1. Ms. Carmelitano

2.   Numina: Powerful spirits or divine forces worshiped by the earliest Romans  Believed to live in everything  Lares: Guardian spirits of each family  Names were given to them and honored through rituals Early Religion

3.   Romans adopted the Greek Gods and Goddesses  Changed the names  Religion was linked to the government  Deities were symbols of the state Later Gods and Goddesses

4.   As the empire grew, so did a new religion  Christianity  It was born out of Judaism (Abrahamic Religion)  Roman power spread to Judea, where the Jews were living in 63 BCE  6 CE Judea became a province  The Jews believed that they would again be enslaved under a non-Jewish king Rise of Christianity

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6.   66 CE a group of Hebrews rebelled against Rome  70 CE Romans destroyed the temple complex  All that was left was the Western Wall – which is the holiest place for Jewish followes to worship today  Half a million Jews were killed in the rebellion until the Romans won in 73 CE  132 CE  Another rebellion, half a million again were killed  Many Jews were driven from their homeland in the Diaspora:  The time when Jews were driven into exile from their homeland  This facilitated a further spread of the religion Jewish Rebellion

7.   Estimate birth 6-4 BCE  Born in Bethlehem, Judea  There is little historic information about his life  The majority of information about his life is found in:  The Bible and the Gospels (Holy Book of Christianity)  The first four books of the New Testament of the Christian Bible  Jesus was raised in Nazareth in Northern Judea  He became a carpenter Jesus of Nazareth

8.   By age 30 he began public ministry  He preached for 3 years  He began preaching a new Monotheistic religion: Christianity  The Ten Commandments: religious law  Belief: good people would live in an eternal kingdom after death, wicked would be punished for their sins Jesus’ Teachings Rise out of Judaism

9.   29 CE Jesus visited Jerusalem  People called him the Messiah or king  the one who would rescue the Jews  Roman governor, Pontius Pilate accused Jesus of defying the authority of Rome  He was not the Roman King  He was sentenced to crucifixion  a common punishment for opponents to Rome  His body was placed in a tomb  Gospels preach that three days later his body was gone, and a newly living Jesus was appearing to his followers Death of Jesus

10.   Gospels were written by disciples  12 men, later called Apostles  These people helped to spread the message of Christianity  They traveled, teaching of Jesus, and the Monotheistic Religion  Example: the Apostle Paul  Never met Jesus  At first and enemy to Christianity  Believed he had vision of Jesus  Spread the word of his teachings  Pax Romana allowed the religion to spread quickly and easily  Safe roads and trade The Movement Grows

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12.   Three million Christians by the third century CE  People converted because Christianity:  Embraced all people – men and women, enslaved, poor, nobles  Gave hope to powerless  Appealed to those who disliked the extravagance of Rome  Offered personal relationship with God  Promised eternal life after death Becoming a world Religion

13.   Roman Emperor 312 CE  He Reported seeing an image of a cross before a battle  symbol of Christianity  Put symbol on shields  Troops won at the battle of Milvian Bridge  313 CE legalized Christianity  EDICT OF MILAN  380 CE  Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of empire Constantine

14.   Old Testament: The Jewish Torah – first part of the Christian Bible  DIFFERENCE: Christians believe Jesus is the Messiah, Jews do not.  New Testament : Second part of the Christian Bible  Four Gospels believed to have been written by the apostles  325 CE Constantine wrote the Nicene Creed defining basic beliefs Holy Book: Bible

15.   Roman hierarchy  Priest: lead congregation  Bishop: priest who supervised many churches  Peter was first Bishop of Rome  Pope: leader of the whole church  Peter was the first Pope  Bishop of Rome was leader of church Early Church