The Charismatic Age: First-Century Galilee
The long-awaited death in 4 BCE of Herod, the ruthless architect of an oppressive Judean police state, sparked a series of spontaneous revolts by the Jewish peasantry. Once these rebellions were subdued, the Jews continued to chafe under a series of tyrannical Roman governors until the massive revolt of 66-70. This period was marked by "widespread discontent and periodic turbulence." Direct Roman rule, along with the burdensome tribute that accompanied it, was highly offensive to the Jews, who considered themselves subjects only to God. Many, in fact, considered their conditions tantamount to slavery (Horsley and Hanson 34-5).
This highly-charged atmosphere reached a fever pitch in Galilee, which produced a host of eccentric figures – many of whom amassed sizable followings. As the peasantry anticipated the arrival of the promised Messiah to deliver them from Roman oppression, a number of social bandits were inspired to pretend to this mantle of "king of the Jews." Others assumed the role of prophet, attempting to recreate the miracles of Joshua or predicting an impending judgment. Also circulating in the area were various Jewish holy men revered as miracle-workers, allegedly capable of influencing natural phenomena. It is in this milieu that the figure of Jesus Christ emerged.
Prophetic Movements
Among Jewish peasantry at the time of Jesus were two distinct types of prophets: the action prophets, who "led sizable movements of peasants from the villages of Judea in anticipation of God's new, eschatological act of liberation," and the oracular prophets, who delivered oracles of either judgment or deliverance (185). The former, as illustrated by the case of Theudas, appea...
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... Hanina disobeyed the rabbinic code of conduct by walking alone at night; he also owned goats despite a Mishnaic prohibition against doing so in Palestine, and even went so far as to carry the unclean carcass of a snake. Another Hasid was found ignorant of the existence of a biblical law concerning ritual uncleanness, while still another scoffed at a rule forbidding the use of liquids kept in an uncovered vessel at night (Vermes 77-8). Jesus of Nazareth, presumably, would have been extremely comfortable in such company!
Works Cited
The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Edition. New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1952.
Horsley, Richard and Hanson, John. Bandits, Prophets and Messiahs: Popular Movements in the Time of Jesus. Minneapolis: Winston Press, 1985.
Vermes, Geza. Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973.
The book “For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought In The Civil War” by James M. McPherson examines the motivations of the soldiers who fought in the Civil War. McPherson wanted to understand why the men fought in the Civil War and why they fought so ferociously for such a large amount of time even though there was a huge possibility of death, disease and injurys.To answer the question regarding the reasons why men fought in the Civil War so viciously, and for such a long period of time, James McPherson studied countless amounts of letters, diaries and other mails that were written or sent by the soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
A messiah is a rather ambiguous term. It mainly means an anointed one; usually a messiah is considered to be a son of David and would reestablish Israel to what it once was. Because messiahs are anointed ones they would typically be Jewish priests, prophets and kings. However, a Messiah can also be a warrior, or a man of peace. (CITE) A messiah was to reestablish unity among the Jewish people and navigate through the hardships and oppression that they went through during early Judaism and bring a sense of freedom and relief. An array of messianic claimants came forth during the two peaks of Jewish rebellion, the death of King Herod the Great and the first Jewish war against the Romans.
The book ‘For Cause and Comrades’ is a journey to comprehend why the soldiers in the Civil War fought, why they fought so passionately, and why they fought for the long period of time. Men were pulling guns against other men who they had known their whole lives. McPherson’s main source of evidence was the many letters from the soldiers writing to home. One of the many significant influences was how the men fought to prove their masculinity and courage. To fight would prove they were a man to their community and country. Fighting also had to do with a duty to their family. Ideology was also a major motivating factor; each side thought they were fighting for their liberty. The soldier’s reputations were created and demolished on the battlefield, where men who showed the most courage were the most honored. Religion also played an important role because the second Great Awakening had just occurred. Their religion caused the men who thought of themselves as saved to be fearless of death, “Religion was the only thing that kept this soldier going; even in the trenches…” (McPherson, p. 76) R...
