Christian Traditions

saint junia/junias

-junia translated to junias because of the cultural perceptions of women

nomadic society

-mobile -egaliterian -value freedom -doesnt build cities- little physical remains -warlike -oral literally tradition vs written tradition

A new power in the west

- in the chaos of the 700s the franks would emerge as preeminent power in christian west -franks converted to Christianity by clovis in 496 CE -this provided seed of a new empire -franks protected the papacy and the church -Christianity under the authority of the papacy provided a moral underpinning for a chaotic political system -the church made it a mortal sin to rebel against your king as long as your king was a good Christian -franks founded/donated lands and wealth to monasteries and churches because he wanted everyone to learn to read and write so the church grew- the papacy was a natural ally and their policy was to bring bishops and abbots under papal control

Early Churches: A revolutionary message

-Equality of gender, class, and nation before god -communalism -Rejection of all gods but god -chastity -charity -pacifism -redemption based on virtue -coming end of the world -Many of these aspects are completely opposite of roman culture -Core tenets were vague, adaptable, and open

patriarchal society

-1800-600 BCE -patriarchal- "rule of father"- could sell wives/children -permitted exchange of ideas -highly connected/ commercialized/ mobile -aramaic language most popular- language of people like Abraham

the diocletian persecutions

-303-311 CE -last great persecution of christians -carried out at the prompting of certain factions in the roman army -created many Christian martyrs

Jewish religion/ second temple

-516 BCE- 70 CE -priestly, sacrificial religion -organizing society in a way that pleases god via the law -afterlife not important features -notion of messiah that liberates gods people -jewishness was transformed from socio-political identity to a religious one -hebrew was being displaced by aramaic and persian (only priests spoke hebrew) -jews lived throughout persian empire so it became important to identify each other (diet, dress)

New Babylonian Empire

-600-586 BCE -"Chaldean" empire -established by Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BCE) -he is villainized in hebrew tradition for conquering judah and transporting inhabitants of judah to babylon (576 BCE) -eventually brought down by persian raiders (539)

A new challenge

-6C Persians went on attack against roman empire -Rome cleverly defeated persian forces and trade routes were pushed south by war and drew arabs into economy of civilized world which they had never experience which created islam

Cluny

-900 a program of monastic reform was undertaken in Cluny, a benedictine abbey in burgundy -Burgundy was a wealthy powerful area, and the abbey Cluny had a series of excellent abbots -they were determined to reform monasticism by: -making abbots report directly to the pope -adhere to strict moral code -creating a centralized monastic movement with a hierarchy of power and authority to prevent corruption -this was a success, with support of the pope, lay donors, impressed by the monks' piety the order grew -existing monasteries joined the order and monasteries were founded -by 1100 there were 314 Cluniac monasteries, all sent representatives to an annual meeting, and were appointed and trained by the Abbot of Cluny -the order was a meritocracy that attracted the best and brightest who came to serve or to be educated -monastic work is no longer the work of field, but the work of the mind -the order reached its peak in 12C, then declined and became corrupt

A New Order

-A peripheral kingdom (7-6C BCE) -Rome develops because of contact with greek colonies -adopts greek culture -good location (trade, resources) -develops militaristic society at expense of weak neighbors -after 500 BCE develops as constitutional republic with political power in hands of citizens

The Abode of Islam

-By 850, the islamic world became largest empire world had ever seen and was the wealthiest -drew on the knowledge and traditions of neighboring and conquered people, especially the heretical christians of the east -east- theology platonic -arabs were into Aristotle- a god you can discover in world around you vs world beyond comprehension -leads to advances in science and technology and research/ philosophical innovations -both christians and jews religion/ culture would be transformed by islamic contact

transubstantiation

-Ca. 150 BCE- some are attracting hellenized non jewish associates -jerusalem -alexandria -Ephesus -edessa -rome -hippo -Antioch -lyon -CA. 30 CE- jewish jesus followers appear -tensions and divisions grow within the jewish communities -60 CE- jewish communities split and christianity emerges as separate; some jews and almost all associates become christians -80 CE christianity emerges as a distinct religion; more locals join, weakening influence hellenistic elements 80-100 CE- Christianity spreads to new areas of roman empire

constantine the great

-Caesar 306-337 CE -waged war against it co- caesars, conquering the west and east empires -in 330 he moved the capital from rome to byzantium -he showed real sympathy for Christianity because his mom who eventually finds relics of the crucifixion -has dream that god comes to him and say putting a slanted cross on shield will give them victory, and they did and won so he became a Christian by 316 CE

the changing church

-bishops were not elected but appointed -priests and deacons were establish and no longer faced the congregation -service became increasingly formal and magical -"body of christ" people thinking platonically -by 6C the priests would be closed off from the congregation -the role, figure, and idea of jesus changed from a shepherd to a king -the cross begins to appear

martyrdom

-Christianity developed an ideology that validated and encouraged non violence -there was no choice, christians could not revolt -there was a belief that coming of jesus was soon -functioned as a way of maintaining and increasing believers -sainthood became stingily associated with martyrdom -the physical remains of relics were believed to have special powers

