Christianity In The Julian Empire Essay

In demanding such commitment, those won to Christianity were far more connected to its goals and purposes than believers to the general pagan movement. Further, “for Christians that were already firmly committed, the benefits of esteem and other worldly rewards far outweighed whatever cost in suffering martyrdom might bring. Paganism had nothing analogous to win such enthusiastic commitment” (Hamilton 38). Whereas, Christianity promised life after death in heaven while in the Roman religion, only gods went to heaven; emperors were considered gods, everyone else went to the underworld.

When you think about Christianity, you don’t think about it being a bad thing. Christianity is the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies. This religion came to be one of the largest and most influential religions today. When the Romans thought about Christianity, it was considered a sin. But what exactly was the nature of the conflict between Christianity and the Roman government? The conflict between Christianity and the Roman government was that Christians refused to recognizes the romans beliefs in their religion.

‘Christians to the lions’ as Trajan would say, an emperor in the early centuries Christianity to them have alienated the favour of their gods which has and would continue to cause disasters in the Roman Empire. The misfortune of Christians did not stop during this period, but it did come to a composed halt as Galerius, gave Christians the right to worship in some sense. Christianity during the early stages was clearly a course of persecution and forced pagan accusations. Constantine dramatically changed the recourse of religions with the battle of Milvian Bridge as Christianity became the predominant religion of the Roman Empire.

The origin of the Crusades is rooted in political upheaval. The mid seventh century to the mid tenth century CE saw a gradual expansion of Islam (Riley-Smith 1). Half of the Christian world was conquered by Arab armies. This included countries in which Christianity had been established for centuries, such as Egypt, southern France, southern Italy, Sicily, Spain, Syria, and Turkey (Riley-Smith 2). By the late tenth century, Europe and the Middle East were divided into Christian and Muslim hemispheres of influence. Christian pilgrims from Europe regularly visited the Muslim-controlled Jerusalem. These pilgrimages were very popular.

Factors Which Led to the Spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire Christianity was not born in a vacumn. There were many social, geographical, historical and religious issues prevailing at the time of Christ and all of which were favorable to the spread of Christianity. Geograpicly, Christianity came into being in the Meditation world, the largest of the various centers of civilization at that time. Israel stands almost central to the five continents, dividing the east and west.

Then and now religions shared common dimensions that provide society with a doctrine, narrative, ethics, ritual, experience and a social institution. These six dimensions that Ninian Smart derived spell out the framework for comparative study of religions1. The six dimensions hold true when comparing the daily routine Roman religious thought to modern Christianity. Interwoven into the core of both cultures is a strong unifying spirit that built a strong communal bond for its people.

Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, or Constantine, is commonly referred to as the fist Christian emperor of the Roman Empire and as the defender of Christianity. Such grand titles are not necessarily due for the reasons that people commonly think of them today.

Christians went from being persecuted to dominating Rome rather quickly. In a world where separation between church and state does not exist, a Christian becoming the sole emperor of Rome symbolized a huge turning point in history. The power switched and the Pagans in turn became persecuted. Christians rose up and took control of all aspects of Roman society. The Pagan past was destroyed, banned, or forgotten about. Those Christians that did not agree with how things were being run either left the empire and became monks or formed their own sect. All of Rome changed.

Even though Constantine (early 4th CE) and Augustus (early 1st century) ruled at different times during the Roman Empire, physically and ideologically, they ruled in many comparable ways. Both emperors strived for peace and unity throughout Rome, demonstrated by their actions (Lecture 3/14). Many emperors and bishops consider Constantine to be ‘August of the fourth century’ because of the similar ideals that he shared with August. Compared to Augustus’s attitudes towards religion, Constantine took similar actions to integrate Christianity into Roman society such as claiming relation to the Gods and identifying them as divine beings, and incorporating religion into the military victories. Through these acts, Constantine eagerly integrated the

Most would not admit this but very often, Christians have in many ways - through crusade, capture and trade, used the name and influence of Jesus Christ to encourage and validate political, economic, even and especially military gain. The book Christ and Empire is representative of Jesus Christ, and empires throughout history with great effort with the fact of Jesus’ implication on human life. As every theologian or political figure interpret Jesus’ power on humanity, He is the central figure of the Byzantine Empire pointing out that power and harmony of a group, and eventually the downfall from America. This is a central focus in Christ and Empire, where Rieger

Constantine’s success at the Milvian Bridge was definitely a battle that deserves praise because of his great military operation. Nevertheless, his motivation for fighting was something that must be taking into consideration. It is commonly stated and believed that on the evening of October 27th, while preparing for battle, Constantine had a vision, which let him fight under the protection of the Christian God. Eusebius stated,

The relationship between Christians and the Roman Empire is complicated to say the least. Before the summation of the primary sources begin there must be a little background information provided. Rome was in power over a big portion of the Mediterranean region. A good portion of Christians lived under Rome’s rule. Rome was a very tolerant state when it came to religious flexibility. As long as you recognized the Roman God’s then they were tolerant with any other practices you decided to have. The Christians would not recognize the Roman God’s and that caused great friction. There are many primary sources historians have found on the relationship between the Christians and the Romans. The majority of the sources being used in this summation are from the Documents of the Christian Church the fourth edition. Also three primary sources from the times of Constantine, the emperor of Rome in the fourth century. The Romans start as thinking of the Christians as criminals, to being tolerant with them, to eventually they embrace the Christian faith.

With its insistence on exclusive monotheistic worship of the Christian God it won where paganism could only fail, in demanding solitary allegiance to its movement (pp. 201-204). In demanding such commitment, those won to Christianity were far more allied to its goals and purposes than adherents to pagan movements that were non-exclusive. Further, the possibility of publicly suffering for their faith offered Christians the hope of enormous communal esteem. For those already firmly committed, the benefits of esteem and other-worldly reward far out-weighed whatever cost in suffering martyrdom might bring. Paganism had nothing analogous to win such enthusiastic commitment. Whereas, Christianity promised life after death in heaven while in the Roman religion, only gods went to heaven; emperors were considered gods, everyone else went to the underworld.

Throughout history, Christianity always had a reputation, or a “name” following it. Different perspectives approached the reputation that was attached to Christianity in different manners. Justin Martyr and Porphyry had objectives when defining whether this “name” really defined Christianity and the past. They wondered whether the past really represented Christianity. Additionally they honed in on the question of was the past that people represented as Christianity really the roots of Christianity? All around Porphyry and Justin was perceptions of what Christianity rooted from and stood for.

Over the first two centuries, it was a dark and dreary time for the Ancient Roman Empire. Many of the people turned away from the god of old and began to believe in a god that gave salvation and hope. Salvation from this life and onto the next. This ideology would eventually come in many different forms, languages, and ideas. However, they were all waved under one flag and one religion; the cause of Christianity. The Gospel of Matthew: Chapters 4-7 quite accurately covers the main threats that Christianity posed to the Roman Empire. Why was Christianity such a major threat to the Roman Empire at the time of its conceivement? The belief of salvation in the form of an afterlife, of a God whose word was superior to that of the Emperor himself, and the more deeply felt beliefs of righteousness and unity are all major parts of what made Christianity the biggest threat the Roman Empire had faced in a long time.