The Jewish teacher known as Jesus of Nazareth founded Christianity. Christianity drew on the expectations for a Messiah common in the region during these centuries. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem, and grew up in the town of Nazareth. He was educated from the Pharisaic school of thought and was practicing as an observant Jew. He was not preaching to non-Jews so therefore only Jews could follow him. they started to think of him as their Messiah. As he traveled through towns in Judea he gathered small groups of followers. He chose twelve from these groups and they became known as the twelve apostles. They traveled around the world preaching. According to the gospels, he created great excitement among the people. In 30 CE Jesus traveled to Jerusalem. There he was hailed as the Messiah. Others denied

In 100 CE Christianity was recognized as a different sect. Christians had to make a hard decision whether to keep on following, even though they were in danger or not. The Christians who defied Roman religion and law were persecuted and used as scapegoats. In 200 CE there was a civil war in the empire and many people turned to Christianity. City dwellers converted. By the end of the 200's, the Christian church had become so big that the government couldn't punish everyone, Roman law had accepted Christianity as a religion. The position of Christianity vastly improved when Emperor Constantine became a supporter of Christianity.

The religions of Christianity and Judaism both accept everyone and charge nothing. They welcome the poor and rich alike. They believe that the people should be good citizens and obey the laws. They both encourage them to practice charity and to care for the poor and outcast.

Christianity is now one of the major religions that can be found all over the world.

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