The cistercian order

-by 1100 some monks were rejecting the worldliness of the Cluniac order and reforms were launched -in 1098 a Benedictine abbey was founded in central France -Just like when people felt they needed a messiah, people felt they needed new monasticism -this would be the cistercian order, a centralized organization inspired by Cluny -cistercian monks wanted to return to the pure benedictine ideal of work -monasteries in far off placed become the center for colonization and economic development -by 1150 there were 350 cistercian monasteries -supported because its piety and economic/ political role

A New World

-by 300 BCE the world was changing, becoming more urbanized, trade oriented, literate, complicated -alexander the great- student of Aristotle -dreamed of world domination and achieved it by the time he died at 33 -spread of greek thought/ ideas through out the world -mixing of greek, persian, hebrew, Egyptian ideas/influences -contexts where Judaism developed -more people participated in society and needed a new region that answered the unanswered

Competition

-Mithraism- a mystery religion, popular among romans, adapted from persia, believed to be sun god/ mediator between good and evil, popular among roman military -Serapis- a hellenized adaptation of the Egyptian god osiris- god of the afterlife and father of sun god, prominent feature of his mythology was resurrection, very popular with roman patriots and emperors -Mani(216-286 CE)- a Persian prophet who considered himself an apostle of jesus and combined Christianity and Zoroastrianism, posited a dual nature of the universe (good and evil/spirit and material), very popular in roman and persian empire, and as far east as china, was prosecuted and condemned to death by Zoroastrian priest -simon magus- a very early chistian from samaria, but who claimed to have miraculous powers (see acts), was eventually defeated in a contest with peter and paul before nero, was only one of many miracle working holy men (including christians, both orthodox and heretic) who were common at the time

The Axial Age

-by 800 BCE old sacrificial models were becoming obsolete -by 500 BCE new models emerged (buddha) -zoroastrianism- centered on supreme diety expressed in scripture -creator staves of the forces of evil and decay -rituals involve fire and water, seen as purifying

Apocryoha

-Not all writing were accepted as canonical -gospel of thomas- story of jesus killing someone -gospel of nicodemus- 4rth century, very popular- what happened with jesus's death

does the bible say jesus is god?

-Not clearly -jesus never claims this -son of god, logos, word of god -does it matter? no -doesn't change anything about his nature

An age of Crisis

-as roman political/social/economic system came under stress, the west collapsed -political institutions failed, the army couldn't keep order, trade declined, cities emptied, knowledge was lost, rome was destroyed -the sack of rome (410 CE)- some believed the world would end -The barbarian invasions- they invaded the empire for wealth, the empire ended up using them as mercenaries -after 325, policy was to deflect the barbarians westward -barbarians- tribal warrior society but eventually became attracted to roman civilization and began to adapt and emulate it in order to become successful with rulers -barbarian Christianity(arian church)- became attracted to chistainity because it suited the societies they ruled over and realized it was useful because it made kings "holy"

greek philosophy/ religion

-because elite class became very educated/ free thinking, religion left many question unanswered (ethics, afterlife) -religion becomes less important as means of understanding world -individual redemption not addressed -many philosophers supported concept of a single, transcendent god, but there were no theist -god not concerned with humanity, "just is"

religion

-belief in power that transcend human experience -moral system that benefits followers' -rooted in notion of authority -solution to death

creating new testament

-between 100-400 CE new testament took shape through a process of selection, translation, and edition -prophecy- jesus life story brought into line with jewish messianic prophecy -millenarian character of jesus emphasized -theology- jesus as singular and unique jewish messiah, jesus trinity god, resurrection/afterlife -society- jewish elements are eliminated, roman elements rehabilitated, line on chastity/poverty/gender softened -reveals a lot about the fathers of the church view of scripture: living, to be translated and edited, in order to bring out truth, weren't bothered by contradictions, no idea of literality

The problem of diversity

-across the christian world different types of local Christianity developed, some quite distinct in their conception of jesus of the tents of Christianity -problem? -because there can only be one truth and therefore one christianity

new roman empire

-after splitting of Charlemagne's empire, a new empire emerged in 962 CE -The Salians ruled until 1125 and established a strong state system under their authority -bishops and abbots became powerful lords, and generated a lot of wealth and taxes, making the church very powerful

