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Reading Quiz: Chapter 6.3 The Rise of
Christianity
1. Who was Paul of Tarsus? (Time Period,
Location, Key Achievements)
 1st Century CE- traveled throughout Syria,
Palestine, and Judea
 Converted to Christianity, and became a
leading proponent and missionary
 Wrote a series of letters, called
epistles…incorporated into the New
Testament of the Bible
2. What was the significance of the Edict of
Milan?
The Edict of Milan was issued by Emperor
Constantine in AD 313 and it legalized
Christianity and guaranteed freedom of
worship for all Roman citizens.
3. List at least 3 reasons that early
Christians were persecuted by the Roman
Empire.
 Christians were monotheistic and refused
to worship the Roman gods or the Roman
cult of the emperor
 Christian practices were
misunderstood…accused of being
cannibals
 Focus on the poor, undermined the ruling
elite of the Roman Empire
 Christian’s allegiance to their religion
trumped allegiance to their emperor.
Chapter 6.3: The Rise of Christianity
 Worship of Roman gods was in general
impersonal, and relied on the intercession
of priests using sacred rites
 New religion of Christianity emerged,
began as a movement within Judaism,
emphasized the personal relationship
between God and people
I. Jews Come Under Roman Rule
 Roman power spread to Judea around 63
BCE
 At first, Jewish kings ruled as
representatives of Rome
 Ex: ruler Herod was a Romanized Jew, but
was harsh, and angered many Jews…Jews
began a revolt after Herod’s death that
lasted for 10 years…Rome took control of
Judea and made it a province in AD 6
 Romans gave control of religious matters
and local affairs within Judea to the
Jewish court called the Sanhedrin
 2 factions of Jews: Zealots, wanted to rid
their homeland of the Romans…another
group believed that the Messiah was soon
to appear and restore the kingdom of the
Jews
II. The Life and Teachings of Jesus
 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem
in Judea around 6 to 4 BC (historians
believe current calendar was
skewed…plus there was no year “zero”)
 Jesus was both a Jew and a Roman
subject…raised in Nazareth in northern
Palestine…Jesus was baptized by John the
Baptist (a prophet)…as a young man,
Jesus was a carpenter
A.
Jesus’ Message
 Jesus began public ministry at the age of
30
 For 3 years, Jesus preached, taught, did
good works, and reportedly performed
miracles
 Teachings contained many ideas from
Jewish tradition
o Monotheism
o Principles of the Ten Commandments
 Jesus emphasized God’s personal
relationship to each human being
 Stressed importance of people’s love for
God, their neighbors, their enemies, and
themselves
 Taught God would end the wickedness in
the world…and establish an eternal
kingdom after death for people who
sincerely repented their sins
 Jesus had 12 disciples (pupils)
 Main source of information about Jesus’
life and teachings are in the Gospels
o Gospels- first four books of the New
Testament of the Bible
o Torah/ Old Testament shared by
Judaism and Christianity…New
Testament with Christianity
o Some of the Gospels are thought to
have been written by one or more of
Jesus’ disciples, later known as
apostles
 The cross became the universal symbol of
Christianity
 Jesus gained popularity with the
masses…many believed him to be the
Messiah, (the son of God)
 Jesus ignored wealth and status, so he
really appealed to the poor
 “Blessed are the meek: for they shall
inherit the earth”
B.Jesus’ Death
 Jesus’ growing popularity concerned both
Roman and Jewish leaders
 Jesus visited Jerusalem about AD 29…and
he was greeted by crowds calling him
Messiah or king
 Chief priests of the Jews denied that Jesus
was the Messiah, and said his teachings
were blasphemous
 Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, thought
Jesus challenged the authority of
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Rome…Pilate arrested Jesus and
sentenced him to death by crucifixion, (a
common punishment for poor at the time)
After Jesus’ death, his body was placed in
a tomb…the Gospels state that 3 days
later, Jesus’ body was gone and that Jesus
had ascended into heaven
Jesus’ apostles were convinced that Jesus
was the Messiah, and referred to him as
Jesus Christ (Christos is Greek for the
Hebrew word for messiah or savior)
The word Christianity was derived from
“Christ”
Followers of Jesus were strengthened by
their conviction that he had triumphed
over death
Peter= one of the first apostles, who
helped spread teachings of Jesus
throughout Palestine and Syria
III. Christianity Spreads Through the
Empire
 Jesus’ teachings did not contradict Jewish
law, and first followers were Jews
 New religion was created on Jesus’
messages
 Christianity spread slowly, but steadily
throughout the Roman Empire, despite
persecution
A.
