Week 2 Christianity in the Roman Empire Overview Week 1 Introduction And Overview October 17 Week 2 Christianity In The Roman Empire October 24 No Seminar October 31 Week 3 Evolution And Migration ID: 759854
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Slide1
Early Christianity
The First 1,000 YearsWeek 2: Christianity in the Roman Empire
Slide2Overview
Week 1: Introduction And OverviewOctober 17Week 2: Christianity In The Roman EmpireOctober 24No Seminar October 31
Week 3: Evolution And Migration
November 7
Week 4: Shining A Light On The “Dark” Ages
November 14
Week 5: West
vs
. East
November 21
Slide3Recap
Christianity as a religion evolved out of Judaism over a period of approximately 30-40 years.
It started as a movement within Judaism akin to the many different factions that already existed within Judaism in the early First Century.
Difference: Thanks to the work of Paul, who saw the message of Christ as “expanding the franchise” Christianity made the leap from being a faction of Judaism to a new “mystery religion” within the Roman Empire.
Watershed moment was the First Jewish Roman War
Slide4The First Jewish-Roman War 66-73 CE
Without getting into major details, a growing revolt in Judea province, especially around Jerusalem caught Rome’s attention.
Zealots had largely gained much of the political control and influences in and around Jerusalem.
Rome sent in the army under Vespasian to put down the insurrection, which was in many ways a local civil war.
t
l
/
dr
End Result:
Temple in Jerusalem destroyed. Zealots held on until the Siege of Masada 73-74
Zealot, Sadducee, and Essene factions within Judaism collapsed.
Slide5The First Jewish-Roman War 66-73 CE
Christians were caught in the crossfire.
Seen as collaborating with the Romans by the Zealots as many were Gentile.
Seen as Jewish by the Roman authorities.
Christians (Jewish and Gentile) in Jerusalem fled to Pella in 66 CE.
Early Christianity ceased to be centered around Jerusalem at this point.
This event marked the separation of Judaism and Christianity as different religious traditions.
Important: The First Jewish-Roman war did not cause the split, but rather an evolutionary point where the two faiths were now distinct from each other.
Slide6Slide7Early Churches in the Roman Empire
Important note: When we use the term “Church” in the context of the first 300 years of Christianity, we are
not
referring to buildings of any description.
The term “church” is derived from ancient Greek
κυριακόν
(
k
uriakon
) meaning “belonging to the Lord.”
Gatherings were also known as “ecclesia”
The churches in the Roman Empire were communities of people gathered around ideas rather than a building.
Slide8Early Churches in the Roman Empire
Slide9Early Churches in the Roman Empire
It is important to not overstate the presence of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Acts tell of “thousands” being added everyday to those following the way, but it is likely an exaggeration.
It is estimated that by the time of the writing of Revelation
(90-95 CE) there were approximately 6,000 Christians across the entire Roman Empire.
For comparison, the estimated population of the Roman Empire in that time period was 53,400,000.
Christianity made up 0.01% of the Population of the Roman Empire.
Slide10Early Churches in the Roman Empire
It is important to not overstate the presence of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Christianity was a small movement that eventually grew over time to become the official religion of the Roman Empire in the early 5
th
Century.
We are still a long way from that point.
Christianity at this was not considered to be a major threat to the Roman Empire, but rather an annoying novelty.
Christians in this period were a tiny minority who struggled for a sense of identity within a juggernaut of a political system that was at best indifferent, and occasionally hostile to their existence.
Slide11Early Churches in the Roman Empire
Challenges: External and Internal
Roman authority was an external threat to Christians, but that threat has often been greatly overstated.
Persecution Periods: 64-68 (Nero); 90-95 (Domitian); Trajan-Hadrian (111-117;117-138);
Marcus Aurelius (161-180); Severus (193-211); Decius (249-251); Diocletian (284-305)
82 years of persecution spread out over 270 years. -30% of the time.
Most of these periods were passive. Only the “Great Persecution” under Diocletian was an active effort.
Slide12Early Churches in the Roman Empire
Why persecution?
Roman society was highly “syncretistic” in that there were multiple religious systems in place.
The Roman pantheon was adopted from Greek traditions, but there also existed many other religious movements.
These movements were all tolerated as long as they recognized Roman authority, including acknowledging the Emperor has being divine.
religio
vs.
superstitio
Slide13Early Churches in the Roman Empire
Why persecution?
Christians, could not acknowledge the Emperor as a god.
By definition anyone who could not make such an acknowledgement of loyalty was considered to be seditious.
Those who were “outed” as being Christians or suspected of being so were subject to a “time of trial.”
If they offered incense and an act of worship before an image of the Emperor, then they were free to go.
If they refused to do so, they were punished until they either acquiesced or died.
Exception: Nero’s first persecution was more an incident of scapegoating.
Slide14Early Churches in the Roman Empire
Challenges: External and Internal
While persecution was real and vicious, it was NOT the primary threat to the early church.
While Roman authorities did exist as a threat to Christians in periods of persecution, the major challenge came from within the developing church itself.
The post-war question for infant Christianity moved from “who are we” to “what do we believe?”
Slide15Heresy!!!
(Actually it’s kind of misunderstood)
Slide16Religious Environment
Roman Empire was a theologically diverse place.
While the Roman Pantheon was the official religion of the Empire, many religious practices existed. 3 major streams:
Public “cult” – the civic religion under which the Greco-Roman Pantheon was recognized.