The Arian heresy

-arius was a late 3rd century theologian based in Alexandria -he favored a conception of the trinity in which jesus was lesser than, and had been created by god the father -the council of Nicaea was called in a good measure to respond to this arianism was outlawed, and eventually disappeared in the empire -however it was very attractive to germanic barbarians who were conquering the western empire because it denies power of emperor

From republic to Empire

-constitutional crisis- Julius Caesar to proclaim himself as dictator -rome will be imerial monarchy with appearance of republic after death of ceaser -Pax romana based on: rule of law, military expansion, control of key resources, labor reserves (slaves), wealth through conquest of trade, specialized economy, well developed infrastructure

Monastic reform

-by 900 it was clear that benedictine monasticism was failing because society had changed -charlemagne had brought all the monasteries in his lands under the benedictine rule -but the laxness of the rule and the wealth and power of the monasteries was attracting the wrong kind of monks- wealthy men/women with little morale -they were living in luxury, having sex, simony

establishment of authority

-by mid 2c church authority developed -authority of apostles -churches founded by apostles had most prestige, and most of all church of rome

the birth of heresy

-by mid 2nd century was in crisis -"difference of opinion" -theological elite of the greco roman church stubbled to define was acceptable(orthodox) -elite known as "fathers of the church" controlled the church -irenaeus, bishop of lyon (mid 2c) -major figure battling heresy and laying out contemporary orthodox belief

impact on Christianity

-byzantine Christianity lost power by depriving empire but significant empires still remained -Syrian and coptic Christianity flourished because muslims didn't know how to run an empire -These churches can flourish because they are no longer put down by greek officials -Christianity in persia was quickly arabized but survived as minority region but all survived -in the west, churches and monasteries were targets of muslim conquest weakening the political structure so the church had to extend its political role -The papacy was weakened in terms of real power, but became more independent of the empire, and latin christianity began to define itself religiously and politically in opposition to islam/ paganism -in the west, the latin church in conquered lands was also tolerated and incorporated into islamic governments because arabs needed the church for organization -arabic numbers were more useful for math and adopted in Christian culture -very quickly the bulk Christian population adopt to islamic culture and leads to conversion to islam because of lack of institutional/ social stability

canon law

-cannon law- law of the church that governs things like morality -in 325 Christianity became the official religion of the empire and is controlled by the empire so it can provide force unlike when it was illegal - no more self castration for religious reasons -unwed women can't live with priests -special authority of apostolic sees -no kneeling on sundays -law established because church was now part of the empire -begins to attract people that wouldn't join church when Christianity was illegal -jerusalem was reestablished as a site of christianity and became site of pilgrimage -churches were built and molded after great pagan monuments known as the "basilica" and became a place of power and congregation became subjects not participants

The development of cannon

-cannon- standard set of beliefs -Christian theology was begging to develop in the greco-roman world -by the 2nd century a standard collection of scripture was developed and accepted by most -reflected in a transformation of the idea of jesus from human miracle worker to a transcendent spiritual being -this is mirrored by the changing symbolism of christian belief from the fish to the chi-rho and alpha omega

"holy" roman empire

-charlemagne became emperor (800) because the actually one was a women but byzantine never accepted him as actually emperor -after his death his empire split and was crippled by war and invasion and his empire was split between his 3 sons but the empire fizzled out -feudal society was based on the division of society between nobles and peasants, but there was no real structure and it was unstable -depended on threat of violence so they made a few ground rules to get a long but was still violent -nobles tried to undermine the power of the king -it became clear that the moral/ religious authority of the papacy was important and granted them ability to declare who was outside the church -Christianity became part of the political framework; reinforcing political stability by providing force behind vows of loyalty, legitimizing kingship, declaring which wars were righteous, mediating disputes between kings and nobles, ministering to all christians -the church became powerful but it had no military/ political force of its own

secrecy and isolation

-christianity developed in secrecy, as isolated cells of believers, tenuously connected by correspondence and by wandering holy men -consequences? -localization of christian belief -associated with regional cultures and local elites -varieties of interpretations of christian doctrine -syncretism (mixing of beliefs) -the manufacture of diverse works of scripture

christianity to 250 CE

-christianity was growing but by 250 CE was still confirmed to the most urban populated and connected regions of the empire

cannon law

-church law originated from 4C when the church became an organ of the roman empire, but in dark age Europe the law was enforceable and forgotten -11C the idea of a standard written law came back -clergy began studying roman law and church doctrine in order to combine them -1088, university of bologna was founded to teach and develop law. this and all universities were under church control -they developed a valid legal system through all of the latin Christian lands (kinda like military law) based on the bible and roman law -kings benefitted from a standardized law -christian doctrine became less flexible- some didn't like it -a need was created for a legal/ administrative bureaucracy

sumerian city states

-cities appear 4000 BCE -market centers walled for defense vs nomads -leaders often claimed to descend from god -elite priest king -dominate region 3200- 2350 BCE

ancient hebrews

-coalesced from figure of Abraham from Ur -semi nomadic, semitic speaking -traded in black sea

