The Lost Letters of Pergamum by Bruce W. Longnecker is about letters being exchanged between different characters especially Antipas who is the son of an nobleman Philip and civic benefactors and Luke who is the writer of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. In this book, the author gives a perspective on how the first century Christians were but also on how Gospel of Luke display the life of Jesus Christ. The book also gives details on how Antipas viewed Christians and how he was converted. The book gave me an open mind on how early Christians were discussing about Jesus especially Antipas. It also discuss the gladiatorial games that is taking part.
The first letter was from Antipas to Calpurnuis to invite him to attend the gladiatorial
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games in spring. The story transitions into when Antipas sends a request for a literature written by Homer from the library of Theopholus. Antipas been studying Alexandrian history, Calpurnius sends a copy of Homer with Antipas servant. Unfortunately, Calpurnius brother’s son dies which leads to the letters exchange between Luke who is a friend of Calpurnius. Luke begins to speak of the man from Nazareth, Jesus Christ to Antipas. Luke discusses the journey, he had following Jesus Christ and his writings about Jesus life. Luke writes to Antipas and introduces him to people who call themselves Christians.
These Christians are men and women who worship the God of Israel through this man who is fully God, yet fully man. Luke also describes Jesus as a man from “Galielee, who Antipas spent a lot of time there who he may find interesting to read about”(37) “Luke tells Antipas that many of us who call themselves Christian believe this Jesus to be Jewish messiah or Christ and the human incarnation of the most high God”(37) Christians were considered to be social outcast who proclaimed a different lord and no one of any significant social standing wanted to be connected with them. Antipas is a pagan who is a worshipper of the gods Zeus, Olympios, and Jupiter, is unsure about these Christians he acknowledges that the monograph of Luke would be interesting to study and agrees for Luke send it. Luke was able to tell Antipas more about Christians and the man named Jesus. Luke tells how Nero clothed some of the Christians which promoted more investigation from Antipas regarding what kind of people would give their lives for such a belief in a God especially a man from Nazareth. Antipas realizes Jesus is a curios figure. Antipas cannot comprehend how Christians could place their allegiance to this one man while the gods of rome were
worshipped. Luke encourages Antipas to attend these meetings with a group of Christians. Antipas attends the meeting with another leader and sponsor of the gladiatorial contest, Rufinus. They arrive at the house of Kalandion and read Luke’s monograph which is fascinated by his observations of the Christians. Antipas says that the gathers are very diverse with regard to their social st
"Luke." Serendipity Bible for Groups: New International Version. 3rd ed. Ed. Lyman Coleman. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998. 1416-1474.
Then Andreas gets a report from one of his servants in Rome that his friend Barabbas has been arrested for killing a Roman soldier. Andreas immediately leaves for Jerusalem to report about Jesus in person and hopefully free his friend Barabbas. In Jerusalem, Andreas finds out that Jesus has made quite a commotion in the temple and has also been arrested. When talking with the Roman officials, Andreas finds out that they are worried that Jesus’ teachings might start a rebellion against the Romans by causing an uproar with the crowd. His expertise and suggestions on preventing a revolt allow him to obtain a meeting with
All comes to show, that Christianity took hold on the ancient world because it was easy, convenient and powerful. Christianity is a strong religion seeming as it still stands
The life of Jesus is one that is often discussed and debated among scholars and authors since the time Jesus walked this earth. Gerd Theissen’ s work, Shadow of the Galilean, takes the unique perspective of a grain merchant who has been enlisted by Pilate to find out information on various religious sects and report back to him. After Andreas, the grain merchant’s, first report he is given the task of finding out more about this Jesus who is gaining quite a following. Pilate and the Romans want to know if he is a threat to them. This book follows Andreas as he goes on a journey to find out more about Jesus from various sources for his report to the Romans.
The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen is a fictional narrative about a Jewish merchant, Andreas, searching for information about a group of people known as Essenes, John the Baptist, and Jesus of Nazareth. While traveling through Jerusalem Andreas was imprisoned by the Romans thinking he was a part of a demonstration against Polite when his mission was to find Jesus. Andreas writes, “I never met Jesus on my travels through Galilee. I just found traces of him everywhere: anecdotes and stories, traditions and rumors. But everything that I heard of him fit together. Even quite exaggerated stories about him had a characteristic stamp” (124).
The Lost Letters of Pergamum, by Bruce W. Longnecker, is a story of letters being exchanged between characters Antipas and Luke. Antipas is a civic leader of Rome and Luke is the writer of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. This book was written to give the modern reader a glimpse into the context of Christianity and the first century church. Longnecker conveys the life of Christ through the letters and the effects of his life on the culture. Throughout the book we see clear differences between the Roman Empire and Christianity and by the end of the letters we witness Antipas go through a dramatic change in heart and character.
