Contrastingly, there also exists strong evidence to refute Hengel’s claim that Hellenism was rampant in Judea under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Fergus Millar claims that one of Hengel’s main oversights is that, “he does not consider Hellenistic influences on Jew as part of the much wider, and in many respects obscure and mysterious, process of fusion of cultures in the whole south Syrian region.” While this oversight does not indicate that Hengel’s analysis is incorrect, it does call into question the significance that he attaches to the Hellenistic shifts in Judaism. Additionally, Millar criticizes that Hengel is overstating by claiming that proof of Greek influence of Jewish literature and philosophy indicates that Judaism as a whole became …show more content…
For example, when Hengel discusses the amount of Greek language spoken by the Jews, he takes the translation by 72 elders to indicate that all of the upper-class Jews could be presumed to have a knowledge of Greek. However, Josephus himself reports that, “our nation does not encourage those that learn the languages of many nations … because they look upon this sort of accomplishment as common.” Louis Feldman alleges that Hengel’s cited evidence of Jews writing inscriptions in Greek does not prove any more than a basic familiarity with Greek among the Jews, and thus his inference is a strong reach. This serves as one of the many examples of Hengel taking evidence of Hellenistic influence in Judea and making bold assumptions to fit into a larger narrative of the effects of drastic Hellenistic changes in …show more content…
Arnaldo Momigliano’s book review does not offer any evidence to support this interconnection between the Hellenists in Judea and Antiochus IV’s persecutions but does identity the interconnection to be Hengel’s thesis and describe the research and evidence that Hengel provides as being, “done with thoroughness, good judgment, and a sense of responsibility.” Louis Feldman offers no support of this theory of interconnection in his article. Fergus Millar, however, offers multiple pieces of evidence in support of this theory. For example, he cites how 2 Maccabees 6: 1-2 tell us that some of the Jews in Judea had requested for the temple built to Zeus on Mount Gerizim. This action of Antiochus IV, along with the also mentioned profaning of the Temple in Jerusalem, were considered heinous crimes by the Jews who did not support them because they promoted idolatry through the practice of ruler worship and worshiping another God, which are both sins in the Jewish bible. However, by insinuating that there were Jews that supported these actions of Antiochus IV, Millar does entertain the notion that the root of this anti-Semitic behavior is the Hellenistic Jews themselves. Additionally, Millar cites how
Longenecker does a great job in this book of bringing out the differences of the Romans and Christians and effectively showing the challenges that Christians faced during this time. He also presents how the first century church breaks social trends through their faith in Christ. This is shown through the description of Christian worship. In the story, Antipas is amazed that Christians do not relate to one another based on their class or social rank. Longenecker contrasts the differences between the churches as well. He explains the two house-churches, which are true to Christ’s ideals. The other one attempts to include Christianity into Roman paganism. One main conflict in this story is that Pergamum is a place where Satan is present, which means it must have been really difficult for anyone to hold on to faith in Christ. The Romans were incredibly harsh and cruel by how they dealt with the issue too. Anyone who looked to a divine god instead of that given to them from their government could be killed. This is what made the Gospel to the first century population extremely scary and impossi...
Many authors have employed the religious beliefs of their cultures in literature. The deities contained in Homer’s Odyssey and in the Biblical book of Exodus reflect the nature of the gods in their respective societies. Upon examination of these two works, there are three major areas where the gods of the Greek epic seem to directly contrast the nature of the God of the Israelites: the way problems are solved, the prestige and status that separates the divine from the masses, and the extent of power among the immortal beings.
The background to the Maccabean revolt provides some insight into why it took so long for an overt and aggressive resistance to `Hellenism', or perhaps more correctly: resistance to foreign rule and not on the grounds of an anti-Hellenistic faction. As Lester Grabbe notes in "Judaism from Cyrus to Hadrian" the Ptolemaic and S...
Jonathan Edwards delivered his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, in Enfield Connecticut on July 8, 1741, the year following George Whitefield's preaching tour which helped inspire the "Great Awakening." Weeping and emotional conviction among Edwards’ audiences came at a time of great spiritual thirst. While very foreign to mainstream American opinion today, this extraordinary message was fashioned for a people who were very conscious of how their lifestyles affected eternal consequences. By today's popular perspective, the doctrine of predestination probably discourages conversion because of the new-age independent attitude. However, in Puritan culture, through Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God, fear might have powerfully affected people to look within them for the evidence of grace and then experience salvation.
Maxwell, . "The Jewish Diaspora in the Hellenistic Period." A Jewish Synagogue. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar 2011. .
Euripides’ plays Hippolytus, The Bacchae and Iphigenia at Aulis all revolve around the journey of key characters that fail to show respect to various deities within the Greek Pantheon. This disrespect, in all three plays, is met out with retaliation from the gods themselves, thus effecting those that disrespected them as well as their families. To convey these tales Euripides implements many themes, one such theme being divine retaliation. Euripides’ use of the theme of divine retaliation provides a stark illustration of the Greek Pantheon striving to prove their superiority relentlessly and gives insight into their merciless use of mortals as pawns to achieve this.