Benedict of Nursia

-conditions in latin west were different and monasticism took a different turn -credited to St. Benedict of Nursia (480) -after years of being a hermit, local monks asked him to be their abbot, but they tried to poison him, he left and set up series of monasteries under rules he created -western monasteries were broader, more diverse, and focused on living moderate Christian lives, rather than attaining an extreme mystical state -Benedict's rule- practical rules to be followed by regular people -Labor was the foundation, all monks had to work -religious life was communal, the monastery was like a family household -wealth- not banned but since it was communistic, monks were to be comfortable, monasteries created wealth and gave alms, did not receive them -Authority- monks elected their abbot, who then ruled them with authority -duty- prayer was stressed -The rule soon became standard practice for monastic communities in the latin west because formal government was absent and the moral authority of the church became more important

Persia and the Jews

-cyrus allowed exiles of judah to return and allowed the temple to rebuild and religious freedom in exchange for loyalty -cyrus referred to as "messiah"- "the anointed one" -this was the period in which the OT was created -not all jews returned to judah, many integrated into persian society

disent and struggle

-debate and dissent intensified, as churchmen argued about the nature of christ, the trinity, good and evil -often these struggles took on the character of popular struggles as followers of rival bishops battled it out of control of their churches

The emergence of hierarchy

-early church informal -communities establish including some women/slaves -informal hierarchies developed based on wealth/involvement -soon this was expressed formally with titles like deacon, bishop, priest showing social order -as the leadership of the church came to be consolidated the difference between ordinary believers became clear and diminished their role -elite became coherent and communicated with each other, they developed shared interest ensuring doctrine was accurate and consistent theology -part of their mission was then to ensure their congregation went to heaven -congregation didn't really care -bishops of different churches argued but couldn't complain to romans because Christianity was illegal

empire divided

-empire was too large, divided it into 4 zones with separate caesars -christianity had been drifting in and out of acceptability (kinda like weed)

assryian empire

-first real empire in west -best of nomadic and settled world -took shape in 1800 BCE -ruling class- military ability -religious class- writing and access to magic and ability to please gods -free commoners- "unfree" commoners/slaves/peasants

hebrew kingdom

-formation of kingdom under David after Saul (1100 BCE) -worship of hebrew god is mandated -inventing new religions allows political uprising by saying the god doesn't have power over you

Hellenistic (greek) culture

-from around 1000 CE (time of homer) -culture in mediterranean, around aegean sea -based on independent city-states each with distict institutions/ cultures -religion- polytheistic, gods like "super people" -values- warfare, heroics -little concern for afterlife -bound by common ethic/ linguistic features -golden age greece- athens (democracy) -small minority of free elite males educated themselves -women were regarded as sense of disorder

The council of Nicaea

-gathering of all bishops of empire to resolve questions regarding nature of christ, set date of easter, cannon law, resolve controversies and difference of opinion and harmonize the church, nevertheless differences between latin and greek clergy began to show -nicene creed- we believe in one god, maker of all things... -main points- god creator of everything and eternal, jesus merged out of essence of god, jesus becomes flesh but doesn't die, he will judge mankind, holy spirit emerges out of the essence of god "the father", other positions condemned

council of jerusalem

-gathering of jesus followers held in Jerusalem in 50 CE -jewish diet and circumsision should be followed

Noahs ark

-genesis -the epic of Gilgamesh -Gilgamesh- 5th king of uruk, 2/3 god, major source for parts of OT -tigres and Euphrates river flooded badly in 3000 BCE and "wiped out world"- mud huts -reset of society

early mesopotamian literature

-gilgamesh- 2000 bc -search for meaning of life and afterlife -mix of gods revolving around nature -not based on moral issues -reinforce/rationalize social order

The new testament

-gospels- four accounts of the life and afterlife of jesus attributed to matthew, mark, luke, and john, but authorship debated, and some evidently based on various sources -first written between 75-150 CE in greek -underwent processes of edition and adjustment that led to emphasis of certain aspects/themes of the nature of jesus especially being the son of god -many other gospels were in circulation but these were rejected by roman church -acts of apostles -probably written by luke -recounts missionary work by apostles -details conflict between paul and james -pauline epistles -letters attributed to st paul -sent in response to queries and ??? posed by early christian authorities in eastern Mediterranean -themes- relationship to judaism, ?? of morality in roman society -epistle to the hebrews -anonymous text, attributed to paul, relating to persecution of Christians -general epistles -themes- perseverance in face of persecution, nature of jesus, soon ending of world/ return of jesus, teachings of false christians (heretics) -revelation- prophetic book of jewish tradition -heavily mystical and allegorical -contents emerged gradually and didn't reach present form until 4rth century -even today disagreements continue

