The Word Spread
about the risen Jesus
- Paul is instrumental in telling the world about Jesus' life, death, resurrection, and message.
- He travels far and wide: Cyprus, Anatolia, Athens, Corinth Macedonia, Rome, Jerusalem, and maybe even Spain and Britian.
- He writes letters to many of those he spoke to these epistles are a part of the New Testament.
- If not for the efforts of Paul, it is likely that Jesus remains an obscure preacher, instead of the central figure of the world's largest religion.
Caligula- Good
start…
- In addition to being Germanicus' son, he was Tiberius' adopted grandson and great-nephew. Putting him next in line for emperor.
- He started off well, granting bonuses to those in the military, declaring treason trials a thing of the past, and made government spending a matter of public record.
- In all, the first seven months of Caligula's reign were "completely blissful"(according to the historian Philo)…then…
- He began to fight with the senate
- He claimed to be a god, and had statues displayed in many places- including the Jewish temple in Jerusalem
- Other examples of cruelty and insanity: he slept with other men's wives and bragged about it, indulged in too much spending and sex, and even tried to make horse consul and a priest (at least that's what his critics said)
- Assassinated by his own aides, AD 41 (age 28)
Next in Line-
Claudius-
- Ostracized by his family because of his disabilities (limp, slight deafness, possible speech impediment- thought to be cerebral palsy or polio), he was the last adult male in his family when Caligula was killed.
- He rose to the occasion: he conquered Britain; he built roads, canals, and aqueducts; he renovated the Circus Maximus
- Had an awful marriage to Messalina, who was quite often unfaithful to him, even plotting to seize power for her lover Silius through a coup- so Claudius had them killed.
Meanwhile- religious
troubles-
- Christianity and Judaism- monotheistic
- Romans had many gods, plus at times the emperor was viewed as a god.
- AD 66: a group of Jews called the Zealots tried to rebel, but Roman troops put them down and burned their temple (except for one wall)
- The western Wall today is the holiest of all Jewish shrines.
- Half a million Jews died in the rebellion.
Persecution of
Christians-
- Romans were harsh toward those who would not worship the emperor.
- Christians would have to meet in secret, if you were found out, you were killed or put into the Colosseum
- Especially Christians, who were viewed as followers of a new, upstart religion (cult)
- Often used for "entertainment" purposes in the Colosseum (thrown to the lions, etc.)
- Despite the oppression, Christianity grew quickly, by AD 2000, around 10 percent of the people in the roman empire were Christians.
No comments:
Post a Comment