CHristianity Spreads
Rise Of ChristianityBy approximately A.D. 6, Judaea had been made a Roman province under the supreme direction of a Roman official called a prefect, later known as a procurator, or an agent who representing other in a court of law in countries that retained Roman law. Many Jewish groups completed zealously for influence under the Romans. However, the recalcitrant zealots called for a violent overthrow of Roman rule. A seditious jewish revolt, in fact, began in A.D. 66 only to be crushed by Romans a couple years later. Decades before this revolt, a Jewish teacher named Jesus traveled and preached throughout Judaea and neighboring Galilee. More than just an advocate for Judaism, Jesus and his unparalleled teaching began a new movement sparked a revolutionary movement within Judaism. This new, almost aberrant movement gained additional support throughout Judaea an Galilee, ultimately leading to the development of a monotheistic faith. This religion was heavily influenced by the culture of ancient Israel. As I briefly mentioned above, the central figure of Christianity is Jesus. Jesus endearingly proclaimed that his mission was to fulfill the prophetic salvation that God had recurrently offered to his people throughout the old testament. He elucidated that He did not come to abolish or an anyway debunk the law. He instead intended to fulfill it. Jesus calls upon Christians to pursue an internal transformation, discarding the iniquitous, impure influences of the world and following him. Jesus was the quintessential example for such a lifestyle as Jesus lived a flawless life with an absolutely impeccable track record of sins. Jesus challenged his followers to live their lives with fervent love, utmost humility, beneficent charity, and authentic love. Jesu’s emphatic sermons stirred much controversy, and it was his teachings that were the major points of contention. Thing that Jesus had subversive intentions, his pugnacious opponents turned him over to Roman authorities. The prefect Pontius Pilate authorized the egregiously inhumane crucifixion of Jesus. After the death of Jesus, he resurrected three days later. After this magnificently bewildering resurrection, the Jews, and other gentiles proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah or anointed one. Many of Jesus’ followers we essential to the spreading of Jesus’s miracle.There are two predominant followers of Jesus that were the most instrumental in the propagation of Jesus’ teachings. Simon Peter, a conventional fisherman, was one of the prominent apostles. Another was the erudite apostle Paul, an illustrious Roman citizen who took the message of Jesus to gentiles as well as Jews. Paul’s message revolved around the idea that Jesus was the savior and that his son, Jesus, had come as the ultimate sacrifice for all of our corruption, transgressions, and depravity. He claimed that Jesus facilitated the reconciliation of human’s to Christ in his oblatory execution. Paul also wrote letters, or epistles, outlining and developing Christian beliefs.
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Christianity In RomeChristian values varied quite notably from those of Roman empire and the Greco-Roman world. Regardless, the Romans at first payed little attention to the Christians, apathetically branding them as another sect of judaism. However, soon the Roman perspectives on Christianity began to change.Romans insouciantly tolerated religions that in no way challenged public morals or Roman virtues. Even the Jews, who intransigently refused to worship the God’s promoted by the state, were exempt from this worship as they were simply following the “ laws of their fathers.” The Christians, too, mutinously refused to worship the Roman state Gods, but they, however, were charged with treason. This persecution was not a one time occurrence, or even done as a capricious spurt of cruelty from the Roman leaders. In fact, during the reign of Nero, Christians were callously and barbarically persecuted. They were often targeted as scapegoats for detrimental disasters, and in A.D. 64, they were claimed to be culpable for the fire that destroyed much of Rome. However, in the second century persecution rates diminished. The persecutions in the first and second centuries had not stopped the growth of Christianity. In fact, it helped strengthen the Christian community, weeding out those with feigned faiths and encouraged the Christians to become more organized. As they were influenced by the Roman institutions under which they lived, the Christians used Roman language and organizational structure. In their new church structure, the clergy, or church leaders, had distinct functions separate from the laity, or regular church members. Crucial to this change was the emerging role of the bishops, who began to assume more control over the church communities. Overall, Christianity grew exponentially in the first century, took root in the second century, and spread widely in the third century.
