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To rise again from this material filth through layer after layer of the heavens to the true spiritual realm. it's very attractive. it offers a form of self-discovery, of self-truth, self-realization. >> the gnostic message was very seductive. a mix of greek philosophy, egyptian religion and eastern mysticism, all very contemporary in its spirituality. >> the new testament gospels are gospels of the cross. the gnostic gospels are gospels of wisdom. the new testament gospels care about salvation from sin. the gnostic gospels care about salvation from ignorance.

It's a very strong religious thing. >> in fact, it will come to bitterly divide the family and lead to centuries of persecution. but now in the years after the death of jesus, his followers needed to keep his message alive. and they get two messengers, who could not be more different. peter, the simple fisherman from galilee, who was jesus' chief apostle. and paul, the sophisticated pharisee. together they will create a religion that would change the world.

Followers of jesus get the name by which they will be known forever. >> in the acts of the apostles, luke tells us that it was an antioch that the believers were first called christians. >> there's some evidence to suggest the term "christian" itself was actually used by the opponents of the followers of jesus, as a term of derogation that, in fact, these are christians, little christs. who was christ? he was the one who was crucified, that's what these people deserve, as well. >> the christians now had a name and an identity of their own. it marked the beginning of the public split with judai...

That was the message that had appealed across the roman empire. a message that first spread throughout the huge jewish community outside israel. >> over a million jews in egypt and alexandria, jews in damascus, jews in antioch, jews in athens, certainly jews in rome. and for the early christians, these early followers of jesus, some of these jews would have provided missionaries a home, missionaries a base by which they could reach other jews as well as gentiles. >> the romans had provided roads throughout the entire empire. they had gotten rid of many of the pirates that were on the seas. the...

Dozens of religions. at the center of it all, rome, a city of a million people. to spread the word of jesus, the missionaries now had to conquer that empire. and first into rome was the simple galilean fisherman, peter. >> would peter have been in awe? of course he would have been. but peter had a message which he was convinced would put in awe all those people of rome. >> believers in jesus also provided answers to the central mystery of life. >> the questions pagans were asking were, "what was going to happen to me when i die? how do i get forgiveness from sin?" the christian church said, "w...