THE DEVELOPMENTT OF CHRISTIANITY
Christian views on God, human beings, and the world were quite different from
those of the Greeks and Romans. For example, Christian beliefs held that one would
be taken care of and his or her needs met by seeking righteousness from one God. In
contrast, Romans believed in many gods, even accepting foreign gods and
philosophical practices into their culture. The rise of Christianity marked an important
break with the dominant values of the Greek and Roman worlds.
Religion in the Roman Empire
Augustus brought back traditional festivals and ceremonies to revive the Roman
state religion, which had declined during the turmoil of the late Roman Republic. The
official state religion focused on the worship of a number of gods and goddesses,
including Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, and Mars. In addition, beginning with Augustus,
emperors were often officially made gods by the Roman Senate, thus bolstering
support for the emperors.
Roman Religion
The Romans believed that the observance of proper ritual by state priests
brought them into a right relationship with the gods. This guaranteed peace and
prosperity. Indeed, the Romans believed that their success in creating an empire
meant that they had earned the favor of the gods. As the politician Cicero claimed in
the first century b.c., “We have overcome all the nations of the world, because we have
realized that the world is directed and governed by the gods.” At the same time, the
Romans were tolerant of other religions. They allowed the worship of native gods and
goddesses throughout their provinces. They even adopted some of the local gods.
After the Romans conquered the states of the Hellenistic east, religions from those
regions flooded the western Roman world. The desire for a more emotional spiritual
experience drew many people to these religions. They promised their followers an
entry into a higher world of reality and the promise of a future life superior to the present
one. It was believed that, by participating in these ceremonies, a person could
communicate with spiritual beings and open the door to life after death.
Judaism in the Empire
In Hellenistic times, the Jewish people had been given considerable
independence. By a.d. 6, however, Judaea, which embraced the lands of the old
Jewish kingdom of Judah, had been made a Roman province placed under the
direction of an official called a procurator. Unrest was widespread in Judaea, but the
Jews differed among themselves about Roman rule. The priestly Sadducees
(SA•juh•seez) favored cooperation with Rome. The scholarly Pharisees (FAR•uh•
seez) held that close observance of religious law would protect them from Roman
influences. The Essenes lived apart from society, sharing goods in common. Like
many other Jews, they waited for God to save Israel from oppression. The Zealots,
however, called for the violent overthrow of Roman rule. In fact, a Jewish revolt began
in a.d. 66, only to be crushed by the Romans four years later. The Jewish temple in
Jerusalem was destroyed.
The Rise of Christianity
A few decades before the revolt, a Jewish prophet named Jesus traveled and
preached throughout Judaea and neighboring Galilee. These teachings, known as
Christianity, began as a movement within Judaism. After reports spread that Jesus had
overcome death, the Christian movement won followers in Jerusalem and throughout
Judaea and Galilee. It eventually spread across the Roman Empire.
The Teaching of Jesus
Jesus believed that his mission was to complete the salvation that God had
promised to Israel throughout its history. He stated: “Do not think that I have come to
abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
According to Jesus, what was important was not strict adherence to the letter of the
law but the transformation of the inner person: “So in everything, do to others what
you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” God’s
command was to love God and one another. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
This is the first commandment. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus voiced the ethical concepts—humility, charity, and love toward others—that
would later shape the value system of Western civilization.
Jesus’ preaching eventually stirred controversy. Some people saw him as a
potential revolutionary who might lead a revolt against Rome. Jesus’ opponents finally
turned him over to Roman authorities. The procurator Pontius Pilate ordered Jesus’
crucifixion.
After the death of Jesus, his followers proclaimed that he had risen from death
and had appeared to them. They believed Jesus to be the Messiah (anointed one),
the long-expected deliverer who would save Israel from its foes.
Christianity Spreads Through the Empire
Prominent apostles, or leaders, arose in early Christianity. One was Simon Peter,
a Jewish fisherman who had become a follower of Jesus during Jesus’ lifetime. Peter
was recognized as the leader of the apostles. Another major apostle was Paul, a highly
educated Jewish Roman citizen who joined the movement later. Paul took the
message of Jesus to Gentiles—non-Jewish—as well as to Jews. He founded Christian
communities throughout Asia Minor and along the shores of the Aegean Sea.
