Greer 04

Chapter 4
A Conquering New Faith: Christianity

Overview
Christianity: part of a religious revolution
begun centuries before Jesus
Replacement of polytheism by monotheism
Jesus lived and taught as a Jew
 Own unique stamp on Jewish teachings
 Missionary effort
 Persecution and intern disagreements
 Official religion of the East/West Roman state
by 400
Sources of Christianity
The Jews in the World of Greece and Rome
Christianity began as Jewish sect
 5-6 million at the time of Jesus
 Many Jewish religious groups
 Jews spread throughout the world
 Their god would protect his Chosen People
 Did not seek out converts but Gentiles often
followed their way of life
Jewish Disputes in a Changing World
Rise of a new Jewish kingdom following revolt by the priestly family
of the Maccabees against the Syrian king in 166 B.C.
After 25 years Judea became an independent state under the
Maccabees
Rome captured Jerusalem in 63 B.C.
Divisions and discontent among Jews
 Influence of Hellenistic culture
 Distrust of temple priests
 Obedience of the Law
 Pharisees
 Groups set up separate communities
Rome breaks up the Jewish kingdom and made Judaea a province of
the empire
 Rome respected Jewish religion
 Heavy Roman taxation and governors corrupt
 Revolt in 70 A.D.
 Destruction of the Temple
 Revolt in 135 A.D.
 Jerusalem turned into a Roman city
Rise of Rabbinic Judaism
 Rabbi (“my teacher”
 Mishnah (“Repetition”), rabbi’s interpretation of the
Law
 Talmud (“Commentary”)
Mystery Religions
 Ancient vegetation myths
 Mithraism
Greek Philosophical Thought
 Influence of Plato’s thought on Christianity
 Eternal soul distinct from the body
 Doctrine of Ideas
 Stoicism
The Life and Teachings of Jesus
The “Nature” of Jesus
 The Gospels
 Written by the disciples
 Christ – the Anointed One
The Sermon on the Mount
 Ethical teachings of Jesus
 By the disciple Matthew
 Virtue
 Blessed are the meek
 Code of Conduct
 Failure of the disciples
The Early Church and Its Expansion
Missionary Beginnings: Pentecost
 Fifty days after the Resurrection
 First converts all Jews
 Relationship of the Gentiles
 Council of apostles and elders in Jerusalem in 44 A.D.
 Importance of the destruction of the Temple, 70 A.D.
 Gentile converts not bound by Jewish Law
 Easter
 Changes from Judaism
The Apostle Paul
Born a Jew
Apostle to the Gentiles
Fulfillment of historical Judaism
Cannot be saved by the law
The Gospel superseded the Law, even for Jews
Road to Damascus
Interpreter of the new faith
Gospel transcends all worldly relationships; all
individuals are equal in the eyes of God
Salvation based on faith
How does a person receive faith
The Spread of Christianity
Apostles found congregations: Egypt, Syria,
Asia Minor
Appeal and Rejection in the Age of Pax
Romana
 Jews in most of the cities
 Universalism
 Christian communities
 Role of women
Spread of Christianity
Persecution of the Christians caused
by own attitudes
Christians often refused to associate with non-Christians
Avoid public ceremonies in death
Spoke out against venerating the emperor
Declared the empire doomed to destruction
Declared Roman gods and goddesses false
MissionariesSpread of Christianity limited to eastern
territory and western cities by 200 A.D.
Rabbis call for stricter observance of the Law
In the third century the pagan gods and goddesses seemed
unable to protect the empire
Christianity remained a minority
Christians seen as contemptuous of established institutions
Growth and Persecution in the
Empire’s Time of Troubles
Christian message more convincing as the empire
began to suffer struggles for succession,
epidemics, and barbarian invasion
Attacks from pagan philosophers
Christianity banned by Rome in the first century
A.D. as a danger to the state, now aggressive to
stop spread of the religion
 Diocletian 304-311 sought to destroy Christianity
 Emperors have too many other problems to concentrate on
Christianity
 Christianity still a minority in urban and rural areas
The Growth of Christian
Organization and Doctrine
Baptism
Eucharist or Mass
Christianity became an institution
The Rise of the Priesthood and the Emergence of Bishops
 Clergy and laity
 Ordination
 Priests
