christianity/religion in rome
Religion in Rome was in no way dominated by only one religion. Throughout time Rome has had many uprisings in different religions among its people. Long before Christianity had really established its foothold in the Roman society, there were many other small religions. These "mystery-religions" all had an influence on people, but none of them were all that widespread and did not ever attain the lasting appeal that Christianity did with the people of Rome. The mystery religions were usually not originated in Rome, many that came Romeward came from Syria, Egypt, Anatolia, and Persia. As there were few native Roman mysteries these mystery-religions did not evolve from any other kind of Roman religion. They were thought to represent the yielding of the old Roman spirit to older Oriental thought and practice. The mystery religions had a cult-like following in Rome. Some of the rituals and festivals of these religions, such as the festival of the Megalenisia, were found to be menaces to morality. The rituals were very un-roman and were very di
Hyde, Walter Woodburn. Paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1946. http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/life/life5c.html The mystery religions did not last in Rome because of their un-roman rites and rituals. It is hard for people to accept something so radically different from what they are used to. No one probably knew this more than Paul. Paul traveled over thirty years throughout Rome after the death of Jesus preaching Christianity. While Jesus only had preached Christianity to Jews, Paul would preach to mainly people of non-Jewish decent, the gentiles of the Roman society. Having these people as his audience, Paul relaxed the laws of the church pertaining to food and circumcision. This was seen as a stab to the Jewish tradition, but it was pivotal to the success of his spread of the new faith. It was easier for Roman's to accept this new religion if it did not come with rites and rituals that could turn people away from the idea. It was a faith they could follow without having all the radical rituals of the mystery religions.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Cybele Cult, Jews Paul, Anatolia Persia, Throughout Rome, Christians Rome, Fire Rome, Rome Christianity, Paul Paul, Religion Rome, mystery religions, Pennsylvania Press, people rome, christianity people rome, religion rome, roman society, cybele cult, throughout rome, festival megalenisia, christianity people, rites rituals,
Approximate Word count = 735
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