At the center of Paul’s message was the belief that Jesus was the Savior, the
Son of God who had come to Earth to save humanity. Paul taught that Jesus’ death
made up for the sins of all humans. By accepting Jesus as Christ (from Christos, the
Greek term for Messiah) and Savior, people could be saved from sin and reconciled
to God. The teachings of early Christianity were passed on orally. Written materials
also appeared, however. Paul and other followers of Jesus had written letters, or
epistles, outlining Christian beliefs for communities they had helped found around the
eastern Mediterranean. Also, some of Jesus’ disciples, or followers, may have
preserved some of the sayings of Jesus in writing. Later, between a.d. 40 and 100,
these accounts became the basis of the written Gospels—the “good news” concerning
Jesus. These writings give a record of Jesus’ life and teachings, and they form the
core of the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible. By 100, Christian
churches had been established in most of the major cities of the eastern empire and
in some places in the western part of the empire. Most early Christians came from the
Jews and the Greek-speaking populations of the east. In the second and third
centuries, however, an increasing number of followers were Latin-speaking people.
Roman Persecution
The basic values of Christianity differed markedly from those of the Greco-
Roman world. In spite of that, the Romans at first paid little attention to the Christians,
whom they regarded as simply another sect of Judaism. As time passed, however, the
Roman attitude toward Christianity began to change. The Romans tolerated the
religions of other peoples unless these religions threatened public order or public
morals. Many Romans came to view Christians as harmful to the Roman state
because Christians refused to worship the state gods and emperors. The Romans saw
the Christians’ refusal to do so as an act of treason, punishable by death. The
Christians, however, believed there was only one God. To them, the worship of state
gods and the emperors meant worshiping false gods and endangering their own
salvation.
The Roman government began persecuting (harassing to cause suffering)
Christians during the reign of Nero (a.d. 54–68). The emperor blamed the Christians
for the fire that destroyed much of Rome and subjected them to cruel deaths. In
contrast, in the second century, persecution of Christians diminished. By the end of
the reigns of the five good emperors (a.d. 180), Christians still represented a small
minority, but one of considerable strength.
Roman Empire Adopts Christianity
Although Christians were persecuted in the first and second centuries, this did
nothing to stop the growth of Christianity. In fact, it did just the opposite, strengthening
Christianity in the second and third centuries by forcing it to become more organized.
Fear of persecution meant that only the most committed individuals would choose to
follow the faith.
Crucial to this change was the emerging role of the bishops, who began to
assume more control over church communities. The Christian church was creating a
new structure in which the clergy, or church leaders, had distinct functions separate
from the laity, or the regular church members. Christianity grew quickly in the first
century. It took root in the second century, and by the third century, it had spread
widely. Why was Christianity able to attract and maintain so many followers? First, the
Christian message had much to offer the Roman world. The Roman state-based
religion was impersonal and existed for the good of Rome. Christianity was personal
and offered salvation and eternal life to individuals. Christianity gave meaning and
purpose to life. Second, Christianity seemed familiar. It was viewed by some as similar
to other religions, offering immortality as the result of the sacrificial death of a savior-
God. However, Christianity did not require painful or expensive initiation rites like some
other religions at that time. Also, Jesus had been a human figure who was easy to
relate to.
Finally, Christianity fulfilled the human need to belong. Christians formed
communities bound to one another. In these communities, people could express their
love by helping one another and offering assistance to the poor and the sick.
Christianity satisfied the need to belong in a way that the huge Roman Empire could
never provide. Christianity proved attractive to all classes, but especially to the poor
and powerless. Eternal life was promised to all—rich, poor, aristocrats, slaves, men,
and women. As Paul stated in his letters to the Colossians and the Galatians, “And
[you] have put on the new self . . . . Here there is no Greek nor Jew . . . barbarian,
Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” Although Christianity did not call
for revolution, it stressed a sense of spiritual equality for all people—a revolutionary
idea at the time. Some emperors began new persecutions of the Christians in the third
century, but their schemes failed. The last great persecution was by Diocletian
(dy•uh•KLEE•shuhn) at the beginning of the fourth century. Even he had to admit,
however, what had become obvious in the course of the third century: Christianity and
its followers were too strong to be blotted out by force. In the fourth century, Christianity
prospered as never before when Constantine became the first Christian emperor.
Although he was not baptized until the end of his life, in 313 Constantine issued the
Edict of Milan, which proclaimed official tolerance of Christianity. Then, under
Theodosius the Great (a.d. 378–395), the Romans adopted Christianity as the official
religion of the Roman Empire.
