1. Rise of Christianity
Religion played a huge role in Roman life, however Roman gods were impersonal and often were practiced with little emotion. A new religion called Christianity emerged born as a movement within Judaism and emphasez a more personal relationship between God and People

2. Life and Teachings of Jesus
Around 4-6 A.D. a Jew named Jesus was born in Bethlehem
What occupation or trade did Jesus take up?
Traveled and preached for 3 years
Historical records rarely mention Jesus what we know about him is from his teachings of the Gospels
Gospels were thought to have been written by one or more of Jesus’ disciples or also know as apostles
Jesus went to Jerusalem
Was crucified and put in a tomb and 3 days later his body was gone
Age of 30 Jesus took up public ministry and preached, taught, did good works and reportedly performed miracles
Stressed importance of peoples love for god, neighbors, their enemies, and even themselves
What we know about Jesus comes from the gospels, the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible
Jesus went to Jerusalem about 29AD and huge crowds greeted him as the Messiah or king, however Chief priests of the Jews denied that Jesus was the Messiah and said his teachings were blasphemy and accused him of defying the authority of Rome and was sentenced to death by being crucified
Jesus died and his body was placed in a tomb and three days later his body was gone and a living Jesus began to appear to his followers

3. Christianity Spreads
Paul’s Mission: Paul the apostle had a vision of Jesus and attempted to spread Jesus’ teachings for the rest of his life
Pax Romana made travel and the exchange of ideas fairly safe, provided the ideal conditions for Christianity to spread
First followers were Jews
Paul had an enormous influence on Christianity's development, he was a Jew that never met Jesus and at first was against Christ. Had a vision of Jesus and then spent his life interpreting his teachings
Welcomed all converts

4. Jewish Rebellion 66 A.D. band of Jews rebelled against Rome
Rome Stormed Jerusalem and destroyed the Temples
All that remained was a western portion of the wall that is a Jewish shrine still today
Diaspora is the dispersal of the Jews from their homeland in Palestine

5. World Religion Christianity grew because:
It embraced people– men and women, enslaved person, the poor, and nobles
Gave hope to the powerless
Appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome
Offered a personal relationship with a loving God
Promised eternal life after death
Critical moment was when Constantine was fighting three rivals for leadership of Rome
By 3rd century there were millions of Christians in Rome and it appealed to people for many reasons

6. Constantine Marched Tiber River at Rome to battle
Constantine prayed for divine help and reported seeing a image of a cross
Then ordered artisans to put the cross on his soldiers shields
Were victorious and credited God
Ended persecution of Christians
Roman Emperor
Fighting three rivals for leadership in Rome—The day before the battle he prayed for divine help and he reported that he saw a cross– the symbol of Christianity and ordered artisans to put the Christian symbol on his soldiers’ shields
His troops were victorious in battle and he credited God—Announced and end to persecution of Christians in 313 AD in the Edict of Milan he declared Christianity to be one of the religions approved by the emperor

7. World Religion
Fathers of the Church
Early Christian Church
Many disagreements came about over the basic teachings of Christianity so they put the standard of beliefs in the New Testament
While Christianity was growing, Rome was declining
At the local level a priest led each small group of Christians
Bishop was also a priest that supervised several local churches
Peter the apostle had traveled to Rome from Jerusalem and became the first bishop
Bishops later say that Peter was the first Pope or the father of the head of the Christian Church
Local level priests led each small group of Christians
Bishop who was also a priest, supervised several local churches
Peter the Apostle traveled to Rome from Jerusalem and became the first bishop eventually major cities had their own bishops and Roman bishops clamed to be the heirs of Peter and said that he was the first pope