• Introduction
– Hebrews introduce monotheism into a world of polytheism in
the form of a god above nature and free from compulsion and
fate
– Hebrews took name “Judaism” in honor of Judah, a prophet,
and their homeland, Judaea
• The Sacred Scriptures
– Early scriptures known collectively as TaNaKh
• Torah = Five Books of Moses • Nevi’im = Books of the Prophets
• Ketuvim = historical, poetic, and philosophic writings
• Christians accept all of the TaNaKh as the “Old Testament” • Jews and Christians long regarded these books as the literal
• The Sacred Scriptures [cont.]
– “Biblical Criticism” in last 200 years has placed these works into historical context
– Close reading suggests stylistic differences tied to different authors – Josiah’s centralization of Hebrew belief resulted in the writing of
Deuteronomy
– Other stories were woven together at a later date to create the rest of the Torah
• The Sacred Scriptures [cont.]
– Oldest existing copy of complete Torah dates to
9th-11th centuries C.E.
– Greek language Torah dates to 2nd-3rd century
B.C.E.
– Torah is one of best examples of “myth-history”
because it captures ideals, concepts, and beliefs of
Jewish people even if not literally true
• Essential Beliefs of Judaism in Early
Scripture
– A single, caring God
– A God of history
– A community rooted in divinely chosen family
– A specific “promised” geographical homeland
– A legal system
• The Later Books of Jewish
Scripture
– Nevi’im and Ketuv’im carry
Jewish story from 1200
B.C.E. to 500 C.E.
– Books begin with Joshua,
the return of the Jews from
Egypt to Israel
– History suggests that return
was spread out over time
and that era involved
extensive borrowing from
other cultures
• The Later Books of Jewish Scripture [cont.]
– Rule by Judges and Kings
• Jews adopted loose confederacy advised by judges
upon return to Canaan (Israel)
• Created kings (1020 B.C.E.) to deal with internal
strife
• Kingdom split in two in reaction to extravagant reign
of Solomon (950 B.C.E.)
• The Later Books of Jewish Scripture [cont.]
– Teachings of the Prophets: Morality and Hope
• Prophets demanded return of morality and compassion
in face of corrupt leadership
• Placed memory of past injustice and slavery against
current events and demanded return to religious roots
• Presented image of an inspiring future
• The Evolution of the Image of God
– God’s early concerns about humanity resulted in a
flood and in the division of people by language
– Responded to evil with punishment
– YHWH accessible via prayer and dialogue
– Challenged self-willed polytheistic gods but provided
no answer for the existence of evil in the world
• Patriarchy and Gender Relations
– Torah granted women fewer rights than men
– Regulation of sexuality extensive in scripture
– Women had few heroic roles
• Defeat, Exile, and Redefinition
– Jews exiled of northern kingdom by Assyrians (721 B.C.E.);
returned sixty years later
– Outsiders including Alexander controlled Israel
– Roman Empire destroyed temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
and dispersed people, 135 C.E.
– This
Diaspora
reshaped Jewish beliefs
Judaism
• Minority/Majority Relations in the Diaspora
– Jews remained distinct people in new
settlements
– Flourished in many instances but faced
discrimination in others
– Story of Esther shows Esther in preservation
of Jewish community but also shows
pressures on minorities in empires
–
THE TRIBE VIDEO
Christianity
• Christianity Emerges from Judaism
– Developed at height of Roman power – Jews were divided into four groups:
Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes
– Jesus’ teachings challenged Pharisees who accepted Roman rule
– Called for rapid religious reform and predicted early day of judgment for the world
• Christianity Emerges from Judaism [cont.]
– Jesus’ preaching angered Jewish and Roman leaders
– Followers saw him as messiah and miracle worker
– Roman crucifixion did not stop growth of followers
– Message of compassion, salvation, and eternal life attracted
many Romans
• Jesus’ Life, Teaching, and Disciples
– Adapting Rituals to New Purposes
• Jesus’ prayer and preaching was writing Jewish tradition
• Baptism was modification of unimportant Jewish ritual
• “Last supper” an extension of Passover meal
• Jesus’ Life, Teachings, and Disciples [cont.]
– Overturning the Old Order
• Assertion that “the end of the world” was at hand was recognition that world would soon change
• Argued that wealth was a hindrance to salvation
• Raised commandment to “love your neighbor” above a broad range of Jewish commands
• Jesus’ Life, Teachings, and Disciples [cont.]
– Jesus and the Jewish Establishment
• Was condescending and confrontational toward Jewish
religious leaders
• Scoffed at dietary and Sabbath restrictions
• Restricted divorce
• Teachings reflect desire to return to earlier beliefs in faith
and spirituality, and that the future lay in Heaven, not earth
• Jesus’ Life, Teachings, and Disciples [cont.]
