Courage and Christianity Christianity is one of the worlds most recognizable religions today. With every major religion, a struggle has to be overcome in order to be successful. Over a period of hundreds of years, Christianity spread through the Roman empire. The spreading of Christianity was not an easy task but a terrifying task that took the brave to conquer. Although several powerful rulers were important in spreading Christianity in Ancient Rome, it would not have taken root if not for its appeal among the slaves and the lower class.
Jesus, a Jewish prophet and teacher, taught during the reign of Augustus that he was the son of God. Jesus message told that he was sent into the world to deliver the people from their sins. Jesus’s disciples spreaded his word and helped him gain many followers. “Many disciples believed that a final judgement day was near at hand, on which God would reward the righteous with immortality and condemn sinners into everlasting hell,” (Guisepi 1). The thought of eternal paradise in Heaven gave especially the poor hope. People who were living in poverty and slavery could only dream of a life filled with relaxation and luxury. Jesus gave everyone faith that whoever believes in him would be rewarded with eternal paradise in Heaven. As Jesus followers grew, Jewish officials became filled with rage. Jesus claimed to be the the son of God, a claim they thought to be blasphemy. Jesus associated with the poor who were considered sinners. Many
Christianity began its succession into the most dominant worldwide religion after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days build another made without hands.” Upon Jesus’ death and resurrection, he completed this task setting forth the development of Christianity. Since Jesus left no formal authoritative power, organization, or agreed upon scriptures, a wide variety of sects gained popularity in the development of Christianity. Most of these sects were later deemed as heretic, one of the most notable being Gnosticism. Gnosticism was a dualist religion believing the material world evil and the invisible spirit realm good. This belief obligated Gnosticism to follow Docetic interpretations. Docetism is the belief that Jesus was never truly man but rather a divine from the spirit world. All forms of Christianity, however, believe Jesus is son of God sent as humanity’s savior from damnation. Docetism, along with other aspects of Gnosticism, drove other Christians condemn Gnosticism as heresy. Gnosticism, however, is more comparable to Canonical Christians than realized. Specifically, the distinction between Docetism and strict Canonical belief is not only insignificant but also justifiable due to Canonical contradictions surrounding Jesus’ existence.
In the Roman Civilization where the prevalent worship of Roman gods were impersonal and did not provide a moral base or a message of hope, in the fourth century Christianity was formed, born as a movement within Judaism. Christianity emphasized the personal relationship between God and people, slowly spread through the Roman Empire until ultimately dominating the western culture. Three of the several factors that aided to the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire were: the central beliefs and value of Christianity, prominent figures, and Christianity appeal to women. Christianity offered hope to many, for it was the time of grace and freedom, the time to rebuild the future and
The population of Rome was mainly made up of peasants and farmers so when they learned that Jesus was like them it gave them hope of achieving eternal life. Christianity accepts people of all social classes so it spread quickly throughout Rome due to the lower class’s large population. When Constantine embraced Christianity and stopped the persecution of Christians the religion spread like wild fire because Christians could spread God’s word, like Paul, without being
Christianity is one of the most influential religions on both ancient and modern Western society, with the religion based on the teachings of the prophet Jesus Christ who lived approximately between the years of 5 BC and 33 AD. It is claimed that Christ was the son of God whose spirit was embodied and sent to Earth as a human being to bring peace and prosperity to the less fortunate, and absolve the world of its sin. Jesus preached a doctrine of a supreme monotheistic god who ruled over the universe, as well as ethics and morals especially centred on the concept of faith and forgiveness. If one was to live their life in accordance to the Will of God and the teachings of Christ found in the written word of the Holy Bible, one would be absolved of their sin and ascend to the spiritual realm of God, known as Heaven, after their physical death.
Christianity is a widespread and powerful religion because of its beginning in the Roman Empire. Factors contributing to this included spreading ideas without difficulty throughout the entire empire, the appeal of Christianity to the people, and the rule of Emperor Constantine.
Christianity was born and flourished in an empire where the common language was Latin and Greek. Two important people like Paul and Constantine further influenced and were a major part of the development of Christianity. The history of the Jews leading up to the time of Jesus had a major impact on the development of Christianity. “When Christianity was clearly identified as a distant religion, the new religion was considered by its members to be the fulfillment of Judaism rather than a new religion.” “Since Jesus was a Jew and preached to the Jews, Christianity was closely linked to Judaism.” The development of Christianity was due to several historical, political, and social circumstances.
