Talk:Historical background of the New Testament/OriginallyFT2

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DATING CONVENTION:

This article uses "BCE" (before the common era) and "CE" (common era) rather than BC (before christ) and AD (anno domini, "in the year of our Lord")

For those who believe in his existence, Jesus is generally taken on the authority of the Gospels and early Christian history to have lived in Roman Palestine (modern day Israel, Palestine and Jordan, historically the central Levant, which included Judea) from 6 BCE - 30 CE. It was in this place (and within a century after this time) that Christianity is alleged to have arisen, and the writings of its early leaders place Jesus and his peers in locations such as Galilee and Jerusalem within their recent past.

For this reason a wide variety of people (both Christian and otherwise) have a strong interest in this time and place. Its culture and politics formed the context for a significant change in human history and the source of many changes and beliefs which still continue to shape the world, influencing laws and cultural norms for believers and non-believers alike.

Academics and historians, Christian and non-Christian alike, tend to agree that one cannot fully understand the origins of Christianity or current societal norms, or Jewish, Christian, and Western history, or Jesus himself and the story of the Gospels, without a good understanding of the complex and volatile powder-keg of religion and politics which formed the cultural and historic context of those turbulent and formative times.

This article attempts to describe these things without assumption as to Jesus' existence or non-existence, which is addressed by the article Historicity of Jesus. Although split into History, Culture, Religion, and Politics, it is important to understand that the latter three overlap and were far from separate.

Overview of history

Early History

The original inhabitants of Roman Palestine were non-Jewish tribes such as the Canaanites and Philistines. According to legend, the Jews entered the region around the 13th - 14th century BCE, subduing the pagan tribes and around 1000 BCE forming the first Jewish kingdom under Saul, then David and then a succession of lesser kings, prophets and priests.

Apart from a brief conquest and exile by the Babylonians around 587 BCE (returning by Persian decree 50 years later), this remained the status quo for over 200 years more, until Alexander the Great, a Macedonian, took the region as a territory under benign rule in 332 BCE. The law of the land was Jewish religious law, which was for the most part not harsh, and Jews and pagans lived for the most part harmoniously.

After Alexander's death, his empire was split between his generals, principally the Seleucid empire (Syria) and the Ptolemaic empire (Egypt), and over time Judea became a part of the Seleucid empire under Seleucus IV.

Characteristics of imperial rule

The Jews of the region had lived under several empires: Persian, Alexandrian, Seleucid. Each of these was for a long time tolerant of certain types of diversity. Jews were allowed significant cultural freedom, provided tribute was paid and the colonial ruling power respected. During the time of the Seleucid empire, Hellenism became widespread, and its philosophy intellectually attracted some while its perceived lack of sanctity repelled others. This brought the first three major changes in the relationship between the Jews and their ruling powers. First, it created a cultural divide between the traditional and Hellenised Jews; second, it brought a conflict between those who wished to gain political standing in the empire and those who wanted to protect their traditions, despite the resistance of their conquerors to this tendency; and third, it caused religious and cultural difference to escalate into conflicts with the secular authority. This last led to a sense of resentment and repression among traditional Jews, which flared up on several occasions into armed rebellion.

As time passed, the foreign powers often came to view the wish of some Jews not to become integrated as a divisive and therefore political wish, and often considered it a personal affront to the emperor. Each of these empires in turn started benign and later gradually became intolerant, both culturally and religiously. Harsh repression led to Jewish nationalism, which drew further tyranny. In the case of the Seleucids, this finally led to the open rebellion of the Maccabeean revolt around 167 BCE.

Seleucids and Maccabees, circa 175 BCE

Around 180 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes inherited Judea as a protectorate which paid a heavy tribute, but was on the whole left to govern itself. The Seleucid rulers had historically given mild support to religious institutions and tax relief to priests and scribes, and for a while this continued.

Politically Antiochus saw Judea as a strategic region against both the Ptolemies and Romans, all three Mediterranean powers being aggressive expansionists, with Rome the new and more dangerous threat. Culturally the Jews were for the most part hard-working, God-fearing, deeply religious farming villagers, mostly self-governing, with a hereditary priesthood and kingship, though the succession of hereditary kings with actual authority had ended with the Babylonian exile.

