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Roman culture contributed to the success and growth of Christianity
Christians in the time of roman empire
Influence of christianity in rome
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In Tacitus account of Roman history, Christians were burnt, eaten by animals, and crucified. Document C details why the Romans were persecuting the Christians. According to the Theologian professor, the reason for Christian persecution in Rome was because the Romans did not understand Christian rituals.
Contrary to what Diocletian expected, however, the pagans defended their fellow Romans, leading to a remarkable period of religious unity and acceptance amongst the citizens of the Roman Empire (7-8). To this end, the failure of Diocletian’s Christian persecution was a significant factor leading to the eventual domination of Christianity in western society due to the fact that it precipitated the empire’s growing toleration of Christian
One way Marius kept up his reign as a consul was ordering his competition to be assassinated. Even as Marius did this, the court system grew weaker and weaker. This happened with the new and fast spreading beliefs of Christianity. Originally, Rome's main religion was, what is known today as, Roman Mythology. Those that believed in Roman mythology believed that
Christians believed that human beings were engendered in the image of God. At that time, the notion was unorthodox. The Romans believed in perfect gods who resembled the emperor and his court. The credence that human beings was engendered in God’s own image verbalized that every person, man, woman, child, slave, barbarian, no matter who, has brobdingnagian value in God’s ocular perceivers (Doc. C). The credence that man was engendered in God’s image availed people feel good about themselves and that they had value.
Despite the knowledge that it was dangerous to contradict Roman beliefs, they continued to refer to themselves as Christians. As Document G exhibits how Christianity was governed, Pliny the Younger a Roman Judge interrogated whomever claimed to be Christan and persistently threatened them with punishment until they were executed for their stubbornness (Doc G). However, this did not fear the Christians because they knew that Jesus was with them protecting them from harm. Within Roman society the belief in immortality was very difficult, they believed when you die you would be judged by a Roman god (Styx) to then be sent into one of the two afterworlds. As the religious historian, Helemt Koester states that the Christan community was an interest to many because of the promises of a future life free of sickness, poverty, and hatred (Doc B).
At the time, religion was a necessity for an empire to flourish because often times they created moral standards for people to follow not only in their daily lives, but also in their government. The Roman Empire had several religions before Christianity arose so in the beginning, the idea of a monotheistic religion was rejected. It was looked down upon because it was based on the idea of a “kingdom” of heaven. As it spread more and more, it started to become more widely accepted because of its philosophy of an orderly world and concern for social welfare. This led to most of Rome now believing in one socially interactive God.
The more Christianity spread, the more fear the Romans had for the religion. The spread of Christianity caused the Romans to take action with violence, but the rapid spread and strong commitment were something the Romans could not beat. To start, looking at the apparent differences between Christianity and Roman ideology, it is understandable that Christianity intrigued the common people and became popular. Christian ideology is a little, with a strong
The Romans and and Jewish leaders felt threatened by Jesus because he thought he was the messiah. Jesus would then be crucified by the Romans. Christianity was able to take hold in the ancient world and flourish because of Christianity 's belief in equality, Rome’s biased
Moreover, Rome had a strict hierarchical system that was not ideal for every citizen. A passage from the documentary, From Jesus to Christ, states, “if you’re at the bottom of that social pyramid, not a whole lot of things are coming down to you anymore,” (Document D). The emperors were the direct connection to the Roman gods and their blessings because they were at the top of the status pyramid. Christianity supplied a superior alternative to the Roman beliefs because it leveled the playing field and allowed everyone fair and equal relationships with God. Unfortunately, Roman officials were not enthusiastic about Christianity’s rise in popularity.
This was a crucial question during the Roman Empire when Christians were being persecuted for their religion and not worshipping the pagan gods. Diocletian, Nero,
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.
According to Paul's teachings in the book of Romans, the worship of idols is a very serious sin and comes with a heavy price. Because the people could easily see the majesty and glory of God in the world around them, it was inexcusable to ignore the obvious presence of God and turn instead to idols made by their own hands. He further notes that this type of behavior is the beginning of greater sins and the breakdown of the moral structures of society (Harris, 2014). This consequence however is not the worst of all. Because the Romans intentionally turned their backs on God in order to worship their own man-made idols, God responded by turning his back on the Romans. This loss of God's protection left the Romans to their own devices and
Christians enriched Roman theology and art through cultural interactions. Culture was dramatically changed due to the transformation of religion to Christianity. Emperors constructed many new temples in honor of Christianity. The architecture puts a greater emphasis on the interior and the meaningful visuals instead of the exterior like they used to do. Churches provided social services like schooling and medical care.
Many of these were introduced via the Greek colonies of southern Italy and others had their roots in the Etruscan or Latin tribes of the region (UNRV).” Having been influenced by other religions the Romans were not against the idea of becoming Christians. “By 392 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned the practice of pagan religions in Rome altogether and Christianity was, without question, the official religion of the state (UNRV).” Present day the Roman religion does not exist. The Romans all converted their beliefs to Christianity soon after being hesitated to in the early fourth century
With these type of factors in mind, this paper will answer the question “How did Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome impact Christianity?”.
