World between the Testaments

1
World between the Testaments

• From Stephen Harriss Understanding the Bible

2
Roman Empire

• Rome occupies Judea and much of known world
• Herod, half-Jewish governor, has elaborate
  building projects paranoid and violent
• Ruler cult. Ovid describes J. Caesar ascending
  into heaven like a comet.
• Gospel is associated with Augustuss reign.

3
Jewish war against Rome

• Hebrew Bible completed between Maccabees revolt
  168-142 and Jewish revolt Messianic hopes shaped
  canon
• Revolt of 66-73 messianic expectations
• General Titus, son of Vespasian, razes temple
• Jewish Diaspora extended, dispersed throughout
  wider empire
• Gradual reinterpretation of covenant and
  messiah by Jews

4
Hellenistic culture and Philosophy

• Parallels between Socrates and Jesus, who
  eschewed material things in favor of spiritual
  values both paid ultimate price for challenging
  establishment
• Platos influence Immortality of the soul
• Coexistence of two plains physical world and
  invisible realm of perfect, eternal ideas.

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Greek Philosophy, contd

• Stoicism Reason (Word, Logos) is divine
  principle that directs and shapes the universe.
  Human souls are sparks of the divine Logos.
• Ideal is to achieve harmony with universe,
  indifferent to pleasure and pain.( Paul echoes
  this idea as he counsels Christians to abstain
  from lust and withstand suffering until the end
  time. )
• Stoics were essentially monotheists.

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Philosophy, Contd

• Epicureanism Material, perishable nature of
  everything in the universe, including the soul.
• Democritus (460-370) Atomic theoryall things,
  including soul, are made up of small particles.
  We are chance collections of atoms which will
  perish without a trace.
• Paul disputed this theory.

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Greco-Roman religion

• 12 gods of Olympus Zeus, sky god (like Yahweh).
  Hades, god of Death.

Avernus, traditional entrance into the underworld
of Dis
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Greek Roman Pantheon

• http//www.mythweb.com/gods/index.html

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Later Greek Deities

• Asclepius, mortal son of Apollo. Had the gift of
  healing, so Zeus was jealous and killed him with
  a thunderbolt.
• Achieved posthumous divinity
• Professional healers flocked to his sanctuaries
  patients went for miracle cures (usually through
  dreams)
• Hailed as a savior welcomed poor to his
  sanctuaries.

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Later Greek Deities Dionysus

• Dionysus foreshadows Jesuss cosmic role. Divine
  father and human mother
• Mother Semele incinerated when she looked on Zeus
  in true form Zeus snatched him from womb and
  planted him in own body, from which Dionysus had
  a 2nd birth.
• Dionysus was dismembered and eaten by Titans
  reminiscent of violent death, communal meal,
  transubstantiation
• He descended into Hades (died) to bring Semele
  to heaven. Mary also achieved Immortal status,
  according to some early Christians.

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Dionysus, contd

• Inventor of wine-making. Euripides describes his
  blood, the blood of the grape
• Telling of story parallels life of Jesus escapes
  death as infant, performs miracles, virgin birth
  with divine parent, descends into underworld,
  rises to divine immortality, establishes
  universal cult

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Mystery Cults

• Orpheus and Orphism Musician who loved Eurydice.
  Humans spring from ashes of Titans who killed
  Orpheus. All have part rebel (Titans) and part
  divine (Orpheus).
• We are redeemed by Orpheuss death Underworld
  becomes place of regeneration until we reach of
  state of spiritual purity and salvation.
• Early Christians used images of Orpheus and
  Dionysus to represent Jesus.

13
Orpheus as Jesus
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Mystery Religions, Contd

• Mithras and Mithraism Name means Covenant.
• Combination of Persian god of Light with
  Hellenistic astrology. Solar deity who presided
  over zodiac and planets.
• Born from a rock on December 25 (the solstice).
  Slays a bull, from whose semen and blood new life
  appears.
• Popular cult among soldiers and merchants
  initiation ceremony was a spiritual rebirth,
  initiate was child of the light.

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Temples of Mithras

• Below a Mithraem in England. Click here for a
  virtual Mithraem.

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Mithraism, contd

• Mithraism was chief competition for Christianity
  in Roman Empire.
• Rites paralleled Christian rites baptism,
  communal meals, oaths of celibacy.
• Initiates were washed in blood of bull.
• Women were excluded
• Church adopted Mithrass birthday for Jesus.

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Mother Goddess

• Isis, imported from Egypt, continually
  worshipped. Apuleius describes being initiated
  into Goddess cult. Isis is his personal savior,
  redeems him from animal nature, promises
  care-free life after death.

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First century Judaism

• Pharisees, chief authorities of Torah during
  Jesuss time. Created first body of rabbinical
  teaching, Mishnah. Helped religion to survive.
• Saul (Paul) was a Pharisee, student of Gamaliel,
  who argued for tolerance and against persecuting
  members of Jesus movement.
• After temple destruction, Pharisees Academy of
  Jamnia confronted task of living without Temple,
  priesthood, or homeland.
• Defined limits of Judaism excluded Christians
  from synagogues (John 922)

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Sadducees

• Jewish upper class none of their writings
  survive. Landowning aristocrats and Roman
  collaborators.
• Chief engineers of Jesuss destruction anxious
  to remove threat to Judeas political survival.
• Conservative Jesus rebelled against their
  literal reading of Torah.

20
Samaritans

• Northern branch of Jews living between Judea and
  Galilee. Jews in Judea regarded as little better
  than gentile cult.
• Recognized Torah but not prophets or Writings as
  scripture.
• NT writers portray them favorably. Samaritans are
  first step in worldwide mission. Sadducees and
  Pharisees call Jesus a Samaritan as an insult.
• Samaritans, who survive today, did not generally
  accept Jesus movement.

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Essenes of Qumran

• Hiders of the Dead Sea scrolls a reclusive,
  ascetic cult. Scrolls show us the range of
  textual variants and non-canonical texts.
• Modes of worship, communal meals, and
  purification rites show parallels between
  mainstream Judaism and Christianity
• Jesus or John the Baptist may have been an
  Essene also, perhaps, brother James (The
  righteous.)

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Qumran today
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Zealots

• Opposed any attempt to bring Judea under the
  dominion of Rome, a fanatical war party from the
  time of Herod until the fall of Jerusalem and
  Masada. Also called Sicarii, from their custom of
  going about with daggers ("sicæ") hidden beneath
  their cloaks, with which they would stab any one
  found committing a sacrilegious act or anything
  provoking anti-Jewish feeling.
• Zealots led by Eleazar ben Jair revolted against
  Rome in 67-70 Crushed.
• Seige of the fort of Masada led to suicide of
  Zealots stationed there.

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First century Messianic Hopes

• Many Sadducees denied messianic hope.
• Mainstream Judaism denied Jesus was messiah
  (christ) because death on cross made him
  accursed. (Deut. 2123)
• Judas of Galilee thought better claimant led
  revolt against Rome around 6 CE
• Josephus reports other claimants of royal rank
  a key ingredient
• Messianic Revisionism