Christianity might have remained a strictly Jewish sect if it were not for one man: Paul, who was considered the "father of Christianity."
When we dissect the beginning of Christianity, two characters come into action: Jesus and Paul. While Jesus is viewed by many Christians as the founder of the religion whose life laid the framework of Christianity, Paul is viewed as the great leader of Jesus’ mission, delivering that mission in the most unique way. Paul originally named Saul was not a Jew, but a pharisee who persecuted Jews. Until he met Jesus on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus., he was struck with blindness for three days and waited for a follower of Jesus with the name Ananias to heal him of his blindness. Subsequently after
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It was an insult to Jewish traditions, but it was also the core reason for the rapid spread of Christianity and its separation from the Jewish traditions. This consequently caused tension between the preachers of the gospel and the inhabitants of the place they were spreading the gospel. Christians in Rome were regarded with suspicion. Christians became an easy target and was often used for political propaganda in Rome. Emperor Nero is a prime example in the persecution of early Christians. He arrested and tortured Christians in Rome, before executing them. Despite this, Nero's persecution of the new Christian sect was short, and luckily was not repeated in other regions of Rome and on a larger scale the world. This aided the widespread of Christianity Over time, the Christian church and faith grew more organized. In 313 AD, the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which permanently established religious toleration of Christianity within the Roman Empire, by the year 380 AD, Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire. As the Roman empire declined Christianity began taking hold in the outer regions of the empire. Missionaries helped spread the religion to various parts of the world, however they were persecuted and ridiculed, but their faith in the gospel enabled the spread Christianity, influencing great continents like Africa, specifically North Africa and the Nile River Valley, from Nubia to Ethiopia, became influential parts of the expanding Christian
Paul’s distinctive contribution to Christianity is his heresy- the doctrine of salvation by faith. A salvation available not just to the descendants of Abraham, but to the pagan, non-Jewish world as well. When he was writing to those in the Roman capital, Paul makes the declaration that proved to be the cornerstone of all his writings Romans 1:16-17, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live
The Pax Romana allowed Rome to expand, and created a period of peace that would spread the important religion of Christianity throughout the strong empire. The new religion of Christianity was Jesus’ interpertation of monotheistic religion, Judiasm. Christianity was unlike the polytheistic Roman religion which infuriated many Roman rulers. Despite the hatred of rulers it spread quickly throughout the empire and continued even after Jesus died. Although Christianity followers were persecuted they felt strongly about their beliefs and eventually the Edict of Milan was passed whih meant that Christianity was a religion approved by the emperor. Christianity changed from a sect of persecution to a state religion within the Roman Empire because
Christianity is the outcome of historical events. This all began with the teachings of Jesus, whom lived and worked among his fellow Jews in rural Judea and Galilee around the year 30 C.E. Keep in mind, this started in the Hellenistic world, the cosmopolitan, in Greek-speaking cities around the eastern Mediterranean, which had now been absorbed into the Roman Empire, the emergence of Christianity overlapped with the Roman Empire’s most intense period of growth and with so many struggles. Paul was a key figure to develop this new understanding of Jesus’s divinity. His younger mentee, Paul of Tarsus was never being able to meet Jesus so he claimed
In 313 Constantine I, also known as Flavius Valerius Constantinus, implemented the Edict of Milan; in which it established tolerance of Christianity as a religion, but did not place it above all other religions. Before the Edict of Milan came to effect the people of Rome did not tolerate Christianity let alone practice it. People in Ancient Rome persecuted the Christians for their beliefs often with Christians ending up dead or betraying their wait to escape the persecutions. Christians were persecuted because they were seclusive with their rituals. The people did not understand and thought that religion was supposed to be public.
Paul helped this group of Jews put many believers to death and we can see this in the book of Acts. Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, as he was then identified, approved to put Stephen to death by stoning him. Nevertheless, on the way to Damascus Saul of Tarsus finds himself in a life transforming situation. Jesus of Nazareth appears to Saul of Tarsus and changed his life. Saul is no longer! In addition to his spiritual transformation, Saul becomes known as Paul.
One influential cult was based upon a mystical interpretation of Plato. Neo-Platonism was like a rational science that attempted to break down and describe every aspect of the divine essence and its relationship with the human soul. An Alexandrian Jew named Philo tried using Greek philosophy to interpret the Jewish scriptures. He wanted to unite the two traditions by suggesting that the Greek philosophers had been inspired by the same God who had revealed himself to the Jews.
