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Ryan Hite

Catlos

Messianism and Early Christianity in the Axial Age and Late Classical Period

RLST 4840

27 October 2013

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Christianity developed as a religion at the end of a process of economic, social, and

philosophical changes that came about as the result of pivotal events in the history of the world

of religion and philosophy that has left a lasting legacy1. Although these type of changes

occurred all over the world from China to Iran, and the religions and philosophies that came

about as a result of this still exist today, such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, the focus

of this paper is on the ancient Hebrew religion, which would later become Judaism, and

Christianity. It is also important to note that the development of Christianity came after the

development of religions such as Buddhism and Zoroastrianism and that some of these ideas

migrated to the Roman Empire through trade routes2, just as the Christian religion radiated out

rapidly through those same routes. It is also important to note that there was a general fervor of

philosophic ideas in the Roman Empire at the time, especially in the area where Christianity was

born3. Hebrew religion was treated differently at the time of the Roman occupation because of

their strict laws and monotheistic ideals. As it was not common for Hebrew people to practice

multiple religions, the Romans always viewed them with suspicion because of their refusal to

1 Blasi, Early Christianity… 1-3

2 Eisenstadt. Origins and Diveristy…1-28

3 Bowersock. Late Antiquity…82-106

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sacrifice to the Roman pantheon. This was used as a source of scapegoating by the Romans and

they applied this same principle and suspicion for the Christians4.

The Hebrew religion, like many ancient sacrificial, ethnic based religions, used different

names for many of the same concepts. In the Hebrew culture, the idea of evil has been seen as

the opposite of good. For there to be good and evil, many cultures and religions have had some

sort of divine agent to determine what is good and what is evil. Many of the oldest civilizations

have had a pantheon of gods whom are both good and evil. The first instances of monotheism,

the belief of one god, originated in the near east and Egypt and was later adopted as an idea to a

small Canaanite offshoot called the Israelites5. The Israelites adopted an ethnic based god from

the Canaanite pantheon and then adopted stories based on the history of the Israelites and other

cultures to tackle the idea of good and evil in the world on its own6. This duality of good and evil

is the basis for the rise and fall of Israelite civilization, and eventually, the idea of Messianism

and the continuing idea of this duality throughout the ages. In Hebrew religion, the focus of this

paper, the clearest example of the start of the battle between good and evil occurs in its creation

story, much like many cultures with their creation stories7.

Throughout history, there have been periods where the righteous have dominated the

world and where evil has dominated the world from the viewpoint of a certain race or class of

people. As it pertains to Judaism, when their people were free, it was a period of good, and when

they have been dominated by other powers in which they were the minority and marginalized,

was seen as a period of evil. History is seen as a story in which there have been periods of good

and evil and the rise and fall of each of these periods constitutes different paths to the story of

4 Hengel. Conflicts and Challenges…65-93

5 Shermer. Science of Good and Evil. 24-64

6 Hinnel. Penguin Dictionary. 597

7 Genesis 1-3

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these people8. Many religious and non-religious figures have tried to rationalize it and make it

easy for the people to understand. Religion has evolved through this path and the attempts to

understand it. Many religions have also defined what it means to be good and what it means to

be evil in order to serve the intentions of the society it is placed in9.

A messiah is a savior or liberator of a group of people and it is most commonly referred

to in the Abrahamic Religions. It is seen in many other cultures, although it is not explicitly

referred to. The messiah is seen as the embodiment of human perfection. A messiah has no evil

and is seen as the good force to bring a society back up again10

. The messiah is seen as an

external figure that will redeem a society through its actions and its place in the historical context

of a society. A society is always looking for the coming of the next savior during the evil stage of

the life of a society, whether or not they are Judeo based societies or not. In the bad times, people

look for the coming Messiah as a source of hope for the people to bring them to the good times

again. Not only will the messiah bring forth hope, but the messiah was also promised to bring

forth times that were better than they previously were11

.

The final topic in relation to the idea of Messianism is the nature of redemption. When

people are experiencing times of turmoil, they, either individually or collectively, turn to a

messianic figure or idea to redeem them. Redemption is the forgiveness of past sins or errors or

protection from damnation12

. Redemption can be accomplished in many forms depending on the

religion, but most commonly is done through sacrifices or devotions. The first part of the paper

will focus on these concepts and definitions in the context of the Pre-Axial age religions,

8 Nussbaum. Semblance and Reality… 120-149

9 Shermer. The Science of Good and Evil.72

10 Nassbaum. Semblance and Reality… 107-119

11 Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts… 27-50

12 Avery-Peck. Judaism in Late Antiquity…105-136

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specifically the ancient Hebrew religion through the use of the Old Testament of the Bible. Then

the Axial age will be discussed in the context of changing these definitions to mean something

more and bringing them into the context of the rise of Christianity through the context of Late

Antiquity, which occurs during the time of the Axial Age. Then the paper will finally look at

these same definitions in the context of Christianity as a direct result of the influence of the Axial

Age and the philosophy of Late Antiquity and the prophecies of Jewish mystics and prophets

throughout the Old Testament.

