Christianity in the Pax Romana

• Caesar Augustus was in charge of the Pax Romana
• "Gospel" means "good news"
• Jesus was Jewish itinerant preacher inn Judea who set himself apart from other "Messiahs"
• Jesus taught that one must strive for perfection since God was perfect, and Jesus sought out the imperfect in society
• Most of what we know of Jesus comes from the "Gospels" of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
• He was a preacher who went place to place
• Jesus' followers believed he was the "Messiah" who had come to end the world and bring the truly faithful into the kingdom of God
• Jesus was believed to be both man and the son of God; both human and divine
• Jesus was deemed a threat to Roman rule and was crucified, though his followers believed he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven
• The followers of Jesus who attempted to spread the word of his teachings were knows as apostles 
• Paul of Tarsus was a Jew who became a follower of Jesus after a miraculous vision on the road of Damascus
• Paul talked of "predestination" which meant that God chose who was to be saved and who was to be damned
• Paul was well-traveled, he helped found churches is many places, and he kept in touch with these new Christians by letters (Corinth, Thessalonia, Rome, Ephesus)
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