There was also significant political intrigue and difference of opinion among the Jewish leadership. Like many colonised peoples, the occupying power was both disliked by some, and emulated by others (who believed it would win them favour to be more Hellenistic). The more assimilated faction, led by Simon and Menelaus, conspired to place their appointee Jason in the high priesthood. However Jason's appointment paved the way for more serious differences to arise.

To benefit the community economically and culturally, Jason established Greek establishments such as a stadium in Jerusalem. This brought out significant tensions. To some Jews the nakedness and rituals within Greek life were an abomination and its nakedness associated with lewdness and paganism, to others it was progress and modernity. Moreover although he had been of limited political power many Jews were stunned at the removal of their high priest and spiritual leader.

"For a thousand years the Jews had preserved their special identity precisely because in every generation they had resisted the tempting appeals to conform to the customs of their idol-worshipping neighbours. They had kept their religion intact and survived as a nation by virtue of their refusal to be swayed by the reasoning which informed the minds of [their neighbours]. They spurned material benefits if the price was religious abdication. And thus they had remained Jews. Now in the city of Jerusalem, pagan institutions were rising in the very shade of their holy Temple." (M. Pearlman - "The Maccabees")

Three years later Menelaus moved against Jason and was himself appointed to the role by the Seleucid rulers. He began a policy of Hellenisation, encouraging young Jews to join the Stadium, using Temple funds to pay tribute. According to popular belief, he was implicated in the murder of the original High Priest who had been in hiding. A rumour came to Jerusalem that Menelaus' sponsor, Antiochus IV, had died, leading to rebellion against Menelaus. At the same time, Antiochus was consolidating his territories against the Roman threat and saw the cultural stubbornness of Judea as a problem to be brought into line, and Hellenisation as the sine qua non to achieve this. He felt the Jews had been given too much freedom and his empire was at risk; they had to be made to comply culturally and cease their incomprehensible and singular religious traditions, and made to fear their rulers so that they would never rise up again. Around 167 BCE, he decided to impose Hellenism by force and eradicate Judaic practices in favour of Hellenistic ones, using public torture of young and old to coerce change. Families were burnt or slain, babies killed, the Temple converted to a pagan place of worship, and for the first time in Western (and perhaps world) history, widespread martyrdom occured - individuals who died rather than giving up an invisible diety (other tribes surrendered their beliefs when conquered).

Eventually some Jews revolted against the repression, and the rebellion spread throughout the region. It was ultimately successful. By 164 BCE the Seleucid emperor was defeated and by 163 BCE dead; the Jews made peace with the new emperor Antiochus V and the Roman emperor Lysias by 161 BCE. The nephew of the Jewish leader, John Hyrcanus established a new monarchy in the form of the priestly Hasmonean dynasty in 152 BCE, thus establishing priests as political as well as religious authorities, and the short-lived Second Jewish Kingdom arose as a fully independent state by 141 BCE

See also: 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees

Second Kingdom (the "Hasmonean" era)

Although the Hasmoneans were heroes for resisting the Seleucids, their reign lacked the legitimacy of the Davidic dynasty of the First Temple Era. The Second Kingdom retained its independent protectorate status under tribute for around 100 years, falling to Rome as a territory in 63 BCE with the Hasmonean line finally failing around the time of Mattathias Antigonus around 40-37 BCE.

Around this time, the sages and scribes congealed into a political party known as the Pharisees, or "separatists". It is not clear whether the term signifies their rejection of Hellenic culture, or their objection to the Hasmonean monopoly on power. The political rift between the Saducees and the Pharisees became evident when Pharisees demanded that the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannai choose between being king and being High Priest. This demand led to a brief civil war that ended with a bloody repression of the Pharisees, although at his deathbed the king called for a reconciliation between the two parties. After the death of Alexander and his widow Salome, the elder son, Hyrcanus, sought Pharisee support, and the younger son, Aristobulus, sought the support of the Sadducees.