Philosophic Religions (
eg
. Neoplatonism, Epicureanism, Hellenistic Christianity)
Mystery Religions (more to come on this)
These three streams were not mutually exclusive, but rather are broad categories.
Slide17Religious Environment
Mystery Religions
Very broad category of religious traditions that either originated inside the Empire, or were imports from other religious traditions.
Common characteristic: involved a secretive initiation process and rites.
Examples:
Mithraic
Mysteries, Mysteries of Isis, Eleusinian Mysteries.
Because of the diverse nature of the religious environment, ideas were often traded and exchanged, with influences felt and new movements ebbing and flowing.
Slide18Religious Environment
Christianity found itself in the midst of this sea of religious ideas.
Some of those influences were positive, because they gave early Christians a means through which they could articulate their faith to the Greco-Roman world.
Some of those influences were not, because the ideas weren’t compatible with monotheism.
Some of these ideas sounded compatible initially, but when brought to their logical conclusion, they weren’t.
Early Christianity struggled to find its identity in the midst of these ideas.
Slide19Religious Environment
One major movement that provided a genuine challenge to Christianity is known broadly as “Gnosticism”
Gnostic from the Greek
gnosis
or “knowledge.”
Specifically knowledge gained through direct participation
Mystic or esoteric experiences
Evolved in the late 1
st
Century
Actual date hard to pin down.
Gnosticism didn’t really exist in a “pure” form.
Attached itself to other religious traditions.
Slide20Gnosticism
Characteristics:
Shunning the Material world and embracing the Spiritual world.
Material = Bad; Spiritual = Good.
Achieving gnosis (knowledge, salvation, emancipation, oneness with God) is done so through extreme philanthropy, sexual abstinence, and searching for wisdom by helping others.
Belief that divine elements had fallen to the material world, being imprisoned in certain human beings.
Goal of salvation was to return the divine element to the spiritual world through a process of awakening.
Slide21Gnosticism
Characteristics:
By definition, God/Supreme Being could not have created the material world, requiring the existence of a demiurge or creator being.
Dualistic at minimum (
ie
. 2 gods), slides into polytheism (multiple gods).
The creator being/god was considered malevolent, given that the material world was understood to be evil.
At this level this is where Gnosticism wasn’t compatible with Christianity or Judaism.
However, the portrayal of Jesus as a salvific figure was very appealing to Gnostics,
Slide22Gnosticism
Challenge of Gnosticism is that it was very syncretistic.
Take ideas from a variety of sources and synthesize it together.
Eg
. Christ was
a
salvation figure, but a divine
spirit and not a physical person
.
Copyright law didn’t exist at the time!
In many respects Gnosticism acted more like a virus that infected other religious movements.
Occasionally “pure” gnostic religions arose such as Manicheism in the 3
rd
Century.
Biggest challenge from Gnosticism was from movements within Christianity that adopted their ideas.
Slide23Marcion of Sinope
Marcion
of Sinope (c. 85-160 CE)
Son of a Bishop, became a teacher in the church.
Developed “ditheistic” or “dualistic” system of belief that seemed to be more in keeping with Gnosticism.
Adopted many gnostic ideas.
Rejected all of Hebrew Scriptures, associating the God of the Old Testament with the demiurge creator of the material world.
“Heavenly Father” of Jesus Christ was the true God, but not the creator of the world.
Jesus appeared not in the flesh but as a illusory manifestation.
Slide24Marcion of Sinope
Created the first “Canon” of Scripture
Complete rejection of Hebrew Scripture.
Select letters of Paul, and a modified gospel of Luke.
Both were modified to fit his views.
Jesus was a manifestation of the divine, and had no physical body.
Denied Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection.
Slide25Marcion of Sinope
Marcion
was in direct conflict with other leaders in the early Church and was the first leader to be excommunicated in
Around 144 CE
for “heretical” beliefs.
Note: unlike in later years,
Marcion
was not punished for his beliefs beyond excommunication from the church. He continued to lead churches sympathetic to his teaching in Asia Minor, and it would continue to linger until finally dying out in the mid 5
th
Century.
We have to wait until the 5
th
Century before anyone was actually put to death for heretical beliefs.
Slide26Other Heresies
Keep in mind that while the Roman roads allowed for an unprecedented amount of communication throughout the Empire, there was still a wide variety of belief within a small population of Christians during those first three centuries.
Valentinius
– Gnostic
Montanism
– “New Prophecy” – not gnostic
With all the ideas swirling around, the early church struggled to define for itself what it actually believed.
Perhaps one common identifying factor with these heretical movements is the elevation of a central leader.
Slide27What do we Believe?
The central question for Christians in the 1
st
– 3
rd
centuries was trying to define what they believed amid competing ideas and movements.
Early theologians and apologists like Ignatius, Clement and Irenaeus sought to define a cohesive system that respected the faith’s origins in Judaism, and yet compatible with Greek thought and an openness to all.
This concern with a correct and consistent belief became the driving question in the early church.
Slide28What do we Believe?
Eventually this would culminate in the Council of
Nicea
in 325 CE by the Roman Emperor Constantine.
This council would eventually formulate a statement of faith that is now known as the Nicene Creed, and still remains today as the basic litmus test of “orthodoxy” or “correct belief” within the Christian faith.
Waitasecond
: When last we talked about the Roman Empire, Christianity was in conflict with the state and faced a series of persecutions? Now a Roman Emperor is calling together a conference of bishops??
Slide29Slide30Next Seminar
Evolution and Migration
~4
th
century to 7
th
century
Identity Question
: Relationship with Power
.