Christianity in the Roman Empire

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In the Roman society, religion played a crucial role, however, during this time the worshiping Roman gods was an important part of religion. The growth of the Roman Empire broke the tradition of worshipping their gods and introduced a new religion – Christianity. Christianity appealed to the masses, but not to the Roman government. By 63 B.C., Roman powers shifted to the Jewish homes in Judea and between 6 and 4 B.C., Jesus a Jew was born. At 30, Jesus preached and taught, did good works and even performed miracles (Perry, Chase and Jacob 171).
Looking at the Bible, the Apuleius of Madauros, Seneca the Younger, and works from modern scholars, three reasons standout that can be attributed to the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. First, Christianity had a connection and developed from Judaism that the Jews believed in. Rome was under the influence of the Jews at this time; therefore, it provided historical credibility and utilized the Jewish Greek scriptures and the existing network of Judaism to its advantage hence spread throughout Rome. Second, through the teachings of Jesus Christ and Christianity were appealing to many of the Romans as they provided an alternative religion that provided intellectual content, demanded high moral standards, had a genuine concern for its followers, and universally accepted all individuals. Finally, the religion developed an effective organization institutionally that fostered missionary programs, consolidated its gains, and withstood intense persecutions (Hitchcock 30-31).
Early Christians in Rome were intensely persecuted and harmed in Rome for various reasons some of being the fact that Christian teachings emphasized on the existence of only one God. The teachings emphasized the need to love God, your neighbor, and enemies and a large portion of such teachings were not welcomed by...