Christianity and the Roman Empire (Ch 13 Sec 3 and 4)

Key Terms Define: crucifixion, messiah, resurrection, martyr, epistle, parable

Beginnings of Christianity The Romans conquered the land of Judea Jews here resented foreign rule and hoped the messiah would come to save and free them Romans began to punish the Jews and appointed Herod as ruler Jesus was born under the rule of Herod, in Bethlehem His stories are part of the New Testament

The Bible Book of worship: Bible After Jesus dies, his disciples told his stories written into the New Testament The writers were: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are the 4 Gospel writers

Christian Beliefs Jesus grew up in Nazareth as a carpenter but began to teach He taught there is only one, true God His followers believed him to be the Messiah

Fears of Christianity Romans complained that Jesus taught that God was greater than the emperor Jesus was condemned to death by crucifixion. He rose from the dead and asked his disciples to spread his teachings.

Christianity Spreads The Greek word for Messiah was Cristos and Jesus became known as Christ. Christianity spread to Syria and then to Rome Letters of Paul: *Saul, a Jew, rejected the Christian message until he had a vision that Jesus spoke to him *He changed his name to Paul and began to spread Christianity *Paul wrote epistles which became part of the Bible

Rome Burns Christians were viewed as enemies because they did not worship the Roman gods Fire started in Rome, leaving the city in ruins Nero blamed the Christians and they were sent to death, including Paul

The Appeal of Christianity For 250 years, the Romans tormented Christians and blamed them for the decline of the Empire Christianity continued to spread The message of a better life after death appealed to many Christian communities helped the poor and widowed Emperor Diocletian outlawed Christian services and put many to death *They became known as martyrs Section handout Religions of the World Project