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| | ==The Roman Empire and Christianity== | | ==The Roman Empire and Christianity== |
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| − | Peter and Paul brought Christianity to many parts of the Roman Empire, and Peter is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church (“catholic” is from a Greek word meaning “universal”) as the first and longest-serving “bishop of Rome,” or “pope” of the Church. The works of Peter, Paul and others in spreading Christianity are described in their own letters that follow the Gospels in the New Testament. In the early fifth century, Augustine of Hippo (known to many as “Saint Augustine”) wrote books entitled Confessions and City of God that influenced Christian doctrine for future theologians. Born in North Africa to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Augustine went through personal spiritual crises before converting entirely to Christianity and advocating the concept of justification by grace alone. He criticized all the heresies of his time and supported the sacraments of the church. He also supported the concept of “predestination”, which would later be emphasized by the Frenchman John Calvin during the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s (Calvin fled to Switzerland to promote his ideas). Above all, Augustine merged classical and Christian viewpoints, and in particular reconciled the classical (Greco-Roman) view about knowledge and virtue with Christian views of sin. A contemporary of Augustine was Jerome (“Saint Jerome”), who translated the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament into Latin. This became known as the Vulgate, and remained the authoritative Bible for over 1000 years. | + | Jesus did not seek fame; recall that the betrayal by Judas was to identify Jesus for capture, because otherwise most people would not recognize Him. But non-believing historians recorded Jesus's life and the rise of Christianity. For example, the Jewish historian Josephus (A.D. 37-100) wrote: |
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| − | As Christianity grew, it began to organize itself along the lines of local parishes managed by priests, who in turn were selected by bishops. A group of local churches forms a diocese. Christianity is primarily an evangelical faith, and spreading its truths is considered a fundamental aspect of its doctrine. By seeking conversion of others to the Good News, Christianity differs from other religions that lack an evangelical component, such as Judaism. Popes were established in both Rome (a line of succession from Peter) and Alexandria, Egypt (a line of succession from Mark), and the Roman Catholic Church began to develop its own system of law known as “canon law.” | + | Josephus (A.D. 37-100), the Jewish historian, would wrote a generation after Jesus Christ, makes several references to people well-known to New Testament readers. F. F. Bruce summarized the evidence: |
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| | + | "Here, in the pages of Josephus, we meet many figures who are well known to us from the New Testament; the colorful family of the Herods; the Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, and the procurators of Judea; the high priestly families--Annas, Caiaphas, Ananias, and the rest; the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and so on" (F. F. Bruce, New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? p.104.) |
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| | + | He wrote explicitly about Jesus: |
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| | + | :"At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. ... Pilate condemned Him to be condemned and to die. And those who had become His disciples did not abandon His discipleship. They reported that He had appeared to them three days after His crucifixion and that He was alive; accordingly, He was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders"<ref>Antiquities, xviii.ch. 3, subtopic 3, Arabic text. http://www.bibleviews.com/non-biblical.html.</ref> |
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| | + | :"Now, there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, ... for he was a doer of wonderful works--a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew ever to him both many of the Jews, and many Gentiles. ... [W]hen Pilate, at the suggestions of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to be condemned and to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and the ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day."<ref>Antiquities, xviii.ch. 3, subtopic 3, Greek text. http://www.bibleviews.com/non-biblical.html (possible subsequent editions to the text removed)</ref> |
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| | + | After the Resurrection, Peter and Paul brought Christianity to many parts of the Roman Empire, and Peter is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church ("catholic" is from a Greek word meaning "universal") as the first and longest-serving "bishop of Rome," or "pope" of the Church. The works of Peter, Paul and others in spreading Christianity are described in their own letters that follow the Gospels in the New Testament. |
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| | + | As Christianity grew, it began to organize itself along the lines of local parishes managed by priests, who in turn were selected by bishops. A group of local churches forms a diocese. Christianity is primarily an evangelical faith, and spreading its truths is considered a fundamental aspect of its doctrine. By seeking conversion of others to the Good News, Christianity differs from other religions that lack an evangelical component, such as Judaism. Popes were established in both Rome (a line of succession from Peter) and Alexandria, Egypt (a line of succession from Mark), and the Roman Catholic Church began to develop its own system of law known as "canon law." |
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| − | While Christianity was and is primarily peaceful in its evangelism, Roman emperors were brutal in attempting to suppress the religion. Roman emperors Nero and Diocletian would actively persecute Christians, thereby creating many martyrs, but the religion continued to grow. Christians would hold worship services in secret places, making use of pre-existing catacombs or tunnels underlying Rome. There were numerous early Christian martyrs, such as Lawrence, who openly expressed their faith in Rome. In A.D. 258, the Roman emperor abruptly issued an edict that all bishops, priests and deacons be immediately killed (“episcopi et presbyteriet diacones incontinenti animadvertantur”). The bishop of Rome (the pope) was found in a catacomb and immediately executed. Lawrence, accordingly to verbal tradition, was roasted to death by a red-hot grid. | + | While Christianity was and is primarily peaceful in its evangelism, Roman emperors were brutal in attempting to suppress the religion. Roman emperors Nero and Diocletian would actively persecute Christians, thereby creating many martyrs, but the religion continued to grow. Christians would hold worship services in secret places, making use of pre-existing catacombs or tunnels underlying Rome. There were numerous early Christian martyrs, such as Lawrence, who openly expressed their faith in Rome. In A.D. 258, the Roman emperor abruptly issued an edict that all bishops, priests and deacons be immediately killed ("episcopi et presbyteriet diacones incontinenti animadvertantur"). The bishop of Rome (the pope) was found in a catacomb and immediately executed. Lawrence, accordingly to verbal tradition, was roasted to death by a red-hot grid. A very inspirational martyr, Lawrence reportedly said during his execution, "Turn me over. I am done on this side!" |
