History 476
Spring, 2011
The many faces of Jesus
(web site)
Born about 4 A.D./C.E.
Grew up in Galilee, northern Israel
Became itinerant preacher, Rabbi
About three years of public career as
preacher, teacher, prophet, and Messiah
Arrested, tried, crucified in Jerusalem, circa
33 A.D.
Died, was buried, and resurrected. The central—
cardinal—principle of Christianity
Now, for the historical Jesus, sometimes
congruent with the Jesus of the Christian faith,
sometimes not.
Michael Grant, An Historian’s View of Jesus
Prophecies in Old Testament
John the Baptist. Message
simple: Repent, be baptized,
and make ready for the coming
of the Kingdom of God
Jesus early childhood—largely unknown
Prophet and Messiah
Mark, Chapter 1, Verse 1; also in Luke
Announcing the coming “Kingdom of God,”
the central theme of Jesus’ ministry.
Grant,”…this was Jesus’ master idea…the
term appears repeatedly in the Gospels—no
less than thirty-seven times in Matthew
alone….and thirty-two times in Luke. The
New Testament is virtually a commentary on
on this one single concept….this one phrase
sums up his whole ministry and his whole
life’s work…the present initiation of the
Kingdom of God upon the earth was a
carrying out of Old Testament prophecy.”
What did Jesus teach specifically?
Used parables to instruct.
Absolutely most impt. message. Love the
Lord your God and then love one another.
Go to Matthew 5, Sermon on the Mount
Jesus reiterated Mosaic law
But pushed further, into the heart of man
Called for a rebirth, a revolutionary change
of heart
3. (63) Now, there was about this
time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to
call him a man, for he was a doer of
wonderful works-a teacher of such men
as receive the truth with pleasure. He
drew over to him both many of the Jews,
and many of the Gentiles. He was [the]
Christ; (64
) and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the
principal men amongst us, had condemned him
to the cross, those that loved him at the first did
not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive
again the third day, as the divine prophets had
foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful
things concerning him; and the tribe of
Christians, so named from him, are not extinct
at this day.
The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, Chapter 3
From The Works of Josephus,
translated by William Whiston
Hendrickson Publishers, 1987
L. Michael White:
Professor of Classics and Director of the Religious Studies Program
University of Texas at Austin
One of our most important sources for all the history of this period is the
Jewish historian, Josephus. Josephus himself grew up in and around
Jerusalem; he claims to have been a part of the Pharisaic group. But he
was also obviously from a fairly prominent family. He's very important
because he lived through and was actually part of the first revolt against
Rome.
After the revolt, he then went on to live in a lavish
retirement at Rome itself. And there wrote the history of the
Jewish War, and also another work, called "The Antiquities
of the Jews," a long, extensive history of the Jewish people
... from Biblical days coming down to his own time.
Josephus wrote mostly at the end of the first century ...
around the year 100, just a few years before and after. And
so he gives us a perspective on the whole century of
development that had gone before, from the time of Herod
the Great down to his own day, when these profound
changes were taking place.
And How Reliable Was He as An Historian?
Josephus, as an historian, is something of a puzzle sometimes. On
the one hand, he's an eyewitness to many of these events. And in
many cases, he's the only source we have for some very important
events and stories. On the other hand, Josephus embellishes, as
do most ancient historians. They tell the story.
They create speeches for generals, even when they weren't
there to hear them first hand. And so, sometimes we have to be
careful with these ancient history writers like Josephus. ...
Josephus is [also] interesting from another perspective because
he clearly embellishes the stories from his own experience.
Josephus himself had gone over to the Roman side at the end
of the revolt. And so, when we tell some of these stories, it's
clear that he's also defending his position ... defending his
judgments and his change.
Eric Meyers:
Professor of Religion and Archaeology Duke University
Hermits
Monks
St.Benedict of
Nursia (fifth
century)
Establishment of
orders and rules
Benedictines
Augustinians
From the Edict of Milan
(313) to the Fall of the Last
Roman Emperor of the West
(476) and the Beginnings of
the Conversion of the
Barbarians
Emperor Constantine
Council of Nicea, 325
Sack of Rome, 410 by Goths
Age of the Papacy and Converting
Barbarians
But the Bishop of Rome claimed greater authority, and it was
natural that the bishops of the larger cities, especially Rome,
should be more prominent than those of the smaller cities and
towns.