The Lost Letter of Pergamum is a series of letters from Antipas, Calpurnius, and Luke. Throughout of the book, both Antipas and Luke exchange letters back and forth about the teachings of Jesus Christ through the narratives and eyes of Luke. Antipas begins to grow interest in Luke when he first brings up his narratives of Jesus Christ and how much of an impact he made on the Jewish/Christian community. Luke encourages Antipas to attend meetings with Christians in Pergamum and others in nearby cities. After to going to these meetings, we realize that Antipas begins to change his mind about these local Christians and Jesus. This book shows readers how the New Testament writings and other Christian gatherings made an impact on Antipas and the
...my own hometown, like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid” to show how they both were compelled to carry out a message one being the gospel of Jesus Christ and the latter being human equality (p.61). By comparing himself to historical figures he makes numbers of ethical appeals and he builds up the author’s character. His use of great leaders can have a great influence in the reader and have an effect on the emotions of the reader.
The Lost Letters of Pergamum by Bruce W. Longenecker begins with an interesting author’s preface that explains the book. In the preface, Longenecker explains that this book is about Antipas, who is mentioned once in the book of revelations of the bible, and that this work is fictional. He also illustrates that this story is a reconstruction of Antipas’ life in his final years. It is also explained how Antipas got his name from Herod Antipas. The preface goes on to explain that although this work is fiction, it is based upon extensive research of the author about the time period in which he is writing and has historical merit with regards to the Roman Empire and Jesus’ teachings. Longenecker notes in his introduction that the editor’s preface is also fictional. The editor’s preface is constructed in a very compelling manner that makes it seem almost real. It discusses discoveries of ancient cities of Ephesus and Pergamum and their temples and houses. The architects dug up Pergamum and there they discovered the letters of Antipas.
...ddess. To prove his point, Apuleius first discounts all other worships. Throughout the novel he describes things that happen to individuals in terms of the traditional Greco-Roman myths. He subtly chips away at the traditional Roman gods, avoiding a direct attack on the Pantheon because the vast majority of his audience believed in it. If he attacked them directly, he would surely not be considered credible. With the other religions, however, Apuleius reserves nothing. He declares religions of Asia Minor to be fraudulent and calls monotheistic religions "blasphemous." After questioning the other religions, Apuleius goes on to praise the worship of Isis. As a result, we the contemporary reader cannot infer too much about Roman religion from The Golden Ass.
Johnston, Anna. A. “Missionary Writing and Empire 1800-1860” Christianity and Literature 101.1(2006): 231. Literature Resources from Gale, Inc. Web. The Web. The Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Walaskay, Paul W. "The Trial and Death of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke." Journal of Biblical Literature 94.1 (1975): 81-93. JSTOR. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.
The crucifixion periscope is one of the most read and studied stories of the gospels, second only to the story of the resurrection. Luke’s presentation of the darkest day in Christianity is appropriately not as poetic and literary elegant as some of his other writings, yet dramatic. He stresses some common Lukan themes of forgiveness, prayer and universalism.
Jesus, a name known by billions throughout the world. To each, this name means something different; savior, friend, philosopher, prophet, teacher, fraud, fake, liar. Some even believe that He is just an imaginary character from the minds of those who wrote about Him. The Westminster Dictionary of Theology describes apologetics as, "Defense, by argument, of Christian belief against external criticism or against other worldly views" (Apologetics 31-32). Though there are still many mysteries that surround the ongoing debate about Christianity, evidence can now prove some of what Christians took by faith before. Now, more than ever, there is information to prove the existence of this man that walked the earth more than two thousand years ago. Little remains of His life and works except for that which is contained within the pages of the Holy Bible. Throughout the past century alone, there have been numerous discoveries, both scientific and archeological; to further prove the existence of a man called Jesus and reinforce the Bible as a legitimate historical document. The validity of Christianity and Jesus Christ himself has been the center of religious controversy for centuries. Though His identity has not and probably never will be proven, He did exist. This paper will use apologetics to prove this so. Sufficient evidence proves the existence of Jesus and forms a firm basis for Christianity.
Throughout the first 400 years that Christianity was present in the world it changed dramatically. It started small in an area near the eastern Mediterranean area but within these 400 years, it grew to encompass the whole of the Mediterranean and its surrounding. Throughout this time of growth, there was also much change within the beliefs of Christianity with the main belief centering around Jesus Christ. While Christianity grew and made it to new areas it was introduced to new people that interpreted the different scriptures and preaching of what it meant to be a Christian. Some of the most influential writings in these years came from Irenaeus of Lyons, a second-century writer, Christian, theologian, and bishop. He expressed his beliefs of what made a Christian a Christian within his writing. One of his most famous writings, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, highlights the idea of the Holy Trinity and the Rule of Faith in the interpretation of the bible. Irenaeus believed that the Rule of Faith was ultimately necessary and required when reading and interpreting the word of Christianity saying, in the words of Isaiah, “If ye believe not, neither shall ye understand” (paragraph 3). In the eyes of Irenaeus, the Rule of Faith is one of the main things that makes a Christian a Christian.