The conflict between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus culminated in a civil war that ended somewhat suddenly when the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BCE and inaugurated the Roman period of Jewish history. Pompey ended the monarchy and named Hyrcanus high priest and ethnarch (a lesser title than "king"). In 57 BCE Hyrcanus was deprived of all political authority. Ultimate jurisdiction was given to the Proconsul of Syria, who ruled through two Idumean brothers, Phasael and Herod (appointed military governors of Judea and the Galilee respectively). In 40 BCE Aristobulus's son Antigonus overthrew Hyrcanus and named himself king and high priest. Herod fled to Rome, and, with the support of Marcus Antonius and Octavian, secured recognition by the Roman Senate as king -- confirming the termination of the Hasmonean dynasty.

Rome

After Herod's death in 4 CE, Judea, Samaria, and the Galilee were governed by the Syrian legate Varus, who immediately put down a Jewish uprising, putting thousands of Jews to death by crucifixion and selling many into slavery. Rome quickly divided Herod's kingdom among his sons: the southern part of the territory (Judea and Samaria) was given to Archelaus, who ruled under the title of ethnarch, while Herod Antipas was named tetrarch of the Galilee and the southern Transjordan; Philip received the northern Transjordan.

Archelaus antagonized the Jews as his father had, and in 6 a delegation was sent to Rome to request his removal. Augustus responded by placing Judea and Samaria under the indirect rule of a Roman procurator (or prefect), and the direct rule of a Roman-appointed high priest. The first procurator was Coponius (6 - 9); followed by Pontius Pilate from 26 to 36. The first Roman appointed high priest was Annas from 7 to 14, succeeded by his son-in-law Caiaphas who served until 36.

By 1 CE, the Roman Empire was somewhat more corrupt than it had been; the overseers of Roman Palestine were capable of great brutality and some had become ruthless dictators, answerable to nobody except the distant Senate in Rome for their actions. Political murder was commonplace - some Roman governors killed their own children to prevent uprisings, slaves were torched as novelty fires for events, Herod imprisoned many leaders of the community with orders they should be slaughtered when he died, and a large number of the non-Roman classes (Jews and non-Jews equally) lived their lives, many were desperately poor, and prayed to their various gods.

The Great Revolt and the Destruction of the Temple

By 66 CE Jewish discontent with Rome had escalated. At first, the priests tried to suppress rebellion, even calling upon the Pharisees for help. After the Roman garrison failed to stop Hellenists from desecrating a synagogue in Caesarea, however, the high priest suspended payment of tribute, inaugurating the Great Jewish Revolt. In 70 CE the Temple was destroyed. The destruction of the Second Temple was a profoundly traumatic experience for the Jews, who were now confronted with difficult and far-reaching questions:

How to achieve atonement without the Temple?
How to explain the disastrous outcome of the rebellion?
How to live in the post-Temple, Romanized world?
How to connect present and past traditions?

How people answered these questioned depended largely on their position prior to the revolt. But the destruction of the Second Temple marked the end of an era. Fanatical revolutionaries such as the Zealots had been crushed, and had little credibility (the last Zealots committed suicide at Masada in 73 CE). Similarly, the Sadducees, whose teachings were so closely connected to the Temple cult, disappeared. The Essenes also vanished, perhaps because their teachings so diverged from the concerns of the times. Two significant organized religious groups remained: Jewish talmudists, rabbis and sages, whose religious structure was by now oriented to Gods word, Gods law, and an order of prayer rather than Temple worship, and a small but growing group who believed in a crucified Galilean some said had been the son of God.

Jewish Revolt and aftermath, 70 - 400 CE

Around X CE, <-- ?what provoked it - Answer=the Zealots?, -->open rebellion broke out, and finally open war, until in X CE the general of the 3 armies it had taken to destroy the revolt was finally able to strike new currency reading "Judea Capta" ("Judea captured"). <-- MASADA -->

<--!the bar Kockba revolt was the 2nd Jewish revolt in about CE130, not the 1st-->

Following the destruction of the Temple, Rome governed Judea through a Procurator at Caesarea and a Jewish Patriarch. Yohanan ben Zakkai, a leading Pharisee, was appointed the first Patriarch (the Hebrew word, Nasi, also means prince, or president), and he reestablished the Sanhedrin at Javneh under Pharisee control. The rabbis rejected the sectarianism that had dominated Jewish life during the Second Temple Era; Pharisaism emerged as the dominant form of Judaism, which came to be known as "Rabbinic" Judaism. Instead of giving tithes to the priests and sacrificing offerings at the Temple, Jews gave money to charities and studied in local Synagogues.

