THE BIRTH OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION, AND ESCHATOLOGICAL EXPECTATIONS
Introduction
The New Testament presents the followers of Christ with an understanding of the origins and expectations of their religious faith within the context of greater Greco-Roman society in the face of growing political opposition and oppression. Understanding the religious environment in which Christianity first appeared and later dominated in the Roman Empire is necessary for one to understand the earliest development of Christianity.
At the start of the first century AD, the Greco Roman-World was polytheistic, which means the people of that time and place worshiped or believed in multiple deities. The reason these
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The Jews had a long-standing belief in the coming of a Messiah. However, Christianity drew not only from Jewish culture but greatly from Greco-Roman culture. Judaism Christianity developed in a small province and seemed to appeal to poorer classes of people. Christianity did not fit into the normal patterns of history but gained a wider impact over time. This paper will explore the historical and geographical milieu of the Christian message. It will also address the message of Paul, John, and the Christian writers. Finally, Christian eschatological hope at the end of the first century will be …show more content…
While the Jews enjoyed a peaceful existence in Judea for many years, some Greek leaders sought to destroy Judaism altogether from the Holy Land. Prior to this the Greeks did not view Jews as a threat and treated Jewish people with respect. In turn, the Jews adopted much of the Hellenistic ways of life. But time and time again, Christians were subjected to constant persecution and brutal punishments due to their beliefs. Because many wh did not believe in Jesus thought that Christian beliefs were blasphemous, Christians were often forced out or banished from where they lived and worshipped.To understand the birth of Christianity and the life and death of Jesus Christ, one needs to understand the context of the Roman Empire. Jesus and his early followers were
His book is divided into six chapters. Meeks lays the groundwork of the following chapters by couching the Pauline Christians in its’ urban context. In chapter one, The Urban Environment of Pauline Christianity, Meeks attributes the spread of Christianity to the Greco Roman culture, the culture that the urban Christians lived in. This urbanization provided physical and
Virginia Beach: SoftChalk LessonBuilder, 2013. Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print. No Author, HIST 101 Western Civilization I, “Week 4: The Romans.”
Moreover, the persecution of Nero contributed to the growing differentiation between Christian and as they were becoming more identifiable as their religious groupE16. Consequently, Nero gained notoriety as the first Emperor to persecute Christians . Furthermore, Tacitus’s reference to Christ's death under Pontius Pilate is vital evidence of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Thus, the importance of Tacitus's account cannot be understated as not only an account of the first Emperor sanctioned persecution of Christians but also for the attestation to the historical reality and death of
Even though Christians were persecuted on and off during the Roman Empire, Christianity flourished. In the early Roman Empire, when Claudius, Nero, Domitian, and Trajan were emperors, Christianity was banned and Christians were persecuted. Nevertheless, Christians found ways to spread Christianity, and many people converted. As trials occurred and the Empire lost good leaders, the people took security in Christianity and other religions. Christianity grew during the Roman Empire because Constantine helped create the Edict of Milan, Constantine had imperial favor toward The Church, and there was trade routes to spread Christianity to different areas.
Nicene Christianity Student’s Name Course Name Date The deity of Jesus has been a topic of intense debate over several years with different groups coming p with their perception of the identity of Christ. The fourth and fifth centuries witnessed immense confusion about the relationship between Jesus and man as well as Jesus and God. Several councils were formed and numerous teachings were taught, a move that caused many people to fall away from the teachings of the apostles. I will be discussing the controversy surrounding the deity of Jesus by considering the input of various councils and the outcome of their suggestions.
How did Christianity originate? A Jew named Jesus of Nazareth, lived in Palestine and conveyed a simple message to other Jews that would eventually spread and evolve into Christianity. His goal was not to change or destroy the Jews’ traditional religion, but to tell them that it was more important for each individual to change themselves, rather than to strictly obey the law. He told them that people should love each other, as well as God. Jesus upheld the characteristics of modesty and love for others.
The views on Christianity throughout Rome changed immensely from the early years of the empire through the fourth century. For a while, Christians were looked at as a threat to many because of their belief in monotheism. Nero and his followers persecuted and punished the lower class and women who followed Christianity as well as use them as political scapegoats. As time went on, the tolerance for Christianity in Rome grew and Christianity gained acceptance. By the fourth century, Christianity was the official religion in Rome.
During the early Pax Romana, Christianity, emerged and it spread rapidly in the Roman Empire. The founder of Christianity was Jesus who used parables with moral lessons to communicate his ideas. Jesus emphasized mercy, sympathy for the poor and helpless, morality, forgiveness, and service to others. Christianity eventually became the official religion of Rome because of its unifying force and the fact that it appealed to all classes in society. The humble, poor and oppressed found comfort in his message of love, equality, human dignity, and promise for a better life.
Christianity is the world's largest religion with about 2 billion followers. Christianity was formed around 33 CE in present day Israel. It is based on the birth, death, resurrection and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ. During that time period, Israelites suffered in slavery and sins under the rule of the Roman
Christianity spread through the efforts of missionaries and merchants through many parts of Afro-Eurasia, and eventually gained Roman imperial support by the time of the emperor Constantine. Emperor Constantine was the first Roman emperor to be baptized, therefore creating quite an impact on the history of Christianity. 3. The core ideas in Greco-Roman
The major beliefs of Christianity are that Jesus was the son of god. Another belief is that God sent him to earth to save humanity. They believe that there is life after earthly death, Baptism. The gospels saw Jesus after he died walking on water and they all wrote the same exact story about how they individually saw him walking on water and they spread the story through the Romans. Christianity was supposed to be a side sect of the Jews, but the Jews didn’t want there to sects so they created their own religion based on Jesus's story.
2012: 56) have been collated and now form the part of the Bible known as the New Testament. The New Testament doesn’t offer any detached views of Jesus, it only reflects the faith of its authors that Jesus was the Christ (Carmody & Carmody 1996: 193); and what is most mystical about it is His intimacy with the God he called Father (Carmody & Carmody 1996: 195). Over the following generations the Christian movement suffered turmoils; faced reform and grew through the patristic period, the medieval period, the late medieval period and into the modern period. Over these generations Christians have had to explain how they understand the natural world, human nature, human sociability and ultimate reality; in doing so, Christian theologians developed
Mark wrote as the Romans destroyed the Temple and persecuted Jews and Christians. These events influenced Mark’s image Jesus as suffering and dying messiah. This inspired early Christians to endure suffering in hopes of resurrection. Historical questions cause us to scrutinize the gospels to understand first century Christianity more fully. These historical questions provoke us to explore events that shaped early Christian writers and audiences and how they interpreted
Intertestamental history is distinguished from “Greek and Roman” history for the simple reason of wanting to concentrate on specific instances in which events had a direct impact on pre-New Testament events. Building on the historical circumstances created by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, looking now to those matters within Jewish history that promises to generate insight into the world Jesus faced. The history of the period is important for setting the stage for Jesus’ ministry. Upon opening the New Testament, one meets a Roman presence, something that could be anticipated in a close reading of Daniel, but not yet a reality. The birth of Jesus is dated by Roman officials, a group of Zealots advocated decisive action to drive the Romans out, and the Roman military carried out the crucifixion of Jesus by using a Roman form of execution.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. No. 312 (1998) 90-92 Evans, Craig A. The World of Jesus and the Early Church: Identify and Interpretation in Early Communities of Faith. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011.