ipl-logo

Comparing Marcus Cato By Plutarch And The Gospel According To Matthew

749 Words3 Pages

Even though many people now associate Rome with the Catholic Church and the beginning of Christianity, this Mediterranean epicenter used to be the center of conflict with the Christians. Because of the differing views, the Roman government was unwilling to allow Christianity to thrive in Rome and systematically denied them their religious right. The early Christians throughout the Roman Empire feared the government and the laws because of the persecution that lasted for centuries. While the Roman Empire fixated their attention on their worldly lives, Christians focused on what is to come after death. Two examples of the different views of the Romans and early Christians are Marcus Cato by Plutarch and the Gospel According to Matthew. In these separate works, the differences of their attitudes, actions, and beliefs on human …show more content…

The Roman’s quintessential citizen included a forbidding and robust attitude along with powerful physical attributes. Marcus Cato was the ideal Roman man during the times of the Republic because of his prominent presence and masculine mindset. The men of Rome were expected to follow his example and have the heart of a warrior. In Marcus Cato, Plutarch said that Cato “thought it more honorable to conquer those who possessed the gold, than to possess the gold itself.”1 Cato embraced the Roman lifestyle and his mentality matched. Whereas the Romans focused more on the brawny attitude of the citizens, early Christians strived to be meek, humble, and poor in spirit, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”2 Jesus directly stated this in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. God did not call the early Christians to be robust warriors with fearsome reputations as they transitioned into Christianity. Much to their disappointment, He did not destine them to be a victorious people in this life, but to be righteous throughout

Show More
Related
809 Words | 4 Pages

Christianity Spreads through the West The Roman Republic prospered and survived through the guidance of its Senate. Rome’s government was considered to have “perfected the most successful of all forms of ancient government” (Dutton 138). Rome went on to dominate central Italy, eventually conquering all of Italy, the Western Mediterranean, and the ancient world.

Read More
938 Words | 4 Pages

But Sallust tells of how Catiline acted against expectations and Roman nature by saying he: “scion of a noble family, had great vigour both of mind and body, but an evil and

Read More
1557 Words | 7 Pages

Introduced were the three main characters that are the focal point in the Christian worldview, including God who is sovereign and a triune God, humanity who began life in God’s good graces, but quickly fell away because of idolatry and bad choices early on, and Jesus, the Savior who came and rescued them. Crucified and then resurrected, Jesus restored humanity’s relationship with God and because of God’s infinite love, through grace, promised them life eternal. Through this, benefits and strengths of the Christian worldview were brought to the forefront along with some challenges that believers face. Finally, this discussion revealed my own beliefs in relationship to the Christian worldview.

Read More
623 Words | 3 Pages

In this paper I will argue that the text was intended for Christians instead of the Romans based on the way Perpetua is praised in the text and how Perpetua’s disobedience towards her father who was the paterfamilias was most shocking to the Romans. Essentially this autobiography was written for Christian’s, particularly for those who were or later

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

The final piece to Christianity becoming the major religion it is today was Constantine. Constantine was one of four co-emperors in the tetrarch that Diocletian set up, but when Diocletian retired, Constantine was passed over for succession. Constantine would lead and army to take Rome. Before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 C.E. it is believed that Constantine had a vision of winning the battle with the symbol of Christianity, the “Chi Rho”, painted on the shields of his army: Figure 2 the first two letters in the Greek word for "Christ" superimposed on top of each other.