When the Emperor Hadrian threatened to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan city dedicated to Jupiter, in 132 CE, some of the leading sages of the Sanhedrin supported a rebellion (and, for a short time, an independent state) led by Simon bar Kozeba (also called Bar Kochba, or "son of a star"); some, such as Rabbi Akiba, believed Bar Kochbah to be a possible "Moshiach". This revolt ended in 135 CE when Bar Kochba and his army were defeated. According to a midrash, in addition to Bar Kochba the Romans executed ten leading members of the Sanhedrin by torture.

Christianity arose in the first centuries after this revolt. At first it existed side by side with Judaism as a sect within it; later, especially after the expansion of proselytism among non-Jews by followers of Paul of Tarsus, it became a separate religion, though the structures that would characterize later Christianity developed only gradually. The early Christians were often in conflict with groups they considered heretical, such as the Gnostics and Marcionists. The most widespread division began in the early fourth century, based on the preaching of Arius of Antioch. This doctrinal point was decided by vote in the first of a series of ecumenical councils, the First Council of Nicaea in 325.

Culture

First Temple Era

The religion of ancient Israel, like those of most ancient Near Eastern societies, centered on a Temple, served by a caste of priests, who sacrificed offerings to their god. Among the Children of Israel priests claimed descent from Aaron of the tribe of Levi, and were believed to have been chosen by God to care for the Tabernacle.

In ancient Israel, as in most societies, the institution of the priesthood was closely tied with the monarchy. The religious authority of the priests was institutionalized with the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. During the First Temple Era, the priests were limited to their work in the Temple; political power officially rested in the hands of a king who ruled, ideally, by divine right.

Thus Judaism always possessed a dual core - a political authority, and a spiritual one. Over time the spiritual authority itself developed several aspects - those ritually responsible (priests), those few who spoke for God (prophets), and those who taught and studied (scholars and sages). Unlike other religions, the priests were central to religion but did not obtain divine right to speak for, or to intercede with, God because of it. None of these had absolute authority.

In most ancient societies sacrifice was the only form of worship. Unlike many other religions or states of the time, however, the Children of Israel also had:

The sacred texts - sacred or semi-sacred texts included the Torah (Five Books of Moses), the works of Prophets, Psalmists and others, and the Mishnah which was the codification of the most important sagely works on these. Combined, these contained a vast range of traditions, laws, ethics, case studies, homilies, and moral stories and teachings, as well as the many divine commandments and laws recognised by Jews as inherent in these. They provided guidance how to worship their God in the course of their everyday lives.
Prophets - who claimed to be inspired by God and by the values and teachings embodied in the sacred texts. However, they often criticized the king, elites, or the masses and provided another potent balancing force.
Theocratic state institutions - the monarchy and the temple and priestly castes.

Both the First Temple and the Davidic Monarchy were destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and most Jews were sent into exile.

Second temple era

On the return of the Jews from exile in Babylon, without the constraining power of the monarchy, the authority of the Temple was amplified. Nevertheless, the Second Temple had been constructed under the auspices of a foreign power, and there were lingering questions about its legitimacy. The end of the Babylonian Exile saw not only the construction of the Second Temple, but the redaction of the Torah (see Documentary Hypothesis) as well.

This provided the condition for the development of various sects (including Josephus's "schools of thought"), each of which claimed exclusive authority to represent "Judaism," and typically shunned social intercourse, especially marriage, with members of other sects. The Pharisees and Saducees were two such groups, though there were very minor groups aside from these.

Cultural Struggles with Hellenism

Generally, the Jews accepted foreign rule as long as they were only expected to pay tribute, and otherwise allowed to govern themselves. Conflicts arose when forced helenization was undertaken.

Culturally, Jews had to grapple with the values of Hellenism and Hellenistic philosophy, which threatened to replace the traditions handed down from the past. Bath houses were built in Jerusalem, for instance. Most Jews tended to accept the good that came from their various conquerors (they were in succession dominated by the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks and the Romans), but many yearned for freedom from foreign domination.

