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World between the Testaments

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Title: 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.

5
Greek Philosophy, contd
  • Stoicism Reason (Word, Logos) is divine
    principle that directs and shapes the universe.
    Human souls are sparks of the divine Logos.
  • Hellenistic Jews used translated the creative
    power of god in Genesis 13 (say) as Logos
  • Human goal 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.

6
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.

7
Greco-Roman religion
  • 12 gods of Olympus Zeus, sky god (like Yahweh).
    Hades, god of Death.
  • Greek creation myth mating of Chaos, Love (Eros)
    and Mother earth (Gaia)

Avernus, traditional entrance into the underworld
of Dis
8
Greek Roman Pantheon
  • http//www.mythweb.com/gods/index.html

9
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.

10
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.

11
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

12
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
14
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.

15
Temples of Mithras
  • Below a Mithraem in England. Every Mithraic
    temple features Mithras killing a sacred bull,
    called a tauroctony. Scholars now think the
    tauroctony represents the constellations rather
    than animal sacrifice.

16
A Mithraeum in Italy
17
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.

18
Mithras Halo transferred to Coptic Jesus
  • This halo was adopted by emperors (Sol
    Invictus) and eventually shows up on
    representations of Jesus and Christian saints.

19
Mother Goddess
  • Isis, imported from Egypt, was 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.

20
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)

21
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.

22
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.
  • New Testament 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.

23
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.)

24
Qumran today
25
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.

26
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
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