Brief Response

• How did the beliefs of the ancient Israelites influence Western views social organization and the rule of law?

• Discussion: sample

• Suggested response: The Israelites believed that there is one God. This promoted the notion that there is one law or one morality. Most other religions of the time believed in more than one god which made it difficult for them to establish a lasting moral code. The Israelites believed that God had chosen them to spread God’s teachings to all nations. The Seven Universal Laws applied to all people, not just Jews. It called upon people to establish a court system. The idea behind this system is that there is a universal moral code that applies to all people. This is the basis for international law today. Also, Jews thought that leaders were human (not gods) and were bound to obey the law as any ordinary citizen had to. This is tied to the later democratic idea of the rule of law.

p. 33 The Rise of Christianity

0 CE to c. 1500 CE

Lecture/Discussion

• Material from your reading

Why Early Christianity?

• Western Civilization gets many of its ideas for government from the “Judeo-Christian” tradition.

• EC: Christian qualities (4)– Equality– Fairness– Justice– Love

• (brotherhood, support, sharing, cooperation); peaceful tolerance and coexistence.

Thoughtful Review

• …for the administration of justice…is the principle of order in political society.

--Aristotle, Politics

• From Aristotle’s statement above, it can be inferred that…

• Monarchs protect citizens from tyranny.

• Only elected officials should impose laws.

• Laws maintain the stability of a nation.

• Majority rule ensure a stable government

Reaffirming Faith

• Jesus

• A Jew whose teachings became the basis for Christianity. – Jesus (Y’Shua - Hebrew, Iesu - Latin): – Y’Shua lived under Roman domination of

Judea. • under Augustus Caesar

Reaffirming Faith

• EC: Jesus’ ideas were based on his Jewish religion, (3) – Their god– Ten Commandments and laws of the Torah– Teachings of the Jewish prophets

A Redirection in Faith

• EC: His ideas were also different from Judaism (14) – He was ‘son’ of the Jewish god– People believed he was the “Messiah”– He claimed his purpose was spiritual salvation for all– Eternal life to anyone who believed in him– Taught of their god’s love– Justice– Equality– Morality– Service to others– Forgiveness– love your enemies.

• “If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the other one, too”

• “love your neighbor as yourself”

Troubled Judea

• Messiah: • someone sent by the Jewish god to drive the

Romans out of their lands. – Jesus was born when Jews expected the messiah.

• Some Jews, called zealots, did not want to wait.– They committed “terrorist” acts against the Romans. – They were disunited.

• Jews who spoke or acted against Rome were arrested, tried, and persecuted.

Christianity forms

• An apostle.• Any of the 12 first followers of Y’Shua sent forth

to teach his ideas.

Christianity forms

• Paul:• The apostle most responsible for the

formation of the Christian Church.– he had never met Jesus,

• he had a vision to seek Jesus out. – Paul realized that Jesus’ message was not

having an effect on most Jews. • He decided to teach non-Jews (gentiles)

• Paul’s ideas and teachings also become the basis for the Christian religion.

Christianity forms

• EC: Paul’s teachings included: (2)– Jesus died out of love for humankind– Those who believed in Jesus as son of God

would have spiritual salvation and have eternal life in Heaven.

• Tolerance:• Belief that people should accept the

differences of others and not be prejudiced. – An important early Christian idea

Christianity spreads• EC: What made Christianity attractive? • Romans began to respect Christians for their

willingness to die for their beliefs…. – EC:– martyrdom.

• Many respected the Judeo-Christian ethics system.

• Christianity respected the weak, sick, poor, and oppressed

• The idea of love – (happiness of cooperating, sharing, and supporting

each other, even strangers)

Evolution of the Church

• EC: Slowly, an early Christian church developed (2)

• Christians believe in equality– Called each other “brother” and “sister”

• Women had a strong role initially– Teachers– Administrators

Review: Why are we studying these people?

• Their teachings dominate the second half of the Christian Bible, believed in by some billion people.

• Their teachings were the early ideas and versions of modern Western civilization

• They started the basic ideas of modern Western political/social thinking.– Government– Fairness/justice– Equality– Morals/ethics– Love (helping out one’s fellow citizens

Church Organization Evolves

• Clergy:

• any person authorized to perform religious ceremonies and rites

Christian Diversity Today•Christianity was one basic church for about 1000 years.•There was a split between the eastern and western church in 1054 CE.

•Orthodox Church (Greece, Russia)•Roman Catholic Church (Italy, Western Europe

•The Catholic Church experienced a split around 1520.

•Roman Catholic Church•Various Protestant Christian Churches.

Homework and Notes

Troubled Judea

• Jesus got into trouble with powerful Jewish leaders in Jerusalem

• He threatened– control of the religion – money collected from believers.

• EC: A man authorized to teach Judaism to others is called a

• Rabbi

Text: p. 35, Standards check

• Question

• They were central to his teachings– God’s love was to be shared between people

• “love your neighbor as yourself”

– Love for your enemy.

p. 35, Map Skills,

• 2.– A.

• Russia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, part of England

– B. • Spain, Sardinia, Sicily

• 3.– A.

• It uses 476 CE as the base date and 1050 as the date to measure how far Christianity and Islam had spread.

– B. • 1.

– Christianity spread east and north from the territory of the former Roman Empire.

• 2.– Christian monasteries were established in many parts of Europe.

EC: Christianity Establishes

• The first kingdom to make Christianity its Church, in 301 CE, was…..

• Armenia, 301 CE– Armenian Apostolic Church

EC: Rome Accepts the Christ

• In 313 CE, Roman Emperor,

• Constantine,

• changed Rome by publishing the – Edict of Milan: (3)

• Allowed freedom of worship• Constantine converted to Christianity

Differences of Opinion

• EC: Church leaders argued about how the church should be run. This caused…..

• The Great Schism, c 1000 CE• EC: The Roman Christians in Greece continued

as the…..– Eastern (Greek) Orthodox

• EC: The Roman Christians in Italy continued as the…..– Roman Catholic Church

Text, p. 37, Standards Check:

• Question• Jesus’ message had broad appeal• Jewish roots attracted some Jews• Ethical principles attracted people

– Equality– Fairness (justice)

• Paul used missionaries • Paul incorporated Greek ideas into the religion

– Attracted educated Romans

p. 37, Jesus and his disciples

• Question:

• The figure in the middle with an outstretched arm, because Jesus would have been depicted as a teacher and leader.

Text, p. 39, Standards Check

• Question• Church officials….

– Owned large tracts of land• Giving them power in the government

– Served in high government positions

• The Church controlled people’s spiritual lives.– Religious matters– Laws– courts

Eclectic Christianity

• EC: An open-minded Christian philosopher, who believed reason (secular thought) and faith (religious thought) were both foundations in belief in their god, was….– Thomas Aquinas

• His essays convinced similar-thinking people to accept new knowledge as part of Heaven’s plan.

A Western System

• EC: Because so many billions of people on Earth practice or know of the beliefs of the Jewish and Christian faiths, the shared heritage and beliefs are called the

• Judeo-Christian Tradition

Text, p. 39, Standards Check:

• Question

• The Bible– The Torah (Old Testament)– New Testament

Brief Response

• Make Comparisons In what ways was the philosophy of Stoicism (Ancient Greece) similar to Christianity?