Chapter 25: Section 3

Judaism and Christianity

LEQ(s)

What were the main religious beliefs of the ancient Hebrews?

How did Judaism influences Christianity?

What were the teachings of Jesus?

Why did Christianity attract a large following?

III. Judaism and Christianity

A.  Background History

  1. 1800 B.C. – drought and famine drove some nomadic Hebrews from Canaan (later called Palestine), on the eastern Mediterranean coast.
  2. the Hebrews migrated to Egypt where they became enslaved; there, their leader Moses led them out of bondage
  3. the people moved to the Sinai Peninsula, according to Hebrew tradition, Moses heard the voice of God and agreed to a covenant of faith
  4. the covenant, or binding agreement, meant that the Hebrews accepted God as the ruler of heaven and Earth
  5. in return, God made the Hebrews the chosen people on Earth
  6. the Hebrews set up a small state of Canaan, that existed for a relatively short time
  7. they were eventually called Jews after the name Judea given to their land
  8. their beliefs and values have influenced the world today

B.  The Kingdom of Israel

  1. the Hebrews emigrated from the Sinai Peninsula to the Fertile Crescent
  2. 1025 BC – they formed the kingdom of Israel
  3. ancient Israel was located in Canaan, which was a buffer area between the Egypt and Mesopotamia
  4. David and Solomon were its two greatest kings and the kingdom flourished
  5. King David, was known for being a great general and uniting Israel into a power
  6. David’s son, Solomon, was known for his wisdom and reigning in an era of peace
  7. the capital was Jerusalem and it had outer walls of stone and inner walls of wood covered with gold
  8. 930 BC, Solomon dies, and his reign caused some discontent because of his policy of heavy taxes
  9. revolts also weakened the kingdom after his death
  10. the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by foreign rulers and the Hebrews were forced into exile
  11. 500 BC – the Persians conquered the Fertile Crescent and they allowed the Hebrews to return
  12. the Hebrews rebuilt Jerusalem, but were ruled by a series of foreign rulers such as the Persians, Greeks, and the Romans
  13. 70 AD – the Jews, as the Hebrews came to be called, revolted against Roman rule
  14. many Jews died and the survivors were forced out of Palestine, the scattering of Jews is known as the Diaspora
  15. in scattered communities they preserved their religious and cultural traditions
  16. throughout history they have contributed to science, medicine, business, and the arts in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas

C.  Teachings of Judaism

  1. the Hebrews were different than other religions at the time because they were monotheistic
  2. their holy book is called the Torah (Christians adopted the Torah as the first 5 books of the Bible)
  3. law was important to them as seen in their Ten Commandments
  4. the commandments urged people to respect and honor God, also they forbade stealing, lying, cheating, and murder
  5. the Torah and Hammurabi’s code are similar because they both focused on behavior in everyday life
  6. they are different in that the Torah stressed kind treatment of slaves unlike the Hammurabi’s code
  7. the beliefs were called Judaism, and they stressed living a moral life
  8. religious teachers, called prophets, warned of God’s wrath if they did not follow their duties
  9. unlike other Middle Eastern rulers, the Jews did not regard their own leaders as Gods
  10. Zoroastrians, influenced the Jews because they taught that people had to pick between good and evil

D.  Rise of Christianity

  1. grew out of Jewish traditions in Palestine
  2. the founder of Christianity is Jesus
  3. he lived during Roman rule, and the stories of his life come from Christian sources called the Gospels
  4. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a small town near Jerusalem
  5. he was a carpenter and he studied with rabbis (Jewish scholars and teachers)
  6. Jesus became a preacher when he was about 30 years old
  7. he taught the poor about God’s goodness and mercy and the Gospels recorded that he performed miracles such as healing the sick and raising the dead
  8. he attracted many disciples or followers
  9. Jewish prophets predicted a messiah, or one anointed by God, who would deliver the Jews from foreign rule and restore the kingdom of Israel
  10. some Jews believed that Jesus was the messiah
  11. most Jews did not believe in him and some even saw him as a trouble maker who opposed traditional laws
  12. with growing popularity the Roman Empire saw Jesus as a rebel
  13. Jesus rejected the divinity of the Roman Emperor and in 33 AD was arrested
  14. in typical Roman fashion Jesus was crucified, meaning he was nailed to a wooden cross and left to die of exposure
  15. Jesus stressed the 10 commandments and the belief in one God
  16. he also believed in many values such as equality, compassion, being humble, merciful, unselfish, and especially forgiveness
  17. Jew and non-Jew alike, regardless of wealth were all loved by God
  18. Jesus used parables, or short stories with simple moral lessons, to teach people to be kind to one another
  19. he also stressed that acquiring wealth on Earth did not guarantee salvation

E.  Spread of Christianity

  1. the followers of Jesus became known as Christians (derived from the Greek word Christos meaning anointed)
  2. missionaries such as Peter and Paul spread the Christian word throughout the Roman Empire
  3. they spread Christianity with success especially with the aid of Roman roads and peace within the empire
  4. many Christians were persecuted for not believing in the Roman gods
  5. those who died for the cause were called martyrs (a martyr is anyone who dies for their beliefs)
  6. 313 AD – Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity
  7. 395 AD – Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire
  8. people liked the appeal of Christianity because it stressed eternal salvation and through moral choices people have a control over their destiny
  9. the church established a hierarchy of bishops and the head bishop ruled from Rome and became known as the pope, or father of the church
  10. the Roman Empire split in 395 AD and which resulted into the Roman Catholic church and the Byzantine Church
  11. each part refused to recognize the sovereignty of the other as head of the church