Christianity
Jesus and the Romans (Part One)
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Have you ever been in an instance where a person attacks or harms someone and later starts respecting the man they beat up? Of course not. However, this exact same instance happened a long time ago. It starts with a man you probably have heard of, but if you haven't, you should go to your local library and get a book on him. His name was Jesus of Nazareth. He was born in Bethlehem in about 4 B.C.E. A surprise to many of you, he was a Jew. Gasp! Yes yes, I know it is a shocker, but it makes tons of sense later on.
One time, my teacher, who was a Jew, was in a cafe during December. When he was leaving, a man said,"Merry Christmas!" My teacher then said ," I think I'll stick with Jesus and celebrate Hanukkah." Although this was an awesome burn, it was kind of rude because the man was only trying to be nice.
Jesus and the Romans (Part Two)
So anyways, Jesus grew up to be a nice young lad. He respected the laws and helped old people cross the busy streets. He became a preacher, traveling around delivering messages such as "don't do drugs" and the like. Being a preacher, he was really involved with the Torah. He then realized that the Torah wasn't always right. For instance, on the Sabbath, you can not work. It is a day of rest. But what if your friend spontaneously combustioned? Would you do what is morally right and help him, or not do anything because the Torah didn't allow you to? So the Jews started thinking," Hey this guy has a point", and started following him.People started believing that he was the long awaited messiah.
The main split between Jews and Christians is about whether or not Jesus of Nazareth was the long awaited messiah or not. The Jews argue that he did not help smite our enemies like he was supposedly supposed to do. The Christians argue that he died for our sins, and that that is our true enemy. The conflict continues to this day.
Jesus and the Romans (Part Three)
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With all his followers and support groups, people started calling him "King of the Jews". It doesn't make any sense, really. That's what they called him, though. Any ways, word of Jesus reached the Romans. They didn't like the idea of a rival king. So they traveled down to Jerusalem to "take care" of him. When they arrived, they arrested him on the charge of treason. They found him guilty and crucified him on a cross. But technically, he did not really die. He started a legacy that would prove to be one of the most influential religions of all time: Christianity.