2. PRE AXIAL AGE

Between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 2:3, the Israelite god creates the heavens and the earth, and

then creates humanity. Then between Genesis 2 and 3, mankind dwelled in the Garden of Eden

and ate of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, both common elements in many other

cultures. Both of these ideas were also common in explaining good and evil. The Garden of Eden

is seen as the “ideal” in the culture of the Israelites and was seen as an oasis in the harsh land of

the deserts of the Middle East. The garden was also a common element of the “ideal” in the

Babylonian mythology, which is the primary source of the writings of Genesis, and a common

element of the ideal in many other desert cultures13

. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is

the most important element of the origin of evil in Hebrew mythology. It is accepted that the

eating of the fruits of that tree by Adam and Eve were the cause of evil according to the Genesis

narrative14

. As a result of the introduction of evil into the world, mankind fell into a state of

constantly battling over what would win out in the end. The battle between good and evil would

13

Berlin. Jewish Religion. 84 14

Genesis 2-3

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play out in many other stories, histories, and ultimately would result in the idea of a return to

Eden and the end of the world15

.

The battle between good and evil appears many times after the initial founding of the

duality in the first three chapters of Genesis. Genesis 4 recounts the first of these conflicts

between Cain and Abel. The killing of Abel by Cain is the first instance of the dominance of evil

in the history of Hebrew religion. This struggle continues despite the attempts to destroy evil by

god in the flood narrative in Genesis 6-9. There are also stories of evil trying to dominate over

the earth, as is the case with the tower of Babel and the scattering of languages in Genesis 11 and

is also the cause of war between tribes according to Hebrew mythology. The concept of tribal

warfare is elaborated in the stories of Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people, and Lot over

the role of god in their life and their decisions. Lot has further conflicts between himself and his

daughters in Genesis 18-19 in the narratives of Sodom and Gomorrah. These two stories set the

stage for the authority of God in the later decisions by the Israelites and the initial planting of the

Israelites as a nation. In the final chapters of Genesis, the story of Joseph and his slavery and

kingship in Egypt shows ultimately what is to happen at the end of the world and the ultimate

triumph of the good16

. Although Judah sells his brother into slavery, Joseph rises up and

eventually sees a fulfillment of a dream he had of his brothers bowing down to him. This story in

many cases serves as a precursor and the first instance of a messianic figure17

. The remaining

stories of Genesis have a common theme, which is the constant battle between good and evil.

Many of these stories attempt to lay out the framework of this battle and serves as the history of

15

Shermer. Science of Good and Evil. 24-64 16

Genesis 41-50 17

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts… 3-26

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the world through the eyes of good and evil and attempts to explain the origins of many of the

good and evil ideas that existed in their culture18

.

As the Israelite nation developed, the Bible places the battle between good and evil

around the life of the royal Israelite family. The story starts before the beginning of the royal line

in the Book of Ruth. In this story, Ruth marries Boaz and Boaz becomes a part of the Israelite

nation by choice. This story reflects on many themes found throughout the life of the royal

family such as choosing to be on the side of God, the purity of the race of the royal line, and the

transition from death and emptiness into a new life19

. Boaz and Ruth are eventually part of the

royal line of David, which has an esteemed place in the history of the Israelites and the stories of

the Bible. The Books of Samuel tell the story of the first major prophet and king, Samuel, and

displays many of the characteristics that are found in the Book of Ruth20

. The Book of Ruth lays

a foundation and the Books of Samuel provides an example of that foundation. Samuel also

anointed two kings, Saul and David, one of which would struggle with evil and the other which

would exemplify the good. Saul would struggle with what many people consider to be sin

because of his role as commander and his love for glory and fame. Although Saul struggled with

evil, he was also noted for his good works and appears to exemplify characteristics of both sides

of the story, both of which would also stand for an internal battle of the individual between good

and evil. David, on the other hand, was an exemplification of what it means to be good.

Although he had faults of his own, he had more good characteristics, and it was at this time that

the idea of the Messiah would come to the biblical canon and would be a part of the royal line of

David. Solomon was also seen as a very wise man and had many good deeds and characteristics

18

Atkinson “Recognizing Good and Evil” 19

Pomykala. Davidic Dynasty. 1-38 20

Book of Ruth, 1 Samuel

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associated with him, but he also had faults that would ultimately be his downfall21

. Although

many of these stories may just have been legends, these three kings suggest a very good attempt

at becoming virtuous in the eyes of god, but they also had faults as a result of being human, and

that these faults ultimately resulted in their own downfalls and the downfall of their nation22

.