Who was Jesus

-historians concede there was likely a Jesus of Nazareth -probably born ca. 4 BCE -born in nazareth -from low status family of craftsmen -educated according to jewish law -at 30, he began career as preacher/ miracle worker -became more popular and gathered large following of poor, rural folk and people marginalized in society(tax collectors, prostitutes) -teachings exclusively oral -attracted the attention of the jewish religious elite whose status was challenged by his teachings who came to see him as a threat -potential for unrest garnered the attention of roman authorities, who perceived him as political threat -he was put on trial and crucified in 33 CE -his followers went underground to escape persecution

the beginning and end of unity

-in 381 nicene orthodoxy the only type of christianity permissible in the empire; heretical texts were burned and heretical churches confiscated and made a comprehensive new code of roman law on chi stain basis -the empire was so massive it was inevitable to prevent it from dividing -the east- highly urbanized, economic/political center, greek speaking, hellenistic culture the west- less urbanized, losing economic/ political importance, symbolic center of the empire weakening institutions, latin speaking/ germanic culture

the latin church

-in 4th century, the latin doctors of the western empire developed distinct orientation/ different Christianity -oriented towards preserving orthodoxy, but lacked political power -a strong position regarding women -bias against sexuality -strong position of jews in christian society -strong millenarian streak, internalizing the struggle between good and evil -rejected the authority of Constantinople

the catholic church

-in the 4th century the universal ("catholic") or imperial church took shape as a consequence of the support of emperors and the activities of latin speaking theologians - the church became roman in character; both on an organizational and popular level - the doctors of the church- teachers of the church -goals- 374 CE, resolve conflict with arians, advocated ascetic lifestyle and chastity, promoted virgin birth, hostile to jews, persecuted pagans, city of god- a philosophical, moral tract proposing that moral perfection can only be found in gods world(like plato's republic)

islam

-islam emerged in the arabian peninsula out of abrahamic tradition -it is a revealed, scriptural, redemptory, monotheistic religion originating with the prophet Mohammed (570-632) based on the Qur'an- the literal word of god revealed to muhammad in Arabic and by his death, the arabian peninsula would be islamic -it combined statehood and religion from the outset, and saw itself as duty bound to bring peace/justice to world

the appeal of reform

-it appealed to everyone -monks prayers/donations only worked if they were "good" -the church supported it to improve mission -kings and lords supported it because it gave them power and they needed good administrators to pray for you

Future of christianity

-jesus's followers jews or not? -was his message for jews or gentiles? -do they follow jewish law? -gospels aren't clear on this -controversy affecting the future of Christianity -by separating from judaism Christianity spread to a world religion -more members- more opinions and diversity

the aftermath

-jewish emigration throughout mediterranean and to persia -rejection of judaism by jewish Christians -destruction of judeaophile church of jerusalem(ascent of pauline Christianity) -loss of legal protections for jews under roman law as a consequence of their rebellion -vilification of jews in rome -decline of Judaism in numbers and diversity -growth of christianity -persia becomes center of jewish culture and religion

Helleno Judaism

-jewish traders had spread throughout the mediterranean, following greek trade routes -these jews fell away because lack of access to temple -became influenced by greek philosophy/ language -provided moral prescriptive elements that greek religion/ philosophy did not -non jews became welcome at meeting as associates -judaism became proselytizing -greek translation of the TaNaKh was produced by Ptolemy II and the 72 translators and it turned out "identical" -philosophical techniques were introduced (allegory)

Roman Expansions

-mediterranean expansion (400-150 BCE) -conquered rival empire and then weak greek kingdoms -Rome is highly developed organizationally/ military, poorly developed culturally- adopts hellenistic greek culture -citizens gain more wealth

Christianity

-monotheistic, revelatory, prophetic, scriptural, redemptory, millenarian religion -theistic- god as a person -millenarian- looks forward to transformation of the world -abrahamic religion- based on hebrew profit Abraham

Acheamenid persia

-neo-babylonian empire overthrown in 539 BCE by cyrus the great (founder of persian dynasty) -super empire -bad guys in 300

The new Papacy

-now controls bishops and abbots -gregorian reforms marked a transformation of the papacy from a corrupt institution to a formal religious monarchy -the pope was now elected independently -the church was cleaned up

the peace and truce of god

-one of the church's most import ants roles would be limiting violence in feudal Europe -violence was taking a tole in Europe, peasants and clergy became under the protection of the peace of god and after children and women were added -from the 1020's the truce of god developed, forbidding attacks on clergy, churches and their lands, on holidays, at cross roads

origen and the new testament

-origen- Christian theologian of alexandria -castrated himself bc of his interpretation -believed adam and eve is not history its mearly and allegory of creation -revelation- wrong number of the beast- 616/666-nero killed st paul and peter

