The Beginning of Christianity

Jewish context

• Theory summary

  • Judaism is the religion of the Ancient Hebrews and Jews, based on a covenant with God

    • The Jews claimed they were in the promised land due to their covenant with God

    • By accepting the covenant, the Jews look forward to peace and prosperity in the coming of the Messiah

  • Jerusalem was the main economic centre of this region as it contained the Temple; the central place of worship for the Jews

  • Jerusalem suffered oppression by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Greeks, and also suffered poverty under Roman rule

• Jewish Sects

  • There was no central Jewish authority; it was divided into a number of opposing sects with different ideas about the Messiah:

    • Pharisees

      • Concerned with implementing God’s will in every aspect of their lives

      • Well known for their debates over interpretation of the Torah and challenging Jesus to join them in debate

      • Pharisaic oral traditions were eventually written into the Talmud

    • Sadducees

      • Drawn mainly from priestly families and wealthy citizens of the community

      • Worked in cooperation with Roman occupation to ensure the status quo

    • Essenes

      • Withdrew from ordinary life to monastic isolation, remaining faithful to the Law

      • Aim was to prepare for the coming of the MEssiah

      • Scholars suggest that one commune of Essenes was located at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947

    • Scribes

      • Considered an authorative group of the Torah. The keepers and interpreters of Jewish religious tradition

    • Zealots

      • More politically oriented

      • Advocated violent rebellion against Rome and thought Jewish independence could only be achieved through military action

      • It was their belief that the coming Messiah would be a great military leader who would overthrow the Roman oppressors

• Roman Rule

  • Theory summary

    • In 63 BCE, Roman General Pompey conquered Palestine and made it part of the Roman Empire

    • This territory was divided and each part had its own ruler who answered to Rome

      • Galilee - King Herod Antipas

      • Judea - Pontius Pilate

    • A difficulty for the Jews were the harsh Roman taxes

Principal Beliefs

• Divinity and Humanity of Jesus

  • In early Christian communities there was confusion about Jesus and his relationship with God

  • Some believed him to be human, others believed him to be divine

  • In 325 CE, at the Council of Nicaea the teaching of Christian Theologian, Athnasius was adopted and the Holy Trinity was formulated

  • It is understood that Jesus had human limitations, and is the divine son of God, whose death and resurrection has cosmic significance for the whole of humanity

  • God is understood as one God, yet within the Godhead there are three distinct personas

    • The Father

    • The Son

    • The Holy Spirit

• Death, resurrection, and ascention of Jesus

• Salvation

  • Christians believe that God has the intention to save

  • Sin interrupts salvation

  • Salvation is a belief that humans require deliverance from sin

  • Jesus’ death was salvific as it atoned for the sinfulness of humanity

• Revelation

  • Revelation is the transmission of knowledge from the divine to humanity

  • It is knowledge given by God to humans about things previously hidden

  • It is an invitation into communion with God

Sacred Texts and Writings

• Old testament

  • 39 books

  • Known as the Tanak

  • Made in 1,000 years

  • The writings:

    • Psalms

    • Proverbs

    • The Five Scrolls (Ruth-Song of Salomon-Lamentations, Esther)

• New testament

  • 27 books

  • All written within 40ish years by Jesus followers

  • The Gospel

    • Each provides a description of Jesus’ life and teachings - they are each a portrait of Jesus

    • Each Gospel concludes with the Death and Resurrection of Jesus

    • They Show Jesus as a model for Christian living

      • Matthew

      • Mark

      • Luke

      • John

  • Acts of the Apostles

  • Letters from the Apostles

    • 13 from Paul

    • 1 for the Hebrews

    • 2 James & Jude

    • 5 Peter & John

  • The Revelation

    • The slain lamb is the divine king of the world who leads the people to the new Jersualem garden temple

  • Written between 50 and 100 AD

  • 2 categories: the gospels and the letters

• The Letters

  • Natural way for itinerant church leaders to communicate with their converts

  • Offer advice to people who were working out how to express their commitment to Jesus

  • They are answers to questions asked by the first Christians

  • May have been more than one writer

• The Bible

  • The Bible is integral in the daily lives of believers

  • It assists with ethical decision making and can be used in all daily rituals

  • The Bible has been through many translations

  • Biblical passages that give information on the main beliefs and practices of Christianity

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." - Corinthians 13:4-5

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Corinthians 13:4-5

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" -

Matthew 22:37-39

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

• 10 Commandments

  • The Ten Commandments were given by God to Moses as a revelation for life

  • The Ten Commandments are understood to be the direct word of God given to the people of Israel

  • They are said to be written in God’s own hand onto tablets of stone

  • They are a summary of the relationship between humanity and God

  • Christians see the Ten Commandments as rules to be practiced out of love for God, not out of fear of damnation

• The Beatitudes

  • The Beatitudes have their origin in the Jewish scriptures such as in:

    • Psalms: 41:1 “Happy are those who consider the poor”

    • Psalms: 106:3 “Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times”

      • The intention of the Beatitudes is encouraging humans to aspire to attain certain virtues

        • Love

        • Social justice

        • Peacemaking

Prayer

• Prayers in Christianity

  • The English word ‘prayer’ literally means a ‘petition’ or ‘request’. It derives from the Latin precari meaning ‘to entreat or beg’

  • For Christians, prayer is the most important and fundamental form of personal address to God

  • In Christianity there is a distinct emphasis on prayer in the everyday lives of Christians, as a sign of the ongoing relationship between God and humans

  • Jesus invites people to continue the tradition of praying and communicating with God directly and encourages people to retreat form daily turmoil into prayer

• Forms of prayers

  • Traditional and formal prayers

    • Adapted from the BIble

    • Most famous is the Lord’s prayer

  • Informal and spontaneous prayers

    • Varied in nature

    • Reading the Bible a tthe beginning and end of the day

    • Petition or request to God

    • Can also express thanksgiving and gratitutde at the beginning of a meal or at the end of the day

• Lectio Divina

  • 5 parts:

    • Reading

      • Pick something from the Scriptures

      • What does it say?

      • Find something that sticks out to you →

    • Meditate

      • Meditate on what you just read

    • Pray

      • Speak to God on what you meditated on

    • Contemplation

      • Gift from God to us

      • Called Grace

      • Cannot be forced

      • If you don’t get it, just chill with the Lord

    • Action

      • What concrete action can be done based on all the previous steps?

  • Means: Divine Reading

• Taize

  • Communal prayer

    • Ecumenical religious order created by father Rodger in 1940

      • (stabbed during a service in 2005)