Moreover, as many Jews lived in the Diaspora, and Roman Palestine itself was populated by many Gentiles, Jews had to confront and co-exist with new ideas and the emergence of Greek philosophy. This situation led to new interpretations of the Torah, influenced by Hellenic thought and in response to Gentile interest in Judaism.

(Note - To an extent, Judaism is still strained by similar issues 2000 years later, with the two sides now known as Orthodox and Reform (or Conservative) Judaism)

Judea under Rome

During this period Judea and Galilee were effectively semi-autonomous client-states. Rome was content to receive tribute, although some emperors considered installing a statue of themselves or a Roman god in the Temple. For the most part, Jews were willing to pay tribute, although they complained when it was excessive, and absolutely refused to allow a graven image in their Temple. The primary tasks of the tetrarch and high priest were to collect tribute, convince the Romans not to interfere with the Temple, and ensure that the Jews did not rebel. There is a record of only one high priest (Ananus, in 62 CE) being a Saducee, although scholars generally assume that the Sanhedrin was dominated by Saducees. The Pharisees were politically quiescent, content to study, teach, and worship in their own way. Although popular, they had no power.

Key Institutions, Organisations and Terms

Linguistic terminology

It's important to recognise that the Jews thought about many things in a fundamentally different way from the new christians, and so words borrowed from Judaism such as "Messiah", "Saviour", "Messianic Era", "Apocalypse", "Apocalyptic Era" or "End of the World" probably had very different meanings to the Jews of the time, than they did to the later Christians. Other groups may have had Messiah-type figures, beliefs or legends too. The cultural-religious legend of "someone special who will come at some unknown time to put everything right" is very widespread. So it is important to understand when a term is used what exact kind of being, mission, role, origin, or nature was signified, and what exactly would happen to the world as a result.

The priesthood

The Jewish priesthood is often misunderstood by non Jews. In most religions, the priests are the mediators between man and God. They act as spokesmen for God, a very powerful position, with near-ultimate authority in a theocracy. In Judaism, the priesthood was much more an administrative role. Its job was to perform certain rituals and rites, to accept and be the ones designated to manage sacrifices, etc. By 0 CE, the High Priest was a political appointment and the role had fallen into substantial disrespect.

Religious allegiance

Many Saducees and Pharisees were neither priests nor sages, but rather ordinary people (e.g. merchants, farmers, and so forth) who supported one party or the other. There was practically no overlap between the two groups as they did not intermarry, but there were priests who had Pharisaic beliefs, and scribes who were Saducees. There is little support amongst modern historians for the idea that the Pharisees were more popular during this time (though this is a view which was held by earlier historians). However the majority of Jews did not identify so strongly with one or other of the groups.

Sanhedrin

In 57 BCE the Proconsul Cabineus established five regional synhedria, or councils, of 23 elders, to regulate the internal affairs of the Jews. These became known as the Sanhedrin, and there were greater and Lesser sanhedrins, similar to local and supreme courts. The Sanhedrin was a legislative council of 71 elders that interpreted Jewish law and adjudicated appeals, especially in ritual matters. The specific number of councils, members of councils, and their powers varied depending on Roman policy.

Synagogues

The synagogue proper was a later development, and synagogues as the major place of worship only truly began after the destruction of the Temple.

Around the first century CE, non-Jews often attended synagogues -- some, perhaps, were considering conversion to Judaism; others may have liked Jewish services without wanting to become Jewish; others may have been merely curious.

Religion and Cults

Saducees and Pharisees

Main articles:Saducees, Pharisee

Around the time of the Hasmoneans, the Sadducee party emerged as the party of the priests and allied elites rejecting the political appointment of the priesthood; the name Sadducee itself comes from Zadok. The group believed in the authority of the Temple, and its ritual, with regard to salvation, and thus came to control it.

At a similar time to the Saducees, the Pharisees emerged; they had their origins in a relatively new group of authorities -- scribes and sages. Scribes and sages (who would later come to be addressed as "reb", "rab" or rabbi, meaning broadly, "master" or "teacher") developed and maintained a tradition of in-depth study of the Torah and an oral tradition alongside of the Holy Writ, building on the works of earlier generations of commentators known as the Tosefot such as the Mishnah. They also instituted the public reading of the Torah on market-days after the return from the Babylonian exile. Some of their various rabbinical schools and well known teachers included Hillel, Akiva, Gamliel and their peers, and their various academies and branches of teaching, the Jerusalem school, the Babylonian school, and so on.

