Christianity: Roman Empire and Christian Persecution Essay examples

Submitted By Garate216
Words: 778
Pages: 4
Open Document
Change and Continuity Essay

The Roman Empire was the centermost area of Western civilization, it experienced many changes involving change in religion to Christianity, political power, and change in customs, but overtime Christian persecution remained present.
In 31 BCE, before the birth of Jesus, the Roman Empire was dominated by Jewish radicalism, as it was under control by Emperor Augustus. Once Jesus was born, he clearly knew the Law and the Scriptures sacred to the Jews. Jesus rooted his teachings in the scriptural laws of the Jews, all the while, strengthening and ultimately, affirming them. By 29 CE, Jesus becomes a distinctive preacher for the peasants living around the Sea of Galilee. Christianity has done a tremendous amount of outreach telling Jewish people how much they are loved and cared for, and that the things that have happened in the past were not representative of Jesus. People have twisted and distorted Christianity and how it should be taken upon, creating an unacceptable representation towards Jesus. This led to Jesus’ execution, as he was crucified by the Romans during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius. This shows how Christian persecution was in progress as people were hurt and had to pay a heavy price for their faith throughout the area. Paul the Apostle then made the change to begin his missionary journeys throughout the Roman Empire, preaching the Gospel, creating Churches and giving strength and encouragement to Early Christians as his letters were in circulation. By 53CE, the Jesus movement becomes regional as it spreads to Turkey, the Greek Islands, and eventually Rome by the help of Paul.
In 64 CE the Great Fire of Rome caused a major change as persecution in Rome began and the Christians were claimed to be at fault of why their city was ruined. At the time the Emperor of Rome, Nero, had this plan to tear down a third of Rome to replace it with an elaborate series of palaces that would be known as Neropolis. Seeing how it was not accomplished, the people began to believe the Great Fire was created by Nero as the start of changing Rome to his liking. From 69 to 73 CE, the Judean Revolt takes place as gospels were written down to keep their tradition alive; Christians became their own, breaking away into a separate group, but Christian executions continued to cause conflict within the people. The last revolt against Roman rule was around 122 CE as the mass exodus of Jews leaving Judea began.
Rome came to the height of its expansion or the end of Traigen’s rule. The appeal to Christianity marks a long period of Christian persecution in 180 CE. Vibia Perpetua was a young woman of noble birth and was led to the arena where her and her four companions were demanded to be scourged by the crowd. She was put to death for her religious convictions, and then the courage of these sacrifices began to be acknowledged, which led to more growth in the number of Christians. By 284 CE, Emperor Diocletian begins a
Show More

Related Documents: Christianity: Roman Empire and Christian Persecution Essay examples

The Persecution Of Rome: The Rise Of Christianity In Rome

Christianity began during the life of Jesus, growing to become the official religion of the Roman Empire hundreds of years after his crucifixion. During its expansion, Christianity faced obstacles in the form of persecution by the Roman government. Even with the Romans attempt to annihilate the religion, Christianity continued to grow, becoming the official religion of Rome due to its attraction of Roman citizens, Constantine’s vision, and Theodosius. The Roman government saw Christianity as a threat…

Words 685 - Pages 3

Who Is Constantine A Hero

a hero to Christians in the Roman Empire, was born Feb.27,272 AD in Serbia. Because his father worked as a high ranking officer under the emperor, he was a privileged hostage under Diocletian. As a young man he fought mightily in the Roman Army. With God's help, Constantine grew in knowledge and strength. He conquered wicked Roman kings and he helped stop persecution of Christians. Constantine, who was a Roman Emperor in 307 AD, legalized Christianity. Roman Christians were persecuted…

Words 288 - Pages 2

Essay about christianity expansion

The expansion of Christianity during the early empire was stunning. In the rise of this new faith AD 100 had roughly 25,000 to 800,000 but by AD 319 the Christian faith had 27 million followers. During this time of age the roman roads were a huge impact on a missionary’s life. The roads made travel both safe and efficient so the word of this new faith could reach new out comers. The Greek language was substantial for anyone of this time. It was very significant if you could communicate with everyone…

Words 337 - Pages 2

Early Christianity Religion

Christianity is a religion which occupied massive amount of countries and became one of the most believed religion of the world. Nonetheless, what were the roots of this religion and how did it grow so much? The early Christianity started in Rome with the followers of Jesus and himself. At first, it might have been small group following Jesus Christ’s words; however, after his miraculous return from death, the belief and conversions to Christianity grew. It spread throughout the Hellenized Roman…

Words 835 - Pages 4

Cristal Mateo West Civ Paper

so appalling that it was punishable by an even more awful death. The crime? She was a Christian in the time of the Roman Empire. (Cole & Symes 179-180) As we continue to read the text, a picture is painted of what it meant to follow Jesus trough out the year 30 C.E., a description of adversity and oppression lived by newly converted Christians. Today one might think that because many years have passed Christianity has become a well accepted religion through out the world and practice at no cost of…

Words 1744 - Pages 7

Research Paper On Pax Romana

The Roman Empire was once the world’s most powerful and prosperous empires of its time. It thrived in every aspect that an empire needs to run successfully. They lived in peace for nearly two centuries that they called Pax Romana. During the third century, the Roman Empire began to decline in drastic ways that would soon lead to its destruction and the rise of Christianity. Many people lost their faith in the government, so they tried to put it in religion. Some people became attracted to Christianity…

Words 1659 - Pages 7

Who Is Constantine The Great Sovereign

Constantine the Great, also recognized as Constantine I or Saint Constantine,was Roman Ruler from 306 to 337. Constantine was the son of Flavius Valerius Constantius, a Roman military captain, and his consort Helena. His father came to be Caesar, the deputy sovereign in the west in 293. Constantine was dispatched east, whereas he increased across the locations to come to be a martial tribune below the sovereigns Diocletian and Galerius. In 305, Constantius was increased to the locale of Augustus…

Words 766 - Pages 4

The Persecution Of Christians After The Great Fire Of Rome

The persecution of Christians at the hands of the Romans dates back to the time of Christ. Jesus was crucified under the authority of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. The treatment of Christians did not improve after Jesus' resurrection. It was Emperor Nero that first seriously persecuted Christians, following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. The true origin of the fire was unknown, but rumours spread in Rome that Emperor Nero had started it himself. To counter this, Nero blamed the Christians…

Words 688 - Pages 3

Final Capstone Project Essay

die in honor of said religion. The concept and idea of Christian martyrdom started from one of its leading figures Jesus Christ. Osmanski 2 This example or idea that Jesus Christ was the original martyr in the Christian religion has lead to centuries of people either wanting to become martyrs or people who see martyrdom as an instant way to gain access to heaven. “Martyrdom was hugely important in early Christian theology. The first Christians believed that Jesus’s promise, ‘Ye shall indeed drink…

Words 5450 - Pages 22

Ancient Roman Religion Essay

the late empire, religion had played a great role in it's society and was involved in almost every aspect of the life of the Roman citizen. It was common for each house to have it's own patron god/gods and ,on special occasions, the head of the house would make a sacrifice to the personal gods of the family. Also, great festivals were usually held in honor of certain gods and would include spectacles like chariot races and Gladiatorial fights. The religious practices of the ancient Romans are best…

Words 3522 - Pages 15