After the end of the reign of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms that

would be at constant war with one another and would ultimately fall to a greater power, in this

case Assyria and Babylon. At this time, other cults seemed to creep in and compete with the god

of the bible and their purity as the Israelite nation23

. Many of these factors led to the downfall of

the Israelite kingdom according to biblical accounts of the stories. It was at this time that Jezebel

convinced Ahab to abandon his original faith and embrace an outside cult, ultimately resulting in

the judgment and elimination of the kingdom of Israel and the period of the Babylonian captivity

in 592BCE24

. While the Israelites were in exile, the majority of what is now the Old Testament

would be produced and the history of the Israelites would be recorded and many would look to

the future. Like the captivity in Egypt, they were looking for a figure to rise up and take them out

of captivity25

. This is a result of a cycle that appears in Israelite and biblical history of the

destruction of the kingdom due to not following in the commands of their god, their exile into a

land that is unfamiliar to them and not promised to them, and the eventual return under a sort of

“messianic” figure. As times got tough for the Israelites, the idea of the messiah always came up

and that eventually they would be redeemed by a figure that would save them. The idea also

developed at the time as a result of the cycle between good times and bad times in the history of

the Jewish people. Although they would eventually return and proclaim Cyrus of Persia as a sort

21

Pomykala Davidic Dynasty… 1-38 22

Nussbaum. Semblance and Reality… 107-119 23

Book of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Minor Prophets, Daniel 24

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts… 3-26 25

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts.139-171

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of Messianic figure, evil would come again and they would again be looking for a messianic

figure to redeem them and bring good times again26

.

In Judaism, the kings, especially of the Davidic Dynasty, were seen as “anointed”

because of the practices they went under in their coronation. Although they would not be

considered the messiah in the definition that we see today, after the Babylonian captivity, the

definition of messiah changed to include figures that would save the Jewish people, regardless of

ancestry. Many Jewish people at the time of the end of Babylonian captivity considered Cyrus

the Great to be a messiah27

in addition to the Davidic kings, which the Jewish people saw as the

mouthpiece of God by the people who lived and were subject to the laws of the ancient Hebrew

religion28

. The character of the Messiah largely remained the same, which would be an

individual who would redeem the Israelite nation and bring them from bad times into good times

through means of conquest over the enemies. This view, shared by many of the pre-Axial age

ethnic, sacrificial religions, would be challenged starting in the 800’s BC by a multitude of

individuals who would change the way religion works and the way that certain definitions are

viewed.

3. AXIAL CHANGES

Starting in around 800BCE, religion started to be challenged by a new wave of thought.

Although many of these thoughts and philosophies are new, the core of it, the battle between

good and evil, still exists as the primary source of its existence. In this period, the duality takes a

more complex approach and a more logical conclusion to why people should be good and why

26

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts. 172-195 27

Book of Ezra 28

Pomykala. Davidic Dynasty… 1-38

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people should not be evil29

. The focus, however, is not on the society, but on the individual. The

rise of Zoroastrianism is the beginning of this period known as the Axial age, which is

characterized by the revolution in thought and freedom in an age when many of the empires and

imperial religions marginalized the working poor and the underclasses 30

.

As the period of the Axial Age came forth, the concepts that were external in the ancient

religions of the ethnic civilizations were made into internal concepts as philosophers and

teachers went against the ancient priesthoods and religions of the kings and their systems of

sacrifice and religion. They saw that, instead of focusing on these external things, the individual

is responsible for and has to work on themselves and has to work on making themselves into

holy and sanctified beings31

. These teachers saw hope as the source of morality and that this

hope comes from within themselves through a process of self-sanctification and the diligent

learning of the virtues in making themselves into something bigger than themselves. This private

matter in an individual’s life is made into the main focus of these new philosophies and religions

that came about as a result of this new wave of thought. These teachers were seen as the “newer”

definition of the Messiah in that they were set out to “redeem” the people of their past sins32

.

Like the idea of messianism, the nature of heaven, hell, and the afterlife also changed

with the impact of the axial age and the introduction of new ideas. As a result of these changes,

the idea of the afterlife and eschatology (the end of the world) are drastically different between

Judaism and the later axial age religions and philosophies. These topics are also important to the

idea of messianism because they are closely related, as it was seen before. Many competing

philosophers and religious figures thought about the nature of the afterlife and eschatology in late

29

Armstrong. The Great Transformation. 343-393 30

Shermer. The Science of Good and Evil.72 31

Nussbaum. Semblance and Reality. 79-106 32

Nussbaum. Semblance and Reality. 79-106

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antiquity because of the social changes that were brought about as a result of the increasing

interconnectedness of different cultures33

.

