欧洲文化入门 Rise of Christianity.ppt

DIVISION TWO THE BIBLE AND CHRISTIANITY Christianity means a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ.It?is based upon the teachings of Jesus. Roman communications networks enabled Christianity to spread quickly throughout the Roman empire and eventually to the rest of Europe, and finally the entire globe. The Rise of Christianity History of Christianity Basic Beliefs of Christianity History of Christianity It was the Jewish tradition which gave birth to Christianity. The ancestors of the Jews were the Hebrews, which means “Wanderers”. Some 3,800 years ago the Hebrews wandered through the deserts of the Middle East. About 1,300 B.C., the Hebrews left Egypt and began the Exodus, journey to the Promised Land—Canaan. 40 years later, the Hebrews came to settle in Canaan, which roughly corresponds to the present-day Palestine, and formed small kingdoms. When the Hebrews left the desert and entered the mountainous Sinai, Moses climbed to the top of the mountain to receive God message from, which came to be known as the Ten Commandments. By now, the Hebrews had been welded into a tough, strong and great nation. In the 6th century B.C., the Hebrews, now known as Jews, formed synagogues in Babylon to practise their religion. The Jewish scholars wrote down the laws of Moses in five books called Torah, which composed the oldest and most important part of the Old Testament, which still later became the first part of the Christian Bible. Christianity, although stemmed from Hebrew roots 2,000 years ago, seperates itself from Judaism. At the heart of Christianity is the life of Jesus: how he lived and died to redeem the whole human race. Christianity based itself on two strong beliefs: First , Jesus christ is the Son of God, and was sent to earth to live and suffer as humans do, and to die to redeem mankind. Second, God gave his only begotten son, so that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Rise of Christianity Christianity first arose hi