THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

SETTING THE STAGE RELIGION PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN ROMAN SOCIETY YET WORSHIP WAS IMPERSONAL…NO EMOTION CHRISTIANITY IS GROWING…..WHY? EMPHASIZED A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND HIS PEOPLE

JESUS OF NAZARETH 6 OR 4 BC  JC IS BORN VERY LITTLE IS WRITTEN ABOUT JESUS AT THIS TIME, MOST INFO COMES FROM THE GOSPELS BAPTIZED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST CARPENTER 30 YEARS OLD  BEGINS PUBLIC MINISTRY

GROWING MOVEMENT… APOSTLES  12 MEN WHO FOLLOWED JESUS (HIS DISCIPLES/STUDENTS) JC PREACHED FROM TOWN TO TOWN, GROWING FAME JESUS IGNORED WEALTH!!! HIS MESSAGE APPEALED TO THE POOR!! “BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.”

JESUS’ DEATH JESUS’ GROWING POPULATION CONCERNED ROMAN LEADERS AD 29  JESUS VISITS JERUSALEM, CROWDS GREET HIM AS THEIR “KING” PONTIUS PILATE = ENRAGED!! HAS JESUS ARRESTED, AND SENTENCED HIM TO BE CRUCIFIED ASCENSION TO HEAVEN  THE MESSIAH NOW REFERRED TO AS JESUS CHRIST  “CHRSTOS” IS GREEK FOR SAVIOR

CHRISTIANITY SPREADS JC’S FOLLOWERS SPREAD HIS IDEAS 1 ST FOLLOWERS WERE JEWS  HOWEVER A NEW RELIGION DEVELOPS PAUL  ENORMOUS INFLUENCE ON CHRISTIANITY’S DEVELOPMENT PAX ROMANA HELPED CHRISTIANITY TO SPREAD!!

A CRITICAL MOMENT… AD 312  CONSTANTINE, FIGHTING THREE RIVALS FOR LEADERSHIP BEFORE BATTLE W/ CHIEF RIVAL, PRAYS FOR DIVINE INTERVENTION SUPPOSEDLY SEES AN IMAGE OF A CROSS ORDERS TROOPS TO PUT THE CROSS SYMBOL ON THEIR SHIELDS  THEY WIN CONSTANTINE CREDITS HIS SUCCESS TO THE HELP OF THE “CHRISTIAN GOD”

PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS REFUSAL TO WORSHIP ROMAN GODS SEEN AS OPPOSITION TO ROME AD PAX ROMANA FADES  CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION INTENSIFIES CRUCIFIED, BURNED, KILLED BY WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUS ARENAS MARTYRS

A.D 313 END OF CHRISTIAN PERSECTUTION EDICT OF MILAN  DECLARED CHRISTIANITY TO BE ONE OF THE APPROVED RELIGIONS BY THE EMPEROR AD 380  EMPEROR THEODOSIUS MADE IT THE EMPIRE’S OFFICIAL RELGION

EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH RELIGIOUS STRUCTURE  PRIESTS, BISHOPS THE APOSTLE PETER  THE “ROCK” ON WHICH THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH WOULD BE BUILT. EVERY MAJOR CITY EVENTUALLY HAD ITS OWN BISHOP WHOEVER WAS BISHOP OF ROME WOULD BE  THE POPE ROME = CAPITAL OF THE EMPIRE…NOW THE CAPITAL OF THE CHURCH.

A SINGLE VOICE DISPUTES OVER BELIEFS BECAME INTENSE CHURCH LEADERS  WANTED TO SET SINGLE UNIFIED STANDARD OF BELIEFS CONSTANTINE CALLED LEADERS TO NICAEA IN ANATOLIA THERE THEY WROTE THE NICENE CREED  DEFINED THE BASIC BELIEFS OF THE CHURCH

THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH AUGUSTINE  HUMANS NEEDED THE GRACE OF GOD TO BE SAVED COULD NOT RECEIVE THIS GRACE UNLESS THEY BELONGED TO THE CHURCH AND RECEIVED SACRAMENTS FAMOUS BOOK THE CITY OF GOD

MOVING FORWARD…. WHILE CHRISTIANITY CONTINUED ITS SLOW BUT STEADY RISE…. THE ROMAN EMPIRE ITSELF WAS GRADUALLY WEAKENING UNDER THE WEIGHT OF AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PROBLEMS, THE MIGHT ROMAN EMPIRE EVENTUALLY BEGAN TO CRUMBLE…. ?V=VZSKWEUOHHA