Hierarchy of the church
 Bishop – successor of the original apostles
 Apostolic succession
 Diocese and parishes
 Several diocese into a province
 Metropolitan (Archbishop)
 Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, Rome
 Patriarchs
Roman Supremacy: The Pope
Power to excommunicate
Establishment of a monarchy
Question of when to celebrate Easter
Authority of the Roman bishop
 Petrine tradition
 Patriarchs of the East reject Rome’s claim
 Roman bishop claims “Vicar of Christ” on earth
 By fifth century, bishop of Rome calling himself pope
With conquests by Muslims in the seventh century
(Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem), pope in
Rome and patriarch in Constantinople were the
only two powerful bishops left
The Canon of Scriptures
Canon of Scriptures
“Old Covenant” and “New Covenant”
New Testament
 Writings by Apostles or their companions
Vulgate
 Jerome’s Latin translation at the end of the
fourth century
Doctrinal Differences: Orthodoxy
and Heresy
Doctrinal differences in ritual, rules of conduct, theology (explanation
of God, the Creation, sin, and salvation)
Gnosticism
 Religious philosophical origins separate from Christianity, influenced by
Plato
 Spirit is the only true good
 Matter is a cast off from the physical world when created
 The body (matter) is a source of evil
 Gain knowledge by which the soul may liberate itself and join with the
universal spirit
 Mystical insight
 Dualistic concept of the universe in teachings of Zoroaster
 Manichaeism and Albigensian heresy
 Donatism, Donatus, Bishop of Carthage
 Surrender of holy books during persecution of Diocletian
 Rites performed by treasonous bishops invalid
 Council of Arles decided against Donatus
The Council of Nicaea and the
Trinitarian Creed
Nature of Jesus and his relationship to God
 Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria
 Father and Son were two equal persons but of one substance
 Arius, priest of Alexandria
 Must have been a time when Christ did not exist and thus could not be coequal
 Emperor Constantine
 Christianity a source of discord, not unity
 Council of Nicaea, 325
 300 bishops attend
 Creed of Nicaea – confirms Athanasius; Arius refuses to endorse
 Christ is man and God
 Council of Tyre
 Reverses Nicaea: exiles Athanasius
 Council of Constance, 381
 Under Emperor Theodosius I reaffirms the Nicaean decision
Continued divisions
The Worldly Victory of the Church
The Alliance with the State
 Diocletian
 Underground movement to open and public
 Public opinion shifts fo compassion
 Emperors came to accept Christianity after
Constantine’s edict of toleration, 313
 Advice from bishops
 Theodosius I legalized Christianity by making it the
state religion and forbidding pagan rites, 381
 Weakness of paganism
 The Jews
 Theodosius orders toleration of the Jews
Augustine: The Philosopher of
Christian Victory
Manichaeism - dualism
Bishop of Hippo, North Africa
Predestination
 The “elect”
“Earthly City” and “Heavenly City”
Sacking of Rome, 410
The City of God
Just War
View of the future
Early Christian Monasticism
 Escape from society
 The Ascetic Ideal
 Self-discipline
The Hermit Monks: Anthony
 Lives in the desert
 Struggles with sexual desire
 Influences others
Regulated Communities: Basil, Jerome
 Religious houses, Pachomius
 Basil, bishop of Asia Minor
 Jerome
 Translation of the Bible
Benedict and His Rule
 Benedict of Nursia
 Monastery at Monte Cassino
 Benedictine Rule
 Power of the abbot
 Work
 Regular and secular clergy
Discussion Questions
How did the early developments of Judaism have
an influence on the development of Christianity?
What were the teachings and philosophy of Jesus?
How do they reflect conditions in Judea and his
own time?
How and why did Christianity grow and spread?
What difficulties did it face? How did these affect
Christianity?
What was the organization of the Christian
Church? What were the strengths and weaknesses
to this structure?
What were the doctrinal problems facing
Christianity and how were these resolved?

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Chapter 4

A Conquering New Faith: Christianity

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