It is true that the Saducees are linked to the priesthood, and the Pharisees linked to the scribes and sages. But this is not a strict homology. Virtually all Jews believed that the Temple ritual was important, and that the Biblical text was important -- these did not characterize the Saducees and the Pharisees. (There is little historical evidence that the Pharisees were more popular during this time: this is a view held by older historians but disputed by more recent historians).

Essenes

Main article:Essenes

During this time other religious movements developed, most notably, the Essenes. They were the followers of a group of priests who had essentially rejected the Second Temple. They argued that the Essene community was itself the new Temple, and that obedience to the law represented a new form of sacrifice. Although their lack of concern for the Second Temple alienated them from the great mass of Jews, their notion that the sacred could exist outside of the Temple was shared by Christians and Pharisees.

Essenes were characterised by their desire to isolate themselves from the surrounding world, and instead live in small communities. They practised varying degrees of ascetic and monastic living, some groups going so far as to give all of their money to a central fund with which to buy only products they could not themselves make, wheras others only gave a small percentage of their income for community works. Primarily religious practise was focused on a single elder teaching within their small community.

Prophets, and Healers

Many individuals unaffiliated with a politico-religious movement claimed to speak for God, in the prophetic tradition of Isaiah and Jeremiah, or to be able to heal people, in the prophetic tradition of Elisha. The Talmud provides two examples of such Jewish miracle workers around the time of Jesus. Mishnah Ta'anit 3:8 tells of "Honi the Circledrawer" who, in the middle of the first century BCE, was famous for his ability to successfully pray for rain. On one occasion when God did not answer his prayer, he drew a circle in the dust, stood inside it, and informed God that he would not move until it rained. When it began to drizzle, Honi told God that he was not satisfied and expected more rain; it then began to pour. The rabbis of the Mishnah disapproved of Honi's impertinence, but respected his relationship with God. Mishnah Berakot 5:5 tells of Hanina ben Dosa, who around the time of the Bar Kochba revolt (67 CE) cured Gamaliel's son merely by praying (compare with Matthew 8: 5-13). Such men were sometimes doubted, often respected, but never considered "saviors" or "messiahs."

Messianic Groups

The Christian concept of "Messiah" is not the same as the concept held by Jews of the time, the word Messiah (in Hebrew Moshiach) means anointed one and was originally used to refer to High Priests and kings, who were elevated to office by being anointed with oil. The Mishnah does not develop a doctrine of the messiah until the Talmud of the Land of Israel, sometime after 400BCE, and uses the term mainly to refer to distinguish one type of priest or general from another¹. By the time of the Roman occupation, however, many Jews also used the term to refer to a descendent of King David who would restore God’s kingdom. Thus, although all Jewish kings were anointed, not all kings were considered messianic – the Hasmonean kings (162 BCE - 56 BCE) were not descended from David, and did not claim to have established God’s Kingdom.

The hope of Moshiach to save them would usually have meant simply a king or priest who would stand up to the Romans or whoever was oppressing them at the time. However, Jews were divided over how this might occur. Most Jews believed that their history was governed by God, meaning that even the conquest of Judea by the Romans was a divine act. Thus, the majority of Jews accepted Roman rule, and did not look for, or encourage, messiahs. They believed that the Romans would be replaced by a Jewish king only through divine intervention, and many prayed for the Moshiach to come, and Jews today seeing no such divinely-ordained age, still do.

A few of the messianic organizations would develop into religions which continue to this day such as the Mandaeans, who believe John the Baptist is the single messiah, and most faiths of Christianity, who believe Jesus is the single messiah. But the majority of the messianic groups disappeared quickly, or were obliterated after the uprising of 67 CE. (A partial list of those who have been acclaimed as messiahs can be found in the Messiah article.)

Zealots

Main article:Zealots

However, some groups formed in the middle of the first century, most notably the Zealots, who believed that an independent kingdom should be restored immediately, through violent human action instead of relying on God. A few of these groups formed underground saboteur societies such as the Sicarii (latin for Daggers), who attempted to target government figures with assassination.