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| − | The persecutions of Christians continued until the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, issued by the emperor Constantine. This edict established Christianity as an acceptable religion to be practice in Rome, and in A.D. 391, emperor Theodosius declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire and the worship of Roman gods was outlawed. The only legal religions in the Roman Empire were then Christianity and Judaism. All the Roman emperors after Constantine were Christian, with one exception (Julian “the Apostate”). | + | Thanks to martyrs like Lawrence and many others, Christianity ultimately prevailed over the mighty Roman empire. The persecutions of Christians continued until the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, issued by the emperor Constantine. This edict established Christianity as an acceptable religion to be practice in Rome, and in A.D. 391, emperor Theodosius declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Roman Empire and the worship of Roman gods was outlawed. The only legal religions in the Roman Empire were then Christianity and Judaism. All the Roman emperors after Constantine were Christian, with one exception (Julian "the Apostate"). |
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| | Constantine built a new Christian capital in the East for the Roman empire that would be safe from the German invaders, and he called its Constantinople. The city was located to benefit from the expanding trade with the East. He built a beautiful Church of Holy Wisdom there, now known as the Cathedral of the Hagia Sophia. This city survived and thrived for another 1000 years, as the eastern portion of the Roman Empire did not decline and fall as the western portion did. The architecture of this city, now known as Istanbul, Turkey, is a mixture of Christianity and Hellenistic classicism. It is on the Bosporus Strait at the point where Europe meets Asia, and was the wealthiest city in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Half the city is in Europe and the other half is in Asia. It was sometimes called the “Queen of Cities.” | | Constantine built a new Christian capital in the East for the Roman empire that would be safe from the German invaders, and he called its Constantinople. The city was located to benefit from the expanding trade with the East. He built a beautiful Church of Holy Wisdom there, now known as the Cathedral of the Hagia Sophia. This city survived and thrived for another 1000 years, as the eastern portion of the Roman Empire did not decline and fall as the western portion did. The architecture of this city, now known as Istanbul, Turkey, is a mixture of Christianity and Hellenistic classicism. It is on the Bosporus Strait at the point where Europe meets Asia, and was the wealthiest city in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Half the city is in Europe and the other half is in Asia. It was sometimes called the “Queen of Cities.” |
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| | Another Jewish rebellion against the Romans occurred in A.D. 132, and this time the Romans completely destroyed the Jewish state and dispersed the Jewish people to faraway lands. This is known as the “Second Diaspora” (“diaspora” is Greek for dispersion). The “First Diaspora” was the Babylonian captivity. There would not be another Jewish homeland until 1948. After the Second Diaspora some Jewish people converted to Christianity, while others formed Jewish communities in faraway places. By A.D. 1000, Spain became a center for Jewish scholarship, but the Spanish Inquisition in A.D. 1492 is blamed for expelling Jews from that country. Eastern Europe welcomed displaced Jewish settlers, and by the 17th century it became the center of the Diaspora. In the late 1800s many Jewish people migrated to Germany and Britain, but the Holocaust in Germany during World War II destroyed Jewish communities there. The center of the Diaspora today is the United States, which has a Jewish population of nearly 6 million, more than the 5 million Jewish population of Israel, founded in 1948. Great Jewish centers such as Egypt and Babylon (now Iraq), which thrived in the first century, now have fewer than 1000 Jewish residents. | | Another Jewish rebellion against the Romans occurred in A.D. 132, and this time the Romans completely destroyed the Jewish state and dispersed the Jewish people to faraway lands. This is known as the “Second Diaspora” (“diaspora” is Greek for dispersion). The “First Diaspora” was the Babylonian captivity. There would not be another Jewish homeland until 1948. After the Second Diaspora some Jewish people converted to Christianity, while others formed Jewish communities in faraway places. By A.D. 1000, Spain became a center for Jewish scholarship, but the Spanish Inquisition in A.D. 1492 is blamed for expelling Jews from that country. Eastern Europe welcomed displaced Jewish settlers, and by the 17th century it became the center of the Diaspora. In the late 1800s many Jewish people migrated to Germany and Britain, but the Holocaust in Germany during World War II destroyed Jewish communities there. The center of the Diaspora today is the United States, which has a Jewish population of nearly 6 million, more than the 5 million Jewish population of Israel, founded in 1948. Great Jewish centers such as Egypt and Babylon (now Iraq), which thrived in the first century, now have fewer than 1000 Jewish residents. |
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| | + | In the early fifth century, Augustine of Hippo (known to many as "Saint Augustine") wrote books entitled "Confessions" and "City of God," which merged classical and Christian viewpoints, and in particular reconciled the classical (Greco-Roman) view about knowledge and virtue with Christian views of sin. Born in North Africa to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Augustine went through personal spiritual crises before converting entirely to Christianity and advocating the concept of justification by grace alone. He criticized all the heresies of his time and supported the sacraments of the church. He also supported the concept of "predestination", which would later be emphasized by the Frenchman John Calvin during the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s (Calvin fled to Switzerland to promote his ideas). |
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| | + | A contemporary of Augustine was Jerome ("Saint Jerome"), who translated the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament into Latin. This became known as the Vulgate, and remained the authoritative Bible for over 1000 years. |
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| | ==Military Reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire (in the West)== | | ==Military Reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire (in the West)== |