– Miracles and Resurrection
• Miracles rather than teachings brought followers
• Crucifixion and resurrection completed the miracles of Jesus
• Apostles, especially Saul of Tarsus [PAUL] (c. 67 C.E.), transformed Christian sect into broad religion with preaching, organizational
• The Growth of the Early Church
– Peter, designated as leader of early
organization, stressed Christian ethics over
Jewish practices such as circumcision
– Broadened appeal to Gentiles
– Made little mention of the apocalyptic side of
Christianity
• The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
– Paul Organizes the Early Church
• Saul converted from a critic to an apostle of Christianity
• Was Jewish by ethnicity, Roman by citizenship, and Greek by
culture
• Linked Christian communities of eastern Mediterranean with
letters (Epistles)
• The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
– The Christian Calendar
• Created sacred calendar with special days
– Christmas = Jesus’ Birth
– Easter = Jesus’ Resurrection
– Pentecost = Jesus’ Ascension [had been date of Jewish commemoration of the receipt of the Ten Commandments]
• Numbered years from the presumed date of Jesus’ birth
• Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday, from the
seventh to the first day of the week
Thursday ---Friday ---Saturday --- Sunday
Last Supper Died on Cross Easter Good Friday
• The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
– Gender Relations
• Women were central to earliest church but became less so over time despite “spiritual equality”
• Paul recommended celibacy for all but monogamous marriage for those who could not remain celibate
• Made wife subordinate to husband at home • Commanded women to keep silent in church • Accepted slavery
• From Persecution to Triumph
– Adopted imperial capital (Rome) as center of the
new religion
– Christianity started as one of a number of “mystery
religions” in Rome
– Refusal to worship emperor seen as threat
– Persecution extensive within empire
• From Persecution to Triumph [cont.]
– The Conversion of Constantine
• Constantine vision in 313 C.E. regarded as Christian sanction of his military career [Issued Edict of Toleration in 311 – it goes Legit!] • Immediately made Christianity legal
• Sponsored council at Nicaea that produced Nicene Creed
• Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the empire in 392 C.E.
• From Persecution to Triumph [cont.]
– How Had Christianity Succeeded?
• Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) scorned Christianity but
revealed strengths and secrets of the spread in his critique
– Zeal– Promise of future life – Miracles
– Austere morals
– Created state within a state
• Doctrine: Definition and Dispute
– Augustine (354-430 C.E.) emphasized the spiritual rather
than the political possibilities
– Connected Christian theology to Greek philosophy of Plato
– Emphasized meditation
– Believed sexuality to be perilous
– Believers should subordinate their will to the teachings of the
church
• Doctrine: Definition and Dispute [cont.]
– Battle over Dogma
• Divisive dispute over the divinity of Jesus
• Arius (250-336 C.E.) thought humanity of Jesus made God more sacred than Jesus
• Arian dispute led to open warfare and military defeat of the Arians • Growth of Christianity sometimes led missionaries to try to convert
Christianity in Wake of Empire
• The Conversion of the Barbarians
– Christian bishops came from ranks of senatorial governing
class--continuity with the empire
– Extensive conversions culminated in conversion of Clovis
in 496 C.E., the first barbarian to accept the religion
– Action got Clovis support and connections from Roman
leadership
Christianity in Wake of Empire
• Decentralized Power and Monastic Life
– Early church dominated by missionaries who were unmarried men and women
– Pope Gregory I (590-604 C.E.) encouraged monastic movement; useful in conversion and discipline
– Church power fragmented in West until 1000 C.E.
– Monasteries developed missions, schools, and other institutions of church
Christianity in Wake of Empire
• The Church Divides into East and West
– Church superseded empire in West but Byzantium
never ceded power to the church
– Eastern church urban and organized; Western church
rural and disconnected into local units
– Rome seen as an outlier of Orthodox church after
Council of Chalcedon
Christianity in Wake of Empire
• Church Divides into East and West [cont.]
– Split between Rome and Constantinople
• Central issue was authority of Roman pope from the perspective of Rome and Constantinople
• Leo IX (elected pope in 1048 C.E.) promoted papal power in the West--and over Constantinople
• Result was Great Schism of 1054 C.E. onward
– Did not reconcile until 1965
• Most direct confrontation was in 1204 C.E., when western Crusaders attacked Constantinople rather than pursue state purpose of
attacking Muslims
• Inquisition began in 1227 in France to root out insincere
converts and gain new converts. It moved to Spain and ended in 1834, BUT it changed names and continued into the 20th century
(no longer tortured and killed people)
• SHOW VIDEO CLIP – M. BROOKS
Christianity in Wake of Empire
• Church Divides into East and West [cont.]
– New Areas Adopt Orthodox Christianity
• Orthodox monks became active later than monks in the West • Caught between Roman West and Islamic East, these
missionaries moved north to Russia, which began to call itself the “Third Rome” after the fall of Constantinople (1453) • East and West competed for converts in areas adjacent to
Christianity in Wake of Empire
• Christianity in Western Europe
– Europe halted Muslim growth at Tours, 732 C.E.
– Muslim conquests cut Christianity off from the lands of
its birth
– Christianity became primarily a religion of Europeans,
often recently-converted “barbarian” warrior nobles
Christianity in Wake of Empire
– The Pope Allies with the Franks
• Pope felt surrounded by Muslims and Byzantines as well as by powerful Goths to the north
• Turned to powerful Franks such as Charles Martel, who defeated Muslim invasion of France at Tours in 732 C.E.
– BATTLE OF TOURS VIDEO – 8 MINUTEShttp
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5itBgiz35T8&feature=youtu.be
• Pope gave official approval of Martel’s son, Pepin III, and the Carolingians as royal ruling house of the Franks
