World Religions - Christianity• In the first century AD, Roman soldiers occupied Judea, but the Jews living there held firmly to their

own beliefs and customs.

• During that time, one religious ______________ began to attract large followings among the people - That teacher was

_____________ of Nazareth

• Jesus was born in a small town called _______________________ at the end of the first century BC

• Jesus of Nazareth was the man many people believed was the Messiah:

__________________________________________________________________________________

• Jesus’ life and teachings form the basis of a religion called ________________

• The story of his life is contained in the _____________: the holy book of Christianity

• The Christian Bible is made up of two parts, the _______ Testament and the _______ Testament

• The Old Testament, is largely the same as the ________________________________

• The second part, the New Testament, is an account of the _________and _______________ of Jesus and of the early history of Christianity

• As a young man Jesus lived in the town of ___________________ and like many young Jewish men of the time, Jesus also studied the laws and teachings of ___________________

• By the time he was about 30, Jesus had begun to travel and teach, and as a teacher, Jesus drew many __________________ with his ideas

• Many people became Jesus’ followers after they saw him perform Miracles: ______________________________________________________________________________________

World Religions - Christianity• The Bible says that these miracles drew followers to Jesus

and convinced them that he was the _________ of God

• Once Jesus had attracted followers, he taught them through Parables:

____________________________________________________________________________________________

• But his teachings challenged the authority of _________________ and __________________ leaders

and according to the Bible, he was arrested while in Jerusalem in or around 30 AD

• Shortly after his arrest, Jesus was tried and executed. He was killed by Crucifixion:

____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Jesus’ followers buried him and, according to Christian beliefs, Jesus ___________ from the dead and vanished from his tomb______________ days after he was crucified

• Christians refer to this at the Resurrection: _____________________________________________________________________________________

• Christians further believe that after the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to some groups of his Disciples, or_______________________________

• Jesus stayed with these ________ disciples called Apostles for the next ______ days, teaching them and giving them instructions about how to pass on his teachings

• During Jesus’ lifetime they were among his closest ______________________; He sent them to _____________ his teachings. After the Resurrection, the Apostles continued this task

World Religions - Christianity• Some of Jesus’ disciples wrote the Gospels:

______________________________________________________________

• The Gospels were written by ____________________, ____________, ___________, and ___________. All the men’s accounts differ slightly from one another, but together they make up the

best source we have on Jesus’ life

• Probably the most important person in the spread of Christianity after Jesus’ death was ____________. Although he had never met Jesus, Paul did more to ________ Christian beliefs and ideals than anyone else

• Paul was born ____________ and he did not like Jesus’ ideas, which he considered a _____________ to Judaism. For a time, Paul even worked to prevent followers of Jesus from spreading their message

• After his ___________________, Paul traveled widely, attracting both Jews and non-Jews to Christianity

• As Christianity became more popular, some Roman leaders became concerned

• Some Christians (like Paul) were arrested and killed for refusing to worship Roman gods

• Most of Rome’s emperors let Christians _________________ as they pleased. However, a few

emperors in the 200s and 300s feared that the Christians could cause unrest in the empire

• To prevent this they __________________ Christianity - Christians were often forced to meet in _______________

• Because many churches had to meet in secret, they did not have any single leader - Instead, Bishops, or

________________________________________, led them.

World Religions - Christianity• The most honored of all the bishops was the bishop of Rome, the ___________

• His influence grew and many people in the West came to see him as the ____________ of the whole Christian Church

• Still, Christians lived in ________, until Emperor _____________________ converted to Christianity

• As emperor, Constantine removed __________ against the practice of Christianity

• After Constantine died, another emperor banned all non-Christian religious practices in the empire. Christianity eventually spread from Rome all around the ______________