Religion and Violence and Study Questions: Christianity

Study Questions:

1. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism in the first century C.E. when the Roman Empire was at its peak and Augustus Caesar ruled. Much of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East were under Roman rule and they shared a common language and a common intellectual culture that combined both element of Greek and Roman philosophy and religion. This meant that when Christian missionaries traveled they began to spread the gospel of Christianity and this was made easier by the common language and culture shared by the Roman Empire. 
2. Jesus fulfilled the role of the Messiah by being a rabbi to his followers (always teaching or healing) and participating in other aspects of Judaism such as observing Jewish holidays (new testament). He did not fulfill his role of the Messiah because many people thought that the central message of Jesus was people's superiority over the Jewish law. And they are correct in the sense that Jesus' actions and teachings seem to suggest an attitude of indifference towards the laws of Judaism. Jesus healed on the Sabbath and allowed his disciples to pick grain for example. 
3. The two basic ritual were baptizing and communion.
4. The first part of the New Testament were the letters written by Paul in the 50's and 60's of the first century. The Gospels were written between 90 and 100 C.E. 
5. Constantine was not Christian, but was influenced by his wife and mother, who were. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which gave Christianity the same privileges as other religions. The official persecution of Christians was over. He also called the Church Council of Nicaea to stop the warring withing Christian factions over the nature of Christ. Asoka is called the Constantine of Buddhism because like Constantine he was a convert to a new religion. 
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 practical and were concerned with survival in a hostile , decaying 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. After the death of Puis XII, John XXII became the Pope. John was determined to revitalize the church and bring it in line with the 20^th century. He called the Second Vatican Council and it affected  the most dramatic changes ever made in the Catholic Church. One of the most important movements among Christians in the 20^th century was the ecumenical movement.
10. Liberation theology is a movement in Christian theology, developed mainly by Latin American Roman Catholics, that emphasizes liberation from social, political, and economic oppression as an anticipation of ultimate salvation, Fundamental is a branch of Catholic theology that seeks to establish the fact that God has made a supernatural revelation and established the Catholic Church.

Religion and Violence

Between 64 -330 C.E. Christianity went through periods of persecution and acceptance by the Roman Empire. Although the Empire was tolerant to all religions, Christians often found themselves in trouble because of their refusal to accept the official Roman gods and to worship  them on state occasions. The majority of Christians were apart of the salve classes and were excluded from participating in secret officials. Eventually the period of persecution and acceptance were over when Constantine set laws and rules in place to prevent these incidents.