* What factors influenced the development of Christianity? Consider Judaism,

persecution, empire and political power, monasticism and mysticism, Reformation, and the Western Enlightenment. Select one factor (or factor combination like “empire and political power”) to focus your response on.

* Describe *one* Christian group/denomination discussed in Fisher’s text. Explain why you chose to focus on that group.

Please make sure your response demonstrates a thorough reading and understanding of our text. No outside sources, please, just use our textbook.

Respond to following statement:

The Jews were in the major cities of the Roman empire and had synagogues proved effective way stations as Christian missioners the first of whom were Jewish made there way throughout the Roman empire. In addition to the Jews in each synagogue there were Gentiles who had a close association with these synagogues and were called God-fearer who were disposed to the worship and power of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but did not formally adopt all of Jewish tradition. Some of these gentiles, as some of the Jews, would prove attracted to the way of Jesus the Christ. But this Jewish basis posed a challenge to early Christians of how they would relate to the prescriptions of the Jewish law and its observance. The challenge was to maintain that Christianity and the revelation of the God of Abraham are in continuity. The influence of Judaism is also found certainly in the Hebrew Scriptures, which Christians have called the Old Testament.