Redemption is another topic that changed focus in the advent of the Axial age and it is

the topic that brings together the idea of the coming messiah. It is also the primary purpose of the

story of Jesus Christ and really brings the world into a new era. People look for hope in hard

times and the messiah was that source of hope externally, and as the Axial age came, it was an

internal source of hope as well. That is where the messiah fits into history and mythical

traditions. By the time of Christ, the messiah was seen as a coming king again to save the Jewish

people, but the influence of Hellenistic Philosophy brought in this notion of an internal messiah

in the way that the individual would be able to “save themselves” by bringing about their inner

holiness. This is a notion that is replicated in many mystery cults and religions from the east such

as Zoroastrianism and Buddhism at the time. It would not be unusual that the messiah would

have been an internal change as much as an external savior whether they were a religious or

political figure3435

.

What the messiah will do when the figure comes to the earth is a mystery that has yet to

be solved in the eyes of many civilizations. Because of this, there have been many figures

throughout history that have been referred to as the messiah and the actions and words of these

figures have been drastically different across cultures and time36

. These drastically differing

descriptions were a result of the cultures that influenced the Jewish people at the time of the

writing of the Tanakh. Many people did see the Messiah as the “perfect human” in the fact that it

was the perfect example of what humanity could be in the face of our own imperfections. As the

33

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts. 107-138 34

Armstrong. The Great Transformation. 3-57. 35

Eisenstadt. Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations. 1-29. 36

Eisenstadt. Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations. 1-29.

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Axial age came, this idea was influenced by our individual imperfections and brought into the

public sphere as the primary driving force of religion going into the late Classical period37

.

Like good and evil, the afterlife and eschatology ideas evolved as the Jewish people were

exposed to different cultures throughout the history of the Bible. The cosmology developed in

the first chapters of Genesis and the universe was seen at the time as the earth being a flat disc

with the heavens being above, the place where god dwelt, and the underworld being below.

According to ancient Hebrew religion, all people went to the underworld after death to a place

called Sheol, or grave. All souls going to the underworld is a common element of many ancient

religions. As the axial age came, the idea of death and rebirth evolved, as did the nature of the

afterlife3839

.

Christianity changed the nature of death and afterlife, especially with the story of the

resurrection of Jesus. Christians see the afterlife and death as being an “intermediate” state

between the death of the physical person and the eventual resurrection40

. This is certainly seen as

a physical metaphor for what is seen in the life of the individual person as each person

experiences highs and lows in their own life. As civilizations of the past saw the eventual

“resurrection” of their respective civilizations through the messiah, the axial age brought about

the change of the individual “resurrection” through a sort of self-transformation. This change of

identity from the culture to the individual and the public demonstration of individual growth as

opposed to societal growth is a hallmark of axial age philosophy and religious ideals41

.

37

Eisenstadt. Origins and Diversity of Axial Age Civilizations. 127-213. 38

Berlin. Oxford Dictionary of Jewish Religion. 226 39

Book of Genesis, Job, Psalms, Isaiah 40

Rashdall. Atonement. 75-123 41

Collins. Cosmology and Eschatology. 3-80.

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Redemption is common in many forms of religion through sacrifice or through a change

of heart, and both types of redemptory forms are found in religions to this day. The Israelites

went through many periods of good and bad and the focus of the religion has been and continues

to be the redemption that God provided and will continue to provide for them42

. Although

Judaism used to accomplish this through sacrifice, since the destruction of the second Temple,

the Jewish religion has taken another approach to substitute for animal sacrifice. In Axial age

religions such as Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity, redemption is the forgiveness of

past sins through a variety of practices that do not require one to make ritual sacrifices. Because

Judaism placed emphasis on redemption through an individual, this nature of redemption was

carried over to Christianity through the figure of Jesus Christ. Christianity combined elements of

this with many elements from Axial age religions such as the practices and rituals related to

one’s personal redemptory journey43

.

Life in the past was considerably more difficult than it is today. People in the past did not

know as much and did not have as much access to resources that we do today. The constant

struggle for life in cultures was very important to the mindset and the religion of the people at the

time. In those days, people thought more about the success and failure of the culture as a whole

rather than the culture of the individual. As quality of life improved and as technology improved,

the characteristics, purpose, and nature of the messiah, like god, changed and religious and

philosophical traditions evolved44

. They were challenged at the time of the axial age and a slew

of new religions came about as a result of these challenges and solutions to these problems.