Pauline Christianity

-pauls vision of christainity won out -roman in cultural orientation -rejected jewish law -jesus as devine, universal savior, chistainity was equal for gentiles and jews -emphasized original sin and salvation -established beginning of church hierarchy

A new Judea

-pompey installed Antipater I the Idumaen, an arab, as his client king; he was succeeded by his son Herod in 43 BCE -Herod the great (43 BCE- 4CE) took poet amidst a drawn out civil war -he rebuilt the temple and made judaism a pillar of his political power, styled himself "messiah" -at the same time he increased political interdependence/ dependence on Rome -Rome tolerated jewish religious autonomy out of respect for its antiquity and exchange for obedience -tensions between sadducees and pharisees continued, as well as rivalries within royal families -after death of herod the great the kingdom split up -capital at caesarea Maritima; jeruslaem was marginalized as a center of power -many jews sought different types of messiah

semitic

-refers to language group- kushic languages -3 consonant root system -important tool of historical analysis -idea- every nation or "people" has its own language/ set of beliefs/ customs -people who spoke semitic languages were dependence of shem- son of noah -languages, peoples, cultures are not equivalent -cultures can speak different languages

Roman christianity

-religion as revolution -Christianity appealed to certain elements in roman society (lower ranks in society) -slaves, middle class, women, military, non romans, -some of these groups had money/education and were often mobile populations -this helped draw in more believers -Christianity was still illegal so it spread city to city by word of mouth -no bible yet

The Primitive Church

-resembled a revolutionary political movement -secretive and exclusive -dedicated to overturning the establishment of order -vague ideology -moral high ground/ authority -prosecuted by authorities -new rituals -promise of social revolution -a charismatic leadership -no real central authority -democratic and diverse -opportunity -highly varied and localized -dedication in the face of danger

conversion and acculturation

-rome became more christian, Christianity became more roman and adapted roman culture such as: slavery, social class, family authority, gender roles, rule of law -emphasized world to come, jesus as jewish messiah/son of god, idea of trinity, redemption, sexual code

Israelite religion

-sacrificial aspect -500 BCE abstract monotheism -god as an abstract lawgiver -political dimension- reinforced royal power, centralization and expansion, maintain social order, justified conquest by violence -decline and fall- under David (1000- 970) Solomon(970-930) -kingdom split- Israel in north and kingdom of Judea in south -closed priesthood class

Missionaries

-since time of apostles, believers felt obligated to spread the gospel -by 200 CE there were Christian communities throughout the roman empire and by the 4C ascetics and hermits are escaping the world by journeying pagan lands and converting. They became known as the soldiers of christ because they believed they were fighting the devil. -pagans often attacked and killed them, this was conceived as martyrdom but St Benedict's rule provided stability and discipline -monasteries also became centers of economic development and became centers for trade/ the provision of social services, making pagan rulers have a sympathetic view to Christianity -they also became the centers of culture, education and power, making them attractive to rulers leading to the next phase in european conversion -By 700, most of western Europe had converted to Christianity but it was often a political act -insular traditions would be on the decline by the late 8th century, soon most of Ireland/Britain was under pagan rule

Philosophy Figures

-socrates- (470-399 BCE)- believed in virtues, charged with impiety -Plato- student of socrates, parable of the cave, theory of forms/ideas, fire- can't be comprehended (like reality) -Aristotle- student of plato, developed formal logic, rejected forms, can't tell you why a rose is beautiful only what it is -Arrow example- shapes of light, binary code (plato could be right)

st james vs st paul

-st james- one of 12 apostles -brother of jesus -jewish high priest? -led first chistian community in jerulsalem as first bishop -died in 62 CE for breaking sabbath -represented jewish tradition -St paul- opposition of james -strong proponent of the opening of chistianity to all and rejected jewish law -concerned with sexuality and corrupted nature of the flesh -arrested in 57 CE and demanded to have his case herd by emperor in rome, bought him time, didn't turn out well though

A real revolution

-tensions building in judea of major jewish revolts (66CE) -The Jewish war (66-73CE) -tensions between pagans and jews led to armed revolt -in 70 CE after bloody siege Jerusalem was conquered -hundreds crucified and the temple sacked, the city destroyed -thousands were killed/enslaved, jews were exiled from judea (the diaspora) -roman solution: kick everyone out like apostles -kitos war (113-115 CE) jews across the eastern roman empire rose up in revolt in support of parthian (persian) invaders -Romans destroyed Jerusalem -after their defeat a new roman city, Aelia capitolina was founded beside jerusalem's ruins -Bar kokhba revolt(132-136 CE) an armed revolt under the messiah figure simon bar kohkba briefly established an independent kingdom -revolt crushed by Hadrian -1000s killed, jews (including christians) are banned from jerusalem

