Christianity in the Roman Empire

V) Christianity as a solution to Rome's problems
A) appeal to the slaves
    1) all men are considered the same in Christianity, so a slave is not a lower class citizen
B) Philosophers
    1) Christianity was more appealing to their thought process
      i) idea of one god, idea of treating each other with respect
C) General appeal
    1) not just for elite - it had a wide general appeal
    2) Romans fear of demonic forces
      i) Christianity offered safety from demons - relief
    3) moral problems in Roman empire
      i) Christianity offered high moral standards
        a) sermon on the mount (Matthew 5,6,7) give high ethical standards
    4) offers hope of forgiveness
      i) kept Romans from giving up
* Romans were not happy with their lives
- Christianity offered great things and the hope at the time Rome needed it most
    5) Agape love
      i) deepest of all loves - love with out exceptions
      ii) Christianity offer agape love - had a great appeal
* Christians were willing to die rather than give up their faith
- Romans begin to think the Christians have something real good
VI) Great Surprise
A) Galerius 305-311 ad
    1) really hated Christians - persecuted them like no other ruler
    2) when he dies he issues the Edict of Toleration
      i) clemency for the Christians
      ii) Duty of Christians to pray for Rome
      iii) Christians duty is to pray
    3) Galerius dies and Rome falls into a civil war again
B) Constantine was fighting to be Emperor
    1) 312 Constantine is getting ready for a major battle
      i) he has a dream to put a symbol that is similar to the cross on his flags
      ii) he looks at the sun the next day and sees the cross and hears the words "In this image, Conquer" and he wins the battle
    2) 313 the Edict of Milan is issued
      i) this makes Christianity the favored religion in Rome
    3) Within 80 years, Paganism will become illeagle to worship
      i) Pagans were not willing to die for their religion
C) offered Religion - Romes morals improve
    1) divorce and infanticide rates drop
    2) Capital moves to Constantinople - lasts until 1453 ad
VII) Jesus
A) is it suspicious people would follow him
B) four written accounts of his life - the gospels of Matt Mark Luke and John
C) Disciples
    1) Peter - leader of the original disciples
      i) denied Jesus three times
        a) creates a deep sense of failure
        b) goes back to fishing - does poorly
        c) Jesus comes back and asks Peter how he is doing, then Peter catches a lot of fish
        d) Jesus is starting over with Peter - a second chance
      ii) Jesus asks Peter three times about agape love
        a) Peter can only say he likes Jesus
        b) Peter eventually agape loves Jesus, and this shows that Christianity offers a second chance
*Teaches people that there is always hope - this is a major reason why Christianity succeeded