Social Studies- Chapter 36: The Origins and Spread of Christianity

What convinced the disciples that Jesus was the son of God?

Belief in the Resurrection convinced Jesus's disciples that he was the Son of God.

What does anointed mean?

Blessed with oil

Who preached in Rome?

Both Paul and Peter, a close friend of Jesus, preached in Rome.

What did Christian preachers do?

Christian preachers traveled along the roads of the empire, winning converts to their new religion

What is Christianity based on?

Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

What did Paul teach?

He taught that all people, Jews and Gentiles alike, were God's children. Jesus, he said, was the Christ, God's chosen one. He was a Messiah for everyone, not just his fellow Jews.

Where did Paul travel?

Paul's journeys took him through much of the empire. He preached throughout Asia Minor, in Greece, and in Rome.

What was the Jewish counsil?

A council of Jewish leaders ruled the holy city of Jerusalem. The council was headed by a high, or chief, priest.

What did some disciples do after Jesus was killed?

A few faithful followers later removed his body and buried it in a tomb carved out of rock.

What is crucifixion?

A form of execution in which a person is tied or nailed to a cross.

Where did Jesus first start teaching?

According to the Gospels, Jesus began preaching in Galilee, an area in present-day Israel.

What did Jesus explain at the final supper?

According to the Gospels, Jesus explained that his enemies would come together to destroy him and that he would be killed.

What did Jesus inform his followers of?

According to the Gospels, Jesus informed his followers that the kingdom of God was coming soon.

What was the savior God sent called?

This savior was called the Messiah, or anointed one.

Who did Jesus spend time with?

Throughout his life, Jesus spent time with the poor and the sick, rather than those who were wealthy and powerful.

What was God's kingdom to Jesus?

To Jesus, God's kingdom was not an earthly kingdom of power and riches. Instead, the kingdom of God described a time when people would live according to God's will. Then, Jesus said, everyone would know God's love for all people, even those who suffer or who are looked down upon by others.

How did the Romans make sure Jesus didn't start a revolt?

To eliminate this threat, they decided that he must die. According to the Christian Bible, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, ordered that Jesus be executed.

How did Paul die?

Tradition says that he was beheaded by the Romans around 65 C.E., a time when Romans were beginning to persecute Christian believers.

How was Herod's kingdom divided after his death?

When Herod died in 4 B.C.E., his kingdom was divided among his three sons.

How did the Christians offend the Romans?

Christians refused to worship the other Roman gods. Worse, they would not accept that the emperor was a god. Their way of life seemed to be an insult to Roman customs. Instead of wealth and luxury, they preached about simplicity. Recalling Jesus's message of peace and love, many refused to serve in the army.

What was the effect of Constantine's dream?

Constantine's soldiers went into battle with the first two letters of the word Christ on their shields. At the Battle of Milvian Bridge, near Rome, they won a great victory. From that moment on, Constantine favored the Christian God over all others. His mother became a leader in the faith.

What happened at Passover?

Every year, thousands of Jews traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Roman soldiers remained on watch for anyone who might start a demonstration against Rome.

How did Rome control the unrest when Herod died?

Finally, Rome sent soldiers to Judea to regain control, and they replaced Herod's sons with a military governor.

Why did Paul stop giving personal preachings for a time?

For a time, Paul was imprisoned, or jailed, in Rome, where he continued to write letters to other Christians.

When did Jesus live?

From about 6 BCE 30 CE

What happened in 313 CE?

In 313 C.E., Constantine announced the Edict of Milan in which he gave Christians the freedom to practice their religion openly. Future emperors also accepted the new faith. Emperor Theodosius I banned all pagan sacrifices. By 380, Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire.

What happened in 37 BCE?

In 37 B.C.E., Rome appointed a man named Herod to be the king of Judea.

What did Paul stress in his teachings?

In his preaching and letters, Paul stressed the need to believe in Jesus as the Son of God.

What did Jesus base his lessons on?

Jesus based his teachings on traditional Jewish beliefs. However, the Gospels claim he put special emphasis on love and mercy.

Who were the followers of Jesus?

