The spread of Christianity

Art and Architecture During the third and second centuries b.c., the Romans adopted
many features of the Greek style of art. They developed a taste for Greek statues,
which they placed in public buildings and in their houses. Reproductions of Greek
statues became popular once the supply of original works ran low. While Greek
sculptors aimed for an ideal appearance in their figures, Roman sculptors produced
more realistic works that included even unattractive physical details. They painted
portraits and landscapes on the walls of villas. The Romans excelled in architecture, a
highly practical art. Although they continued to use Greek styles such as colonnades
and rectangular buildings, the Romans also used curved forms: the arch, the vault, and
the dome. The Romans were the first people in antiquity to use concrete on a massive
scale. Using concrete along with the new architectural forms made it possible for the
Romans to construct huge buildings undreamed of by the Greeks. The Romans were
superb builders. Their remarkable engineering skills were put to use constructing roads,
bridges, and aqueducts. The Romans built a network of some 50,000 miles (80,450 km)
of roads throughout the empire. In Rome, almost a dozen aqueducts kept a population
of one million supplied with water.

The Development 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 AD 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
favored cooperation with Rome. The scholarly Pharisees 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 AD 66, only to be crushed by the Romans four
years later. The Jewish temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.

How were religion and government connected in the Roman empire?

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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 Teachings 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—
nonJews—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 JR HIGH | WORLD HISTORY 140 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 (AD 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 (AD 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 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 (AD 378–395), the Romans adopted Christianity as
the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Why and how did the Christian church become more organized in the second and third
centuries?
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