Judaism and Christianity

Introduction

Hebrews introduce monotheism into a

world of polytheism in the form of a god
above nature and free from compulsion
and fate
Hebrews took name Judaism in honor of
Judah, a prophet, and their homeland,
Judaea
Christianity emerged from Judaism

Judaism
The Sacred Scriptures
Early scriptures known collectively as TaNaKh
Torah = Five Books of Moses
Neviim = Books of the Prophets
Ketuvim = historical, poetic, and philosophic writings
Christians accept all of the TaNaKh as the Old
Testament
Jews and Christians long regarded these books as the
literal word of God

Judaism
The Sacred Scriptures [cont.]
Biblical Criticism in last 200 years has
placed these works into historical context
Close reading suggests stylistic differences
tied to different authors
Josiahs centralization of Hebrew belief
resulted in the writing of Deuteronomy
Other stories were woven together at a later
date to create the rest of the Torah

Judaism
The Sacred Scriptures [cont.]

Oldest existing copy of complete Torah

dates to 9th-11th centuries C.E.
Greek language Torah dates to 2nd-3rd
century B.C.E.
Torah is one of best examples of mythhistory because it captures ideals,
concepts, and beliefs of Jewish people
even if not literally true

Judaism
Essential Beliefs of Judaism in Early
Scripture
A single, caring God
A God of history
A community rooted in divinely chosen
family
A specific promised geographical
homeland
A legal system
A sacred calendar

Judaism
The Later Books of Jewish Scripture
Neviim and Ketuvim carry Jewish story
from 1200 B.C.E. to 500 C.E.
Books begin with Joshua, the return of the
Jews from Egypt to Israel
History suggests that return was spread out
over time and that era involved extensive
borrowing from other cultures

Judaism
The Later Books of Jewish Scripture
[cont.]
Rule by Judges and Kings
Jews adopted loose confederacy advised by
judges upon return to Canaan (Israel)
Created kings (1020 B.C.E.) to deal with
internal strife
Kingdom split in two in reaction to extravagant
reign of Solomon (950 B.C.E.)

Judaism
The Later Books of Jewish Scripture
[cont.]

Teachings of the Prophets: Morality and

Hope

Prophets demanded return of morality and

compassion in face of corrupt leadership
Placed memory of past injustice and slavery
against current events and demanded return to
religious roots
Presented image of an inspiring future

Judaism
The Evolution of the Image of God
Gods early concerns about humanity resulted
in a flood and in the division of people by
language
Responded to evil with punishment
YHWH accessible via prayer and dialogue
Challenged self-willed polytheistic gods but
provided no answer for the existence of evil in
the world

Judaism
Patriarchy and Gender Relations
Torah granted women fewer rights than
men
Regulation of sexuality extensive in
scripture
Women had few heroic roles

Judaism
Defeat, Exile, and Redefinition
Jews exiled of northern kingdom by Assyrians (721
B.C.E.); returned sixty years later
Outsiders including Alexander controlled Israel
Roman Empire destroyed temple in Jerusalem in
70 C.E. and dispersed people, 135 C.E.
This Diaspora reshaped Jewish beliefs
No significant numbers of Jews in Judaea until
20th century

Judaism
Minority/Majority Relations in the
Diaspora

Jews remained distinct people in new

settlements
Flourished in many instances but faced
discrimination in others
Story of Esther shows Esther in
preservation of Jewish community but also
shows pressures on minorities in empires

Christianity
Christianity Emerges from Judaism
Developed at height of Roman power
Jews were divided into four groups: Pharisees,
Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes
Jesus teachings challenged Pharisees who
accepted Roman rule
Called for rapid religious reform and predicted
early day of judgement for the world
Promised a life in Heaven

Christianity
Christianity Emerges from Judaism [cont.]
Jesus preaching angered Jewish and Roman
leaders
Followers saw him as messiah and miracle worker
Roman crucifixion did not stop growth of followers
Message of compassion, salvation, and eternal life
attracted many Romans

Christianity
Jesus Life, Teaching, and Disciples
Adapting Rituals to New Purposes
Jesus prayer and preaching was writing Jewish
tradition
Baptism was modification of unimportant
Jewish ritual
Last supper an extension of Passover meal

Christianity
Jesus Life, Teachings, and Disciples [cont.]
Overturning the Old Order
Assertion that the end of the world was at hand was
recognition that world would soon change
Argued that wealth was a hindrance to salvation
Raised commandment to love your neighbor above a
broad range of Jewish commands
Predicted violent end of world

Christianity
Jesus Life, Teachings, and Disciples [cont.]
Jesus and the Jewish Establishment
Was condescending and confrontational toward
Jewish religious leaders
Scoffed at dietary and Sabbath restrictions
Restricted divorce
Teachings reflect desire to return to earlier beliefs in
faith and spirituality, and that the future lay in
Heaven, not earth

Christianity
Jesus Life, Teachings, and Disciples [cont.]
Miracles and Resurrection
Miracles rather than teachings brought followers
Crucifixion and resurrection completed the miracles of
Jesus
Apostles, especially Paul of Tarsus (d. 67 C.E.),
transformed Christian sect into broad religion with
preaching, organizational network, and instructional
letters

Christianity
The Growth of the Early Church
Peter, designated as leader of early
organization, stressed Christian ethics over
Jewish practices such as circumcision
Broadened appeal to Gentiles
Made little mention of the apocalyptic side
of Christianity

Christianity
The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
Paul Organizes the Early Church
Saul converted from a critic to an apostle of
Christianity
Was Jewish by ethnicity, Roman by citizenship,
and Greek by culture
Linked Christian communities of eastern
Mediterranean with letters (Epistles)
Formulated concept of original sin and redemption
from it

