Name ______________________________________--What is Christianity? Watch this Introduction to Christianity from the Oprah Winfrey Network, read the text, and examine the images below, then complete the formative assessment.

Christianity is a belief system that was founded by the followers of Jesus of Nazareth in Judea, a Roman province in the Middle East in the 1st century CE.

Christianity’s sacred text is called the Holy Bible and is made up of two parts. The first section is called the Old Testament, which is based on Judaism’s sacred text, the Torah. The second section is called the New Testament which is made up of stories about the life of Jesus as written by his followers, letters between his followers, and other writings by Christians early in the religion.

Christianity and Judaism are similar, but they differ in some important ways.

Christians believe:● Jesus Christ was the Son of God.● God sent his Son to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins.● Jesus gave his life on the Cross (the Crucifixion) and rose from the dead after three days (the

Resurrection).● that there is only one God, so they are monotheistic, but they believe that there are three elements to

this one God:○ (1) God the Father○ (2) God the Son○ (3) The Holy Spirit

● Christians believe that there is a life after earthly death.● The Christian church believes in one baptism into the Christian church, whether this be as an infant or as

an adult, as an outward sign of an inward commitment to the teachings of Jesus.Source: Adapted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gutenberg_Bible,_Lenox_Copy,_New_York_Public_Library,_2009._Pic

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A Holy Bible known as a Gutenberg Bible because it was printed by Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press, in 1455.

Various depictions of Jesus of Nazareth from different time periods and geographic locations throughout history.

The Quest for the Historical Jesus Watch the excerpt of PBS | Frontline’s From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians and respond to the questions. (2:22-6:41)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea_(Roman_province)#/media/File:First_century_Iudaea_province.gi

1. Why do we know so little about Jesus?

2. What three things do historians believe they know for certain about Jesus?

3. The video says, “With so little evidence to go by, archeologist must sift the clues and scholars must decode stories told by his [Jesus’] first followers.” What makes understanding the history of Jesus and Christianity difficult?

4. According to the historian, why weren’t the details of Jesus’ life written down during his time?

5. According to historians and archaeologists, under which empire was he born?

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4:49 6. During which period of the Roman empire was Jesus born? What is significant about this time period?

What kinds of ideas did Jesus preach?

The Sermon on the MountThe Sermon on the Mount was delivered in the early stage of Jesus’ ministry. He delivers The Sermon on the Mount after he was baptized by John the Baptist in chapter 3 of Matthew and has gathered his first disciples or followers. Before he delivers The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had been traveling and preaching. According to Matthew 4:23, “Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.” According to Matthew 5:1-2, “Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: … “

A page from Matthew, from Papyrus 1, c. 250 CE (Sermon on the Mount)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sermon_on_the_Mount#/media/File:Papyru

s_1_-_recto.jpg

Think not that I am come to destroy the law [The Ten Commandments], or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil...

Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment[....]

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite [strike] thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you [....]

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Source: Matthew 5: 17-48, King James Version of the Holy Bible. Retrieved July 29, 2014, from http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/kjv/mat005.htm.

1. In what ways was Jesus in support of the Ten Commandments?

2. In what ways did Jesus extend the Ten Commandments?

3. How did Jesus encourage his followers to treat their neighbors?

Jesus is Crucified

Jesus' crucifixion is described in the four gospels as well as the epistles. It has also been established as a historical event confirmed by non-Christian sources. However, there has yet to be a consensus on the details of the crucifixion.

Jesus stood accused of sedition [conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch], not blasphemy—a civil crime, not a religious one. Rome’s punishment was a painful, and visible, death by crucifixion. In the age of Roman domination, only Rome crucified. And they did it often. The two men who were killed along with Jesus are identified in some translations as “thieves,” but the word can also mean “insurgents,” supporting the idea that crucifixion was a political weapon used to send a message to those still living: Do not stir dissent [disagreement] or this will be the result.

It was a popular method of dispatching threats to the empire. “Romans practiced both random and intentional violence against populations they had conquered, killing tens of thousands by crucifixion,” says New Testament scholar Hal Taussig, who is with the Union Theological Seminary in New York.[...]Jesus would then have been part of this show of power by the Roman Empire. [...] Clear evidence of the political nature of Jesus’s execution—that Pilate and the high priest were ridding themselves of a “messiah” who might disrupt society—is the sign Pilate demanded be affixed to Jesus’s cross: a scornful signal to the crowds that this death awaits any man the pilgrims might proclaim “the king of the Jews.”

Source: http://www.newsweek.com/how-romans-used-crucifixion-including-jesus-political-weapon-318934

1. According to the excerpt above, why was Jesus crucified?

Crucifixion of Jesus, from the Sainte Bible (1866)Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion_of_Jesus#/media/File:Gustave_Dor%C3%A9_-_Crucifixion_of_Jesus.jpg

2. Why was death by crucifixion an awful experience?

3.. Why was the crucifixion public?