The religion of Christianity is one of the prevalent forms of religion, and it is most widely spread. There are over three billion followers and has many sects around the world. While each sect has different customs, all Christians believe that there is only one God and creator of the universe. Within this God, there is God the father (creator of the universe), God the Son (Jesus or Christ, the Messiah), and God the Holy Spirit (The actual presence of God that is in us or around us but is not visually apparent). The people of this religion believe Jesus, born of a virgin mother, and died on the cross for our sins, and resurrected three days later. Followers of Christ believe that Christ was God’s son and the true Messiah, sent to earth to free us from our sins through salvation. Achievement of Salvation by believing in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. When a person reaches salvation, they are safe from the grasp Hell and will spend their afterlife in heaven with God. The Holy Bible, a book created by Jesus’s followers, explains Jesus’s life and teachings. All Christians believe the Holy
Religions take a hold on societies in different ways. Christianity started as a revitalization movement against the Roman hierarchy, and was comprised of mostly woman and the poor. The Roman Empire took up most of the Mediterranean and North Africa. With the death of Jesus, around 33 CE, came a new, unique, religion that was a spin off of Judaism but they believed that Jesus was the foretold Messiah. Although they were persecuted, Christianity took hold in the ancient world because it offered salvation, was fair to all, and preached love and peace.
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.
The rise of universal religions across the continents was greatly influenced by commerce, politics and the political leaders at the time. Political leaders were accepting the teachings and foundations of various faiths, and this allowed for these regions to thrive. In the Roman Empire, the conversion of Emperor Constantine played a key role in the spread of Christianity. Constantine and the people who succeeded him were pleased with the teachings of Christianity, and this allowed for the religion to spread beyond the cities into hinterlands. In addition, the collapse of the Roman Empire further led to the spread of Christianity since the church was the only source of unity around which people coalesced. Also, trade and commerce further facilitated
Emerging from the depths, Christianity began as a small sect contained within Judaism, but throughout the next 300 years the small sect grew to be the religion of the Roman Empire. Surviving a turbulent political climate, Christianity took root and could not be eradicated. Many things influenced Christianity, such as: Hellenistic thought, conflict with Judaism, and trying to stay relevant within the Rome Empire. Though Christianity began as a small sect, absorbing certain aspects of culture allowed Christianity to grow and become one of the most influential voices in the Empire.
While Christianity began to spread across Rome and its surrounding, so did the spread of language especially Greek and Latin. Then unexpectedly Christianity became the official religion of the entire Roman Empire. As the reading mentions the rise of Christianity replaced the previous religion which was polytheism. The reading also mentions that Romas did not have an imposed religion on the entire empire, and were usually willing to accept new gods. I think this is one of the main reasons why Christianity was able to spread so quickly throughout the Roman Empire. People were free to choose and believe whatever they wanted. Other than Christianity the religion that was also important was Judaism in which the reading mentions that it displayed a tendency towards syncretism. But Christianity not only spread through Rome it also expanded to the Latin speaking West as well as to Ethiopia and Mesopotamia and then eventually become one of the most practiced religions even to this
In his time, Jesus did not agree with the laws that were set in place, and often spoke out against the Pharisees teachings. Just like Goldstein, many people of Jesus’ time had no reason to despise him, but did so because he did not follow the Pharisees teachings, and were told that he was a conniver of some kind because of it. He was widely known for his acceptance of people that were outcasts of the society, and others that also did not agree with the Pharisees teachings. Jesus was born Jewish and is often referred to as the Lamb of God because he was the people’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin to
In the Roman Civilization where the prevalent worship of roman gods were impersonal and did not provide a moral base or a message of hope, in the fourth century Christianity was formed, born as a movement within Judaism Christianity emphasized the personal relationship between God and people slowly spread through the Roman Empire until ultimately dominating the western culture. Three of the several factors that aided to the growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire were; the central beliefs and value of Christianity, prominent figures, and Christianity appeal to women.
The single most important aspect of European empires, beginning just prior to the fall of Rome, is the spread of Christianity to all areas of the continent in as little as a few hundred years. Many theologians state that Christianities spread is the indirect influence of God and the adoration of people to one true faith. Though it is true that Christianity has brought about people that even atheists could call saints, it is unquestionable that Christianity was so monumental because it united larger groups of people and its spread is contributed to adherence to local customs and its lack of new ideas in comparison to other religions of the day.