Early ChristianityThis This PowerPoiPowerPoint has nt has audio – audio – Please Please check the check the volume on volume on your your computercomputer’’s s speakers speakers before before moving to moving to the next the next slide.slide.

Content Goals and Objectives:

Goal 1 – Christianity0Trace and evaluate the impact of Christianity on medieval Europe.0Define the setting for Christianity during the period

before and after the birth of Christ.0Map the spread of Christianity through Roman

Empire during the first three centuries after the death of Jesus of Nazareth.

0Summarize the early developments of the Christian church during the first three centuries after its creation.

0Evaluate the contributions of Christian culture to the culture of medieval Europe.

Main Idea0A new religion called Christianity developed within the Roman

Empire and gradually spread throughout Roman world.

Religion in the Roman EmpireReligion

in Rome was polytheistic

& based upon the Greek gods

Romans worshiped the

gods but people were not very

emotional about their religion

In 63 B.C., the Romans conquered the Hebrew kingdom of Judea & allowed “Romanized Jews” (who showed respect & obeyed Roman laws) to

govern Judea

But, the Hebrews were monotheistic & many refused to pay respect to the

Roman gods

Many Hebrews began to resist Roman rule & believed that God would send the Messiah to restore the kingdom to the

Jews

The Birth of Jesus & Beginning of Christianity Sometime between 6 & 4 B.C. in Judea, a

Jew named Jesus was born; Many

considered Jesus to be the Messiah

At the age of 30, Jesus began preaching a unique version of

Judaism that became known as Christianity

EARLY CHRISTIANITY0Roots lie in Judaism, the

teachings of John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles

0Earliest converts were who wished to be considered Jews

A NEW DIRECTION

0Christians began to emphasize their separateness0Christian leaders decided

Gentiles who converted to Christianity did not have to become Jews in order to become Christians

0Dangerous because Christianity was unapproved religion. 0Roman government by the

time of Nero or Domitian decided being Christian could be punishable by death

GROWTH0 Christianity strongest in Asia Minor and Greece

0 Also took hold in Rome and western provinces

0 Hellenistic religions helped pave the way for success of Christianity0 Shared similarities with such cults as Isis made

Christianity acceptable

0 Many found Christianity superior to Hellenistic cults0 Jesus, a historical rather than a mythological

figure0 His teachings presented in the Gospels popular.0Books were elevated in tone and content

but written in the language of the people and in a style that many educated people sneered at

Cult of Isis held ritual purification rites and offered

promise of an afterlife

BIG GAP0 Christian literature composed in classical

rhetoric style after 100 AD0 Pagan intellectuals still offended by

crude style0 Huge spiritual gulf between Christian

and pagan because much of Roman world offended Christians who saw obscenity, loose sexual morals, skepticism, materialism and hedonism everywhere.

St. Jerome confessed that hisfirst exposure to Jewish literatureand Christian works repelled himwhen he compared them to the

polished style of Cicero

WIDENING GAP0 Many early Christians, including St. Paul,

advocated obedience to imperial and local authorities

0Began to gradually set up a state within a state after reign of Nero and generally came to reject the entire social and cultural foundation of the empire0 As a result, they came to be seen by the Roman

government as a threat to the existing order of things

St. Paul

What role did the apostle Paul play in Christianity?

The Spread of ChristianityThe Apostles, especially

Paul, molded Jesus’ teachings into a new

religion called Christianity based upon the idea that

Jesus was God’s son & that he died for man’s sins

The Apostles taught that Jews & non-Jews were welcome as Christians

After Jesus’ death, Paul helped spread Jesus teachings throughout the Roman Empire

Christianity spread quickly due to roads, numerous trade routes, & common language

throughout the Roman Empire

CHRISTIANS AND THE FALL OF THE EMPIRE

0 Christianity grew most rapidly as the empire declined0 Number of individuals, like Edward Gibbon, argued that

Christianity contributed to decline0 Point has some validity

0 Loyalty of many Christians was to the Church, not the Empire0Were not upset about prospect of the end of the

Empire0But Christianity had nothing to do with other problems

that caused ultimate collapse0 Civil war, famine, plague, and barbarian invasions

NEW PAGAN GODS0 Traditional religion also changed

during this time of troubles0 Cult of Sol Invictus

0United sun god of Emesa with all other major sun gods

0Recognized as chief god of the state by time of emperor Aurelian0 Replaced Jupiter at the top

THE NEW PAGANISM

0Mithraism0Filled with mystery and mysticism0Spread as rapidly as Christianity during

3rd century AD

0Devotees did speak of Mithra as the “only god” but they meant that all the other gods could be understood through him

0Paganism did not decline during this period

Mithra

PERSECUTION0 Great persecutions of Christians

began in 3rd century AD0 Started by emperor Decius around

250 and continued until death of Galerius in 311

0 Christian intolerance of pagan beliefs bred powerful retaliatory hatred of Christians0 Accused Christians of cannibalism,

atheism, and of being haters of mankind

0 Charged with being sneaky and with dishonoring the emperor

0 Also blamed with all the evils that afflicted the state

INTELLECTUAL DEBATE0Pagan intellectuals began to attack

Christianity0Celsus and Porphyry pointed out

inconsistencies, contradictions, and impossibilities

0Christian intellectuals responded in kind0Origen of Alexandria provided rational-

philosophical basis for Christianity0Entire intellectual discourse had little

impact of growth of Christianity0 It was immune to rational argument0Most people adopted Christianity

because they accepted its relatively simple message on an emotional, not an intellectual, level

Porphyry

Origen

POPULAR HOSTILITY

0Celsus and Porphyry saw structure of Christian Church as dangerous state within a state.

0Felt it caused divided loyalties

0Neither advocated persecution of Christians

0Strong popular aversion to Christians continued

0Massacre of Christians at Lugdunum in 170 AD

MOTIVATION FOR PERSECUTIONS

0 Emperors like Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelian deplored the ignorance and stubbornness of Christians, but did not think they were responsible for disasters that afflicted the state

0 Many later military emperors came from same stock as superstitious pagans of Lugdunum believed that disasters of the age reflected anger of the gods at Christians

0 Beginning with Decius, they felt duty-bound to free the state of what they saw as a sacrilegious, blasphemous, and dangerous group

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE0 In the end, the persecutions did not

succeed in eradicating Christianity0Simply too many Christians and

some were in a position to protect others

0Persecutions also created martyrs who inspired others

0Came to an end with death of Galerius and then Constantine officially protected them0Constantine credited with being

the first Christian emperorConstantine

JULIAN THE APOSTATE0Sons of Constantine

followed father’s policy towards Christians

0Nephew named Julian the Apostate became emperor in 360 and tried to restore paganism and weaken Christianity by reducing privileges of Christians

VICTORY0 Theodosius became emperor in 379 AD

and proclaimed Christianity to be the official religion of the state

0 Christians immediately begin to persecute pagans0Destroyed temples or converted

them into churches

0 Church firmed up its organization and settled theological disputes with a powerful intellectual vigor

MIXED BLESSING FOR THE EMPIRE

0Many men of outstanding ability turned away from public service and joined the Church

0St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome0Wealthiest man in the empire, Paulinus of

Nola, sold all his family’s possessions and became a monk

St. Ambrose

St. Augustine

Works Cited 0http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320hist&civ/chapters

/13xity.htm