The reason why Christianity took hold of the Ancient world because it offered a equal, peaceful and happy life. This is the first reason of why people wanted to join Christianity. First Christians have peace using Justice while the Romans have peace but use war.
In some ways, we know very little about
Jesus of Nazareth. We do know that he lived
about 2,000 years ago in what is modern-day
IsraeL From the Bible, we know the famous
story of his birth in a stable. But we know almost
nothing about his childhood or his life as a young
man. In fact, it is not until Jesus is in his late
twenties that the Bible picks up his story again.
The eastern Mediterranean region where
Jesus grew up was multi-cultural. Israel was
ruled by Rome at the time, and Greek influences
were strong. In fact, along with Aramaic, his
native language, it is quite possible that Jesus spoke Greek.
The
Greek word for messiah
is "Christo." It means the savior whom Jewish
prophets promised would one day bring peace
and harmony to the people of Israel.
Because he claimed to be the messiah, Jesus
was considered a threat to the old Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. He also made some Romans
uncomfortable; they worried that someone who
called himself the Son of God could eventually
obtain too much power. Local leaders put pressure on Roman officials to have this gentle but
outspoken radical killed by nailing him to a cross,
a form of execution usually reserved for the worst
criminals.
But the story of Jesus did not end with his
crucifixion. In fact, it was just beginning. Followers of Jesus, called apostles, spread his word
by preaching love and kindness and helping
those in need. Others spread the word through
writing. One convert to Jesus's teaching, Paul,
traveled the eastern Mediterranean for some 30
years after Jesus's death and wrote a number of letters that would one day make up about half
of the New Testament. Four other individuals
known as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote
accounts of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection.
These accounts, all probably written between
60 and 90 CE, are called the gospels. Together,
they make up the first four books of the New
Testament portion of the Bible.