Jesus called a small number to be his followers, or disciples.

What did the Romans worry about after Jesus was led away?

Jesus had gained a large following in Jerusalem. The city's Roman rulers feared that his supporters might create trouble, and they worried that Jesus might lead a revolt.

Why did some Judeans worry?

Some Judeans worried that Jesus's growing following would cause trouble with the Romans. Although it was easy for some people to view him as a troublemaker, Jesus did not directly preach revolt against the Romans.

How did emperors punish Christians?

Some emperors were determined to make an example of these disloyal citizens. For refusing to honor the Roman gods, Christians were sentenced to die in cruel and painful ways. Some were crucified, and some were burned to death. Others were brought into arenas, where they were devoured by wild animals in front of cheering crowds.

What happened in 312 CE?

Then, in 312 C.E., the day before going into battle against a rival, the emperor Constantine reported having a vision of a cross hanging in the sky. Around the cross were the words "In this sign, you will conquer." That night he had a dream about Jesus. The emperor interpreted the vision and dream as a sign that he would win the battle if he accepted Christian beliefs.

What happened after the Resurrection?

According to the Gospels, Jesus left them again sometime later to join his Father, God, in heaven. His disciples then began spreading the news of his life and teachings.

What did Jesus do after a couple years of preaching?

According to the Gospels, after a year or two of traveling and preaching, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover, which celebrated God's rescue of the Jews from Egypt more than a thousand years before his time

When did Paul convert to Christianity?

According to the New Testament, one day Paul was traveling to Damascus in present-day Syria. He saw a blinding light and heard the voice of Jesus, a vision that changed his life. Paul adopted the Christian faith and became a missionary.

What happened when Jesus was killed?

According to the New Testament, the Romans took Jesus to a hill outside the city walls. There, they nailed him to a cross and left him to die between two other condemned men who were also crucified.

What did Jesus do after the final supper?

After a final meal with his disciples, Jesus went to pray in a garden.

What did Herod do?

Although Herod was not Jewish by birth, he practiced the Jewish religion and rebuilt the Temple of Jerusalem.

What did the disciples do as Jesus was led away?

As Jesus was led away under guard, the other disciples fled.

What was Paul's mission?

As an educated man with Roman citizenship who spoke Greek, Paul made it his special mission to convert non-Jews, called Gentiles, to the new religion.

What was the effect of angering the Romans?

As the number of Christians increased, many Romans viewed them as a threat to Roman order and patriotism. Eventually, the Christian religion was declared illegal.

What happened as time passed?

As time passed and Christianity gained followers, many Romans perceived the faith as a threat to Roman order and tradition.

What happened by 380 CE?

By 380 C.E., Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire.

What happened by the 60s CE?

By the 60s C.E., Christians were beginning to attract the notice of the Romans.

What do Christians believe about Jesus?

Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God and refer to him as Jesus Christ.

What is Jesus's final meal with the disciples called?

Christians call Jesus's final meal with his disciples "the Last Supper."

What happened over time?

Gradually, people of all classes began to adopt the new faith. By 300 C.E., millions of Christians resided in the Roman lands of Europe, North Africa, and western Asia.

What was the effect of Rome ruling Judea?

Groups of Jews rebelled against Roman control several times.

How did Paul convert people?

He spent several years visiting cities throughout the Greek-speaking world. Wherever he went, he made new converts and started new churches.

What jobs did the disciples have?

His disciples were mostly commoners such as laborers and fishermen.

What supplies us information from the past?

Historical records supply great descriptions of the days of the Roman Empire.

Why did Jews not trust Herod?

However, many Jews distrusted him because they viewed him as a puppet of the Romans.

What did Jews read?

In their sacred writings, the Jews read prophecies that one day God would send a savior to restore the glorious kingdom of David.

How did Rome initially treat Christians?

Initially, Rome was not unfriendly to Christians.

What was Paul's first job?

Initially, he opposed Christianity and helped to persecute Christians.

Where did Jesus preach in Galilee?

Initially, he preached in synagogues, or Jewish places of worship.

How did the Christians gain more supporters, when they were supposed to be persecuted?

