1. The Rise of Christianity Ch. 1.4

2. Principles of Judaism (Ch1.3)
The Ancient Israelites
According to the Torah, Abraham migrated with his family westward from Mesopotamia to Canaan
near the eastern Mediterranean coast, Abraham founded the Israelite nation
God’s Covenant with the Israelites
The Israelites were monotheistic
They believed God would protect and provide for them as long as they followed God’s laws
Teachings on Law and Morality
The Torah established moral principles and set out laws
The Ten Commandments that became part of the cultural foundation of Western civilization

3. Early Life of Jesus
Most of what is known is through the Gospels (1st four books of the new Testament)
Born about 4 B.C. in Bethlehem, mother Mary was told he would be the messiah.
Growing up he worshiped God, followed Jewish law and worked as a carpenter.

4. Early Life of Jesus cont.
Ministry
Jesus chose twelve close followers
known as the apostles
He began preaching at age 30 drawing large crowds when word spread that he performed miracles.
Jesus often used parables (short stories) to communicate his ideas.

5. Life of Jesus cont. His Message Rooted from Jewish tradition
He believed in God and the Ten commandments
also preached new beliefs
He called himself the Son of God
declared himself the messiah that Jews were waiting for

6. Life of Jesus cont.
Promised spiritual salvation & eternal life to anyone who believed in him
Jesus rejected “an eye for an eye” but embraced “love your enemies”
“If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the other one, too.”

8. Death and Resurrection
Death on the Cross
Some welcomed Jesus
others saw a troublemaker
Roman leaders felt Jesus was a revolutionary
would lead the Jews in a rebellion
Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples
tried, convicted, and crucified by the Romans
After his death his disciples began to spread his word. (Apostles- “a person sent forth”)

9. Spread of Christianity
Work of Paul
After having a vision of Jesus, sets out to spread Jesus' teachings
Set Christianity on the road to becoming a world religion
Persecution
Rome was not tolerant of Christianity
Officials suspected “C” of being disloyal to Rome
“C’s” refused to make sacrifices to emperor or Roman gods
Christian’s used as the scapegoats for social & economic problems

11. Reason for Christianity’s Appeal
Survival
“C” ethics generated broad appeal
Jesus has welcomed ALL people,
humble, poor, & oppressed
People found comfort in the message of love
Christian missionaries added ideas from Plato, the stoics, & other Greek thinkers to Jesus’ message

12. The Christian Church The early communities
“C” communities shared a common faith in the teachings of Jesus
Believed by the grace of God, renouncing evil, & baptism their sins would be washed away.
All members were considered equal
“C” church developed into a hierarchy
Each community has its own priest
Priest came under the authority of a bishop

13. The Early Church Medieval Church Triumph
1054 church split in to East and West church
Roman Catholic Church controlled the western half.
Triumph
Persecutions ended in A.D. 313 when emperor Constantine issued the “Edict of Milan”
As the Roman empire collapsed the Church inherited many of its functions