Judaism and Early Christianity

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Judaism and Early Christianity
The Spoils of Jerusalem, Arch of Titus, Rome, AD
81
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Behold God!
Roman God Saturn, creator of material world and
civilization, lord of agriculture Francisco
Goya Saturn Devouring One of His
Sons (1819-1823)
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The Christian God in the symbolic guise of the
good shepherd
Good Shepherd 300 AD Vatican Museum, Rome
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The Three Books of the Hebrew Bible before 90 CE

• The Law (torah) first five books
• The Prophets (another Greek word) books such as
  Ezekial.
• The Writings the psalms book of Job poetry
  and stories.
• The official rabbinical list of books in the
  Jewish Bible (the Old Testament) was not drawn up
  until almost a century into the Christian era.
• In both Judaism and Christianity, the Bible is
  seen as the central document not only for worship
  and the rule of faith but also as a moral guide
  and anchor for ethical and religious stability.

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The Character of the Bibles God

• God is not born out of the chaos of the world,
  nor is he equated with the world.
• God pronounces each part of creation good.
• God creates human beings as the apex and crown of
  creation.
• God creates and sustains the world in general and
  chose a particular people (the Hebrew people) to
  be both vehicle and sign of divine presence in
  the world.

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Main Themes of the Bible

• Is Monotheistic.
• Based upon a concept of a covenant or testament
  (hence the Old and New testaments, which
  effectively mark out two different contracts or
  marriages between God and his chosen people).
• Ethics based upon limited set of prophetic
  commandments.
• Events and stories from the Bible are models of
  instruction and illumination.

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The Biblical Prophetic Tradition

• Prophets are radical critics of social injustice
  and defenders of the poor
• Not a hereditary caste are populists
• Called to preach peace and justice
• Thus, often had unpopular message and were
  frequently killed by members of the dominant
  classes of their societies
• Jesus was a Jewish prophet who preached in the
  Jewish prophetic tradition and whose reported
  resurrection convinced many people that he was
  the Christ (the annointed one who would bring
  about Gods kingdom, as promised by ancient
  biblical prophets)

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Paul in Athens
Acts 1716-34 (New King James Version) The
Philosophers at Athens    16 Now while Paul
waited for them at Athens, his spirit was
provoked within him when he saw that the city was
given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in
the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile
worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with
those who happened to be there. 18 Then certain
Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him.
And some said, What does this babbler want to
say? Others said, He seems to be a proclaimer
of foreign gods, because he preached to them
Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him
and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we
know what this new doctrine is of which you
speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange
things to our ears. Therefore we want to know
what these things mean. 21 For all the Athenians
and the foreigners who were there spent their
time in nothing else but either to tell or to
hear some new thing. Addressing the
Areopagus    22 Then Paul stood in the midst of
the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I
perceive that in all things you are very
religious 23 for as I was passing through and
considering the objects of your worship, I even
found an altar with this inscription       TO
THE UNKNOWN GOD.Therefore, the One whom you
worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you
24 God, who made the world and everything in it,
since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not
dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He
worshiped with mens hands, as though He needed
anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and
all things. 26 And He has made from one blood
every nation of men to dwell on all the face of
the earth, and has determined their preappointed
times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27
so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope
that they might grope for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from each one of us 28 for
in Him we live and move and have our being, as
also some of your own poets have said, For we
are also His offspring. 29 Therefore, since we
are the offspring of God, we ought not to think
that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or
stone, something shaped by art and mans
devising. 30 Truly, these times of ignorance God
overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere
to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on
which He will judge the world in righteousness by
the Man whom He has ordained. He has given
assurance of this to all by raising Him from the
dead.32 And when they heard of the resurrection
of the dead, some mocked, while others said, We
will hear you again on this matter. 33 So Paul
departed from among them. 34 However, some men
joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the
Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others
with them.
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Christianity spread through the sinews of the
Roman Empire for many reasons

• Crafty missionary work of apostles such as Paul
• Peace in Roman Empire
• Good system of safe roads for missionary travel
• Common language in the empire (Koine, the
  language of the New Testament)
• Preached through network of Jewish centers
  throughout Roman Empire
• Growing interest of pagans in monotheism
• Appealed to many social classes
• Emperor Constantines Edict of Milan in the 4th
  century grants full legal rights to Christians

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Augustine and Boethius, two great theologians
from the end of the Roman world

• Augustines City of God, the first philosophy of
  history, articulates the arrow of time
• Augustines Confessions, the first autobiography.
  I would know myself that I might know Thee.

