1. Warm Up
How do you think Christianity went from one man to the most prominent religion in the world? What are some ways that this diffusion would’ve occurred?

2. Agenda Unit Cover Page: “Early Modern World” History of Christianity
Crash Course History of Christianity
Medieval Europe Notes
Middle Ages Reading  Life in Europe ~

3. Unit Cover Page Title it: “Early Modern World” Page 25
The time period we’re looking at is about
Topics include: Mongols, Bubonic Plague, Middle Ages in Europe, Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, Ottoman and Ming Empires

4. A Brief History of Christianity

5. Roots of Christianity in Judaism
~ AD 6 Roman Emperor Augustus took over Judah – renamed it Judea (it is the mountainous southern part of Palestine)

6. Roots of Christianity in Judaism
Jews were allowed to practice their religion but were treated cruelly by Romans
Many Jews hoped for a savior (called a “messiah” / “one anointed by God”) to restore Jewish independence
One Jew – Jesus – traveled though Judea from AD 30–33 saying that God’s rule was close at hand & people should repent for their sins
Some Jews thought Jesus was the messiah

7. Roots of Christianity in Judaism
Because the Jews in Judea disagreed about Jesus’ messiah status, there was much internal Jewish conflict
The Romans were afraid that this conflict would de-stabilize Judea – thus they arrested Jesus as a political rebel
Jesus was crucified – the typical Roman method of punishing criminals

8. What was crucifixion?

9. What was crucifixion?
A method of execution – very painful and gruesome – nails inserted into feet & above wrists between radius and ulna
Death possibly came through asphyxiation – victim would have trouble exhaling while holding himself up (particularly after his legs were broken)
Other possible causes of death: whipping (loss of blood), dehydration, exhaustion

10. What happened next?
Some of Jesus’ followers said that he had risen from the dead & appeared to them
Those who believed became known as Christians because the word “messiah” translated into Greek is “Khristos”
People like Paul and Peter helped spread the Christian message throughout the Mediterranean region

12. Why were Christians persecuted?
Monotheistic Christians refused to honor the Roman emperor as a god
Some Christians refused to provide military service – this led to charges of treason
Some Romans also feared the wrath of their own deities because of the rejection of those deities by Christians
As a result, Romans killed some Christian martyrs who would not give up their beliefs

13. How does the story end? Christianity spread – especially in cities
In AD 312 the Roman general Constantine had a vision of a flaming cross in the sky before a battle

14. How does the story end?
Constantine had the soldiers paint crosses on their shields and when they won, he attributed his victory to the Christian God
When Constantine became emperor of Rome, he issued the Edict of Milan, granting freedom of worship to all religious groups
80 years later (AD 392), Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Empire and banned older religions