Paul Of Tarsus

11 Pages 2794 Words

It was A.D. 6 and Augustus Caesar ruled the land. The Roman Empire stretched from Spain to Syria. It was the “golden age” of literature. The official state religion was that of worshiping the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses. The Romans had cults of household and rural spirits other than the formal official religion. Unfortunately these practices failed to please many people. Many mystery religions flooded the western world of the Early Empire. Another religion at the time was Judaism. Jesus of Nazareth altered that religion. After His death and resurrection, disciples followed in His footsteps and continued to spread His word. Paul was a disciple of Jesus. Paul of Tarsus was the most important figure in early Christianity after Christ because he provided a universal foundation for the spread of Jesus’ ideas, reached out to gentiles (non-Jews), and transformed Christianity from a Jewish sect into a broader religious movement.
Augustus Caesar, referred to as the princeps (first among equals), ruled the Roman Empire. He ended the civil wars, which greatly increased his popularity. He controlled his army and at the same time kept the peace among the citizens. He added a lot of territory to the Roman Empire. Its boundaries included “Armenia, middle Mesopotamia, the Arabian Desert, Nubia, the Sahara, the Moroccan mountain mass, the North Sea, the Rhine, the Danube, the Black Sea, and the Caucasus” (The Roman Empire). The 200 years of peace known as the Pax Romana began in his rule (The Roman Empire).
Roman society in the early empire was a system of social status. Roman citizens were divided into three basic classes: the sentorial, equestrian, and lower classes. The sentorial was the most powerful and wealthiest class. A Roman citizen had to be in good standing and own property valued 400,000 sesterces could be an equestrian. The majority of the population was in the lower classes. They had no political power...