- A new religion in the empire
- Christianity: roots
- It all begins with Jesus.....
- Most of what we know of Jesus comes from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
- "Gospel" means "good news"
Who's Jesus?
- Jesus was a Jewish itinerant preacher in Judea who set himself apart from the other "Messiahs"
- Jesus taught God's personal relationship to each human being
- Message of love
More Roots
- Jesus' followers believed he was the "Messiah" who had come to end the world and bring the truly faithful into the Kingdom of God
- Jesus was believed to be both man and the son of God; both human and divine
- Jesus was deemed a threat to Roman rule and was crucified, though his followers believed he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven
- The 12 followers of Jesus who attempted to spread the word of his teachings were known as apostles
Start Spreading the News
- Paul of Tarsus was a Jew who became a follower of Jesus after a miraculous vision on the road to Damascus
- Paul talked of "predestination" which meant that God chose who was to be saved and who was to be damned
- Paul was well-traveled, he helped find churches in many places, and he kept in touch with these new Christians by letters (Corinth, Thessalonia, Rome, Ephesus)
From outlaw to cult to actual religion
- "A reading from the letter of Paul to the....."
- Romans
- Corinthians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- Thessalonians
- Hebrews
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