Although many of these ideas seemed new at the time, the ideas were also ancient in source

42

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts. 172-195 43

Blasi. Early Christianity. 12-35 44

Eisenstadt. Origins and Diversity…1-29

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because they were also attempting to tackle the problems that the older religions tried to answer.

Like the nature of god, the nature of the messiah changed over time and continues to be a source

of hope and inspiration to cultures that believed in the messianic prophecies throughout history45

.

4. LATE ANTIQUITY CONTEXT

In Late Antiquity, around the time just before the destruction of the second temple, the

Israelite religion is vastly divided between three major groups and a multitude of minor groups.

They are divided in terms of nominalistic, theological, and historical grounds46

. These groups are

shaped by three major events that happened just prior to this period. The first major event was

when the first temple was destroyed in the 500’s before the common era and the Jewish people

were exiled to Babylon. The lack of major prophets at the time and the many crises of many

theological topics caused groups of Jews to think differently from one another without and

searching for some guidance. The second crisis was the growing influence of Hellenism in the

religion which was followed by the third crisis of the Roman occupation starting in 63BCE and

the installment of a Roman authority in conflict with the Jewish high priests47

. These three events

caused Judaism that was largely seen in the New Testament writings and consisted of three

major groups, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes48

.

The three major religious groups at the time within Judaism closely parallels the cults that

also existed at the time among Pagan groups. There are religions composed of groups of people

consisting of the rich aristocracy, the poor classes, and the fringe groups49

. Ultimately, it is these

fringe groups that allowed Christianity to rise and many of the devotions found in these cults

45

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts. 51-78 46

Avery-Peck. Judaism in Late Antiquity. 3-34 47

Bowersock. Late Antiquity… 170-195 48

Avery-Peck. Judaism in Late Antiquity. 3-34 49

Bowersock. Late Antiquity. 170-195

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were carried over to Christianity. The conflict between the Pharisees and Sadducees within

Judaism revolves around four points, class warfare between the wealthy and the poor, cultural,

between pro-Hellenization and anti-Hellenization, between those who emphasized temple

worship and those who emphasized other Mosaic Laws, and the differing interpretations of holy

texts50

. The Sadducees were more conservative and consisted of the rich and the ruling classes.

The Pharisees emphasized following the Mosaic Law and the written Torah. Both of these

groups eventually became the two major schools of modern Judaism and both of these groups

shared a common distrust of the third major grouping of Jews, the Essenes. The Essenes are

largely responsible for the apocalyptic nature of Judaism at the time and looked for a Messiah to

come. They also held beliefs of the end of the world being near and the world to come. Many

practices held by the Essenes contributed to the theology and philosophy of many Messiah

claimants at the time, including Jesus51

. The divisions found in Judaism at the time reflected a

larger division of rituals and religions found throughout the Roman Empire at the time.

Josephus of Jerusalem and Philo of Alexandria were philosophers in the time during this

change and wrote extensively about the state and change of the Jewish people, culture, and

religion in the time of late antiquity. Like many Jewish people at the time, they were looking to a

coming messiah and a new kingdom on earth because of the Jewish oppression of the Romans at

the time52

. The prophecies interpreted at the time stated that this messiah would come as a

conquering warrior to wage battle against evil and create a new Jewish kingdom53

. Both of these

thinkers were influenced by the new thinking that arose with new religions and Hellenistic

philosophy and tried to merge these ideas with Jewish philosophy at the time. These two were

50

Avery-Peck. Judaism in Late Antiquity. 3-34 51

Horbury. Jewish Messianism… 170-191 52

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts…139-171 53

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts… 3-26

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instrumental in transforming Judaism from an ancient religion to a more modern philosophy,

expanded by the destruction of the second temple and the end of animal sacrifice. These two

thinkers of Jewish philosophy had different ways of harmonizing the Jewish and Hellenistic

philosophies. Philo used an allegorical approach to Jewish philosophy to harmonize it with the

Hellenistic ideas that were influencing Judaism at the time. He also took a more allegorical view

of God by saying that god could not be understood in human terms. These ideas, radical at the

time, were not well received in a world that still saw god in a more literal way. He works to

attempt to bring together the philosophies of Moses and Plato and takes a radical view in the

process54

. Two important things that influenced Philo at the time were the ideas of stoicism and

exegesis. Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that centered on the idea of the

individual perfection morally and intellectually. This idea is seen in many new religions at the

time and came to be the focus of religions such as Christianity55

. Exegesis is the critical

explanation or interpretation of the text, especially a religious text. This is another idea that

would be very important to Jewish philosophy, having a written record of its own, and is used

extensively by Jesus and the early church fathers to expand their ideas56

.

