Many people are afraid to try new things, whether it be religious or something in everyday life. The Romans were not willing to accept new things different from their own ways. They were deeply against anything that went against their current system of government and the gods which they praised. Christianity was one of the religions that were created and completely changed the Romans’ systems. The Romans were against from the start, they did everything in their power to try and abolish it, but the Romans did not succeed. But little did they know how much Christianity would benefit their society. Christianity, in many ways benefited the people within ancient Rome, by increasing survival rates, treatment of women, abolishing abortion and infanticide, and rewarding those who follow the Christian faith.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion. They believe that Jesus is the one and only God, who created the heavens, the earth, and mankind. They believe Jesus, the Messiah, died on the cross to save them from their sins. Christians live their life according to the bible, which is the holy book of Christianity. Tells the story of God’s relationship with mankind, their salvation from evil and instructions on how to live a life serving God. The Bible was divided into two parts, The Old Testament and The New Testament. The Old Testament consists of predictions of the coming Messiah and his kingdom, while The New Testament consists of the life and death of the Messiah. Christians believe God is going to come back to earth and establish his kingdom on earth.
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In Ancient Rome, Christianity was seen as a threat to the Republic, Romans saw them as a threat to their religious system. The Romans believed the gods were watching over them and the empire. But, Christians refused to worship and make sacrifices to the Roman gods and the emperor, which raised suspicion throughout the empire. The Romans thought that because Christians refused to make sacrifices to the gods, this could anger the gods and make them turn on the empire. The persecution of Christians was a common thing within Ancient Rome. At first, Christians would be beheaded, but as time went on it transitioned to crucifixions and being fed to the lions (Malik and Davenport).
Later in 306 AD, Constantine rose to power and became the first Christian emperor of Rome. It is known that Constantine’s first godly interaction was when he was stationed in Gaul. Constantine with his army saw a cross appear in the sky with the words, ‘In this sign, conquer’ written under it (Wells). He did not know what the sign was supposed to mean, so he prayed in hope for an answer. Constantine’s second interaction was through a vision. In a dream, he sees the Greek symbol chi and roh. After this vision, Constantine goes to his army and told them about what had happened. He then decided to put the symbols on his army’s shields, which is translated to, ‘Highest God’ (Wells). After he experienced these signs, he became a believer in the Christian faith. Once Constantine became emperor, he issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, which made Christianity legal throughout Rome.In 380 CE, the emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessaloncia, which made Christianity, specifically Nicene Christianity, the official religion of the Roman Empire” (“Christianity in the Roman Empire”).
When Christianity was made legal, there were many effects on the Roman empire. One thing Christianity supported in Ancient Rome was survival rates, especially during the Plague of Cyprian which occurred around 260 AD. The Plague of Cyprian was the second great epidemic to occur in Rome and took many lives. “The pathology included fatigue, bloody stool, fever, esophageal lesions, vomiting, conjunctival hemorrhaging, and severe infection in the extremities; debilitation, loss of hearing, and blindness followed in the aftermath” (Cyprian). The characteristics of Christians was to help people whenever they are in need. Christians please God by loving one another no matter what, even those who have different beliefs from them. By doing this the Christians also fulfilled their ideal ministry, which is the help others. During a plague or an outbreak of disease, the Romans did not tend to try to help those they saw in need. The time of the Plague, in the Pagans eyes, was more of every man for themselves type of situation. Pagans were more worried about what happened to themselves and did not worry about those around them. The Christians took it upon themselves to become the nurses during the Plague of Cyprian. Christians would go around looking for the sick and dying and try to nurse them back to health as best they could. They would take the time to create a proper burial to those who were not able to survive the plague. Christians main focus was to find the other Christians who were dying from the plague, but they also helped the Pagans that they could because it was part of their nature to help others.
Christianity had a different perspective on the treatment of women, unlike the Romans. In Ancient Rome, men held a higher position than women and had authority over them. Women in ancient Rome would be referred to as the wife of their husband instead of their actual name. When it came to marriage and divorce, the Romans were not supportive of the women going through those hard times. The widowed women were pressured to find a new husband. “Augustus even had widows fined if they failed to remarry within two years”(The Rise of Christianity 104). The pressure of finding a new husband was put onto the widowed women of Rome, and there would be consequences if the women took to long to do so. Eventually, when a woman got remarried, everything she owned became the property of her new husband. While the Christians supported the widowed women who were having hard times. Remarriage was discouraged, a widowed woman who did not get married got to keep all her belongings. The Christian church was always ready to give support to a woman in need. Most marriages in Rome were arranged by the guardians of the women, giving them little say with whom they were to get married to, a great number were married to men far older than them. The women were also married at a younger age, most of the time before puberty. While, the Christian women got married at an older age, and were given the freedom to choose who and when they were to get married.
In Christianity, everyone was seen as equals, so the women were valued as much as the men. Women were given as many opportunities as everyone else and not looked down upon. In the church, many women were given the opportunity and held office in a congregation. One of the main roles that were held by women was deaconing for the church, meaning they would, “take care of the physical and logistical needs of the church so that the elders can concentrate on their primary calling” (Benjamin 2010). This role was very important to the foundation of the church. Deacons would take care of finances and the well-being of the church. The first women deacon was Phoebe, she was appointed by Paul to send his letter to the Romans. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me” (Romans 16:1-2). Paul chose her to deliver his letter because she was always willing to help others. Many women followed in Pheobe’s footsteps. The Romans on the other hand, men held a higher position than women and had authority over them. Therefore, since leadership roles were male-dominated, women were not given the opportunity to take leadership roles. Some Romans feared women who would rise to power because of past experiences with women in power. For example, Queen Boudicca who lead a revolt in Britain.
Christianity was also greatly against infanticide, which is, “The killing of an infant” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Infanticide is when the child is killed at a very young age and is already born. Christians were also against abortion, which is, “ the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Abortion is when the child is killed during pregnancy and has not been born yet. All people are seen as important in the eyes of God. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them,” (Genesis 1:27). They believe everyone was created in the image of God and that life is sacred and should be protected at all costs, so it should not go to waste. They are also against the murder of all kinds. It is thought that the life of a child begins at conception, so abortion is the murder of a child. Christians even began to make attacks on pagans and religions how would commit these horrible acts. The Romans were not so much against the idea of abortion. In Rome, families were able to have many male children as they pleased but were only able to keep their first female child. The acts of infanticide and abortion were sometimes taken to limit the number of people within a family. In the Christian perspective, this was an unreasonable reason for infanticide. Christians want an abundance of children so they can all serve the Lord and fulfill their ministry to god.
Finally, the Christian faith also followed with a reward system. Christians were not only rewarded spiritually with all the kind things they do but also physically. They were motivated by the fact they were to be rewarded with salvation but were also rewarded while they were on the earth. Again, one of the main Christian morals is to help those in need. By doing this, they will also receive help in their time of need. Another example comes from different social class. God created everyone as equals, even though there were the rich and poor, all the people still all remained equal in Gods’ eyes. It is said those who were more fortunate in wealth were put there by God to help those less fortunate than them, and that they would be rewarded for those services. God will always reward those how to help those in need and do good throughout their life. Everyone who deserves to be rewarded will be at one point in their life.
Even though the Romans were against Christianity at the start, many of them later saw the benefits of joining these beliefs and the moral system that came along with them. Christianity benefitted the Romans when it came to the treatment of women and children, helping those in need, and being rewarded for their good deeds on earth. Christianity has many more benefits that come along with it. People should know that there are so many things that they do not know about that can bring them so much joy in life. Being open about other religions and cultures can only benefit people in the long run. They can learn about how others live their lives and what they believe.
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