The Edict of Milan was Constantine’s way of wanting to end the Roman persecution of Christians. Both Constantine and Licinius Augustus established this new law in 314 CE. This law is what later became known as the Edict of Milan. The consequences that it had for the relationship between Christians and Jews in the Roman Empire was that most of the Christians were pleased with the edict. It had meant an end to the persecutions that most had suffered from time to time, and a new access to power and influence. Others had seen reason to be concerned, because the edict had only mentioned Christians. The laws that came afterward impacted the Jews, for it had limited their rights as citizens of the Roman Empire.
Professor Ambrosio asserts that Saul's vision "establishes a direct connection between Paul's question, 'Who are you, Lord?' and Jesus as the one who is being persecuted in the person of those who have faith in Him" (Hero or Saint Saul of Tarsus). This direct connection is what ultimately helps transform Saul into Paul a new man. Christianity, in other words, is the religion of throwing off the old man and putting on the new. The new, of course, is Christ which is why
For some background information on Paul. His original name was Sual in Hebrews announced in the new testaments. He was yoked to a rabbi so he can become a rabbi him self. Paul converted to christianity when he saw the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the road of Damascus. During his life he created three big ministries to travel through the Roman Empire, and he did this because he was planting churches. His goal was to preach to the new Christians the word of God, and to give encouragement. Paul started his mission because the Lord asked of him to do so, and so the Lord provided him with wisdom and strength to for fill his journey.
Paul 's original name was Saul. Saul started out hating and persecuting Christians. Saul had a big conversion moment where he heard God talking to him and he was struck blind for three days. "Paul was on his way to Damascus when he had a vision that changed his life: according to Galatians 1:16, God revealed his Son to him. More specifically, Paul states that he saw the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1), though Acts claims that near Damascus he saw a blinding bright light. Following this revelation, which convinced Paul that God had indeed chosen Jesus to be the promised messiah."("Saint") Paul then became a Christian and left his easy, comfortable life to become a preacher. Once Paul became a missionary he wanted to share the news of Christianity with everyone. "Paul’s great achievement was to take Christianity from Jerusalem throughout the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire and finally to the capital itself." (Johnson) Paul 's main goal was to spread the word that Christ is the Son of God. (Adcock)
Because Paul was the first to describe and teach about the role of Jesus in the salvation of humanity from sin, he’s known to be the second founder of Christianity. It was due in part to his influence that
It was this refusal that caused its practice to be illegal and those who chose to stick with the faith were prosecuted. Although people were being killed for practicing, Christianity started to become even more popular. After seeing Christian martyrs risk their lives for the sake of Christianity, many Romans were compelled and attracted to the faith. Also, there were Apostles who traveled around the empire spreading the message of Christianity. Then in 312 CE, Emperor Constantine proposed the Edict of Milan that banned all laws against Christianity. That allowed people to freely worship, without the fear of harsh punishment. He eventually converted on his deathbed. Then in 392 CE, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of Rome. Christianity went from being an illegal religion to the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Paul became an advocate for the inclusion of the Gentiles among the ‘true’ followers of Christianity. Until this moment in history, Jewish Christians believed that non-Jews had to convert to Judaism and follow the law like them, which included many dietary restrictions and circumcision. Gentiles who worship in the synagogue but did not convert were only
The Apostle Paul (formerly Saul) is responsible for the spread of Christianity throughout the areas of Asia Minor and Greece. Through his 3 mission trips to the region Paul created a base of support for the Christian faith and implemented a support strategy for future growth. The time period for his journeys was 45 AD – 58 AD. The story of Paul is interesting from the perspective that the man best known as the author of most of the New Testament started out as a devout Jew and despised the Christian faith. After his conversion he made it his life’s work to spread the Christian message throughout the world. To this end, Paul made several mission trips to the area of Asia Minor and Greece.
Tutankhamun was the twelfth king of the 18th Egyptian dynasty. His reign can be seen as a period of religious transition to the extent of that he reverted back to the traditional Egyptian religion after his predecessor’s radical revolution and laid the foundations for future rulers. However, it has been observed that many of the actions that were made during his reign were not made by him, instead by his advisors. Tutankhamun’s reign can be seen as a period of religious transition but only to a certain extent.