Read More
1250 Words | 5 Pages

When comparing the Christian books of Einhard, Sulpicius Severus and Bede the contrariety in the content and style of the works becomes apparent. Despite the differences in their works, the Christian writers have a common goal; all three wrote propaganda type histories. While all three propaganda works promote models of Christianity, they are all presented in vastly different ways. The different ways each author treats the use of violence with his subjects creates distinction between the propagandist’s works. Einhard promotes Charlemagne as a Christian model that uses violence to impose his will, Sulpicius Servius’ model of Christianity is completely opposed to any use of violence, and in Bede’s work the use of violence shows the will of God

Read More
563 Words | 3 Pages

His book is divided into six chapters. Meeks lays the groundwork of the following chapters by couching the Pauline Christians in its’ urban context. In chapter one, The Urban Environment of Pauline Christianity, Meeks attributes the spread of Christianity to the Greco Roman culture, the culture that the urban Christians lived in. This urbanization provided physical and

Read More
806 Words | 4 Pages

The views on Christianity throughout Rome changed immensely from the early years of the empire through the fourth century. For a while, Christians were looked at as a threat to many because of their belief in monotheism. Nero and his followers persecuted and punished the lower class and women who followed Christianity as well as use them as political scapegoats. As time went on, the tolerance for Christianity in Rome grew and Christianity gained acceptance. By the fourth century, Christianity was the official religion in Rome.

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

Cato was a soldier for Rome, strengthened by hard work in the field. Cato did not believe in showing off his wealth, even when he inherited. He inherited an expensive coat, that he sold. Cato would drink water when he was fighting to keep a clear mind and the same wine as his servants. Cato was a frugal man and would be happy with cold meals for each day.

Read More
680 Words | 3 Pages

During the early Pax Romana, Christianity, emerged and it spread rapidly in the Roman Empire. The founder of Christianity was Jesus who used parables with moral lessons to communicate his ideas. Jesus emphasized mercy, sympathy for the poor and helpless, morality, forgiveness, and service to others. Christianity eventually became the official religion of Rome because of its unifying force and the fact that it appealed to all classes in society. The humble, poor and oppressed found comfort in his message of love, equality, human dignity, and promise for a better life.

Read More
654 Words | 3 Pages

Even though Christians were persecuted on and off during the Roman Empire, Christianity flourished. In the early Roman Empire, when Claudius, Nero, Domitian, and Trajan were emperors, Christianity was banned and Christians were persecuted. Nevertheless, Christians found ways to spread Christianity, and many people converted. As trials occurred and the Empire lost good leaders, the people took security in Christianity and other religions. Christianity grew during the Roman Empire because Constantine helped create the Edict of Milan, Constantine had imperial favor toward The Church, and there was trade routes to spread Christianity to different areas.

Read More
946 Words | 4 Pages

View of women in early Christianity was very liberal, than the surrounding society's view of women, where women were reviewed as the property of

Read More
2225 Words | 9 Pages

Rome to Renaissance Essay What do the sources for this course tell us about the Church and politics in the middle ages. During the Middle Ages, various events caused the Church to become gradually powerful and dominant as it was the only universal European institution. The fall of Rome resulted in the Rise of Christianity. As Rome ceased to be the political centre and was replaced by Milan and Nicomedia, Christianity slowly began to rise to prominence and by 325AD, Christianity was made the preferred religion of the empire. By 380, Christianity became the official religion.

Read More
1047 Words | 5 Pages

Christianity was the dominate religion in the Roman Empire. The Romans did believe in Jesus, one God and enteral life, this was because of “Gods Will”. “Gods Will” is whatever God says is the right way. If you got sick, a disease, plagues, death or injury it is “Gods Will”. The Romans would live their daily life of what God says.

Read More
1375 Words | 6 Pages

In general, Christians believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, Satan, and the idea of life after death in Heaven or Hell. According to the World Scriptures text, Christianity was a missionary religion that quickly spread throughout the Roman Empire. Around 500 B.C.E the Zoroastrian Persian Empire spread from the Arabian sea to Mediterranean sea, which overlapped with Christianity at the time (Van Voorst 265). Christianity was heavily surrounding the Mediterranean and with the importance of trade routes at the time there was bound to be influencing ideas between the two. One may argue that Christianity was the mission religion that influenced Zoroastrianism.

Read More

More about Comparing Marcus Cato By Plutarch And The Gospel According To Matthew

Related Topics

Open Document