In the early days of Christianity, the Roman Empire did everything it could to destroy the Church. They were unsuccessful, and the spread of Christianity continued under persecution and eventually spread so far that even the emperor of Rome was converted. Although it seems that the Roman Empire hurt Christianity, it could have actually helped, as communication and travel in Rome made preaching and ministry easier. 

The first martyr was Saint Stephen who wasn’t killed by the Romans but by the Jews in 34 AD. This was witnessed by a man named Saul, later called Paul of Tarsus. He was a Jew from Asia Minor and frequently persecuted Christains. On his way to Damascus to find Christains, he was knocked from his horse by a bright light and a voice saying, “Why persecutest thou me?” After this stunning revelation Paul lived in the desert for three years to think and pray, and then returned to Damascus to preach Christ. Former allies of Paul turned against him for this, and he changed his name to Paul instead of Saul. 

After being met with a violent response in Jerusalem, he traveled to Asia Minor to preach to the Gentiles. Paul became a leading figure in the Church and said that the Law of Moses served its purpose, and Christains do not need to keep Jewish law. He continued his missionary trips over 13,000 miles, during which he was frequently arrested. Paul wrote many letters known as “Epistles” to different communities of Christains or individual people. These “Epistles” now compose a large part of the New Testament books of the Bible. Paul was finally martyred for Christ during Nero’s persecution in Rome in 67 AD. 

By the 2nd Century AD, there weren’t as many empire-wide planned killings of Christains, but local ones continued. There was even a statement written by Emperor Trajan that ordered citizens to not investigate Christains, but to only kill them if they admitted to being faithful. That was until the Great Persecution of Diocletian from 303-305 AD during which the eastern part of the Empire was hit particularly hard. After Diocletian stepped down as emperor the persecutions became lighter. In 306 AD, Constantine became the first Christian emperor. He was converted after putting the cross on his soldier’s shields, then winning a great victory. In 313 AD, Constantine implemented the Edict of Milan and Edict of Toleration, stopping all persecutions of Christains and even returned stolen land to Christains. 

An extremely influential and famous man in ancient Rome, Cicero was known as a master of rhetoric and logic, a great public speaker, and a member of the Roman Senate. Cicero wrote extensively on his use of rhetoric, stating that there is no systematic structure or coherence in rhetoric. A book does not make you a good speaker, explained Cicero. Rhetoric must be learned on the job. 

One of the most notable instances of Cicero using his skills of rhetoric and public speaking was his condemnation of Catiline, who had organized a conspiracy against Cicero after both of them ran for consul and Cicero won. Furiously, Catiline led an army outside of Rome attempting to take control. Cicero addressed the Senate and hinted that the recent death of Catiline’s wife was done at the hands of Catiline. Cicero also amplified his financial difficulties and public vices, which invoked the public’s welfare. The speech’s goal was to isolate Catiline, scare him into leaving, persuade the Senate to cut ties with him, avoid taking legal action, and warn Catiline’s supporters that their leader was almost out of money. Cicero’s great skills of persuasion and slander of his opponents were put on display here. By presenting himself as a victim, showing that he was restrained, invoking the Republic’s tradition of execution, and suggesting nefarious schemes, Cicero masterfully used rhetoric to shutout and condemn Catiline. Cicero continued to ridicule Catiline as someone who should be pitied, and undermined Catiline’s supposed subordination to honorable men. In fact, Cicero warned Catiline that he would lose, and called down Jupiter’s wrath saying that banishment will destroy Catiline and his supporters. Cicero never actually brought any formal charges against Catiline and never officially brought action, instead used rhetoric to slander Catiline into ending the revolt, as well as turned Cataline’s own supporters against him. 

Cicero had multiple goals that he achieved: winning over the Senate; persuading Catiline to leave Rome; not gaining the reputation of tyranny; eliminating a threat to the Republic; using multiple rhetorical techniques to make serious-sounding accusations; not bringing formal charges and not starting a trial; presenting himself as restrained and as a victim; invoking gods, the Republic, and tradition; using the Senate’s silence as condemnation; pointing out that Catiline sat alone; embarrassing the Senate for tolerating Catiline; and speaking for the welfare of Rome. Cicero shaped Western rhetoric by not setting forth a coherent system for it, but by using his power of language and tactics as a model of public verbal confrontation. 

Leading up to the time of Christ’s birth, there was a general search for the true faith, with many people ridiculing the traditional pagan religions. Various new religions came to replace the traditional Greek and Roman ones, and there was an ongoing interest in moral philosophy. The teachings of Socrates and Plato and Stoicism still persisted for centuries until the time of Christ, as well as different versions of older philosophies like Neo-Pythagoreanism. 

Meanwhile, the Jewish people were looking for their messiah, who was prophesied hundreds of years earlier. The Jews had strict laws about their religion, and scribes were experts on the law and were extremely influential at the time of Christ. The scribes had developed out of the Babylonian captivity and had been powerful ever since then. The Hebrews also had something known as the Sanhedrin, which was a particular group of priests, scribes, and pious Jews numbering about 6,000 during Christ’s lifetime. They paid strict fidelity to ritual observance and laws. When Jesus started his ministry, there were followers of Him called “Zealots” who sought violent revolution against Rome, but were angered at Jesus after they found out that Christ’s kingdom was not a political one. 

Jesus started his public teachings at age 30 and had twelve close disciples following Him. He delivered many public sermons and healings, with one of the most famous of these being the 

Sermon on the Mount (The Beatitudes). Because He proclaimed Himself the Son of God, Jesus was greatly opposed by the enraged chief priests and Pharisees. Eventually, He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve Apostles, and delivered to Roman governor Pontius Pilate to be punished. Pilate found no fault in Him, but nevertheless ordered Christ to be crucified for fear of a revolt if Pilate did not go through with their demands. After His crucifixion, Jesus miraculously rose from the dead on the third day. 

The Christian faith was established, and was met with immediate persecution by the Jews and Romans. Jesus’ disciples and Apostles preached His message across the Mediterranean and the Roman Empire. Four Gospels were composed telling of Jesus’ life and ministry and a number of other books were written that make up the “New Testament.” Christianity first rose among the Jews, with entrance into the faith by baptism. Later it reached all peoples of the world, including non-Jews known as Gentiles. Despite the fierce resistance, Christianity spread widely, with the teaching that those who repent and serve God are promised eternal life.