The Spread Of Early Christianity

Religion has had a severe influence on society and by looking at the diverse attitudes that Christians employed regarding their religion through time one is likely to observe that many individuals who interpret religion erroneously are likely to put across hostile behavior toward innocent individuals. History has seen several Christians who stood up to mainstream religious thinking and who lobbied in regard to alternative methods of being religious. The cases of Margery Kempe and Martin Luther are two of the most notable examples of Christians who dared to put across their personal beliefs during a time when the Church harshly criticized and oppressed individuals like them.

From the third to the fourth century, the Roman Empire witnessed a widespread attempt to stop the spread of Christianity. Initially, leaders of the church were predominately targeted, but later anyone admitting to Christianity became a target. The persecutions hit a climax during Diocletian’s reign. These persecutions actually helped the spread of Christianity by glorifying Christians and beginning a tradition of martyrdom that shaped the Church, and the strength that Christians displayed shows that the persecutions could not have possible stopped the spread of Christianity.

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.

In contrast to the persecution experienced by early Christian followers, Christianity today does not experience the level of outward persecution. Christianity is practiced in an atmosphere nearly void of violence. It was not until the reign of Constantine when Christians were authorized to practice their chosen faith. The “Ediet of Milan”(313 A.D.), gave official recognition to the Christian faith, thus ending persecution within the Roman Empire. Before Constantine’s rule, there were many rulers eager to drive out the Christians. The Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.) established the first official policy relating to Christians and how they should be dealt with. Diocletion and the Apologists were the last of the persecutors in this era before Constantine. This marked the end of open persecution

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 overall characteristic that it shown about Christians is that they are barbaric and backward. Unlike the Christian source, it doesn’t include much vicious language and focuses on culture rather than religion. The first part of the text describes a doctor witnessing the medical practices of the Christians. You get the opinion that the methods they are using are out-dated and dangerous. For example the Frankish physician “peeled off the skin… until the bone of the skull was exposed and rubbed it with salt. The women expired instantly”. Another characteristic that is expressed through this text is that they are cold hearted and have a lack of respect. The text describes a man finding his wife sleeping around; he barely acknowledges it giving the feeling that the man is passionless. This subtly characterises Christians. The intended audience for this would have been educated Muslims. It would help explain the thinking behind the Christians taking over their land as they are just

The letter opens with two sections addressing the follies of both Paganism and Judaism. It discusses their outrageous customs and rites, and he does not continue in depth or spend time discussing further because, “if the above considerations are not enough for anybody, I [he] see[s] no point in pursuing the subject any further.” He concludes both by boasting of Christian superiority in juxtaposition of these two absurd religions. In this way, he refutes a large number of arguments against Christianity by declaring Christian rationality in apposition of the delusional religions.

As Christianity was spread throughout Rome, people began to question the teachings of Jesus. Out of fear, officials arrested and killed a multitude of Christians as a result. The everyday plebeian became impressed with these people dying for a belief. Although persecutions became more common, the number of Christians stayed the same and maybe even grew because of the influx of polytheistic Romans converting to the monotheistic religion of Christianity. People were converting quicker than they were being killed off because of the likeable teachings of love, the bravery of these people dying because of what they believed in, and their appealing message to those not in the affluent classes.

• Refers to rapid spread of Christianity among all classes of people, as well as Roman citizens that are sent to Rome for trial. “They have high ethical standards and if they repeatedly admit they honor Christ as God they are executed”.

Emperor Domitian had changed the level of persecutions. It was said to be the worst ever seen in Church history. C.

But neither human resourcefulness nor the emperor’s largesse nor appeasement of the gods could stop belief in the nasty rumor that an order had been given for the fire. To dispel the gossip Nero therefore found culprits on whom he inflicted the most exotic punishments. These were people hated for their shameful offences whom the common people called Christians. The man who gave them their name, Christus, had been executed

Mediaeval Christians were educated in a culture derived from antiquity. They learned to admire the heroes of ancient Rome and Greece, and their great poets and philosophers. Lucretia, Regulus, Cato, Virgil and Aristotle, for example, seemed obviously to have been virtuous people. But Christian doctrine appeared to go against this conclusion: all people are affected by Original Sin, in such a way that they cannot act well consistently, and so be virtuous, without divine assistance. The route to this divine assistance was through faith – precisely what these pagans lacked. Moreover, if such pagans were genuinely virtuous, then it would be unjust for God to damn them, and yet there seemed to be biblical warrant that no one without faith is saved. This, in outline, is the problem that pagans posed to Mediaeval Christian thinkers.

Persecution is a serious issue that throughout history has shown to be misinterpreted and sometimes even taken out of context. Defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the act or practice of persecuting those who differ in origin, religion or social outlook/ the condition of being persecuted, harassed or annoyed.” Other sources define it as hostility and even ill-treatment towards these groups. My goal with this paper is to focus specifically on Christian persecution from early civilizations (more specifically within the Roman Empire) and then fast-forwarding to persecution within the world today. For modern persecution I’ll be focusing on the RSS () which is ….. in India. “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” (1 Peter 4:14)

The Acts of the Apostles and Religious Intolerance The Acts of the Apostles is the geographical and political story of

The accounts of the actions by the 'enemies of true religion' throughout the ten year period of