The primary focus of the world during the Great Awakening was religion, and the clergy were tasked to influence the thinking and transformation of people through the word of God. The preacher’s objective was to purify the thoughts and beliefs of the people in order to be saved from the wrath of God. Many people from different faiths, especially Christianity, have asked if hell is real, and have always wondered how a loving and merciful God, a God who is gracious to His followers and willing to forgive them of their sins, could judge and punish them with fire that burns eternally. Jonathan Edwards, the most famous preacher during the Great Awakening answered this question about the reality of hell in an epic sermon he preached to a congregation
It is mentioned that the bishops tell the common folk that “the Jews have stolen your religion and yet the Jews live with you in your own land.” As a result, these words create violence as the common folk “rush out together in search of Jews, and when they find one they kill him.” The killings and violence committed during this time was also predominately recognized as acts of vengeance for many bishops and other Christians deem “the Jews as Christ-killers.” Again, this idea supports the notion that Jews created mischief and thus, the cruelty directed to them is understandable and
Since the beginning of the Judaism, the Jewish people have been subject to hardships and discrimination. They have not been allowed to have a stabile place of worship and have also faced persecution and atrocities that most of us can not even imagine. Three events that have had a big impact on the Jewish faith were the building and destruction of the First Great Temple, the Second Great Temple and the events of the Holocaust. In this paper, I will discuss these three events and also explain and give examples as to why I feel that the Jewish people have always been discriminated against and not allowed the freedom of worship.
In Peter M. Marendy’s essay, "Anti-Semitism, Christianity, and the Catholic Church: Origins, Consequences, and Responses," one can learn how Christians have harbored a hateful relationship towards Jews for nearly two millennia. Marendy explains how Christian Gospels, mainly those of Matthew and John, when taken out of context can not only justify the hate and persecution of Jews, but also call for it. His essay explains how both Gospels blame all Jews for the death of Jesus, the key figure of Christianity, and how they also, according to the essay, even have Jesus himself cursing the Jews. In Peter’s essay he sights a passage from the Gospel of John were Jesus says of the Jews, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do"(Jn 8:44) pg. 3 Marendy
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been hailed by people of many religious and cultural backgrounds as the greatest discovery of manuscripts to be made available to modern scholars in our time and has dramatically altered our understanding of the origins of Christianity. Perhaps the most fundamental reexamination brought about by the Scrolls is that of the Gospel of John. The Fourth Gospel originally accepted as a product of second century Hellenistic composition is now widely accepted as a later first century Jewish writing that may even contain some of the oldest traditions of the Gospels . The discovery of the scrolls has led to the discussion of undeniable and distinct parallels between the ideas of the society at Qumran and those present in the Gospel of John.
James S. Jeffers wrote The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era. Jeffers intent in writing this book was to give the readers in insight into what early Christianity looked like. The book aligns what readers may have learned in their high school history class with what was written in the Bible. In summary, this book gave information about Greek and Roman life and history into early Christianity.
The purpose of this essay is to examine the barriers to the spread of Christianity during the Roman Empire. The relationship between Christians, Jews, and the Roman Empire was quite complicated. The Romans became involved with the Jews in 63 B.C.E. as part of their domination of the eastern Mediterranean. Christianity originated 6 B.C.E – 29 C. E. by a Palestinian Jew named Jesus, proclaiming to be the Messiah. The NIV Bible is the primary source for this essay. Leviticus from the Old Testament is written as a series of rituals or laws given to Moses by God. The book of Acts, I Corinthians and Galatians are from the New Testament. Acts was written by Luke, one of Jesus’ disciples, and outlines the spread of Christianity. I Corinthians and Galatians are letters to the early church written by Paul, a leader and missionary. The authors of the books of the Bible record eye witness accounts and revelations from God. The World History I textbook and The Survey of World History/Civilization online content are secondary sources used to connect events in the Bible to historical events during the Roman Empire. Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire despite opposition from the Jews, the Romans, and problems with the early church.
The books 1 and 2 Maccabees focus on the rebellion of the Jewish people of Jerusalem against the hellenization of their city. While the events of both books are ultimately defined by the Jewish faith as demonstrated by the works’ protagonists, the two books utilize different aspects of that faith; 1 Maccabees is written in a mostly historical manner, showing chronologically how the actions of Jewish individuals contributed to the revolt against the hellenization of Jerusalem, but 2 Maccabees takes the focus away from Jewish people and places it with the Jewish God, declaring that it was his intervention which allowed the Jews to overcome the ungodly act of hellenization in their city. The aim of each author, to promote the Jewish community
In this light, and coupled with the fact that the Jews were enculturated with Greco-Roman culture and ideology, perhaps some Jews were beginning to lose their identity. Thus, this treatise might be a response to Jews who sought new way to define themselves, and, perhaps also against Greek philosophers who sought to undermine Jewish religious practices. Philo’s temple ideology, however, is not a new concept. We see this idea in Isaiah 66, which states, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool”.