Block Day- October 15th & 16th
• Welcome Back 
• How was break??
• This Quarter:
• Rise of Christianity & Fall of Rome
• Islam
• Emerging Europe and Middle Ages
• Renaissance & Reformation
• Exploration- possibly… 
New Seating Charts 
CNN Student News plus another Warm
Up
• Name one of the favorite things you did this break or
something fun that happened- appropriate please 
• CNN Student News
Learning Goal:
• Students will be able to…
• Summarize the life and teachings of Jesus.
• Trace the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
• Analyze Christianity’s appeal.
• Name 2 symbols that you associate with
Christianity
• *DISCLAIMER* This class is not about my
personal views on religion, or about
instilling any views of religion on others. It
is a intellectual discussion on the origins of
Christianity and its beliefs, not on whether it
is correct or not. Please make sure that you
are sensitive to others when discussing this
topic.*
ROME & THE RISE OF
CHRISTIANITY
The rise of Christianity marked an important
break with the dominant values of the Greek
and Roman worlds.
Early Roman Religion
 Played an important role in
Roman society
 Beginning with Augustus,
emperors were often
declared gods
◦ Romans worship many gods
& goddesses (polytheism)
 Roman Worship of Gods:
◦ Impersonal
◦ Practiced without a great deal
of emotion
Tolerance in Rome
• Romans were tolerant of
other religions
• Allowed worship of other
gods and goddesses
• People desired a more
emotional spiritual
experience
Roman Conquest of Judea
• CA 63 BCE—Roman
Empire extends to
Judea (Home of the
Jews)
 Jewish kingdom
remained independent at
first,
• 6 CE—Roman Empire
took total control and
made Judea a Roman
province
• Jews believed the
Messiah would arrive
to restore kingdom of
the Jews
Jews in Rome
 Most Jews of the time
lived in Judea which
became part of the
Roman empire in 6 A.D.
 Jews were monotheistic
therefore they could not
accept the emperor as
being divine
 The Romans allowed
them not to see the
emperor as divine
 Many Jews wanted to be
independent
THE RISE OF
CHRISTIANITY
Although Christians were initially persecuted,
Christianity grew in importance and spread
throughout the empire.
Jesus of Nazareth
The Beginnings of Jesus
• He was a carpenter and a
student of the writings of earlier
Jewish prophets
 Historians believe he was born
between 6 to 4 BCE in town of
Bethlehem, Judea
• Raised in the village of
Nazareth in Northern Palestine
 Baptized by prophet John the
Baptist
• Public Ministry—began at the
age of 30
Jesus of Nazareth
• Reportedly performed
miracles, preached, did
good works
• Teachings:
• Contained many ideas
from Jewish tradition
• Monotheism—belief in one
god
• Principles of the Ten
Commandments
• His mission was to complete
the salvation that God had
promised
Followers of Jesus
 He developed many
followers
 Of these he chose
Twelve to help him
preach his message
Jesus Travels
 Jesus became popular as he
traveled from town to town
• Messages:
 appealed especially to the
poor (he ignored wealth and
status)
 Simple and direct—people
touched by messages (easily
understood)
Controversy with Jesus
 Many Jews believed Jesus was
the divine messiah
 Other Jews thought he was just
a revolutionary and they did not
like him
◦ The Romans were scared that he
would lead another uprising
◦ Thought of him as a Revolutionary
◦ Around 30 A.D. He was brought to
trial before a Roman governor,
Pontius Pilate
Pilate’s Concerns
 Pontius Pilate—
accused Jesus of
defying authority
of Rome
• Jesus was
arrested,
sentenced to
death by
crucifixion—the
nailing of a person
to a wooden cross
to die
Jesus’ Death
• Jesus’ body placed in
a tomb following his
death
• According to the Gospels, 3
days later, his body was
gone, & a living Jesus
appeared to his followers.
CHRISTIANITY SPREADS
THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE
Paul and the Disciples
• Jesus' followers, called
disciples, spread the
Christian message
• Paul emphasized that
Christianity was not a sect
of Judaism, but a religion
of all people
• Universality enables
Christianity to become
more than a local religion
The Romans and Christians
• At first the Romans were tolerant of
Christians the same way they were of
Jews
• By the 100’s A.D. that had changed
• Many churches established throughout
the empire
• Christians made good citizens because
the religion taught them to respect
government
• However they were more likely than
Jews to convert people to their religion,
which meant not worshipping the emperor
• This was seen as an attack on the
Roman empire
Persecution of Christians
 Romans began to persecute,
kidnap and kill Christians
 Many Christians refused to
renounce their religion even in
the face of death
 They are known as martyrs
 The Roman effort would not stop
the spread of Christianity
Persecution of the Christians
(Left) Picture of St.
Ignatius being
thrown to the Lions
in Rome. (He was a
Christian martyr)
Christian Appeal
• Even with the persecution of the Christians by
the 3rd Century A.D. there were millions of
Christians in Rome
• Widespread Appeal due to:
• 1) embraced all people
• 2) gave hope to the powerless
• 3) appealed to those repelled by extravagances by
Rome
• 4) Personal relationship with loving God
• 5) promised eternal life after death
• 6) Pax Romana
Catacombs- a refuge for early Christians
Martyr
St. Sebastian
St. Stephen
The Spread of Christianity
Roman Roads and Why they were
important
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRYHsiCvmhc
Roman Roads Article
Constantine: 312 - 337
Constantine was
the 1st Christian
Emperor
Constantine and Christianity
• 312 A.D. Emperor Constantine was going to
battle when he prayed for help….
 He had a vision of a cross; symbol of Christianity
 He had a cross painted on his soldiers shields
 When he won the battle he gave credit to
Christianity
• 313 A.D. Constantine ended Christian
persecution and in the Edict of Milan made
Christianity a religion of Rome
• 380 A.D. emperor Theodosius made it the
official religion of Rome.
Constantine
• Constantine died in 337
A.D. he was baptized on
his death bed
• A 180 degree turn from the
early days of Rome
 In about 400 years
Christianity spread from little
Judea throughout the entire
Roman Empire
Constantine Moves the
Roman Capital
 Constantine divides the Roman Empire
into two:
 Rome = capital of west
 Constantinople = capital of east
The Early Church
• As the Roman
empire neared
its end the
Christian religion
became very
organized
 Priests had the
churches and in
each city there
was a bishop
The Pope
 The patriarch of Rome became
known as Pope
 Pope means father in Latin
 The pope claimed supremacy over
the other patriarchs
The Vatican
Pope
Archdiocese/Archbishop
Bishop/Diocese
Priest/Parish
DBQ 