How/ WHy did CHristianity attract so many followers? 1. it was an intimate, personal relationship with CHrist, a very attractive and compelling attribute when considering the detatched, impersonal, and unsentimental religion of hte Roman state. 2. It gave meaning and a driving purpose that far transcends the paltry material things of everyday reality. 3. It seeme relatively familiar. Jesus is a human figure to who is is easy to relate. It is our instinctive propensity to indentify with those who are similar to us. Jesus faced ovewhelming adversity, endured quite enervating tribulations, and walked on this earth as a human as we all do. 4. It also fulfills a human's intrinsic desire to belong. THe Christian community and Church congregation provided a satisfying sense of unity and coherence. |
Decline of ROman EMpire
The fall of ROme began with with the detrimental death of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the five good emperors. During his reign , a number of calamitous catastrophes struck Rome. These disasters seemed to portend the inauspicious future of the roman empire. After Marcus’ unpromising death, violent upheavals toor the empire apart in a chaotic and acrimonious range of civil wards. After the civil wars, a military government under the Severan rulers reinstated order. After the Severan rulers, tumultuous disorder once again ravaged the nation. For almost fifty years in the mid to late third century, the Roman throne was occupied by whomever had the military strength to seize it, and this time was characterized be an implacable pursuit of power. During this time, there were 22 emperors, most of whom died gruesome and horrendous deaths. At the same time, the empire was vulnerable to a series of invasions by the sassanid Persians making progress into Roman territory and Germanic tribes pouring into the Balkans, Gaul, and Spain. There is know does that all of this internal chaos and pandemonium only exacerbated the weakening economies decline. The plague, a widespread infectious disease that cause a labor shortage affected both military recruiting and the economy. There was a colossal decline in trade and small industry. Farm production also declined as crops were nonchalantly trampled by invaders or Roman defenders. By the mid-third century, the state had to hire German mercenaries to fight. The reforms of Diocletian and Constantine caused the development of the new Roman state, the Late Roman empire. Diocletian divided the Empire into tow dinstict region, the east and west, and then each part was halved and ruled by individual rulers. This system was called a tetrarchy. Despite the appearance of a “four man rule,” Deocletians military power enabled him to hold ultimate authority. Constantine continued and expanded Diocletian’s policies, in hopes of mitigating the egregious affects of Rome’s decline. Constantine biggest project was the construction of the new capital city in the east, on the site of the Greek city of Byzantium on the shores pf Bosporus. The city, eventually renamed as the legendary Constantinople was strategically and sagaciously placed protect the eastern frontier. Diocletians’s and Constantine’s political and military reforms enlarged two institutions- the civil service and army. A hierarchy of officials exercised controls at various government levels. The army was enlarged to 500,000 men, including german unites, and they had stocks of mobile troops that could expeditiously move to support frontier troops when necessary. The expansion of the Bureaucracy and military was coupled by the urgent requirement of more revenues. With the small population, their was no source of money with which they could reimburse the funds spent in rancorous combat. Roman currency began to lose value. Both rulers devised political policies based on coercion and the loss of freedom. Combating inflation, Diocletian issued a price edict in 301- setting wage and price controls for the empire. He felts that by punctiliously micromanaging each and every price, he could restore financial stability. However, it failed to work. The emperors also issued edicts requiring that the people obsequiously obey the stringent orders of remaining in ones vocation. Free farmers also were propelled into a predicament as they found themselves bound to land by landowners who exploitively took advantage the economies stagnant conditions to enlarge their estates.
Early Christian Church
By the fourth century , the Christian church had developed a system of government. Priest, in fact, in charge of delivering their vehement and profound sermons, led local Christian communities called parishes. A group of these parishes formed a bishopric, or diocese, and these establishments were headed by a supreme bishop. The bishoprics were cohesively joined together under the direction of an archbishop. The bishops of the four great cities held special power in church affairs. The virtuous churches of Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria were believed o have been founded by the original apostles that so sedulously stayed by Jesus despite the barbarous adversity. Soon, however, the Bishop of Rome single-handedly claimed that he was the preeminent leader of the western Christian church. According to church custom, Jesus had deliberately given the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter, who was considered the chief apostle and the first bishop of Rome. Later bishops had luxury of being titled a successor of the obsequious servant peter, and they came to be known as the Popes of the consecrated catholic church. Western christians unanimously accepts the popes the head of the church in the fourth and fifth centuries, but the amount of power the pope should be allowed was a controversy that precipitated dissension. In the sixth century, a strong pope named Gregory I, and venerated as Gregory the Great, fortified the power of the papacy and the Roman Catholic Church. As pope, Gregory I took control Rome and its surrounding territories, called the papal states. This military-like conquering gave the papacy an authoritative and distinguished source of political influence. He also extended Papal prerogative to rule over the Christian church in the west. He also played a very instrumental role in in benevolently ministering to gentiles and the peoples of Germanic Europe, but his cardinal contribution was his involvement in the monastic movement.
TIme Period: A. D. 50- 800
Section One: A.D. 66 - A.D 395 [JEWISH REVOLT] - [DEATH OF THEODOSIUS THE GREAT]
SECTION TWO: A.D 180 -A.D 476 [DEATH OF MARCUS AURELIUS] - [ BOY ROMULUS AGUSTULUS DEPOSED]
SECTION THREE: FOURTH CENTURY - A.D 657 [CHRISTIAN CHURCH DEVELOPS NEW SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT] - [ABBESS HILDA FOUNDED MONASTERY OF WHITBY]
SECTION FOUR: A.D. 500 - A.D. 800 [CHARLEMAGNE ACQUIRED TITLE - EMPEROR OF THE ROMANS]
SECTION TWO: A.D 180 -A.D 476 [DEATH OF MARCUS AURELIUS] - [ BOY ROMULUS AGUSTULUS DEPOSED]
SECTION THREE: FOURTH CENTURY - A.D 657 [CHRISTIAN CHURCH DEVELOPS NEW SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT] - [ABBESS HILDA FOUNDED MONASTERY OF WHITBY]
SECTION FOUR: A.D. 500 - A.D. 800 [CHARLEMAGNE ACQUIRED TITLE - EMPEROR OF THE ROMANS]
CItations:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Ancient_Rome
http://www.tacitus.nu/historical-atlas/rome3.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great
http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/romans-top-5-emperors
http://baubiologie.at/strohballenbau/news/baubio/
http://www.tacitus.nu/historical-atlas/rome3.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_the_Western_Roman_Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great
http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/romans-top-5-emperors
http://baubiologie.at/strohballenbau/news/baubio/