Paul’s Mission
 Paul= apostle who had enormous
influence on Christianity’s development
 Paul= Jew, Hebrew name was Saul
o Paul never met Jesus and at first, was
an enemy of Christianity
o While traveling in Damascus, Syria,
Paul said he had a vision of Christ
o He began using his Roman name, Paul
(instead of Saul), and spend the rest of
his life spreading and interpreting
Christ’s teachings
 Pax Romana (Roman Peace) provided
ideal conditions for the spread of
Christianity
 Roman Road System and common
languages of Latin and Greek helped as
well
 Paul wrote influential letters, called
Epistles to groups of believers
 Paul stressed that Jesus was the son of
God, who died for people’s sins, and he
declared that Christianity should
welcome all converts, Jew or Gentile (nonJew)
 Message appealed to many
B.Jewish Rebellion
 During the early years of Christianity,
Roman attention was focused on Judea
 AD 66, band of Zealots rebelled against
Rome
 AD 70, Romans stormed Jerusalem and
destroyed the temple complex…just one
western portion of the temple wall
remained…today is the holiest Jewish
shrine
 About ½ million Jews were killed in the
course of the rebellion
 AD 132, group of Jews tried again to
break away from the Roman
Empire…another ½ million Jews were
killed…Jewish political state ceased to
exist…most Jews were driven from their
homeland into exile
 Diaspora= dispersal of the Jews…a
scattering of people from their homeland
C. Persecution of the Christians
 Christians posed a problem for Roman
rulers because their refused to worship
Roman gods (or the Roman Emperors
themselves)
 Some Roman rulers, like Nero, used
Christians as scapegoats for political
troubles
 AD 64 Emperor Nero was blamed for a
disastrous fire in Rome…he blamed the
Christians, and ordered them persecuted
o “human torches” lining the way to the
Coliseum
 2 apostles, Peter and Paul, were put to
death in Rome after AD 60
 As the Pax Romana began to
crumble…Romans exiled, imprisoned, or
executed Christians for refusing to
worship Roman gods
o Thousands of Christians were
crucified, burned, or killed by wild
animals in circus arenas
o Many saw persecuted Christians as
martyrs (people who are willing to
sacrifice their lives for their faith)
 Despite persecution, Christianity became
a powerful religious force
 Late 3rd century AD, millions of Jews in
the Roman Empire…missionaries spread
the religion
IV. A World Religion
 Widespread appeal of Christianity
o Embraced all people- men and
women, slaves, the poor, nobles
o Gave hope to the powerless
o Appealed to those who were against
the extravagances of imperial Rome
o Offered a personal relationship with a
loving God
o Promised eternal life after death
A. Early Christian Church
* Christians soon began to give their religion
a structure, much like the hierarchy of the
Roman Empire
* Local level: Priests led small groups of
Christians…bishop supervised several local
churches
* Apostle Peter traveled to Rome from
Jerusalem and became the first bishop there
* Peter referred to as the “rock” on which
the Christian Church would be built…all
priests and bishops trace their authority to
lead back to Peter
* Eventually, every major city had its own
bishop
* Later bishops of Rome, claimed to be heirs
of Peter, and that Peter was the first POPE,
father or head of the church
* They said, whoever was the bishop of Rome
(Pope) was also the leader of the whole
Church
B.Constantine Accepts Christianity
 312 Roman emperor, Constantine, was
fighting 3 rivals for his title
o Constantine marched to the Tiber
River to battle his chief rival
o Constantine prayed for divine
help…reported that he saw a cross of
light in the heavens with the
inscription, “In this symbol, conquer”
o Constantine ordered artisans to put
the Christian symbol of the cross on
his soldier’s shields
o Constantine was victorious at the
Battle of Milvian Bridge, and credited
the Christian God
 AD 313: Constantine announced an end to
the persecution of the Christians in the
Edict of Milan…declared Christianity, an
approved religion and granted “both to
the Christians and to all men freedom to
follow the religion that they choose”
 AD 380, emperor Theodosius made
Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire
C. Discord and Harmony
 As Christianity grew, disagreements
about beliefs developed
 Heresy= beliefs that contradicted the
basic teachings of the religion
 Church leaders sought to set a standard of
belief
 NEW TESTAMENT- standard of belief
comprised of the four Gospels, the
Epistles of Paul, and other documents
 AD 325, Constantine called the Church
leaders to Nicaea in Anatolia and they
wrote the Nicene Creed, which defined
the basic beliefs of the Church
D.
The Fathers of the Church
 several early writers and scholars also
helped to define and shape Church
teachings
 Augustine, bishop of Hippo in 396
o Taught that while humans needed the
grace of God to be saved, God was
merciful and gave his grace freely
o Famous book of Augustine: The City
of God…stated the fate of cities (like
Rome) was not important because the
heavenly city of God, could never be
destroyed
 Christianity increased in power and
wealth, despite the empire’s growing
internal and external problems.
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