• Boethiuss The Consolation of Philosophy, attempt
  to reconcile human freedom with notion of
  all-knowing God proposes concept of Providence.

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The Byzantine World

• and the Empire of Christianity

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The Fall of Rome and the rise of Byzantium

• Romulus Augustus, the last Roman Emperor, is
  deposed in 476 CE when Rome falls to the Goths
• The fiercely partisan Christian, Justinian,
  assumes the throne in Constantinople in 527 CE
• Justinian shuts down last Platonic academy in the
  world
• Rules his empire as an autocrat, an absolute
  ruler appointed by God

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Empress Theodora Mosaic San Vitale, Ravenna 547 AD
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Christ as Good Shepherd, Galla Placidia, Ravenna,
fifth century
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The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, Galla Placidia,
Ravenna, fifth century. Mosaics are theology in
color
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Ceiling mosaic of the Orthodox Baptistery,
Ravenna, mid-fifth century. What is the
symbolism here?
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Church of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (formerly
Byzantium now Instanbul)
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Hagia Sophia A Church of Light What was
the experience of worshipping in this church
during The Byzantine era like?
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Practice Test 1

• Identify the following image

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Answer practice exam question 1, part I identify
this image.
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Practice answer 1

• Part 1 Image Identification. Identify 2 of the
  following 4 images as per the following
  instructions. 5 points per question total 10
  points for Part I. (If you answer more than two
  of the following, your professor will grade your
  first two answers and will disregard your
  remaining answers.)
• Image 1
• Title Emperor Justinian and couriters mosaic
  from San Vitale
• Artist Unknown
• Culture and PeriodByzantine Empire circa 547
• Why is this work noteworthy? What are its
  distinguishing features? This is a mosaic,
  meaning that the image is composed of thousands
  of tesserae consisting of small gemstones and
  precious metals. This mosaic is a representation
  of Emperor Justinian as Christs regent on earth
  his power balances both church and state, with
  the clergy standing on his left and civil
  authorities standing on his right. Justinians
  purple robe is a symbol of royalty the chi and
  rho symbol on the shield are the first Greek
  letters in the name of Christ.

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Practice identification question 1

• Part II Terminology and Historical Figure
  Identification. Identify 8 of the following 12
  terms and historical figures as per the following
  instructions. 5 points per question total 40
  points for Part II. (If you answer more than
  eight of the following, your professor will grade
  your first eight answers and will disregard your
  remaining answers.)
• Identification 1 Prophet
• Definition
• Referent (i.e., what does this term refer to?
  Where does it come from? What is it a part of?
  What is an example of it?)
  

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Practice identification question

• Part II Terminology and Historical Figure
  Identification. Identify 8 of the following 12
  terms and historical figures as per the following
  instructions. 5 points per question total 40
  points for Part II. (If you answer more than
  eight of the following, your professor will grade
  your first eight answers and will disregard your
  remaining answers.)
• Identification 1 Prophet
• Definition someone who speaks with Gods
  authority
• Referent (i.e., what does this term refer to?
  Where does it come from? What is it a part of?
  What is an example of it?) This term refers to
  the early Hebrew authors of the Bible. Hebrew
  prophets are called to preach they are not a
  heriditary caste. The main prophetic task was to
  call people back to the observance of the
  covenant and to warn them about the ways in which
  they failed that covenant/ They were radical
  critics of social injustice and defenders of the
  poor.