Christianity and ancient Rome

Christianity And Ancient Rome

What do Christians believe

Christians believe in justification by faith that through their belief in Jesus as he Son of God, and in their death resurrection, they can have a good relationship with god whose forgiveness was made through the death of Jesus Christ.

What are the practices of Christianity

--Jesus did not give his followers prayers that they need to repeat daily ay times. Instead he told them to come to god as children would go to their father, at whatever time or places, but needs to use their heart to speak to him.

-- Fasting, practiced in many religions, including Christianity, fasting is an action which is an absent from meat, drink and all natural food for a short period.

The practices of Christianity

--Baptism is one of the two most important sacraments in Christianity. At its most basic, it involves application of or immersion in water, a blessing, and the pronouncement, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." Some Christian baptize both infants and adults, but others believe that baptism is only rightly performed on adults

--In the Christian religion, prayer is the act of communicating with God. Prayer can take on different forms such as verbal, written, or silent communication

How Did Christianity Spread In The Roman Empire

-- Christianity was spread thought the Roman Empire by the early followers of Jesus. Even though saints peter and Paul are said to have built the church in Rome, actually most of the early Christian communities were in the east. Christianity gained power among both Jews and non Jews, bringing them together.

How did Christianity change the Roman Empire?
Why would an emperor use a belief to help them govern?

--The Christian religion, was very unacceptable to Romans of the time. The Romans were religious people, but many saw Christianity as a threat to their religious system.
--Not like members of other new religions, Christians refused to sacrifice to the gods. Romans were very offended offended by this, but also felt it threatened their society.

How did Christianity change the Roman Empire?
Why would an emperor use a belief to help them govern?

--The Romans believed that society was protected by the pax deorum: the peace, or agreement, with the gods. The gods would protect the cities, towns, and empires
--But for exchange they have to sacrifice and worship. But Because Christians refused to perform these things, the pagans believed that the Christians endangered themselves and everyone around them.

Growth of Christianity

--The first – and most famous – great persecution was the work of Emperor Nero. Nero was already unpopular by the time of the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. With rumours that the Emperor himself was behind the fire circulating, Nero picked on a convenient scapegoat and many Christians were arrested and executed.

--It wasn’t until the reign of the Emperor Decius in 250 AD that Christians were again put under Empire-wide official sanction. Decius ordered every citizen of the Empire to make a sacrifice in front of Roman officials. but many Christians did refuse to go through the ritual and were tortured and killed as a result. The law was repealed in 261 AD.