Right from the start, Christianity was appealing to the Jews because it was a comforting response to the conditions the Romans were living in under in the Roman Empire. Life in Roman Empire was difficult because they were poor and enslaved. Christianity offered up an answer to some of the rough conditions that they were living in, being that Jesus said the poor people who were poor should get the same treatment as the people who were more wealthy. Since his preachings were so relatable to those people and their experiences, their interest in what he was preaching was mainly the source of attraction. But at the time when Jesus was preaching, he didn’t have many followers, so he gathered a group of disciples called apostles. Those men, including …show more content…
Right at the time that people saw the empire falling, the Christians were preaching salvation and the afterlife and some of the Romans saw this as an option to get out of the declining. Even people in positions of power started to turn their attention to Christianity and became more open to it. The severity of the decline was striking. There were constant invasions by barbarian tribes along with economic troubles and government corruption. And although Christianity was a safety net for many Romans that were suffering in this decline, it was a risk taking option for salvation. Constantine was the first Emperor to really start to push the empire towards Christianity. He ended the persecution of Christianity, but his main shift of beliefs about Christianity happened when on the eve of the Battle of Milvian Bridge, Constantine had a vision that assured him that he would win the battle in the name of a the Christian God. When he declared victory the next day, he started to practice the Christian beliefs. And although Constantine was the first person in power to solidify himself as a Christian, Emperor Theodosius was actually the person to turn Christianity into a state religion. The Theodosian Code said “We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic Christians… the others, since in our judgement they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded… heretics.” (Document E). Essentially, the turn of events that occurred when the Emperor was in decline actually gained more strength and power to Christianity and eventually turned it into a state