Josephus came along at about the same time as Philo and both of them attempted to

reconcile Jewish and Hellenistic philosophies. Josephus took a different approach to these

philosophies as he saw firsthand the destruction of the second temple and the revolt of the Jewish

people against their oppressors, who were the Romans at the time57

. Josephus also witnessed

firsthand the multitudes of people at the time who claimed to be the long awaited messiah,

including Jesus. Josephus sided with the Jewish people at first, being a Jew himself, against the

54

Moore. “Middle Platonism” 55

Horbury. Jewish Messianism…192-210 56

Morris. Jewish Encyclopedia. 57

Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 347-368

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Roman occupation and still looked for a messiah to come to save their people along with many

Jews at the time58

. As the wars went on and the Jewish people rebelled against the Romans,

however, he sided with the Romans as the second temple was burned to the ground and

Jerusalem was leveled. His works tended to be more pro-Roman in nature, seeing the advantage

of Hellenistic philosophy over the ancient traditions of Judaism in his eyes. He wrote extensively

about the secular history of the groups of people at the time of second temple Judaism and the

siege of Jerusalem. Josephus changed his views as the predominant thinking of the time changed

away from older religions in general and marginalized groups of people turned against the older

religions in favor of new ways of thinking59

. This change in religious thinking changed the way

Josephus and Philo viewed redemption for their people, like the ways that messianism and

eschatology changed with the advent of new religious traditions and the influence of new

philosophic ways of thinking60

. Although Philo and Josephus tried to reconcile their religion with

the newer philosophies, they were unsuccessful in many ways because of the change in the

nature of Judaism as a result of the rise of Christianity and the fall of Judaism as a sacrificial

religion following the fall of the second temple, but there was also success when Judaism was

able to change and distinguish itself as a religion following the rise of Christianity61

.

While most of the population of the Roman Empire practiced multiple religious devotions

and traditions, there were many types of cults and practices at the time that clearly appealed to

certain people and classes throughout the Roman Empire. The first type of religious tradition that

was found in the Roman Empire were the more traditional pre-Axial age sacrificial religions

composed of a pantheon of many gods and goddesses. There was also a parallel grouping of

58

Seeskin. Jewish Messianic Thoughts… 139-171 59

Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews… 349-368 60

Moore. “Middle Platonism…” 61

Horbury. Jewish Messianism… 161-201

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domestic cults and ancestral cults that varied widely because of the individual practices of each

of the families. These two main groups of religious traditions within the Roman Empire went

back to the beginning of the city and were rooted in even more ancient traditions, as is seen with

ethnic religions throughout the world to this day6263

.

There are, however, two other types of religions that evolved during this time that are

worth noting because of its influence on practices in Late Antiquity and the development of early

Christianity. Mystery cults developed in the furthest reaches of the empire among groups of

people who were marginalized or set apart from normal society. These cults required potential

converts to be “initiated” and participated in many rituals that are secret and were frowned upon

by the established religions and heavily persecuted by Christianity towards the end of the

classical era. Although the Roman Empire practiced a level of religious tolerance, many of these

cults were viewed with suspicion because of their secretive nature64

. Many of the practices seen

in these mystery cults are found in Christianity to this day. It was said that the Mithraic mysteries

practiced a ritual of feasting with bread and wine, akin to the modern Christian practice of the

Eucharist. There was another common practice of worshipping human figures as gods and

saviors of their respective followers, which is a practice seen in Christianity today in the

adoption of Jesus as divine65

. This practice was also common in another type of religion that

emerged around this time, the imperial cult.

The Imperial Cult played an important role in the development and rise of early

Christianity. The divination and worship of a human figure, namely the family of Augustus,

made the divination of humans into a public dogma and attached many mythical stories to their

62

Bowersock. Late Antiquity. 82-106, 170-195. 63

Ferguson. Background of Early Christianity. 148-213. 64

Burkert. Ancient Mystery Cults. 30-65 65

Klauck. Religious Context. 81-150.

Hite 18

lives. The rise of the imperial cult also allowed a social shift and division between the rich and

the poor, which allowed Christianity to find a niche among the marginalized and to adopt

practices that were commonplace in the mystery religions that also appealed to the marginalized

classes. The adoption of certain religious practices from religions that were practiced by the poor

masses allowed Christianity to become a very popular religion throughout the Roman Empire,

especially after the formal split from Second Temple Judaism following the destruction of the

city in 79AD66

.

