The Christian Movement: The Rise Of Christianity In The Roman Empire

There is much debate about which factor is most important within the rise of Christianity in the Roman empire. In fact, when “The Christianity Movement” started to gain momentum in Rome and surrounding areas, it was prosecuted by Roman rulers. This period of civic abuse and injustice lasted from about AD 212 until AD 313. Avid Christians were forced to either practice Christianity in secret and risk persecution, or practice Paganism half-heartedly. Some people who defied the government and remained loyal and faithful to Christianity, were at risk of imprisonment, mistreatment and even death. The Christian religion was based on peace and unity which caused people to take interest in practicing it. Paul and his message to the Gentiles helped Christianity grow from a persecuted religion to the dominant religion of the Empire. Because it gave people a sense of peace, unity and welcomed people of all different religious background, Christianity was accepted and well cultivated by the people.
In Paul’s message to the Gentiles, he says “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is an important
part of his message to the gentiles because it assured the gentiles that no matter what they did or what their previous religion was, all they needed to do to earn the mercy of Jesus Christ and God was to proclaim their belief in them. Paul also says “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good...” This was another key part in Paul’s message to the gentiles. It reassures them that as long as they do good by the people, deserving or not, they will be rewarded by God in the afterlife. It also tells them that killing your enemies with kindness pays off and ultimately hurts them as well. These expectations of the Christian Movement helped Christianity become the dominant religion because they gave gentiles and people of other religions a feeling of welcome and acceptance.
Some may argue that it was the life and message of Jesus that lead to Christianity gaining and holding dominion over religious life in Rome. Although He certainly started a small snowball effect, this is incorrect. During the time Jesus spread his beliefs and gained followers, the Roman government took no interest in Jesus’/Christian beliefs and/or messages. In fact, they were intimidated by the increasing popularity of Jesus and feared losing control of the empire. The government tried to diminish the movement in the quickest way possible. They started by making it a capital crime to be a Christian. Despite his popularity, the government had decided to crucify Jesus and hoped that talk of Christianity would slow to non-existance. The 12 apostles worked to spread Christianity and the word of Jesus throughout Rome. Without the 12 apostles including Paul, Christianity would have withered away and been long forgotten. Paul hadn’t met Jesus in person, “While traveling to Damascus in Syria, he reportedly had a vision of Christ. He spent the rest of his life spreading and interpreting Christ’s teachings (pg.170).” This is important because Paul was born a Jew and raised a devout Jew and dedicated the rest of his life to Christianity after hearing Jesus’s message. Without Paul’s dedication to the spread of Christianity, Jesus’s message would have been lost. Jesus and his message were important in the rise of christianity, but not as important as Paul and the message he spread to the gentiles.
After much debate, it is clear that the overall growth of Christianity in the Roman empire was mostly due to Paul and his message to the gentiles.
Roman rulers prosecuted many who were involved in “The Christian Movement” as it gained momentum. This forced devoted Christians to choose between a easy life of conformity, or a life of secrecy and prosecution. Choosing Christianity over the law led to the risk of horrible punishment under Roman law. Christianity was based on acceptance and peace, which drew people from all different religions to join. Paul was the most important part of the rise of Christianity because he dedicated his life to spreading the message of Jesus and assured many gentile people that they would be acceptance and unity, no matter their religious
background.