Instead of destroying the new religion, the Christians won new followers by facing death bravely. Christianity offered many people in the empire a sense of purpose and hope. It taught that even the poor and enslaved could look forward to a better life after death if they followed the teachings of Jesus.

Where does most information about Jesus come from?

Instead, most of the information about him comes from the writings of his followers.

What was the significance of Judea?

It was where Jesus was born

Who was Judea ruled by?

Judea had once been ruled by King David and King Solomon.

Who did Jews hate?

Judea was outwardly peaceful, but many Jews despised the Romans.

What was a rare negative effect of Paul's teachings?

Occasionally, his visits caused riots when angry people protested what they considered blasphemous, or unholy, teaching.

What were the two laws Jesus preached as most important?

Of all the Jewish laws, he said, two were the most important. The first was, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul." The second was, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

What was the result of Herod's death?

Once again, unrest erupted.

When did Judea become under Roman rule?

Once an independent kingdom, Judea came under Roman rule in 63 B.C.E.

What was Jesus's favorite way of teaching?

One of Jesus's favorite ways of teaching was through parables, simple stories with moral or religious messages

Who was Paul?

One such convert was Paul, one of the most important people in Christianity. He devoted his life to spreading the teachings of Jesus. After his death, he was declared a saint in the Christian churches.

Where did Paul come from?

Paul came from Tarsus, a town in present-day Turkey.

What did Roman persecutors do?

Several emperors attempted to cease the spread of the new religion through violent persecutions.

What is the story of Luke?

The Gospel of Luke describes the story of Jesus's birth. According to Luke, Jesus's mother, Mary, lived in a town called Nazareth in the Roman territory of Galilee. There, the Gospels claim, an angel appeared to Mary and told her she would have a child and that she should name him Jesus. Luke's gospel says that around this time, the Roman emperor Augustus ordered a census, or head count, of all the people in the Empire. Each man was supposed to return to the town of his birth to be counted. Mary's husband, a carpenter named Joseph, set out from Nazareth to his hometown of Bethlehem, in the territory of Judea. Mary traveled with him and gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus's family returned to Nazareth after his birth. The New Testament gospels mention little about Jesus's childhood, but it is likely that he grew up in Nazareth and learned carpentry. According to Luke, at age 12, Jesus astonished the rabbis, or teachers, in the great Temple of Jerusalem with his wisdom and his knowledge of Jewish law.

What happened 3 days after Jesus died?

The Gospels say that three days later Jesus rose from the dead and then appeared to his disciples, an event Christians refer to as the Resurrection

Who betrayed Jesus?

The Gospels then tell that one of Jesus's disciples, Judas, had decided to betray him.

What were Jews of Judea devoted to?

The Jews of the region were devoted to their homeland and to their belief in a single God.

What does the New Testament tell about Jesus's death?

The New Testament of the Christian Bible tells that Jesus was sentenced to death by crucifixion.

How did Rome attempt to rule Judea?

The Romans attempted to govern the country by appointing Jewish rulers who agreed with Roman rule.

What set the Jews in Judea apart?

The belief in one god, combined with their religious customs, distinguished them from their neighbors in the ancient world.

Where was the birthplace of Christianity?

The birthplace of Christianity was a remote territory at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.

Why did Jesus preach mostly outdoors?

The crowds that gathered to hear him grew larger, so Jesus began teaching in open areas—in the street, on hillsides, and by the Sea of Galilee.

Who were early converts to Christianity?

The early converts to Christianity were Jews, just as Jesus and his disciples had been.

Who are the four Gospel writers?

The followers' names have come down to us as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

What are some articles about Jesus?

The four Gospels are accounts of Jesus's life that were written in Greek some years after his death.

What did the military governor do?

The military governor maintained order and ensured that Judeans paid taxes to Rome, but he usually left local affairs to the Jews themselves.

What is the information about Jesus?

These writings comprise the New Testament of the Christian Bible.

What happened when Jesus was 30?

When Jesus was about 30, a teacher known as John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Messiah—the savior the Jews had been waiting for. After 40 days of praying in the wilderness, Jesus began to preach in Galilee.