Rome: The Role Of Christianity In The Rise Of Rome

During the Roman Empire, Christianity was accepted and rejected by many. According to Rodney Stark in The Rise of Christianity, “Christianity demanded exclusive commitment” (Stark, 1997). During this time, Christianity provided community, organization and a sense of purpose. This sort of belonging appealed to many of the Roman citizen, which made them even more committed to this new faith. Christians embraced the Scripture and focused on Christian love and spreading the Gospel. In 753 B.C. Rome is founded by Romulus, the son to a Latin princess and Mars the Latin 's god of war. Romulus was the first of the several Roman kings to rule Rome. Roma was the original name of Rome but was later switched to its current name. In 509 B.C., Rome becomes a Republic government. The last king is ousted and Rome is now ruled by senators. “The republic 's organization was designed to prevent any single person or group from acquiring enough power to re-establish the monarchy” (Section 2: The Roman Republic). 45 B.C. Julius Caesar becomes the first dictator of Rome and later becomes the supreme ruler of Rome. In 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators who perceived him as being a tyrant, but not everyone under his reign agreed with the senators. In 27 B.C., Roman Empire begins and is ruled by Caesars nephew …show more content…
The Christian population was growing in Rome and many Romans became interested in this religion. While many Romans exclusive commitment was to Christ, there were others that didn’t agree with this way of worshipping and it quickly became a problem especially with their pagan neighbors. Because of this faith, Christians were persecuted and ostracized by others that did not agree with their beliefs. Pagans were suspicious of the Christian refusal to make a sacrifice to their Roman gods. This could be construed as insult to their gods and potentially endanger the empire which they vowed to