In 27 BCE (Before Common Era) the Roman Empire was entering its golden age, “The Pax Romana.” During the Pax Romana, the citizens of all Roman cities enjoyed free food and entertainment along with access to all of the Roman amenities such as bathhouses, roads, and mail service. However in 180 CE (Common Era) the Roman empire took a turn for the worse and eventually the last empire fell in 476 CE. The once powerful Roman Empire was in shambles. So what happened to the empire?
1600 years ago the mediterranean people were doing the same thing that us modern day people are doing now, conquering, claiming, and fighting, but why were they doing this, and who were they doing it too? The Roman empire was one of the strongest empires in history, the “superpower of the Mediterranean world”. In 750 BCE Rome was founded and over time Rome’s wealth, territory, and popularity grew and grew as time went on. They conquered the land of Scotland and Spain, began to control the whole Mediterranean sea, established some colonies around North Africa, the middle east, Asia Minor, and Egypt. They were beginning to expand their empire into almost the entire continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa.
The Roman Empire lasted about 500 years from about 47 BC to AD 476. It started in Italy and eventually extended throughout Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. Julius Caesar became dictator for life and was assassinated by the senate, however this began the transfer from a republic to an empire. The Roman Empire grew over time, getting bigger. Although it thrived, it fell around 476 C.E because of major issues.
In chapter 3 of Speaking of Jesus, Carl Medearis talks about what it means to own Christianity. He says "If we don't truly know what the gospel is, we have to find an explanation for Christianity." Meaning that if we do not know what the gospel is or what it is teaching us, then we try to define it by our own standards, and that is where it gets messy. Medearis talks about how Christianity is more than a religion, but it is a relationship and people tend to not understand that. He explains why people are so defensive and put up their guards towards Christians, because Christians can be so judgemental.
Throughout the development of the Roman Empire, the idea of paganism held the empire together because it allowed many people to still worship their gods and assimilate into society. Julian, a paganistic emperor, saw that the public ceremonies done by the empire played a major role in unifying its Roman citizens, but Christianity prevented that by promoting private worship. However, Eusebius believed that Christianity benefitted the empire and used Constantine’s mission reunite the empire as an example of what positives Christianity would bring to the Roman Empire. Despite Christianity appearing to be popular after its legalization, Julian and Eusebius’s beliefs differ in a way that prevents them from seeing eye to eye proving that Christianity
Roman Virtue: The Good Society American author, Frederick Douglas, said of a great nation, “A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it.” Expanding beyond the shadow of Greece, Rome grew to become the greatest empire of its time. Rome’s mission was to create a good society. At the core of this good society, and at the core of Rome’s greatness, was the Roman people – the Romanitas. Rome’s journey to greatness can be traced through the virtues of the people, their patriotism, duty to family and state, and an underlying sense of religion.
9-10: The multitude that is before the throne is so unbelievably massive that “no one is able to count it.” They are in white robes, the greek noun “stolas”, which signifies a longer robe worn to special robes rather than working robes. The color white, along with the palm branches, are both “emblems of triumph” of God over the powers of sin and death. When Abraham is promised the seed of “multitude of nations” in Genesis 17:5, it is fulfilled yet again here with this innumerable crowd.
The expansion of the Roman Empire led to a greater divide between the rich and poor, a heavy reliance on agriculture, and more war. Those are just a few of the social, economic, and political changes that occurred in the Roman Empire during its expansion. In documents 5, 6, 7, and 9, the social changes of the Roman Empire are brought to light. Document 5 illustrates how the divide between the rich and poor classes widened.
He encourages everyone to assemble as a country, when he states, “With this faith, we will be able to
The initial attempt for Romans to create a code of laws was the Laws of the Twelve Tables. The laws, were said, to have come about in order to eliminate tension between the patricians (privileged class) and the plebeians (common people). The Twelve Tables included Laws relating to debtors, inheritance, marriage, rights of a father, property, will and testament, and women. What rights did Roman citizens have according to the Twelve Tables? Roman citizens could not be sentenced to death unless they were found guilty of treason.
Worldview, worldview is a particular philosophy of life or the conception of the world. In Romans chapters 1-8 I will be going over the different subject matters; the natural world, human identity, human relationships, culture and how it all ties into Romans and society today, Paul wrote the book of Romans to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Christ. Paul saw faults in the Roman society and culture and used this to write the book of Romans. My worldview is that there are still the same faults and same sins being committed today that there was in Paul’s day. I do not believe that society will ever change as whole and it will not change for the better or for worse.
Comparing and Contrasting the Roman Empire and Kingdom of God There were, and are, many kingdoms and empires in this world. Some of these kingdoms are quite similar, and some, are not even close to the same. The Roman Empire and the Kingdom of God, two very important kingdoms in our lifetime, both have several interesting similarities and differences.
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.
The Roman Republic was an ancient Roman civilization that was created after the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom in 509 BC, and ending in 27 BC with the creation of the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was created in order for the rich men named aristocrats to gain even more power by removing kings from the Roman government. Soon after, the Roman upper class turned politics into a violent competition in their strive for power. Gaius Marius’ creation of “client armies” led soldiers to become more loyal towards their commander than the republic. This resulted in a commander named Lucius Cornelius Sulla overtaking Rome with his client army and establishing himself as a dictator.
“If you must break the law, do it to seize power: in all other cases observe it”- Julius Caesar, the man who is known as one of the most fascinating political figures of all time. The one who through his military genius, expanded the Roman Republic to include parts of what are now Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. Although the hero had many followers and admirers, he was ultimately stabbed to death by his own fellow politicians. Caesar was born in July, 100 B.C.E to Gaius Caesar and Aurelia. The family claimed a noble history but hadn’t produced many influential people till then.
