Christianity dates from a little after the beginning of our era. The founder, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God, is the one after whom Christianity is named. After all, He is also called Jesus Christ, or just ,Christ,. At the age of 33 he was martyred by crucifixion. After His resurrection, the teachings He advocated were spread by His followers at His behest.
Mission order
,Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you., (Matthew 28 verse 19. Dutch Standard Translation)
Jesus gave this command to his disciples just before His ascension. So they received a mission assignment. The gospel (good news) had to cross borders and not be limited to the Jewish people, although that message was initially only intended for that purpose. During Paul’s missionary journeys, we see that he always goes first to the Jews who stay in the places he visits. The message of liberation comes to them first. Only when they reject it does Paul go to the Gentiles with the gospel.
Mission trips
Paul made three missionary journeys. During these travels, usually in the company of like-minded people (Barnabas, John Mark, Titus, Timothy, Silas), he founded various Christian communities, mainly in Asia Minor (Turkey) and Greece.
The Apostle Convention took place in Jerusalem in the year 47. It talks about the rules of conduct that believers from the pagan nations must follow. After Paul is captured in Jerusalem, he appeals to the emperor in Rome. That is why he makes the journey to Rome in captivity. He also remains in protective custody there, albeit with some freedom of movement. All this can be read in the Bible in the book of Acts of the Apostles . From Rome he wrote several letters, which were included in the New Testament. According to secular history, Paul also made a trip to Spain.
Paul is sentenced to death by Emperor Nero and probably ends up by burning.
The core of the message
The Christian faith centers around the concept of grace.
Grace is receiving something for which there is no need to pay for it. Grace is perhaps best described as “free.” This contains ,grace,. Christianity teaches that all people are sinner. However, God desires that we live according to His commandments. However, if everyone is a sinner, that is not possible. The penalty for sin is death. Jesus Christ takes the punishment and ,redos, our lives. That means He lives without sin. By faith He makes the ,exchange,, as Luther later described it: Jesus receives our sins, we receive His sinlessness, His righteousness. Even faith, the hand that receives God’s grace, is a gift from God. In Christianity everything comes from God, so that (according to Paul) man has nothing to boast of in himself and eternal life is obtained through undeserved grace.
The Fire of Rome
The founder of Christianity was someone who was crucified according to Roman law. That is why they did not have the religious privileges of the Jews, among others, who did not have to participate in the emperor cult, for example. The Christians were soon seen as a danger to the state. They also avoided the social life customary at that time, such as visiting public women, theater performances and circuses. The imaginations of outsiders were greatly stimulated by the customs of the Christians, for once a week they gathered for a meal of eating ,human flesh, and drinking ,blood., They greeted each other as brother and sister and gave each other the ,brother’s kiss., They talked about a Kingdom, so they must be plotting against the emperor. They were wicked, for they served only one God and not the many of paganism. They were soon accused of incest – were they brothers and sisters, after all? – and of slaughtering and eating small children. A silent hatred against the Christians began to brew beneath the surface. An outburst could happen at any moment.
Emperor Nero makes grateful use of the subcutaneous feelings of the Romans after the fire of Rome. In 64, a fire broke out in the oldest parts of the city of Rome. Nero probably had the fire started to make room in the old city center and to modernize it. By pointing the accusing finger at the Christians, he himself remains out of harm’s way. Horrific atrocities followed. At imperial garden parties, Christians served as burning (living) torches. Until the year 250, after periods of relative peace, there are recurring outbursts of hatred. The wonderful phenomenon occurs that the church, instead of disappearing, grows against the pressure: ,The blood of the martyrs is a seed of the church.,
Rapid spread of the Christian faith
Christianity spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire in the first centuries. There are various reasons for this. First of all, this means speaking one standard language, folk Greek. Roughly comparable to the function of today’s English. Secondly, the Roman Empire had good roads, making it relatively easy to travel. Thirdly, there was peace throughout the empire, except in the peripheral areas where there was often unrest. The exemplary conduct of the Christians initially made a great impression and commanded respect. Finally, extra attention was paid to the Christian faith due to the many tortures and death sentences.
Apologists
The Christians were not given the opportunity to defend themselves or justify their attitude in court. There was no discussion there, but only the question was put to them: do you want to sacrifice to the emperor or do you not want to? With a negative answer they immediately passed their own verdict. That is why, during the second century, some Christians took up pens to write defensive papers. We call these defenders of the Christian faith Apologists. (an apology is a defense)
The most famous Apologist was Justin Martyr (the martyr), so called because he was martyred in Rome in the year 165. He wrote an ,Apology, and ,The Conversation with the Jew Tryphon,.
A second Apologist was the lawyer Tertullian . His book ,Apologeticus, is known.
The Apologists have had little success with their work.