The World of Early Christian Traditions

It is extremely important to understand the influences of the Greco-Roman religious environment on developing Christianity. It is generally believed that the church converted the Greco-Roman world to Christianity, but many would say instead that the church itself was converted to Greco-Romanism.

The Dean of New Testament studies in America, Professor Helmut Koester of Harvard University, dedicated the entire first volume of his premier two-volume edition of the Introduction to the New Testament, to the History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic World. Volume 1 is notably longer than volume 2, which is the actual Introduction to the New Testament.

In your Textbook, Read Carefully and Study these Major Themes:

The Problem of Beginnings, pp. 17-20 

Why does Ehrman begin his study with the Gospels and not with Paul even though Paul is our earliest source for Christianity?

Consider the Major Problem before us and its implications for Modern Christianity:
Some refer to this problem as Paulianity vs. Christianity

• Paul Never Personally Knew Jesus or heard him speak

• Paul originally interacted with some of the leading Apostles of Jesus and apparently received traditional information from them

• Paul later claimed to be receiving special revelations from the risen Jesus and the spirit

• Paul broke with the Apostles, challenged their authority, and questioned the correctness of their teachings about Jesus

• Paul set off on his own, preaching his own Jesus and his own "gospel" to the Greco-Roman world, and setting up his own "churches" in the empire

• James the Just, head of the Apostles and brother of Jesus, sent agents to follow Paul and try to correct what they considered to be his erroneous preaching of his "gospel"

• given the above, for the purposes of this course:

  • Paul will be considered an unreliable source for information on Jesus

  • Paul will be considered a valuable source for information on the Christian communities with which he interacted

The Historical Context of the Greco-Roman world, and its influence on Christianity, pp. 20-34; Boxes 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

• Read "One Remarkable Life", pp. 20-22

• Work through my page: An Exercise

• Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth

• Dionysus' Virgin Birth (Dionysus means "Son of God")

Dionysus' Virgin Birth - IV BCE	Jesus' Virgin Birth - Byzantine Medieval

• Dionysus Crucified

Dionysus Crucified  II CE	Jesus Crucified Byzantine Medieval

• Hercules ascending to Olympus after his Funeral

Ascension of Hercules to Olympus 410 BCE	Ascension of Jesus to Heaven VII CE Byzantine

• Hercules as Savior (Soter) on the reverse of a V BCE silver coin of Thassos
   Head of Dionysus on Front

• Helios the Sun God in Judeo-Christianity

Jesus as Helios from an image in the most ancient part of the Vatican	Helios in a Synagogue in Sepphoris, the home town of Jesus' mother, Mary

Compare and Contrast these central aspects of modern Christianity with those of the Greco-Roman Religious Environment of early Christianity as presented on pp. 22-29

    Greco-Roman Religiosity:

• No organization or priestly hierarchy, no creeds or basic belief system, no ethical commitments, no Bibles

• Polytheism vs. Monotheism - The Judeo-Christian pantheon of archangels, angels, devils, demons, cherubim, seraphim, and saints; are they similar to the "polytheism" of the Greco-Romans?

The Greco-Roman Pantheon	The Judeo-Christian Pantheon

• Present Life vs. Afterlife - Odysseus and Jesus Visit Hades and Return

• Cult vs. Doctrine - No Creeds in Greco-Roman Religion

• Church State vs. Separation - A serious contemporary issue

• Tolerance vs. Intolerance - Religious Tolerance.org

Magic and Mystery in the Greco-Roman World - pp, 29-32, Boxes 2.4, 2.5

• The Mother Goddess and her dying-resurrecting Daughter Persephone

• The Hymn to Demeter

• "Beautiful indeed is the Mystery given us by the blessed gods: death is for mortals no longer an evil, but a blessing."
  Inscription found at Eleusis (translation by S. Angus, The Mystery Religions and Christianity [London, 19251, p. 140)

Philosophy and Religion in the Greco-Roman World

The Pagan Trinity - Plotinus

Learn the Key Terms on p. 35 with special reference to their original context in the chapter