The old testament

-the TaNakh or "law" -Torah (5 books credited to moses)- hard to write where you die at the end -nevi'im (the prophetic books) -themes- exile, wrath of god, coming of messiah, restoration of kingdom if is real -ketuvim( the writings) -themes- miscellany, including historical works, prophetic works, exemplary works, works of poetry, job- god and devil placing bets on job about job loving god -together known as masoretic texts (the canonical jewish scripture) -cannon- texts that summarized an orthodox and correct set of beliefs -torah- presents the narrative of creation to the arrival of the promised land -promised land- reflects priorities of a nomadic/ semi nomadic society -heavily influenced by mesopotamian mythology and reached final form near 600 BCE -themes- obedience to god, singularity of god, establishment of social order, sacrifice and recompense (Abraham/ crops)

church in barbarian europe

-the catholic church survived because arian church was tolerant of catholics and pagans -in the 4th century the western, latin parts slipped out of control and the imperial administration fell apart, lost unity and protections -the barbarian kings came to power in the west and they were arian Christians and had little control over the established church but they needed the administrative capacity of the church to govern and collect taxes so they reconstituted and protected the orthodox church -the arian church became less and less useful and eventually the kings decided to convert to Catholicism allowing them to better control their subjects, giving them more power*

new philosophies

-the expansion of education and the growing complexity of society and the church began to provoke intellectual transformations -in the "dark ages" the practice of theology, philosophy and science declined and theology was dominated by platonic ideas -by 900s educational and monastic reforms are producing a new intellectual culture -islamic world provides new models and opportunities (Aristotle) and Islam's use these ideas from monks -10C boom in science -1033-1109- approach god through Aristotelian logic and soon is applied logic to church doctrine -by 1100 a new intellectually culture is booming known as scholasticism- applying Aristotle to church doctrine, became incorporated in universities and is commonly accepted

The ascetic alternative

-the experience of the organized, worldly(secular) church did not appeal to everyone -in many religious traditions there are people who believe that in order to get closer to god one should leave society, and abandon worldly pleasures to live in a separate community organized around prayer asceticism -some early Christians desired to hide from society and to live lives of solitude and contemplation because: they felt the second coming was soon, the material world was evil, to get closer to god, depriving yourself can lead to experiences interpreted as mystical/ spiritual -they lived lives of poverty, chastity and obedience to their religious ideals and emulate apostolic life -hermits- early Christians fled civilized society to live as solitary hermits and ordinary people began to regard these hermits as individuals with special spiritual powers -St. Anthony of the desert (3C)- born to wealthy parents and inherited their fortune, at 35 he resolved to flee the material world and follow the apostolic life for 20 years from support by local people, he gained fame more hermits settled nearly in 305 he agreed to be a spiritual guide for his community which was the first monastic community. after 25 years, 3000 monasteries in Egypt/ 50 years- 7000 -goals and ideals- prayer, theology, reading/writing, enables people to live holy perfect life, best way to attain the christian ideal, monastic life became popular and attracted many women, were giving food/money in exchange for spiritual services, they became independent and gained political power -simeon the stylite- 40 days with no food/water, lived on top of pillar, many imitators, very famous

The gregorian reforms

-the investiture controversy was one of the forces behind an important reform in the latin church in 11 & 12C -established supreme moral authority of the church -prohibited clergy from buying appointments (simony) -demanded clerical (priests) celibacy -regulated and establishment of sacraments like penance and marriage in the church -obligation of communion -establishment of purgatory- how to get you to heaven -beginnings of cannon law -the church couldn't function if it wasn't righteous/just

The investiture controversy

-the kings wanted to control the church in their lands, and wanted to appoint bishops and abbots -the papacy saw this undermining the church, and wanted to appoint the bishops and abbots because royally appointed bishops might be corrupt -who had the largest political authority? in 1075, only popes could depose emperors, so popes are above emperors so the emperor appointed a new pope

the struggle

-the pope excommunicates the emperor, giving his rebellious nobles an excuse to rebel and undermine his authority and caused tension in the whole land and cast the kingdom out of the Christian circle so everyone thinks the will go to hell because the emperor -the emperor had to beg the pope for forgiveness in a humiliating way and is forgiven -the emperor then named a new pope and invaded rome -compromise was finally reached in 1122, the church would appoint the bishops, but they would have to swear their loyalty to their king -problem still wasn't resolved, the king was trying to consolidate power of the church in his lands -king appoints Thomas a Becket as arch bishop, once appointed he changed and remained loyal to church -in 1170 3 of henrys knights murdered him in his cathedral -the papacy responded by canonizing becket and encouraged revolt against henry the king -he begged for forgiveness and did public penance

