The religion of Christianity was not a religion that popped up overnight and spread all across the world. Christianity is a religion that developed out of a preexisting religion and offered followers an opportunity that other world religions of that time did not. This opportunity was the hope that after death followers would have an eternity of peace. This opportunity at everlasting peace and release from the torments of this world and the expansion of long distance trade routes allowed for the rapid expansion of Christianity across the known world. Christianity is a religion that falls under the category of religions of salvation which are defined as “religions that offer followers the restoration of both the body and soul” (Webster’s Dictionary).
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These changes established what modern Christians call the New Covenant. These changes were met with pretty heated opposition because before Jesus began his teaching the only way to follow God was to follow and obey the rigorous traditions and law that had been instituted in the Old Covenant. In the Old Covenant the law and the prophets were the foundation for the religion, but in Jesus’ teaching believers only had to accept God as their Lord and savior and then they would have the same connection with God as the prophets and priests did. Jesus supported his teaching by saying, “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.” (Document 42). In the previous quotation Jesus is defending his new teachings of the New Covenant by saying that with him establishing the New Covenant he is in fact fulfilling the Old Covenant and law. After Jesus was crucified and ascended into heaven the Old Covenant had become obsolete and from now on followers of Christianity would be under the New Covenant. With God sacrificing his son to save mankind there was no need for animal sacrifices anymore, but instead the blood of Jesus Christ is the blood sacrifices that purifies the unclean. An example to support this can be found in document 43 on page 201, “Since, …show more content…
This adoption of Christianity helped many Christians to escape the persecution they were facing in places that had now adopted it. One of the biggest and most important examples of this was the adoption of Christianity by the Romans. Before their adoption of the Christian faith the Roman empire was one of the most treacherous places to be if you were a Christian. Many of Jesus’ twelve disciples were killed inside the boundaries of the Roman empire for their teachings of Jesus. After Rome’s adoption of Christianity allowed for believers and teachers of Jesus to travel about the empire without fear and welcome large quantities of new converts into the faith and even teach in the capital city. An example of these Christian teachers traveling about can be found in document 43 on page 200, “I am eager to preach the Gospel to you also who are in Rome.” The previous quotation came from Jesus’ apostle Paul who was excited to be able to seek new converts in Rome. With the adoption of Christianity by the Romans this allowed for the spread of Christianity along the empire’s long distance trade routes. As people came to Rome to trade they would be exposed to a religion that they might not have even heard of and then as these traders returned to their homeland they brought influences of Christianity with them. One example of this
These changes established what modern Christians call the New Covenant. These changes were met with pretty heated opposition because before Jesus began his teaching the only way to follow God was to follow and obey the rigorous traditions and law that had been instituted in the Old Covenant. In the Old Covenant the law and the prophets were the foundation for the religion, but in Jesus’ teaching believers only had to accept God as their Lord and savior and then they would have the same connection with God as the prophets and priests did. Jesus supported his teaching by saying, “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.” (Document 42). In the previous quotation Jesus is defending his new teachings of the New Covenant by saying that with him establishing the New Covenant he is in fact fulfilling the Old Covenant and law. After Jesus was crucified and ascended into heaven the Old Covenant had become obsolete and from now on followers of Christianity would be under the New Covenant. With God sacrificing his son to save mankind there was no need for animal sacrifices anymore, but instead the blood of Jesus Christ is the blood sacrifices that purifies the unclean. An example to support this can be found in document 43 on page 201, “Since, …show more content…
This adoption of Christianity helped many Christians to escape the persecution they were facing in places that had now adopted it. One of the biggest and most important examples of this was the adoption of Christianity by the Romans. Before their adoption of the Christian faith the Roman empire was one of the most treacherous places to be if you were a Christian. Many of Jesus’ twelve disciples were killed inside the boundaries of the Roman empire for their teachings of Jesus. After Rome’s adoption of Christianity allowed for believers and teachers of Jesus to travel about the empire without fear and welcome large quantities of new converts into the faith and even teach in the capital city. An example of these Christian teachers traveling about can be found in document 43 on page 200, “I am eager to preach the Gospel to you also who are in Rome.” The previous quotation came from Jesus’ apostle Paul who was excited to be able to seek new converts in Rome. With the adoption of Christianity by the Romans this allowed for the spread of Christianity along the empire’s long distance trade routes. As people came to Rome to trade they would be exposed to a religion that they might not have even heard of and then as these traders returned to their homeland they brought influences of Christianity with them. One example of this