PRE Y8

• First followers of Jesus

  • Jews from Galilee, a region north of Jerusalem
  • Often people on the margins of society e.g. tax collectors who collaborated with the Roman authorities
• Disciples

  Taught by Jesus
• Gospel of Mark


  Earliest account of Jesus' life and his first followers
• Acts of the Apostles


  Includes stories about the actions of Jesus' first followers after his death
• Jesus' teaching


  • Flexible interpretation of Jewish law: better to break the law than to do harm by keeping it
  • Most important commandments: worship only one God (monotheism) and love your neighbour
  • Strictly prohibited divorce, abortion and abandonment of unwanted children
• Messiah


  Phrases used to describe Jesus, suggesting he was chosen by God and would save and liberate the Jewish people
• Kingdom of heaven


  A glorious and blissful future with God, promised to Jesus' followers when he returned; this was expected to happen imminently after his resurrection
• Son of God


  Used about other important individuals in Jewish faith stories; Jesus' first followers probably did not believe he was the literal son of God, but that he had a special relationship with God
• Paul


  Originally Saul; a Jew and Roman citizen born in Tarsus; well-educated and a committed Pharisee – a Jew who believed in the idea of a Messiah; originally did not believe Jesus was the Messiah; persecuted Jesus' followers
• Damascus road experience


  While on the way to Damascus to hunt down followers of Jesus, Saul experienced a blinding light and heard the voice of Jesus; he was blind for three days
• Apostle


  Saul's experience convinced him Jesus was the Messiah; he changed his name to Paul and became an apostle, spreading the message of Jesus
• Jerusalem


  In Jerusalem, Paul argued with other followers of Jesus over whether new converts had to follow Jewish laws; they agreed that non-Jewish converts did not need to be circumcised
• Journeys and letters


  Paul travelled around the eastern Mediterranean converting gentile (non-Jewish) communities to Christianity; he wrote letters to his converts afterwards, explaining the Christian faith
• Christians


  From the Greek word 'christos' meaning anointed one or Messiah; this word was used to describe Greek-speaking followers of Jesus, starting with those converted by Paul
• Salvation

  Paul believed and taught that Jesus would imminently return, bringing about the kingdom of heaven; he wrote that only faith was needed for salvation; Paul described Jesus' saving his people from their sins by: ransom - paying the penalty so they didn't need to, substitution - being the sacrifice (dying) so they didn't need to, victory - destroying death and sin to end people's suffering
• Christology - who was Jesus?

  • Son of God - used about other important individuals in Jewish faith stories; Jesus' first followers probably did not believe he was the literal son of God, but that he had a special relationship with God
  • Paul said God had adopted Jesus as his son
  • Critics of Paul argued Jesus had always been the Son of God but had become human (incarnate) for a period of time, therefore he was fully God and fully human
  • Arius and his followers (Arians) - God created Jesus so Jesus was a lesser being (contingent not transcendent)
  • Bishops at the Council of Nicaea - Arius' ideas were heresy; God is one and eternal, and Jesus had always existed and was 'true God' and 'of one substance with the Father [God]'
• Jewish revolt led to the destruction of the Jewish temple, followed by expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem creating the diaspora; Jewish followers of Jesus were scattered to Babylon and elsewhere

  70CE
• Christians targeted for persecution in the Roman empire


  They refused to offer incense to the emperor as if he were a god
• Martyrs


  Those killed were honoured as martyrs, e.g. St Foy
• Constantine saw a vision of a cross and a voice commanding him; he made banners with the sign of the cross and won the battle, becoming emperor


  312
• Constantine allowed Christians to worship

  313
• Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire

  324
• Constantine summoned bishops to a council at Nicaea to settled debates about the nature of Jesus

  325
• Apostles


  Original followers of Jesus who spread his message; chosen by Jesus who laid his hands on their heads; this role was passed on to priests and bishops by ordination - laying hands on a person's head
• World religions


  • Christianity - 2.1 billion, 32.5%
  • Islam - 1.3 billion, 21.5%
  • Hinduism - 900 million, 14%
  • Buddhism - 376 million, 6%
  • Sikhism - 23 million, 0.4%
  • Judaism - 14 million, 0.2%
• Priests


  Ran a parish with a local church; in the western Catholic Church not allowed to marry, but in the Eastern Orthodox Church they can (and also normally have beards)
• Sociologists


  Study individuals, groups and organisations in society
• Bishops


  In charge of a diocese covering many parishes and their priests
• Sociological questions


  • Factual
  • Comparative (similarities and differences)
  • Developmental (change over time)
• Bishop of Rome


  Known as the pope (meaning father), claimed to be the most important bishop, the successor to Jesus' apostle Peter who was believed to have died in Rome
• Sociological methods


  • Surveys
  • Observations
  • Interviews
  • Pilot - testing out questions before conducting research
  • Positionality and subjectivity - how our own worldview and experiences influence our research and interpretation of data
  • Analysis - looking for patterns and considering interpretations of data
  • Theory - a suggested explanation or conclusion based on analysis of sociological data
• Patriarch of Constantinople


  Bishop of Constantinople, regarded by Christians in the east as the most important bishop
• Sociological data

  • Quantitative - data which can be analysed statistically
  • Qualitative - information from observations, conversations and interviews which can be analysed for themes, meanings and interpretations
• Great Schism


  In 1054, the Church split into the Western Catholic Church led by the Pope in Rome, and the Eastern Orthodox Church led by the Patriarch of Constantinople
• Sample size


  The number of people who responded to a survey or participated in research
• Orthodox


  Doing things the right way
• Representation


  How far the survey or research included the full range of different people in society by age, gender, ethnicity etc.
• Consistency


  Keeping the wording of questions the same
• Census


  Survey of the whole population by the government once every 10 years; under the Census Act 1920, it is compulsory to respond to the census, however questions about religious views are optional
• British Social Attitudes Survey


  A regular survey of attitudes in Britain, sample size approximately 4000 adults