Jerusalem and Early Christianity

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Jerusalem andEarly Christianity
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Chapter 6 Jerusalem And Early Christianity Outlin
e Judaism and Early Christianity The Hebrew
Bible and Its Message The Beginnings of
Christianity Christianity Spreads Early
Christian Art Frescoes (Wall Paintings Done on
Fresh Plaster) Glass and Sculpture Inscriptions
Dura-Europos Constantine and Early Christian
Architecture Early Christian Music
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Timeline Jerusalem And Early Christianity 1800-1
600 BC - Age of the Hebrew Patriarchs Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob 1280 BC - Exodus of Israelites from
Egypt under leadership of Moses 1000 BC -
Formation of the Scriptures in written form
1000-961 BC - Reign of King David 961-922 BC -
Reign of Solomon c. 961- c. 922 BC - Building of
Temple of Solomon city of Megiddo rebuilt by
Solomon c. 536-515 BC -Second Temple of Solomon
constructed 2nd century BC - Cult of Mithra in
Rome End of 2nd century BC - Apocryphal Book of
Judith c. 6 B.C. - Birth of Jesus 45-59 AD -
First missionary journeys of Saint Paul c. 70 AD
- "Sermon on the Mount" in Gospel of Saint
Matthew, New Testament c. 81 AD - Arch of Titus,
Rome, commemorates victory of Roman army in
Jerusalem c. 150 AD - Justin Martyr Apology c.
230-240 AD - Synagogue and House Church at Dura
Europos
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Diagram of Solomon's Temple (961-922 BC),
Jerusalem
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Romans Taking Spoils of Jerusalem, detail of
marble relief from the Arch of Titus,Rome, c. 81
AD
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Christianity was nourished and evolved within the
context of Judaism. Later, it spread through the
Roman Empire, eventually displacing the Roman
Pantheon of gods and the Mystery Cults
Israel/Palestine about the time of Jesus
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Early Christian Communities by 185 AD
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This chapter traces a very long history from the
beginnings of the biblical tradition to the
emergence of Christianity as a state religion in
the Roman Empire, a history so complex that one
hesitates to generalize about its shape and
significance. Nonetheless, certain points
deserve to be highlighted both because they are
instructive in their own right and because of
their continuing impact on the shape of Western
culture.
Foundation Stone from the Third Wall of
Jerusalem, 41-70 AD., carved limestone, 22 x 40 x
20 inches
Rome, 3rd - 4th century AD, Burial Plaque,
carved and painted marble
Kingdoms of David and Solomon, 1000 900 B.C
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The biblical tradition reveals the emergence of
monotheism (a belief in one God) as a leading
idea in Western culture. Judaism held the ideal
of the uniqueness of God against the polytheistic
cultures of Babylonia, Assyria, and Egypt. That
idea carried over into Christianity and became a
point of conflict with Roman culture. The Roman
charge that Christians were atheists meant not
that they denied the existence of God but that
they rejected the Roman gods.
The often-unspoken name of the Jewish
God, Variously translated as God, Yahweh, Elohim,
Jehovah
This notion of a single God set the Jewish
people against their Middle-Eastern neighbors
and against the entire Roman Empire.
The Jewish faith was iconoclastic and resisted
figurative descriptions of spiritual truths
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The entire biblical tradition had a very strong
ethical emphasis. The prophets never ceased to
argue that the external practice of religion was
worthless unless there was a "pure heart." Jesus
preached essentially the same thing in his famous
criticisms of those who would pray publicly but
secretly, in his words, "devour the substance of
widows."
Virgin and Child, Cemetery of Priscilla, c 250
A.D. The figure to the left has been identified
as a prophetic figure, perhaps the prophet Isaiah
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This ethic was rooted in the biblical notion of
Prophetism - the belief that people could be
called by God to denounce injustice in the face
of hostility either from their own religious
establishment or from equally hostile civil
governments. Such prophetic protest, inspired
by the biblical message, was always a factor in
subsequent Judaism and Christianity.
This virtue also inspired the martyrs fervor of
early Christians, who suffered greatly for
their beliefs
Christ Teaching the Apostles, Catacomb of
Domitilla, Rome, c. 300 AD
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Both Judaism and Christianity insisted on a
personal God who was actively involved with the
world of humanity to the degree that there was a
covenant between God and people and that the
world was created and sustained by God as a gift
for humans. This was a powerful doctrine that
flew in the face of the ancient belief in
impersonal fate controlling the destiny of
people or a pessimism about the goodness or
reliability of the world as we have it and live
in it.
Good Shepherd, c 300 AD, marble
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The biblical belief in the providence of God
would have an enormous impact on later Western
culture in everything from shaping its
philosophy of history (that history moves in a
linear fashion and has a direction to it) to an
optimism about the human capacity to understand
the world and make its secrets known for the
benefit of people. Western culture never
accepted, at least as a majority opinion, that
the physical world itself was sacred or an
illusion. It was, rather, a gift to be explored
and at times exploited.
Frescos of events from Hebrew Scriptures,
Dura-Europos, Roman outpost at Damascus Syria, c
245 AD.
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Finally, the Jewish and Christian tradition
produced a work of literature the Bible. The
significance of that production can best be
understood in the subsequent chapters of this
book. It will soon become clear that a good deal
of what the humanistic tradition of art,
literature, and music produced until well into
the modern period is unintelligible if not seen
as an ongoing attempt to interpret that text in
various artistic media according to the needs of
the age.
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Constantine the first Christian Roman Emperor
Constantine converted to Christianity 313
AD Moved Capital of Empire to Constantinople
330 AD
Pieces from Colossal Statue of Constantine I
(324 332 AD), marble, from the Basilica of
Constantine in the Forum Romanum.
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Old Saint Peters Basilica Basilica of
Constantine
Rome, c. 333 AD
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Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, c. 345 AD
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Early Christian Music

• Drew on Jewish sources
• Singing (chanting) religious texts
• Adapted to local traditions
• Often carried on by trained professionals
• Christians mistrusted music because of its
• way of arousing sensuality and emotion
• Controlled by response, repetition

Blind Harper of Leiden, detail from tomb of
Paatenmmheb, Saqqara, c. 1340 1330 B.C.