In addition to the religions and cults that existed throughout the empire, there were many

popular practices as well, religious or otherwise, that have been mentioned in parts of the bible

and by the early Church fathers and may have influenced the nature of Christianity67

. The

Pauline letters and the Acts of the Apostles have many accounts against false teachers practicing

magic and using astrology. Miracleworkers and healers were popular throughout the Roman

Empire in Late Antiquity because of the general religious fervor, especially in Judea. Prophecy

was also popular in Judea because of the influences of the different groups of Israelites that

existed trying to interpret the writings during the time when the Jewish people were oppressed by

the Romans. There were other popular practices such as the use of magic and astrology. Many of

these practices were also familiar to Romans in stories of Greek heroes, whether or not they were

divine. These practices and the use of them in stories were so popular that some of these

practices are seen in books like the bible. Jesus also used prophecy, miracles, healings, and

“magic” according to the gospel stories and by some of the apostles in the book of Acts. Paul

also referred to them in his letters to varying degrees. These practices and its adoption into early

66

Blasi. Early Christianity as a Social Movement. 3-26 67

Benko. Pagan Rome… 159-176

Hite 19

Christian stories are important to the rapid development of the religion due to it being relatable to

the marginalized classes of Romans and Israelite peoples6869

.

Another popular practice that took off with the Imperial Cult around the same time as the

life of Jesus Christ is the apotheosis of the Augustine line. Apotheosis is the process of making a

human subject into a divine being and it started in the imperial cult with Julius Caesar. It was

also popular with other Axial Age religions to varying degrees, but especially with the Greco-

Roman mystery cults70

. The term was eventually applied to Jesus as Christianity became

popular. The practice was also talked about in the letters of Paul and in the writings of the early

Church fathers, mainly to condemn the practice. The early Church fathers went to great lengths

to condemn these practices to justify the uniqueness of Christianity and it is because many of

these practices were adopted by Christianity. The popularity of these practices allowed

Christianity to thrive and gain converts due to the adoption of these practices and combining

them with other practices and backed by Jewish prophecy71

. Although Christianity at the time

was new, many of the ideas and purposes of this new religious movement came from ideas that

were much older and had different meanings to people in the past.

5. CHRISTIANITY

Christianity started out, like many religions do, as a group of sayings and teachings that has

been passed down from person to person. People in this era have been largely marginalized

between differing classes and races in many cases. The poor had been largely ignored and

marginalized and people decided to take action. Christianity in the beginning was largely made

68

Luck. Arcana Mundi. 33-206, 285-370 69

Campion. Dawn of Astrology. 70

Benko. Pagan Rome… 51-86 71

Horbury. Jewish Messianism… 171-190

Hite 20

up of groups of Israelite people who accepted Jesus as the messiah72

. As a result of this,

Christianity was still attached to Judaism and many still followed old Israelite customs and the

Mosaic Law. As more non-Israelite people came into the new movement, however, controversy

started to creep in because they did not know or follow the Israelite customs and the Mosaic

Law73

. Many of the gentiles were part of the Hellenistic philosophical movement and

Christianity is a result of reconciling Hellenistic philosophy with Mosaic Law, the reconciliation

between the old and the new. Christianity held a special message and appealed to a large group

of people who were marginalized, so this religion took off over all others to eventually be the

dominant religion throughout the Roman Empire74

.

Christianity eventually broke from its Israelite roots because of pivotal political events within

and outside the church. Within the Church, Paul talked extensively about the early controversy

surrounding the early Christians and to the extent by which they would be following the Mosaic

Law7576

. The Council in Jerusalem outlined in the book of Acts would set the stage for the break

between Christianity and what would become Judaism. The Judean revolt and the subsequent

destruction of the second temple was a pivotal part of the separation. The Christians at the time

were facing their own problems and the Israelite people were scattered throughout the empire as

a result of the leveling of the city of Jerusalem. This did not only change Christianity, but it also

changed the religion it separated from and resulted in the development of modern Judaism

without any emphasis on physical sacrifices. These events shaped the separation of Christianity

72

Ferguson. Backgrounds of Early Christianity… 316-318 73

Book of Acts 12-15 74

Blasi. Early Christianity… 75-96 75

Blasi. Early Christianity… 12-36 76

Dunn. Jesus, Paul, and the Law… 215-236

Hite 21

and ancient Judaism, but Christianity would take hundreds of years to manifest itself as a state

religion mainly due to its persecution under Pagan controlled Rome77

.

Christianity faced massive persecution in its early days as a result of its conflicts with

Pagan Rome. The Romans found it easy to use the Jewish people and the Christians as a

scapegoat because they were some of the only groups of people in the empire to reject the Pagan

gods in their defense of monotheism. This rejection, coupled with the class divide that also

existed in many cases with the religious differences, was the source of many arguments and

persecutions78

. Despite this, Christianity grew at a rate that was unstoppable at the time for many

of these social and economic reasons.

