Palastine is where Christianity first appeared and it was Alexander who wanted to unite the world by spreading the insights of the Greek civilization. Hellenism formed from elements of Greek origin combined with other elements taken from conquered civilizations. Many Jews were opposed to Hellenism and at the top of this struggle was a family known as the Maccabees. Jewish religion took different shapes and many parties appeared. Among which the best known are the Pharisees. All Jews believe the following two tenets: ethical monotheism, meaning there is only one God and eschatological hope, which stated that one day God would come and intervene in order to restore Israel and fulfill the promise of a Kingdom of peace and justice.
             By the time of Jesus there were sizable Jewish communities in every major city in the Roman Empire. Strong connections with the land and their ancestors were described as "Diaspora." Diaspora Judaism was one of the main avenues through which the new faith expanded through the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire had brought to the Mediterranean basin an unparalleled political unity. The Roman Empire and the Hellenistic civilization provided avenues for the proclamation of the new faith. Conflicts rose between the Hellenistic and the Hebrew Jews. The Hellenistic Jewish Christians were the bridge to the Gentile world. Gentiles were joining the church in such numbers that they soon overshadowed the earlier Jewish Christian community.
             Most of the missionary work was not carried out by the apostles, but rather by the countless Christians who for different reasons traveled from place to place taking the new of the Gospel with them. The Roman Empire began persecuting Christians from the time of Nero. Trajan decided that if a Christian was accused and brought before authorities he would be forced to worship the gods of the Empire, or face punishment. The apologists offere...