THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY
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The early Romans worshipped nature spirits. Under Etruscan influence, they came to
think of these spirits as gods and goddesses.
 Later, the Romans adopted much of Greek religion and mythology. They honoured
them as required by the Roman government.
 Beginning with Augustus, the government also began expecting people throughout
the Empire to honour the Emperor as Rome’s chief priest.
 Nevertheless, the Empire’s people were still allowed to worship freely – and they did.
A variety of religions flourished in the Roman Empire.
 Then, at about the time of Augustus, a new monotheistic religion called Christianity
began to be practiced by some of the Jews in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At first, both the Roman authorities and the followers of Christianity thought of the new religion as a sect within
Judaism.
As Christians won over new followers, however, their faith diverged further and further from its Jewish roots,
and Christianity eventually became a separate religion in its own right.
Foundation of Christianity and life of Jesus
 Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth in the Roman province of Judea.
 After a traditional Jewish education, Jesus traveled through Judea from about 26 CE to 30 CE.
 He was preaching a message to his fellow Jews, and winning disciples (followers).
 He urged people to repent their mistakes and change their behaviour.
 He said that God was loving and forgiving toward all those who repented, no matter what evil they had done
or how lowly they were.
 Addressing people of every class, he often used parables (symbolic stories) to get his message across.
 Jesus’ disciples began to believe that he was the long awaited messiah (saviour).
 Other Jews, believing the messiah had not yet come, did not think Jesus deserved to be called messiah.
They viewed him as an imposter.
 This disagreement soon became a fiercely debated controversy.
 The controversy troubled Roman officials in Palestine. They believed that anyone who aroused such strong
feelings in the public could jeopardize Roman authority.
 In approximately 30 CE, the Roman governor arrested Jesus as a
political troublemaker and ordered that he be crucified (hung from a
cross). Crucifixion was the customary Roman way of punishing
criminals.
 After Jesus’ death, his disciples claimed that he had been resurrected
(risen from the dead), and had appeared to them.
 They pointed to this as further evidence that he was the messiah. His
followers began preaching that Jesus was the Son of God and the way
to salvation.
 Jews and non-Jews who accepted this message and followed Jesus’ teachings became known as Christians.
Christos was the Greek word for “messiah”.
 They formed churches – communities for worship, fellowship and instruction.
Reminder: Roman Newspaper Assignment Due MONDAY!
Roman History Unit Test on Thursday, May 14
Have a great weekend! /Mr. Binet
Oh, and don’t forget my Wiki! www.mrbinet.pbwiki.com