The Roots of Christianity & Judaism

The Roots of Judaism and Christianity (i) Judaism: The Jews are a people who trace their descent from the biblical Israelites and who are united by the religion called Judaism. They are not a race; Jewish identity is a mixture of ethnic, national, and religious elements. An individual may become part of the Jewish people by conversion to Judaism; but a born Jew who rejects Judaism or adopts another religion does not entirely lose his …

…the Christians were subjected to a number of persecutions by the Roman authorities. The most savage of these were the one under Emperor Decius (249-51) and that instigated by Diocletian (303-13). Many Christians welcomed martyrdom as an opportunity to share in the sufferings of Christ, and Christianity continued to grow despite all attempts to suppress it. Out of the experience of persecution a controversy grew over whether those who had denied their faith under press.