Christianity in the Middle East

Christianity in the Middle East

• As of 2010, there were 2.18 billion Christians in the world

• Only .6% of all Christians live in the Middle East

• Christians make up only 3.8% of the population of MENA countries

Global Distribution of Christianity

Denominational Makeup

Origins• The religion of Christianity is based upon the

life and teachings of a Jewish man known as Jesus of Nazareth

• Jesus of Nazareth was a carpenter by trade who, around the age of 30, began to travel throughout Judaea to preach

• He attracted a small band of followers known as disciples (later known as the Apostles)

Christianity in the Middle East• According to the accounts (known as the Gospels)

written by four of his Apostles, Jesus travelled the countryside, preaching a message of charity, morality, and love.

• Many of Jesus’s teachings were in the form of parables. Parables were short stories whose purpose was to convey a moral lesson, or to speak about the Kingdom of God

Christianity in the Middle EastSome famous examples of parables:

The Prodigal Son

Jesus tells the story of a man who has two sons. The younger son asks his father to give him his portion of the family estate as an early inheritance. Once received, the son promptly sets off on a long journey to a distant land and begins to waste his fortune on wild living. When the money runs out, a severe famine hits the country and the son finds himself in dire circumstances. He takes a job feeding pigs. He is so destitute that he even longs to eat the food assigned to the pigs.The young man finally comes to his senses, remembering his father. In humility, he recognizes his foolishness, decides to return to his father and ask for forgiveness and mercy. The father who had been watching and waiting, receives his son back with open arms of compassion. He is overjoyed by the return of his lost son! Immediately the father turns to his servants and asks them to prepare a giant feast in celebration.Meanwhile, the older son is not one bit happy when he comes in from working the fields and discovers a party going on to celebrate his younger brother's return. The father tries to dissuade the older brother from his jealous rage explaining, "You are always with me, and everything I have is yours."

Christianity in the Middle East

The Good Samaritan

In parable form, Jesus told of a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him, took his possessions and clothes, beat him, and left him half dead.A priest came down the road, saw the injured man, and passed by him on the other side. A Levite passing by did the same.A Samaritan, from a race hated by the Jews, saw the hurt man and had compassion on him. He poured oil and wine on his wounds, bound them up, then put the man on his donkey. The Samaritan took him to an inn and cared for him.The next morning, the Samaritan gave two denarii to the innkeeper for the man's care and promised to repay him on his way back for any other expenses.Jesus asked the lawyer which of the three men had been a neighbor. The lawyer answered that the man who showed mercy was a neighbor.Then Jesus told him, "You go and do likewise." (Luke 10:37, ESV)

Christianity in the Middle East

• Jesus emphasized the universality of humankind, stressed the importance of doing good deeds, and (according to the Gospels) performed miracles, such as raising the dead, healing paralytics, and walking on water

Christianity in the Middle East

• The teachings of Jesus came into conflict with the elders of the Jewish religion (Pharisees and Sadducees) as well as Roman authority, which controlled Judaea

• He was arrested in Jerusalem, and after a quick trial, was crucified for crimes against the state

Christianity in the Middle East

• Jesus was put to death because he claimed to be the Messiah, or “Annointed One.”

• The Jews believed that a Messiah, or King, would deliver them from Roman oppression and occupation

• His claims made the Romans nervous, and the Jewish Elders angry

Model of Herod’s Temple

Christianity in the Middle East• Our current calendar is based upon when

Jesus was born; his birth marks the Year 1• All events prior to his birth are referred to as

B.C. (Before Christ) or B.C.E (Before the Common Era)

• All events after his birth are referred to as A.D. (Anno Domini = Year of Our Lord) or C.E. (Common Era)

Christianity in the Middle East• The four Gospels written by Matthew, Mark,

Luke, and John, together with three other books, form the New Testament of the Bible, which is the basis of Christianity

Christianity in the Middle East• After Jesus’s death, his disciples resumed his

work, and spread his teachings throughout the Roman world

• Early Christian communities were composed of Jews who believed in the teachings of Jesus

• Christians believed Jesus to be the Son of God

Christianity in the Middle East• These early Christian communities were met

with suspicion by the Roman authorities• Roman authorities viewed the Christians as

dangerous to the state, since they would not sacrifice to the pagan gods, nor recognize the divinity of their emperor

• By the middle of the 1st century, Christians came under intense persecution by Rome

Christian Persecution in the Roman Empire

Early Missionary Activity

• Despite this persecution, Christian communities began to grow

Extent of Christianity by 5th century A.D.

• Despite this persecution, Christian communities began to grow

Reasons for Spread of Christianity

1. Jesus’s message of the universality of humankind: all people are the same, and should be treated with respect

2. Promise of an afterlife appealed to those whose daily existence was difficult

3. The infrastructure of the Roman Empire allowed for the fast spread of people and ideas

4. The Second Jewish Diaspora of 135 A.D.

Reasons for Spread of Christianity

Second Jewish Diaspora: 135

A.D.

Conversion of the Empire

• In A.D. 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine I supposedly saw a vision in a dream the night before a very important battle

• In his vision, he saw a symbol of Jesus Christ, and was told that if he and his soldiers painted this symbol on their shields, they would be victorious the next day in battle

Chi-Ro Symbol

Conversion of the Empire

• The next day, Constantine’s forces were victorious.

Conversion of the Empire

• The Emperor Constantine then began to promote the spread of Christianity throughout the Empire

• In A.D. 325, he convened a council of bishops at Nicaea, in modern day Turkey, to come to an agreement about Church doctrine

• They came up with a formal expression of Christian faith, known as The Apostle’s Creed

• Christianity would become the official religion of the Roman and then Byzantine Empires

Conversion of the Empire

• Although the Byzantine Empire would lose substantial amounts of territory to the rising tide of Islam in the 7th & 8th centuries, many of its former subjects were still allowed to retain their Christian faith

• Some have retained this faith, and still practice Christianity in the Middle East today