Religion and Violence

Christian Persecution

During the Roman Empire there was a mass persecution of the Christians because their beliefs differed from the typical beliefs of the Roman citizens. Christianity appealed to the lower class citizens of the roman empire for they believed that there was only one god. Ancient Romans were polytheistic so they believed in many gods. The emperor himself was believed to be a divine power. Because Christians only believed in one God, they did not have the proper respect for the emperor and ultimately had to face persecution. Today, this conflict could have been solved if people were more open about religion. In certain parts of the world religion can be practiced freely so in these places this sort of persecution would be unlikely to occur. However, in other parts of the world, religion is practiced more strictly so this sort of major disagreements in important beliefs could led to this sort of conflict. 

1. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism when the Roman Empire was at its peak.  Christianity spread rapidly throughout the entire roman empire, including both the west and east.
2. Jesus was a Jew fulfilled the role of the Messiah by acting as a rabbi. He taught his disciples and performed miracles such as healing people. 
3. The major doctrines of early christianity were baptism and communion.
4. It is most likely that the letters written by Paul was the first section of New Testament written. The Gospels were written between 90 and 100 CE.
5. Constantine brought power to the eastern side of the Roman empire. HE took power away from Rome and created his own city known as Constantinople. Emperor Constantine didn't not convert to christianity until he was on his death bed. Constantine announced Christianity as the official religion of his empire. This ended all persecutions of christians thought the Roman empire. Christianity in the eastern side of the Roman empire began to flourish and eventually broke off from the Roman catholic church to form the Eastern Orthodox church. 
6. The theological differences were that eastern tend to be more interested in theological formulations and became bitterly divided over certain issues. Western Christians tended to be more concerned with survival in a hostile world. Eastern emphasized the divine nature of Christ and Western emphasized his humanity. 
7. Causes include: beginning of European nationalism, the new learning of the Renaissance, and the decline of papacy.
8. Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Eucharist, Extreme, Marriage, Holy Orders
9. John XXII became the Pope after Puis XII died. John was determined to revitalize the church and bring it in line with the 20^th century. The Second Vatican Council called for by Pope John XXII enacted the most dramatic changes ever made by the catholic church. These changes were very important for they set the path that the church would follow during these upcoming revelations.
10. Liberation theology is a movement in Christian theology. It was developed mainly by Latin American Roman Catholics and it emphasizes liberation from social, political, and economic oppression as an anticipation of ultimate salvation. It is a branch of Catholic theology that seeks to establish the fact that God has made a supernatural revelation and established the Catholic Church.
11. Jesus healing on the Sabbath day is an example of how the message that Jesus was delivering can be viewed as higher than Jewish Law. He didn't care that he was going against the law so he must have believed that his message held more importance than Jewish Law.