Christian Political Context

Hello and welcome to the history of religion podcast. I am J G and this is episode 1 of the podcast. And the first episode of the history of Christianity, titled Christian political context. The first rule of history is context. The second rule of history is context and you guessed it. The third rule is context. So we will Begin by providing context for the Life of Christ. This episode will focus on the historical timeline and political world that Christ was born into Christianity is an abrahamic monotheistic religion, abrahamic in that, it draws on the Hebrew Old Testament in the tradition of Judaism monotheistic. In that it believes in one God, in three persons, the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. It is a religion in that, it Focused with organizing around sacred things or people. In this case, Jesus Christ, utilizing belief structures institutions, and other means Christianity has at least two point four billion followers in the world between nine percent of the world's population. It is the most geographically diverse religion in the world with substantial, adherence on every inhabited, continent, 1.3 billion of Christians are Declassified as Catholic 920 million as student and 290 million as Orthodox. The three main branches of Christianity are strongest in the modern West, but the global South is revealing itself to be the new stronghold for Christianity with South America, southeast Asia, and Africa, growing fastest, and Christian converts Christianity has the highest conversion rate of any religion in the world and even Prevail strongly in environments that are hostile towards it such as the modern Chinese government. The very way in which we separate the timeline of modern Human Society. The split on the life of Jesus Christ, BC standing for before Christ, and AD standing for anno domini or in the year of the Lord. How Christianity became this worldwide. Religion is a long and complicated history. Yep, understanding its history, will allow us to understand the world that we live in better and to be more informed about the beliefs of those around us as almost one out of three humans. Christian's today. Christianity has its start in first century BC in the Roman province of Judea, which is where Modern Israel exists. Today in the near East Judea is geographically positioned in the middle of many large Empires throughout history, the Egyptian Empire lead to the Southwest the hittite Empire, which was considered fictional until modern archaeological discoveries was North of Israel. The Assyrian Empire was to the Northeast and the Babylonian and Persian Empires to the East the high point of the kingdom and Independence of Judea, or of the Jews. There in was around, 1930, BC with the davidic kingdom, that split and 9:30 into both Judah and Israel, which is where our modern term Judea comes from this involved. The building of the first temple by Solomon in 960 BC in 722 through 720. Israel was conquered and exiled by the Assyrian Empire in 586. It was conquered exiled in the temple destroyed by the Babylonians, which was enveloped by the Persian Empire. Eventually the destruction of the temple begins. What is called the second temple period, because a second temple was constructed in its place. The Persian Empire eventually gained power in the 500s, BC, and allow Jews to return and build another temple in 538 through 515 PC, this environment, persisted until Alexander, the Great conquered Persia, and most of that. Part of the world in 336 BC. This marked the introduction of Hellenistic culture to Judea which was Greek culture and ideology and fused with the local culture and belief structures. In this case. It was Hellenism meeting Judaism in Judea. Judea was allowed much autonomy under the Persian Empire, Cyrus from 538 2529. BC, allowed conquered peoples to return to their homelands and keep their cultures. This is when the Jews returned to rebuild the Temple, the Persian king can bias this car. Egypt and 525, giving the Persian Empire for control over the area. And then Darius after him Consolidated power in the Empire from 522 to 486 BC, bring more stability to the Judean area, the Book of Esther and the old Hebrew Testament was written under Xerxes Rule and the book of Nehemiah under Arctic. Surcease and the 400 specie though. The Persian Empire allowed for much local autonomy. They still demanded taxes to be paid. This did not sit well. With some specifically those in Greece, although Greece Supply, the Persians with mercenaries as has been attested to throughout history. This was a great system until perjure could no longer. Pay. Those mercenaries, the Greek mercenaries, March, back to Greece and told their fellow Greeks of the weaknesses of the Persian Empire. Greece was a field of newly planted ideas at the time as well, from Athens, trying democracy and you philosophical movements to macedonians Were King, Philip the second ruled in the BC. He practiced a new type of warfare. That was year-round and involved full-time professionals. This was in stark contrast to others that saw war in a more seasonal and amateurish manner at the time. The result was a well-oiled military machine. That King, Philip, the second left to his son. Alexander. The Great Philip was assassinated in 336 BC that year is used by many as the start of Western Civilization. The reason being is that's when Alexander the Great inherited the military of Philip, the second and Philip the S plans to invade Persia Alexander. The Great had his opportunity when the city of Thieves revolted against Alexander's Coalition against the Persians, Alexander marched to the city and killed 6,000. All of the others were taken into slavery. The strong men approached one aleksandr the allegiance of the fellow Greeks and he began his march across the hellespont and to Persia and 334 BC by 332, Alexander had made it to Egypt and Establish the city that would bear his name Alexandria Judea now was in the hands of the Greeks. Alexander conquered all the way to the Indus Valley, until his men finally became too, tired of conquering to continue on. Alexander died in 323 BC and his large empire was split into four smaller kingdoms. The most important to were patanjali in Egypt and solution has an old Persia and India Judea was grouped in with the Egyptian Empire of at only and the center of power shifted to Alexandria, the cultural and religious center of the new smaller Empire yet. Judea was on the border of the seleucid Empire and would fall under seleucid rule the times and experience revolves. Alexander had invested heavily in to the culture of the Greeks and brought that culture and language with him. Throughout his Conquest, that process was called Hellenism yet because of these constant revolts from Jews, fights between patola me. Seleucid Empire over the territory, Hellenism was not near as pervasive as it was in other areas of the Empire, Jews would be dispersed into Alexandria, where they would become more hellenized and they wrote the Septuagint. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament Bible. And according to Legend was translated by 72 Elders, who were divinely LED. So the translation is legitimate according to tradition. So to adjust refers to the number 72, and it was allegedly, Uh, done. So under King took pitoni a source of notes. Keen for told me once gathered 72 Elders. He placed them in 72 Chambers, each of them and separate ones without revealing to them why they were summoned. He entered each one's room and said right for me, the Torah of Moses, your teacher, God put it in the heart of each one to translate identically as all the others did unquote. So at this time, there are now two cultures that are interacting in the car. Exit, where Jesus will arrive Hellenism and Judaism, The Scholar. Everett Ferguson says it is hard to imagine Christianity succeeding in any other environment than that, which resulted from the conquest of Alexander, the Great, the back and forth between the seleucid Empire and the Potomac Empire over Judea did not go uncontested about you day itself in 167 BC a Revolt broke out against the seleucid empire after a decree, went out for bidding Jewish. Religious practice. It is said that a priest named Malthus who refused to sacrifice to the Greek gods and killed a hellenized Jew and a Greek officer. He and his five Sons then fled and began the Rebellion at the S Sons. Judah, Maccabee whose name means the hammer soon. Became the leader of the role. Revolve after matheus is death and the Revolt itself became to be called the Maccabee in Revolt. They focused on destroying Hellenistic objects. Sorry, such as Greek, altars, they even circumcised young, boys. So, they took their stuff pretty seriously. The Maca beings use Guerrilla tactics against the seleucid Army, and even took over Jerusalem there, they cleanse the temple and re-establish traditional Jewish Porsche. Eventually a compromise was reached for Religious Freedom. After Judas, struck a treaty with Rome to tie up the seleucids. The Jews were allowed to set up a dynasty. That was called the hasmonean. Joseph P. Shultz understands the Revolt is this modern scholarship? Considers the maccabean Revolt less as an uprising against foreign depression, than a civil war between the Orthodox and reforms parties in the Jewish Camp unquote. Finally, what this Revolt introduces is the new player on the field that is casting a long Shadow over everyone wrong. Rome had been around for a few hundred years, by the time Alexander the Great had conquered the known world. The Romans were too busy fighting in the same night wars in the 300s, though, to focus on the Greeks. But in the 200s, the pyrrhic war broke out between the Greeks and the Romans, the Greeks technically won in battles, but lost so many men that they were unable to continue fighting giving rise to the term appearing Victory. Furthermore. The Romans had to face the carthaginians and the Punic Wars in the 200s. So, there are quite busy there. His began to turn more toward the Greek Empires at the end of the 200s and into 100 specie with a Macedonian wars in the seleucid war. The result was that the Romans were able and interested to interfere with Jewish Affairs and 63 BC. The opportunity for the Romans appeared, the death of the hasmonean. Dynastic Queen Alexandra. Led to a civil war between her two sons, for the throne and the priesthood. Both sides, sought the help of the Roman general Pompey, who was in the area of modern-day Syria. The time after much fuss and a few portrayals font, they brought an army and entered the city. He even went into the holy of holies. Where only the high priest was allowed the hasmonean kingdom was relegated to a name only empowered position and much of the territory had to be given up yet. Judea still was not fully a Roman province years after The Siege of Jerusalem by Pompey. Julius Caesar appointed, the first Roman procurator of the region, alongside the hasmoneans. The first Roman procurator was anti Potter and his Son was Herod, who was titled King of the Jews heard was given this title in 40 BC and gained military control of the region and 37 BC. He used his power to eradicate the last of the hasmoneans and he built an impressive Public Work projects. The most important for the Jews was the renovation and expansion of the second temple. And that was accomplished under Heritage rule. Judea was turned into an official Roman province right after herod's, death between 4 and 6, BC. All of this brings us up to the time of Christ, one would assume that the Birth of Christ would have been 180 because we base Our dating on that distinction yet. It probably was not the AD and BC distinction was created by a mountain named Dionysus. He lived from 478 e25 4480 and moved to Rome from Romania or Bulgaria. Scholars are not completely sure Scholars are unsure of the method that he used but he calculated the current Roman Consul at the time to have been five hundred and twenty-five years after the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. And thus Calendar using BC and AD was born yet. Shockingly. Dionysius did not get his calculations, quite right. It is hard-pressed for Jesus to be born one ad when he is said to have been born at the time of Herod the Great's Reign, according to Matthew 21 by Herod died, between 4 and 6, BC. The gospels. Do not explicitly. Say when Christ was born. The only give historical context that is. Then used to determine where he was likely born, some Scholars argue that Jesus was at least two years old when The wise men or Magi came to him because Herod had all children under 2 slaughtered Luke 15 has a bit of a conflict for the year of Christ's birth as well. It puts it during the census of korena's. Josephus knows that this took place around 68 ad some Scholars. Try to mesh the two conflicting reports together saying that the census and Luke refers to another senses yet in the end. Most Scholars agree that Jesus was born between 4 and 6 BC, right before Herod. At. So what we have seen is that there are now three competing civilizations that are essential to understanding the time of Christ. The first is the Greeks who brought Hellenism. The second is the Romans who were the dominant Empire at the time politically? And finally the Jews who were trying to survive while maintaining the religious identity, Christianity would use all three of these to successfully spread around the world to join me. Next time on the history of religion podcast, as we delve into the three competing audit, Ideologies of the time of Christ.