The central concept that made Christianity possible is the story of the resurrection of

Jesus Christ after the suffering and death of Christ. It is because of this, according to many

Christians, that we can enter into the kingdom of heaven. The resurrection story is seen in all

four of the canonical Gospels and is explained in the Pauline epistles such as Romans79

. This

event was so influential in the life of many of the early apostles that the word spread quickly

throughout the Roman Empire and has spread to the furthest reaches of the world. The

resurrection event explains a theological concept that has existed throughout the history of

Judaism, albeit in a different form. There was also a hope in many of the early apostles for a

“World to Come” which permeates with most Christians today. This is related to the Jewish

concept of the coming of the messiah and a final redemption. The “World to Come” concept is

related to many Jewish and Axial age events such as the resurrection of the dead and the final

77

Benko. Pagan Rome and Early Christians. 101-117 78

Benko. Pagan Rome and Early Christians.159-176 79

Dunn. Jesus, Paul, and the Gospels. 190-213

Hite 22

judgment80

. Many of these concepts were also challenged among Jewish leaders at the time of

Second Temple Judaism and Hellenistic Philosophy81

. This environment allowed many

preachers and healers to come about at this time, one of which was Jesus. At this time, many

changes were happening in the world of religion and politics and this caused many of the older

beliefs to be challenged and definitions of older theological concepts to be changed. Redemption,

like the messiah, the nature of the end of the world, good and evil, and internalism remained

important concepts and doctrines between Christianity and Second Temple Judaism, but the

nature and definitions of them were modified in the wake of Late Antiquity82

.

In addition to Christianity being popular because of the message that it preached and the

hope that it gave to the masses of poor people and fringe groups throughout the Roman Empire,

Christianity also represented the new wave of thinking that came about as a result of the Axial

age. There were many new ideas represented in Christianity that were not found in older

religious traditions and these new ideas represented the increasing differences in thought

between the older ways and the newer ways of thinking, and was the result of significant

persecution and tension between Christianity and Pagan religions83

.

All religions exist as a search for purpose in the life of an individual. Christianity

developed at the pivotal point between the sacrificial religions of old and the individual

development and the divine potential that defines the new. Christianity is also placed in the

Jewish context using concepts that are Jewish in nature. Christianity itself evolved out of this

context because of the religious and spiritual traditions and ideals of Jesus and the first converts.

At the time, the influence of the Axial age ideals and the Hellenistic philosophy that was gaining

80

Benko. Pagan Rome and the Early Christians. 3-29 81

Borgen. Early Christianity… 253-272 82

Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews.369-390 83

Benko. Pagan Rome and the Early Christians.3-29

Hite 23

popularity among the Israelite population at the time. As there was a large problem between the

gentile interest with joining Israelite philosophy and the requirements of the Mosaic Law, the

controversy with Christians following the Mosaic Law developed and was settled with the

council of Jerusalem. The rift between Christianity and the Hebrew religion grew bigger with

internal and external events within both religions culminating in the Jewish revolt and the

destruction of the Second Temple, along with an entire way of thinking for the Hebrew people

and religion84

.

In Christianity, Jesus is sometimes referred to as a redeemer85

. Most Christians argue that

redeeming the world from sin through the redemptory sacrifice of Jesus was the primary purpose

of the life and mission of Jesus. The First Epistle of John along with many of the Pauline letters

speaks of Christ as the redeemer and the savior of all people. Unlike the Old Testament in which

many people were seen as the savior and redeemer, Christianity only refers to Christ as the

savior and redeemer86

. This difference in definition between Judaism and Christianity is an

example of the wider differences between the religions around the Axial age. The central

message of Christianity is the salvation provided through the example of Jesus Christ, so the

concept of redemption remains a central theological concept in religion, but like many religious

concepts at this time, the definitions and nature of these concepts changed87

.

6. Conclusion

The development of early Christianity had as much to do with social and economic

conditions at the time than it did with Jewish prophecy. It initially developed as the fulfillment of

84

Hengel. Conflicts and Challenges.35-51 85

Dunn. Jesus, Paul, and the Gospels. 150-178 86

Dunn. Jesus, Paul, and the Gospels.150-178 87

Armstrong. The Great Transformation… 438-475

Hite 24

a Jewish prophecy with the life and story of Jesus Christ and then developed into what it is today

because of the influence of social and economic changes. It also developed due to changes in

spiritual thinking and enlightenment surrounding the development of the Axial age that made its

way into the Roman Empire and the region around Palestine. These three changes, along with the

popular message that Christianity displayed in relation to similar movements that sprung up

around this time and competed with Christianity to various degrees, made Christianity a very

popular cultic movement in the Roman Empire and spread along with trade and communication

to all parts of the Roman Empire. The Late Classical period left a lasting legacy on the world of

religion through the final transition between the old ways of thinking and the new ways of

thinking and resulted in two distinct types of religions that can still be found today.

Hite 25

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