In James McPherson’s novel, What They Fought For, a variety of Civil War soldier documents are examined to show the diverse personal beliefs and motives for being involved in the war. McPherson’s sample, “is biased toward genuine fighting soldiers” (McPherson, 17) meaning he discusses what the ordinary soldier fought for. The Confederacy was often viewed as the favorable side because their life style relied on the war; Confederates surrounded their lives with practices like slavery and agriculture, and these practices were at stake during the war. On the other hand, Northerners fought to keep the country together. Although the Civil War was brutal, McPherson presents his research to show the dedication and patriotism of the soldiers that fought and died for a cause.
Brown, Raymond. A Crucified Christ in Holy Week: Essays on the Four Gospel Passion Narratives. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1986.
Not all soldiers had a definite answer of why they fought, but it was definitely an open-ended question. In order to find a realistic answer to the question, McPherson gathered physical emotions from personal letters and diaries from soldiers during their war experience (1). The two sides, Confederate and Union, both had their reasons for going into war voluntarily and forcefully. He wanted to know what motivated volunteer soldiers to
Essay: The Bible says Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher who used miracles to help people. In reality he was a wandering man whose simple tricks and healing remedies were mistaken for miracles. He wandered Judea preaching about the validity of the jewish laws. This gained him a large following. Roman officials caught wind of this and were scared of an uprising. So they had him executed; however this had the opposite effect. The jewish sect that followed Jesus was pacified for some time but emerged again as Christianity, with a larger following than before. Eventually, and ironically, it ended up surviving the Roman Empire.
Damrosch, David, and David L. Pike, eds. "The Gospel According to Luke." The Longman Anothology of World Literature. Compact ed. New York: Pearson, 2008. 822-33. Print.
The Civil War was a very violent episode in America’s history. There were more casualties in this war than all of the American wars, (McPherson, 5). The war turned brother on brother, thus coining the name ‘the Brother War,” (McPherson, 15). Many people in today’s era often question why so many men willingly fought knowing death was always a high possibility. We will never know the exact answer but from many writings: letters, newsletters, journals, memoirs, we can get a glimpse at what the motivations were for them to enlist and then keep fighting. James M. McPherson attempts to do this in his book For Cause & Comrades. He gives many firsthand accounts as evidence for his explanations. His most important motivators are rage militarie, honor and brotherhood, ideals on slavery, and religion.
Plagiarism is defined in the Encyclopedia Britannica Online as “the act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one's own”. In my own words I define it as the stealing of someone else’s literary work and taking credit for their writings. Sometimes it is done intentionally as an act of complete dishonesty. Someone may not want to exert the necessary effort required to research and write his or her own work. They assume it would be easier to just copy another author’s work. Another example of deliberate plagiarism is the buying or selling of papers, or hiring someone to write a paper. Most frequently, plagiarism occurs without the writer knowing that he or she is plagiarizing. Simply quoting an author without stating where the quote was taken from and citing the name of author is plagiarizing. If someone uses an authors style of writing and/ or word usage throughout his/her paper that is also considered plagiarism. Whether done intentionally or in error, plagiarism is a crime that can warrant serious penalties
As stated before, one would become familiar with plagiarism in middle school, when a teacher assigns a student to write a paper. Mostly at that time it would be said, do not copy, or paste someone else words into your papers, use your own words. Or use citations in the paper. A student is told what the consequence of doing it, which is a failing grade. As a person gets further in their educational level, the use of plagiarism is more detailed and have different consequences of
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
John P. Meier "How do we decide what comes from Jesus" in The Historical Jesus in Recent Research 2006 pages 132–136
For centuries, plagiarism has been a major stumbling block in the pathway for academic success. Plagiarism, as defined, means “to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own". It has existed in one form or another since the advent of time, with individuals copying the work of others to propel themselves forward in their own education or professional work field. The problem is magnified significantly in today’s society as we live in a high speed world where all of the information that you could possibly need is at the convenience of your fingertips.
Plagiarism is the copying of another individual’s writings and ideas. Plagiarism is an idea that has been constructed by society. It revolves around society’s ideas of intellectual and private property. It is considered to be a form of cheating. Often times in elementary schools and high schools, plagiarism is discussed as bad but is not actually prevented. Teachers often do not detect plagiarism and even when they do, sometimes it is ignored. The student is then rewarded with a good grade, ingraining within the student that it is acceptable to plagiarize. Plagiarism affects the ways an individual develops as a person and as a writer.