the empire strikes back

-the roman empire staged a comeback, the reign of justinian marks the end of the latin roman empire (527-565) -justinian aggressively attacked Rome's enemies like persia/barbarians, but the latin west had already begun to follow a different path -Constantinople went under conduction and was converted into a christian capital city -justinian outlawed various churches and declared greek oriented orthodox clergly to dispose and replace local clergy, this was seen as an interference of their traditions and made them resist -ultimately Justinian's project failed and even jerusalem was lost and the heretic churches survived making several new traditions that emerged

roman persecutions

-to ca. 250 CE -persecutions under nero(64), trajan (110), valerian (258)ect -why? -christians would not sacrifice to imperial gods (disloyal to emperor) -scapegoating -because the Christianity was spreading

Virgin Mary

-translated as young women, unwed women=virgin -married to Joseph= expected to have sex

expansion

-was in the right place at right time -took over Persian empire and much of roman empire/ old empire of the west -persia and rome were on brink of collapse after war so both states were ready for a revolution -took a different view of other religions- paganism was outlawed, other religions were wrong but tolerated -islamic conquest was carried out by negotiation and with consent of the conquered people because they were very vulnerable, bringing peace, order, and liberty for jews and non-orthodox christians were not persecuted in exchange for tax revenue because they were in disorder -islam remained related to Christianity and impacted it a a few ways

meaning and manipulation

-who decided what went into the new testament? -people who wrote and promoted the versions of the gospels that were accepted -goals? -culturally and socially roman -upper/middle class -committed to the idea that jesus was divine and his message needed to be spread -some had personal stake in interpreting the Christianity they supported -was nuanced to reflect beliefs/desires -many traditions were certainly invented: virgin birth, nativity

pious forgery

-why would people introduce inventions into new testament -they felt it was the right thing to do because he was the messiah of prophecy and the "facts" must reflect this -they were aiming to understand a higher truth that could not be contained by words and was apparent truth of the visible world (platonism)

changing judaism

-with collapse of alexander the great, judea, was once again between competing powers -the jewish world was once again rife with possibility -strong ties maintained with persia but greek became new language of culture -Judaism was subject to the same stresses as other religions and began to diversify -the sacrificial cult remained centered at the temple -basic tenants of Judaism became impossible for some -urban jews around the mediterranean became interested in questions of morality

meanwhile in jerusalem

165-63 BCE- separate kingdom of judea as the hasmonean dynasty -used jewish religion as political tool; aggressively brought in hellenistic influences -judaism increasingly divided by pharisee and sadducee parties -undertook expansion foreign and religious policies -led to civil war and roman intervention -roman general pompey conqured jerusalem in 63 BCE

A persecuted religion

Christianity would... -thrive and expand secretly in roman empire -roman suspect and vilified both among popular and elite society -be regarded as immoral and politically seditious -criminalized -gradually distinguished from judaism -be subject to waves of persecution

meanwhile back in rome

In the 3rd century rome continued to grow but lurched towards political, economic, and spiritual crisis because it was becoming too big -driven by shift towards expensive wars, growing class differences, trade deficit, currency devalued, political corruption, pressure from competitors(barbarians) -by 300 CE the empire was on the brink of crisis, bold steps were needed -a new caesar- diocletian- determined to put empire back on track, defeated german barbarians, controlled prices, persecuted all subject groups including Christians (303-311 CE), voluntarily retired in 305 CE

jews at time of jesus

Sadducees- the old temple elite; aimed at re-establishing a theocracy kingly messiah Pharisees- educated, hellenized religious scholars focusing on the rational analysis of scripture, didn't really care about messiah Essenes- mystica, asectic communities who denied the legitimacy of the pharisees and sadducees; envisioned a heavenly messiah Zealots- a political/ military group dedicated to the violent overthrow of roman rule- looked for a military messiah Rural preachers/ mystics- popular preachers, and miracle workers who ministered to the people of the countryside (john the Baptist) became most important to many people because it effected daily lives, prepared to help others with spiritual contact

problem of evidence

old testament- no independent historical evidence new testament- only evidence, antiquities of jews describes jesus as miracle worker teacher -points in gospel contradict broadly established historical events -translation is hard cause culture values and perceptions change through out history -ex. constitution- slaves -literary analysis used to translate based of time of authorship -moses's horns- vulgate- bible to latin -needle in camels eye