Origins of Christianity

Judea Under Roman Rule In 63 B.C.E the Romans took control of the Jewish Kingdom of Judea Zealots – Many Jews saw the Romans as foreigners who occupied their lands and treated them cruelly They hoped that God would send a Messiah – Messiah= specially chosen king who would save the Jews – Zealots Group of Jews who resisted the Romans by force

Jesus’ Life and Teaching During this period of upheaval, a Jewish man named Jesus of Nazareth lived and taught Early life – Most of what we know about Jesus comes form early Christian writings known as the Gospels Jesus was a descendant of the Jewish king David His birth was miraculous He was a carpenter

Jesus the teacher – Baptized by John – Began teaching from Hebrew scriptures – Traveled through Judea telling people that God would soon come to establish his kingdom – Champion of the poor – His closest followers began to wonder whether Jesus was the Messiah

Opposition, arrest, and death – Wend to Jerusalem around 33 C.E. to celebrate Passover – Roman authorities in Jerusalem worried about large holiday crowds and possible riots In response to these concerns Pontius Pilate had Jesus arrested, and crucified – Crucifixion= slow painful Roman method of execution where the victim is attached to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead

The Resurrections – Jesus’ body was laid in a tomb and sealed – According to the Gospels some of Jesus’ followers visited his tomb three days after his death The tomb was found empty – They believed that God had resurrected Jesus and that he was indeed the Messiah – Jesus and his early followers were Jews. But those who believed Jesus was the Messiah eventually formed a new religion known as Christianity

The Spread of Christianity During his life Jesus chose 12 trusted followers call disciples or apostles After his death they spread his teachings Early church – Peter a key apostle became leader of the new church when Jesus died

Christians and Jews – The first followers of this new faith still consider themselves Jews – Eventually differences grew between Jewish followers of Christianity and other Jews The apostle Paul – And other areas – Created churches and preached – Help spread the belief that non-Jews did not need to follow all Jewish laws to become Christian

Reasons for growth – Christianity spread rapidly during the pox Romana – The roads the Romans built a lot Christians to move more easily from place to place spreading their beliefs – Greek was widely spoken Christian Scriptures where in Greek so large number of people could understand them – Many appreciated it’s moral teachings

Christianity and the Empire The growth of Christianity worried Roman officials Toleration – Men’s allowed people in the empire to worship their own gods as long as they also were shipped Roman gods and emperors as a sign of loyalty A new faith – When non-Jews became Christians they stopped worshiping the old gods – Speared that Christians refused to worship Roman gods because they were disloyal Worried that the gods would be angry with people who became Christians stopped worshiping

Persecution – In 64 CE and throw near Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for a fire that destroyed much of Rome – 250 CE emperors persecuted Christians across the empire – Persecution continued on and off until the reign of Emperor Constantine – A later emperor made Christianity the official Roman religion in 380 CE