Pope Gregory the Great, 540-604;
Pope from 590-604 C E
Augustine, like so many, plagued by
the riddle of life, and “no other
single Christian thinker after Paul
was to influence so profoundly the
Christianity of Western European
peoples.” (Latourette,p. 174)
Augustine converted at Milan by
Bishop Ambrose in 385. Baptized,
along with hi with his son
Adeodatus, on Easter, 387.
Returning to Africa, his mother
Monica died, and Adeodatus a few
months later. Eventually
persuaded to accept the bishopric
of Hippo in North Afric in 391 and
re remained at the that post until
he died in 430.
Augustine had a high conception of the Catholic
Church.
God’s attitude toward man can oly be known through
faith.
Faith is the guide to truth.
Faith is belief in what is taught by the Scriptures and
the Church.
Augustine’s most impt. contributions were on the
interrelated subjects of human nature, the character
of sin, the redemption of man, the attittude of the
Chruch towards the sinner and the penitent, the
Church within history, and history itself.
“Augustine believed profoundly in the Catholic
Church as a visible institution distributed throughout
the world, continuous from the church of the apostles
through its bishops,whom he esteemed the successors
of the apostles.
To be sure, Augustine held that bishops, including
the bishop of Rome, might err, but the Catholic
Church, he maintained, was the Body of Christ,
tangible, and outside it there was no salvation” (p.
175)
His most widely read work was City of God, provoked
by the sack of Rome and his Goths in 410. Pagans
accused Christians for the sack and the book was in
many ways a refutation of that charge.
Clio, the old Muse of City of God also an
History interpretation of history,
which posited it had a
beginning, middle, and
end, rather than occurring
in endless repeating cycles.
As the City of Man, Rome,
collapsed, Augustine
believed it would be
replaced by something
better, the City of God.
One was an earthly city,
and the other heavenly.
The earthly was formed by
love of self and pride. The
City of God was dominated
by the love of God.
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is
one of Christianity's most widely known
figures. But for all his celebrity, his life
remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of
the stories traditionally associated with St.
Patrick, including the famous account of his
banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are
false, the products of hundreds of years of
exaggerated storytelling.
St. Patrick and the Irish, II
Taken Prisoner By Irish Raiders
It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of
the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D.
Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably
took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick
came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken
prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They
transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some
dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to
live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County
Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away
from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a
devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting
the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)
Guided By Visions
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his
writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream,
telling him it was time to leave Ireland.
To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is
believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick
reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells
him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious
training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his
ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to
minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the
Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that
Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)
Bonfires and Crosses
Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to
incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity
instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For
instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish
were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed
a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create
what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the
symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. (Although there
were a small number of Christians on the island when Patrick
arrived, most Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. The
Irish culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and
myth. When this is considered, it is no surprise that the story of
Patrick's life became exaggerated over the centuries-spinning
exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the
Irish way of life.)
Period of chaos in western Europe after end
of formal Roman Empire
Invasion of the barbarians, Germanic
peoples, Vandals and Visigoths (Spain),
Franks into Gaul, Angles and Saxons into
Great Britain, Picts, Scots and their gradual
conversion.
Church preserved learning and knowledge in
disintegrating culture of Rome.
Mohammed the Prophet, early 600s.
God’s word revealed to him and preserved in
Koran.
Islam spread rapidly across the old ancient
world, even to Spain and almost to France
before stopped.
Mohammed preaching, with
historically inaccurate landscape and
clothing (a common problem in
medieval and Renaissance paintings,
which usually showed fashions
contemporary with the time the
painting was made, rather than
costumes of the era depicted).
Illustration ca. 1400-1425, taken from
Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum
Illustrium (early 15th-century French
translation by Laurent de
Premierfait); drawn by the "Master of
Rohan." The manuscript is currently in
the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
The same illustration in the context
of its manuscript page can be seen
here. According to the iconography of
the time, the dove on Mohammed's
shoulder indicates that he is a false
prophet trying to convince his
listeners that he is associated with
the Holy Spirit (of which the dove is a
symbol).
Reformist movement within
monastic tradition, Cluny
founded 909. Goal: rid the
Church of abuses (,for
instance, simony, the buying and
selling of clerical offices, etc.)
insistence on clerical
celibacy, poverty and
obedience.
Rising conflict between
Papacy and Emperor of
Holy Roman Empire.