1. The Life and teachings of Jesus
1.1. Jesus of Nazareth
1.1.1. Around 6 to 4 BC a jew named Jesus was born in the village of Nazareth
1.2. A Growing Movement
1.2.1. Christianity is passed by the Gospels written by the apostles
1.3. Jesus' Death
1.3.1. Jesus was condemned by both the Jews and the Romans. He was crucified and put in a tomb. three days later he was gone.
2. A World Religion
2.1. Constantine Accepts Christianity
2.1.1. While fighting Constantine prayed for divine help, he then saw an image of a cross from a distance. This lead him to accept christianity
2.2. Early Christian Church
2.2.1. Had Structure. Preist was local, Bishop supervised a small group of churches. The pope was the head of all the churches. Peter was referred to as the 'rock' the christian church was built on.
2.3. A Single Voice
2.3.1. Disputes began on beliefs in the religion. Church leaders tried to set a single standard belief. These were compiled in the new testement which defined the basic beliefs of the church.
3. Christianity Spreads through the Empire
3.1. Paul's Mission
3.1.1. The Pax Romana gave perfect conditions for christianity to spread. Paul one of the apostles had a huge influence on the spread.
3.2. Jewish Rebellion
3.2.1. The jews attempted to break free of Roman rule. The religion remained, but the jewish political state disappeared for 1800 years.
3.3. Persecution of the Christians
3.3.1. As the Pax Romana began to crumble and thousands of Christians were crucified and killed.