Rome, Jesus, and the
Spread of Christianity
Pastor Jeff Krogstad
Central Lutheran Church
Rome at the Birth of Christ
Rome at the Birth of Christ
Rome: The Right time… The
right place!!!
GEOGRAPHIC
FACTORS
PHILOSOPHICAL
FACTORS
POLITICAL
FACTORS
Rome: The Right time… the
RELIGIOUS FACTORS
right place!!!
Blending of Greek &
Other Religious beliefs
Polytheism… Many
Gods
Pagan
State recognition of
Traditional Greek Gods
Emperor cult worship
Rome: The Right time… the
right place!!!
GREECE
Culture
Language
Metaphysics
Rome: The Right time… the
right place!!!
ROMAN ORDER
Transportation
“All roads lead to
Rome”
Legal System
Rome: The Right time… the
right place!!!
JEWISH RELIGIOUS
FOUNDATION
Jewish Beliefs
Monotheism
One God
Hope for a Messiah
Christianity: Seizing the
moment
Christianity: Seizing the
Moment
Christ is born in
5 or 6 BC
Why not 0?
What the
heck does AD
mean?
The Appeal of Jesus
His Ministry
His Death
His Claim
Y’Shua min Nazaret
…Jesus of Nazareth
The Appeal of Jesus
HIS MINISTRY
Healing
Preaching
“The Kingdom of
God”
Harsh judgment or
Loving Father?
Y’Shua min Nazaret
…Jesus of Nazareth
The Appeal of Jesus
HIS DEATH
Pontius Pilate
Scandal
Y’Shua min Nazaret
…Jesus of Nazareth
The Appeal of Jesus
THE CLAIM
Resurrection
Available to
Believers
Hope After
Death
Y’Shua min Nazaret
…Jesus of Nazareth
Key People & Actions foster
the Spread of Christianity
PETER
Traveling Preacher
Later revered as “First
Pope” or the “Bishop of
Rome”
Martyred in Rome in
mid-60’s AD
Key People & Actions foster
the Spread of Christianity
PAUL (Saul of Tarsus)
Jewish
Started Gentile
Churches
Wrote letters which
make up 1/3 of the
New Testament
Martyred in Rome in
mid-60’s AD
Key People & Actions foster
the Spread of Christianity
THE JEWISH WAR
Destruction of the
Jewish Temple in
70 AD
Clear Division
between Jews &
Christians
Josephus
Was this universally
appealing?
“Alexamenos
worships his god”
Graffito from
Rome, late 1st or
early 2nd century
Martyrdom -- POLYCARP
Key Resource for the Spread
of Christianity
THE NEW
TESTAMENT
Portable
Translatable
Religion
DaVinci Code???
Spawns other
writings
Key People & Actions foster
the Spread of Christianity
Constantine’s Edict of Toleration
(313 AD)
Theodosius declares Christianity
the official religion of the Roman
Empire (380 AD)
Augustine & the Rise of the Holy
Roman Empire (d. 430 AD)