Religion after 50 CE

The Emergence of Christianity

Originally the intent of the new believers seems to have been to preach to the Jews. Some but not all requirements of strict Judaism were removed, as it was felt that the new emphasis was on faith and not detailed laws. Thus there were 'Jewish Christians', Jews who believed in Christ Messiah. When the Jews as a community rejected this, the Christian message was taken to the gentiles instead. It is hypothesised that to make it palatable, and draw a line separating them from the Jews (who were by now becoming politically dangerous associates due to their rebellion against Rome) many more of the restrictive laws were removed and the emphasis was shifted. The mesage that reached the gentiles was therefore a more universal one, in the sense that it was easier to digest, its appeal was more emotional than legalistic, and it did not contain many of the practices beliefs and rituals by which the Jews kept themselves separate from others.

Paula Fredriksen, in From Jesus to Christ, suggests that some of his followers could not accept his failure to fulfill the expected role of "Moshiach". Some believed that he had been resurrected, and would soon return to usher in the kingdom of God, whilst others adapted Gnosticism as a way to maintain the vitality and validity of Jesus' teachings (see Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels). According to Daniel Boyarin, in A Radical Jew, Paul used the figure of Jesus to reinterpret the Hebrew Bible in terms of the Platonic opposition between the ideal (which is real) and the material (which is false). Paul saw in a resurrected Jesus the possibility of a spiritual rather than corporeal messiah. He used this notion of messiah to argue for a spiritual religion through which all people - not just descendents of Abraham - could worship the God of Abraham.

When Christians failed to attract a large number of followers from among the Jews, they turned to Gentile converts, and emerged as a new religion. Paul reasoned that if, thanks to Jesus, Gentiles do not need to be physically circumcised or obey other laws in order to have a relationship with God, then Jews no longer need to be circumcised or obey the law either. Unlike Judaism, which holds that it is the proper religion only of the Jews, Pauline Christianity claimed to be the proper religion for all people.

By 200 CE Christianity was no longer a form of Judaism.

The Emergence of Later forms of Judaism

Of all the major Second Temple sects, only the Pharisees remained (but see Karaite Judaism). Although they had accepted the importance of the Temple, their vision of Jewish law as a means by which ordinary people could engage with the sacred in their daily lives, provided them with a position from which to respond to all four challenges, in a way meaningful to the vast majority of Jews.

After the suppression of the Bar Kochba revolt (130 CE) the vast majority of Jews were sent into exile; shortly thereafter (around 200 CE), Judah haNasi edited together judgements and traditions into the Mishna, one of the key texts of Rabbinic Judaism. Rabbis continued to debate and discuss the Mishnah, its sources in the Bible, and other pre-Mishnaic teachings; these debates were edited into a Jerusalem Talmud around 400 CE, and a Babylonian Talmud around 500 CE. The Rabbinic Era is thus divided into two periods, that of the Tannaim (from the Aramaic word for "repeat," also used to mean "learn"), who completed the canonization of the Hebrew Bible and wrote the Mishna, and that of the Amoraim (from the Aramaic word for "speaker"), who wrote the Talmuds. The Rabbis emphasized that there was one God who created and cared for all people. Unlike Christianity, which in its orthodox form held that no one could achieve salvation except through Christianity, Rabinnic Judaism stressed that only Jews had to follow Rabbinic teachings, and that other nations are free to find their own paths to God.

Other relevant Historic and Cultural information

Geography

Christians generally believe Jesus lived and preached to the agricultural villagers of the Galilee and the hill city Jerusalem at this time. He is said to have travelled to the deserts and wildernesses of the Negev and Jordan, and the Gospels state that he met the preacher Yohannan (Jonathan) the Baptiser at the River Jordan which flows to Lake Kinneret (known as the Sea of Galilee). Although people travelled hundreds or thousands of miles along established trading routes, to Rome or India, the region concerning this article is small, perhaps 100 miles north to south and 40 or 50 miles east to west.

Language

Several languages were used in Roman Palestine at this time, and the matter of the lingua franca is still subject to some debate. The Jews almost certainly spoke Aramaic among themselves and Hebrew was used as the language of their religious texts. Greek was at least to some extent a trade language in Palestine, and indeed in the entire eastern portion of the Roman empire. In an area such as the Galilee, citizens would have regularly dealt with caravans from the wider Middle-East, and hence people may have picked up smatterings of other languages well.

