Did Christianity start in Bethlehem

Answer 1

No it did not. Jesus is referred to as Jesus of Nazareth 22 times in the New Testamnet. It is thought that this is a Greek adaptation of a reconstructed, hypothetical term in Jewish Aramaic for the word later used in Rabbinical sources to refer to Jesus.

It can be said that Christianity started in Judea because Jesus preached in several locations in Judea and his followers came from different parts of Judea.

Answer 2

Although Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, it is not the place where Christianity started. Jesus started preaching late in his life. It can be said that Christianity started in Judea because Jesus preached in several locations in Judea and his followers came from different parts of Judea.

ANOTHER ANSWER:

The term "Christian" is a derogatory name [not a complimentary one] first given to "believers in Christ" by certain unconverted Gentiles in the ancient town of Antioch, where Barnabas and Saul [Paul]: "...stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching great numbers of people. (It was there at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)" (Acts 11:26 NLTNew Living Translation)

This term "Christians" or the singular "Christian" is used a total of THREE TIMES in the King James Version of the English Bible. Acts 11:26 is the first and only instance of the plural.

The people of Antioch were pagan Gentile idol worshipers who were not converts of Barnabas and Saul, but scoffers of their strange teachings. Some of their own relatives and friends were falling for it, however, and they were no doubt shaking their heads, as people still do today, that people they knew and used to hang out with were suddenly "getting religion."

The second instance is found in Acts 26, where Paul is given a local hearing before the Gentile King Agrippa. Paul's initial approach to Agrippa is an argument designed to get a positive response from him that might result in a favorable outcome of the matter [although Paul's ulterior motive was to move on to preach his message in Rome itself - see verse 32].

But during the hearing... Agrippa was heard to say: "...'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.'" (verse 28)

King Agrippa was NOT being complimentary when he said "Christian." He was being bitter and sarcastic about this growing problem... and one can almost see his teeth clenched together as he uttered the word "Christian."

The third instance is Peter's instruction to the churches of God:

"...'let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, LET HIM NOT BE ASHAMED; but let him Glorify God on this behalf." (I Peter 4:15-16)

Being a "Christian," from the beginning as recorded in God's Word, was NOT A GOOD THING. Because THIS WORLD HATES JESUS CHRIST... it does not Love, Respect or Accept Him! And never has:

" 'When the world hates you [not, accepts and respects you], remember IT HATED ME BEFORE IT HATED YOU. The world would love you if you belonged to it, BUT YOU DON'T. I chose you to come out of the world, and SO IT HATES YOU... THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD WILL HATE YOU BECAUSE YOU BELONG TO ME, for they don't know God who sent Me.' " (John 15:18-21 NLT New Living Translation)

Peter's words reveal that, from this world's perspective, being a "Christian" IS A SHAMEFUL THING! A public shame that a servant of God translates into the Glorification of God... to be able to "share Christ's suffering" and be a part of Him. It's not a respected profession in the world... and never has been. Look at the world's reaction to Jesus' name and public readings of The Bible, today. Both are demonized and ridiculed... increasingly litigated. And it's getting worse.

The name "Christianity" is not a favorable term as used by the world. And what the world has come to apparently accept as one of its many accepted religions, that it calls "Christ ianity," isn't very "Christ-like" in the works of most of its many hundreds of denominations.

"Christianity" was not the result of God's servants giving themselves that name. It was the disparaging, disrespectful, demeaning term given to the servants of God [first at Antioch] by the god of this world, and the "children of disobedience" who ignorantly worship him.

"...the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God." (Eph.2:2 NLT)

"Christianity" started in a little town named "Antioch"... born out of the hearts of the townsfolk who did not believe in Christ; ignorantly ridiculing, persecuting, and making fun of their former friends and relatives who did.