egypt and the Exodus A few generations after Abraham, the Jews become slaves in Egypt God creates ten “plagues” that harm the Egyptians, until the Pharaoh agrees to let them go free (the “exodus” from Egypt) Moses leads them to the “Promised Land” (Israel), but to get there they have to spend 40 years traveling in the desert During these 40 years, God gives Moses the “Ten Commandments” – which form the basis of Jewish law

Roman Conquest of Palestine The Romans expanded their territory into the Middle East, and had conquered the region of Palestine by 63 BCE, putting the Jews under Roman rule Jewish prophecy told of a future “Messiah”, who would rescue the Jews from their troubles and from Roman domination

Birth of Jesus Jesus was probably born sometime around 4 BCE His parents were Mary and Joseph – they had not yet married, and according to the story in the New Testament, Mary was a virgin – but she still got pregnant anyway! Prophecy told that he would be the “Messiah” – the “chosen one”

Life and Teachings Jesus spent his early life as a carpenter In his thirties, he receives a vision from God, and declares himself the “Son of God” He preaches to the Jews – he tells them that Jewish law is not as important as being a moral person; he criticized the rich and wanted to help the poor; he advocated ideas of universal love “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” – Matthew 5:39

Death, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Jesus Many Jews, along with the Roman rulers, found Jesus’ ideas to be threatening At age 33, Jesus was put to death by crucifixion (nailing to a cross) After he died, his followers believe he ascended into heaven to live forever with God Christians today believe that by following the teachings of Jesus, they can also go to heaven after they die

The Growth of Early Christianity After Jesus’ death, his followers (disciples) wrote down his teachings in the New Testament One of the early Christians, Paul, traveled throughout the Roman Empire and helped spread Christianity in Rome Early Christians were persecuted by the Romans