For example, Pontius Pilate, as a Roman from Rome, would most likely have spoken Latin privately with his wife, but would probably have used Greek to handle day to day business in the province, though it is also possible (though perhaps improbable given his character) that he used Aramaic for this.

Child Students

At this point in history, rabbinic Judaism was actively being developed. Child wonders who knew the source writings by age 8 or 9 were not unheard of, and could regularly be found debating obscure points with learned rabbis on street corners (as Jesus is described to have done). Passers by, for whom religion was part of the culture, would stop and listen and hang round these debates (like most of the Middle East even today, the streets were where things are busy), to listen and learn and hear the scholars talk.

It was also a time when questions of tradition were actively being explored - did a gold tooth fall under commands concerning health like a wooden leg, or was the choice of gold akin to ornamentation, for example. Razor sharp questions such as Jesus is said to have asked, were the usual style of religious debate, that a scholar would throw at a debating partner or opponent, and were highly typical of this time and place.

Daily life

In the mix of everyday life and dark brewing thunderclouds, which formed these turbulent uncertain times, religion, civil life and politics co-existed and merged uneasily.

Amongst all the people of Roman Palestine, the Jews had their own institutions in parallel with those of the Romans: the priesthood which had become a lesser political appointment, the courts, the old Temple, and the developing learning academies and schools from which Rabbinic Judaism arose. The Jewish and Roman courts co-existed and occasionally conflicted. Religion was part of daily life, however the region was a blend of religious law and civil law, and broadly secular in politics, with religion interspersed throughout daily life.

Jewish reactions to cults and messianism

The period 0 - 70 CE was a historically tense period in Roman Palestine. Jews were being torn between the demands of their religious loyalty and identity as Jews, and the political risks they as a group faced in being Roman citizens whose countrymen were fomenting rebellion against the Empire. Some Jews would have been scared of the consequences of even a slight appearance of disloyalty, and this could hypothetically have lead to groups that appeared to preach provocatively being negatively perceived or even persecuted by some - less for theological reasons than for the sheer potential devastation and slaughter in human terms that renewed provocation could bring down upon them and their community.

However, there are two specific cultural areas in which Jews would have rejected many splinter beliefs:

There is considerable Jewish law in the Bible on prophecy, and how to distinguish the true and false prophet, and how to act when someone claims to speak in God's name. There had also been many in that time who had claimed to so speak, and who had been found to be false prophets. (See Jewish view of Jesus for tests of prophets in Judaism, also #Messianic Groups above)
Many Jews were (and still are) protective of their law as well as national identity. Jewish identity and community loyalty was a major issue, drawing together and polarising into Hellenised and Jewish sides, a sort of "for us or against us" in response to the oppression from Roman authorities. It is probably fair to say that Judaism has always been more focused on this world than the next, and never more so than when preservation of its religion or identity is under perceived threat.

Overall, Jewish non-acceptance of many cults was based upon several grounds:

Conservatism and scepticism
Too many other false prophets
Lack of interest
Too much tension politically, causing people to be more defensive of their national identity and more loyal to their community.

Political issues connected to preaching in Jerusalem

Although most Jews did not have the means to travel to Jerusalem for every holiday, there was a commandment to visit the Temple three times a year, at Passover, Shavuot and Tabernacles. Of these, the most popular was the Passover. During these festivals, the population swelled and emotions ran high – outbreaks of violence could happen. Talk of a restoration of the monarchy was seditious under Roman occupation, and maintaining the peace was one of the primary jobs of the high priest (whom the Romans held personally responsible for any major outbreak of violence). However it is important to bear in mind that whether or not Jesus existed, his would have been just one of a large number of groups gathered around a preacher or leader, at that time, many of whom shared similar feelings about state and religious institutions.

(Information on early development of Christianity commented out at present, may form the basis for a possible separate article on 'Early Christianity' or 'Origins of the Christian religion')

References

Neusner J., Green W.S., & Frerichs E.S. (1988). Judaisms and their Messiahs at the Turn of the Christian Era. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

External links

Sources

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