Christianity
The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
The Christian Calendar

Created sacred calendar with special days

Christmas = Jesus Birth

Easter = Jesus Resurrection
Pentecost = Jesus Ascension [had been date of
Jewish commemoration of the receipt of the Ten
Commandments]

Numbered years from the presumed date of

Jesus birth
Sabbath was changed from Saturday to
Sunday, from the seventh to the first day of the
week

Christianity
The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
Gender Relations
Women were central to earliest church but became less
so over time despite spiritual equality
Paul recommended celibacy for all but monogamous
marriage for those who could not remain celibate
Made wife subordinate to husband at home
Commanded women to keep silent in church
Accepted slavery

Christianity
From Persecution to Triumph
Adopted imperial capital (Rome) as center
of the new religion
Christianity started as one of a number of
mystery religions in Rome
Refusal to worship emperor seen as threat
Persecution extensive within empire
Decided on content of New Testament by
200 C.E.

Christianity
From Persecution to Triumph [cont.]
The Conversion of Constantine
Constantine vision in 313 C.E. regarded as Christian
sanction of his military career
Immediately made Christianity legal
Sponsored council at Nicaea that produced Nicene
Creed
Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official
religion of the empire in 392 C.E.

Christianity
From Persecution to Triumph [cont.]
How Had Christianity Succeeded?
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) scorned Christianity but
revealed strengths and secrets of the spread in his
critique

Zeal
Promise of future life
Miracles
Austere morals
Created state within a state
Created personal community within universal religion

Christianity
Doctrine: Definition and Dispute
Augustine (354-430 C.E.) emphasized the spiritual
rather than the political possibilities
Connected Christian theology to Greek philosophy
of Plato
Emphasized meditation
Believed sexuality to be perilous
Believers should subordinate their will to the
teachings of the church

Christianity
Doctrine: Definition and Dispute [cont.]
Battle over Dogma
Divisive dispute over the divinity of Jesus
Arius (250-336 C.E.) thought humanity of Jesus
made God more sacred than Jesus
Arian dispute led to open warfare and military
defeat of the Arians
Growth of Christianity sometimes led
missionaries to try to convert Jews by coercion

Christianity in Wake of Empire

The Conversion of the Barbarians

Christian bishops came from ranks of

senatorial governing class--continuity with
the empire
Extensive conversions culminated in
conversion of Clovis in 496 C.E., the first
barbarian to accept the religion
Action got Clovis support and connections
from Roman leadership

Christianity in Wake of Empire

Decentralized Power and Monastic Life
Early church dominated by missionaries who were
unmarried men and women
Pope Gregory I (590-604 C.E.) encouraged
monastic movement; useful in conversion and
discipline
Church power fragmented in West until 1000 C.E.
Monasteries developed missions, schools, and
other institutions of church
Decisive papal leadership would come later

Christianity in Wake of Empire

The Church Divides into East and West
Church superceded empire in West but Byzantium
never ceded power to the church
Eastern church urban and organized; Western
church rural and disconnected into local units
Rome seen as an outlier of Orthodox church after
Council of Chalcedon

Christianity in Wake of Empire

Church Divides into East and West [cont.]
Split between Rome and Constantinople
Central issue was authority of Roman pope from the
perspective of Rome and Constantinople
Leo IX (elected pope in 1048 C.E.) promoted papal
power in the West--and over Constantinople
Result was Great Schism of 1054 C.E. onward
Most direct confrontation was in 1204 C.E., when
western Crusaders attacked Constantinople rather than
pursue state purpose of attacking Muslims

Christianity in Wake of Empire

Church Divides into East and West [cont.]
New Areas Adopt Orthodox Christianity
Orthodox monks became active later than monks in the
West
Caught between Roman West and Islamic East, these
missionaries moved north to Russia, which began to call
itself the Third Rome after the fall of Constantinople
East and West competed for converts in areas adjacent
to the two religions

Christianity in Wake of Empire

Christianity in Western Europe
Europe halted Muslim growth at Tours, 732
C.E.
Muslim conquests cut Christianity off from
the lands of its birth
Christianity became primarily a religion of
Europeans, often recently-converted
barbarian warrior nobles

Christianity in Wake of Empire

Christianity in Western Europe [cont.]
The Pope Allies with the Franks
Pope felt surrounded by Muslims and Byzantines as well
as by powerful Goths to the north
Turned to powerful Franks such as Charles Martel, who
defeated Muslim invasion of France at Tours in 732 C.E.
Pope gave official approval of Martels son, Pepin III, and
the Carolingians as royal ruling house of the Franks

Christianity in Wake of Empire

Christianity in Western Europe [cont.]
Charlemagne Revives Idea of Empire
Although crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800
C.E., Charlemagnes goal was to expand his own
empire
Victories made his empire coterminous with
Christianity except for Great Britain
Promoted education as part of Carolingian
renaissance
Charlemagnes empire paralleled that of the East

Christianity in Wake of Empire

Christianity in Western Europe [cont.]
The Attempt at Empire Fails

Carolingians maintain power until end of 9th

century
Invaders (Magyars, Norsemen, Arabs) are too
powerful to keep out; local administrators act on
their own
Church institutions and leaders give Europe its
fundamental character and order (600-1100
C.E.)

Early Christianity: What

Difference Does It Make?

First millennium of Christianity ended in

high Middle Ages
By 1000 C.E., church was most
important cultural and organizational
force in Western Europe
Church took on developmental and
administrative roles in addition to its
spiritual mission