Select sources (excerpts of the new testament) on early christian beliefs:

Purpose:
The traditional Roman religion was a polytheistic religion, centered around the worship of a multitude of gods, each of whom fulfilled a particular function (e.g., harvest, childbirth, war, women’s crafts, the Roman sewage system, etc.). The Romans believed that the success of their city was entirely due to pax deorum: peace with the gods, which meant that as long as the Romans honored their gods and sacrificed to them regularly, their city and empire would prosper. Roman religion had many similarities with the Greeks. In fact, the Romans got many of their gods and goddesses from the Greeks. A new monotheistic religion, however, began to challenge the traditional Roman religion in the mid-first century CE and beyond — Christianity.
Tasks:
Read the sources below that provide information about Roman religion, the approach of Roman government officials to early Christianity, and early Christian beliefs.
Select websites on the Roman gods and Roman religious practices:
List of the gods with some explanation:
https://www.ancienthistorylists.com/rome-history/top-10-ancient-roman-gods/
Description of several Roman religious rituals: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/romrelig3.asp
Select sources on the perspectives of Roman authorities about early Christians:
Pliny and Trajan’s letter exchange:
https://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/texts/pliny.html
Ritual cannibalism charge against Christians:
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/christian-cannibals.asp
Select sources (excerpts of the New Testament) on early Christian beliefs:
1 Corinthians (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1COR+1&version=NIV)
Selection from Acts: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017%3A16-34&version=NIV
Selection from 1 Peter: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%204%3A1-11&version=NIV
Selection from Galatians: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=GAL+3%3A27-29&version=NIV
Next, answer all of the following questions:
1. What sorts of rituals and festivals did the Romans have to worship their gods? What benefits did the Romans expect to derive from this worship?
2. How did Roman authorities view early Christians? What approach did the Roman government take towards them?
3. How did early Christians view Greek and Roman religion? What aspects of Christianity, particularly how Christians viewed Jesus and how to treat others, would have some Romans found appealing as an alternative to polytheism?