1. The Development of Christianity
Chapter 5 Section 4

3. Roman Religion Augustus revived traditional festivals & ceremonies
Official state religion: worship of multiple gods & goddesses, including Senators (state gods)

4. What other nationality worshipped multiple gods & goddesses?

5. Greek vs. Roman Gods/-essess
Zeus vs. Jupiter (Chief Gods)

6. Hera vs. Juno (Wives of Chief Gods)

7. Aphrodite vs. Venus (Godesses of Love)

8. Roman Religious Beliefs
Pleasing the gods by observing rituals
In exchange for peace & prosperity
Building an empire was a sign of satisfied gods and goddesses
Romans were tolerant of other religions
Even adopted certain Hellenistic beliefs
e.g. an after-life superior to the present

9. The Jewish Background
Judea, including the province of Judah, was conquered by the Romans in 6 A.D.
Placed under a Roman official: procurator

11. 3 different groups of Jews:
Sadducees: cooperated w/ the Romans

12. Essenes: a Messiah would save Israel from oppression

13. Zealots: violent overthrow of the Romans

14. The Rise of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth begins to preach:
Did not want to abolish old Jewish religion
Believed not in strict adherence to the law
But in the transformation of the inner person
Love God & one another  basis for the value system of medieval civilization

15. The Judean authorities’ reaction to Jesus:
Jesus as a potential revolutionary
Captured, prosecuted & sentenced to death by crucifixion
Procurator: Pontius Pilate

16. Pontius Pilate

18. Jesus’ followers’ reactions:
He was the Messiah, the long-awaited savior of Israel
Jesus had overcome death and come back to life
So which of the three groups of Jews did Jesus’ followers belong to?

19. The Spread of Christianity
Began as a religious movement in Judea
Followers of Jesus (his disciples) spreading his teachings
After Jesus’ death Christianity spread rapidly
Orally and in writing (b/w A.D )
sayings & personal memories of Jesus
Later formed the basis of the New Testament

20. Peter, the fisherman Jesus was the Savior, the Son of God
Came to Earth to save all humans from eternal damnation
Saved humans by dying for them, making up for all of their sins
Reconciled God & human salvation
If you accept God, you are saved

22. Paul Preached the gospel to both Jews & non-Jews (gentiles)
Founded Christian communities in Asia Minor & along the Aegean Sea

24. Early Christian communities
Churches by 100 A.D.
Most early Christians were Jews & Greeks
Regarded as a threat to public order & morals
WHY?

26. Christians publicly believed that there was only one God
Worshipping multiple gods = worshipping false gods = endangering their own salvation

27. An act of treason  punishable by death
Especially, under Nero (A.D ), who blamed Christians for the fire that destroyed most of Rome.

29. The Triumph of Christianity
Persecution  defiance  Christianity became more organized  had more followers
Distinct church structure:
- clergy (church leaders, esp. bishops)
- laity (church members, i.e. the public)

30. Why did Christianity spread so widely by A.D. 300?
Reasons:
Gave purpose & meaning to life (salvation, no state relationship)
Was similar to other religions (immortality, sacrificial God)
Fulfilled the human need to belong:
- loving community taking care of the sick & the poor

31. Why did Christianity spread so widely by A.D. 300?
4) Attractive to the poor & the powerless
5) A sense of spiritual equality to all (eternal life)

32. Christianity as the Official Religion of Rome
Diocletian: in early A.D. 400  admitted that Christianity was just too great of a force to battle against
Constantine in A.D. 313: Edict of Milan – tolerance toward Christians

33. Constantine

34. Theodosius the Great: Christianity as the official Roman religion