First Century Setting

Lesson 2

The Jewish Factor

Scattered Jews and the Synagogue

Earlier we mentioned the deportation of the Jews (Northern Israel) by the Assyrians and (Southern Israel) by the Babylonians.  Many Jews did not return to Jerusalem following the decree of Cyrus and according to Josephus, in the time of Christ, “innumerable myriads” remained in Babylon (Antiquities 11).

Ptolemy of Egypt (322-285) brought many Jews to Alexandria in Egypt; Antiochus the Great of Syria resettled many Jews in Phrygia and Lydia, while Pompey took a number to Rome in 63 BC following the capture of Jerusalem.  In addition, many Jews emigrated for purposes of trade and commerce.  About one million Jews lived in Egypt in the first century and large numbers lived in Asia Minor.  Some indication of the spread of Judaism is given in Acts 2 where we read that pilgrims who came to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost included “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jew and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs” (Acts 2:9-11).

Many Jews of the Dispersion show signs of having been greatly influenced by Greek culture and ideas, but still, they were Jews first.  Regular pilgrimages to Jerusalem along with payment towards the services of the Temple maintained the bond of unity with their brethren in Palestine.

We noted that during the Babylonian captivity, the Jews, having been deprived of the Temple, established synagogues or places of assembly where they worshipped each Saturday and taught their children during the week.  The focus of this teaching was of course the Old Testament.  A synagogue could exist anywhere where there were ten family heads.  The synagogue buildings faced towards Jerusalem.  Wherever the Jews went, the synagogue went and James says in Acts 15:21 that “Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”  Monotheism and proselytizing zeal were features of Judaism wherever it went.

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia has the following:

“The Jewish people thus widely distributed over the Roman world with their monotheism, with their Scriptures and with their Messianic hopes, did much to prepare the way for the advent of the Redeemer who was to be the fulfillment of Jewish expectation and hope.  It was due to the strange and unique influence of Judaism and to the circulation of the glowing visions of Israel’s prophets among the nations that there was so widespread an expectation...that from Judea would arise a Ruler whose dominion would be over all…

And not only did the Jewish Dispersion thus prepare the way for the world’s Redeemer in the fullness of time, but when He had come...it furnished a valuable auxiliary to the proclamation of the gospel.  Wherever the apostles and the first preachers travelled with the good news, they found Jewish communities to whom they offered first the great salvation.”

Although often puzzled by the Jews, the Romans were very tolerant of them, in large measure because of the support which Julius Caesar had received from Hyrcanus during the Alexandrian war.  Josephus speaks of the “honors that the Romans and their emperor paid to our nation, and of the leagues of mutual assistance they have made with it” (Antiquities 14:10).  Caesar confirmed these honors by statute, and Josephus has a list of the enactments in Antiquities 14:10.  They include the following:

“That the Jews shall possess Jerusalem, and may encompass that city with walls; and that Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, the high priest and ethnarch of the Jews, retain it in the manner he himself pleases; and that the Jews be allowed to deduct out of their tribute, every second year the land is let [in the Sabbatic period], a corus of that tribute; and that the tribute they pay be not let to farm, nor that they pay always the same tribute” (14.19.5).

“That all the country of the Jews, excepting Joppa, do pay a tribute yearly for the city Jerusalem, excepting the seventh, which they call the sabbatical year, because thereon they neither receive the fruits of their trees, nor do they sow their land; and that they pay their tribute in Sidon on the second year [of that sabbatical period], the fourth part of what was sown: and besides this, they are to pay the same tithes to Hyrcanus and his sons which they paid to their forefathers” (14.10.6).

“(That) no one, neither president, nor lieutenant, nor ambassador, raise auxiliaries within the bounds of Judea; nor may soldiers exact money of them for winter quarters, or under any other pretense; but that they be free from all sorts of injuries; and that whatsoever they shall hereafter have, and are in possession of, or have bought, they shall retain them all” (14.10.6).

Josephus goes on to record that the Jews were granted great religious freedom, were able to observe the Sabbath, were free from conscription and had their own courts with authority to enact fines and inflict scourgings.  In short, they enjoyed enviable social and economic benefits.

We will see from the book of Acts that the scattering of the Jews throughout the world greatly helped the spread of the gospel in the first century.  However, Judaism also offered many challenges to Christian evangelists in the first century:

·        Many Jews eagerly anticipated the arrival of an all conquering Messiah who would free the Holy Land from Roman domination, but the Christian Messiah had died ignominiously on a cross, and accordingly was under God’s curse (Deut 21:22 ff).  In his discussion with Justin Martyr, Trypho the Jew protests:

“Be assured that all our nation waits for Christ; and we admit that all the Scriptures which you have quoted refer to Him.  Moreover, I do also admit that the name of Jesus, by which the son of Nave (Nun) was called, has inclined me very strongly to adopt this view.  But whether Christ should be so shamefully crucified, this we are in doubt about.  For whosoever is crucified is said in the law to be accursed, so that I am exceedingly incredulous on this point.  It is quite clear, indeed, that the Scriptures announce that Christ had to suffer; but we wish to learn if you can prove it to us whether it was by the suffering cursed in the law” (Dialogue with Trypho 89).

Justin replies that Trypho “would have good cause to wonder” if the writings of the prophets had not spoken of a suffering Messiah.

·        Many Jews were offended by the Christian teaching that Jesus was God in the flesh - a doctrine which seemed to challenge their strict monotheism.  Trypho charges that the doctrine of the virgin birth is similar to the “fables of those who are called Greeks” and tells Justin:  “(You) ought to feel ashamed when you make assertions similar to theirs, and rather [should] say that this Jesus was born man of men” (Dialogue 62).

·        The fact that the early Christian preachers were not members of any rabbinic school, taught that the Mosaic Law was no longer binding, did not observe the Sabbath, did not practice circumcision and appeared to dishonor the Temple offended many Jews.  Trypho says to Justin:

“But this is what we are most at a loss about:  that you, professing to be pious, and supposing yourselves better than others, are not in any particular separated from them, and do not alter your mode of living from the nations, in that you observe no festivals or sabbaths, and do not have the rite of circumcision; and further, resting your hopes on a man that was crucified, you yet expect to obtain some good thing from God, while you do not obey His commandments.  Have you not read, that that soul shall be cut off from his people who shall not have been circumcised on the eighth day?  And this has been ordained for strangers and for slaves equally.  But you, despising this covenant rashly, reject the consequent duties, and attempt to persuade yourselves that you know God, when, however, you perform none of those things which they do who fear God” (Dialogue 10).

We will encounter various Jewish challenges to the Gospel in our study of the New Testament books. 

Jewish Sects

In his Studies in the Life of Christ, R. C. Foster says:

“The life of Jesus can not be clearly understood until it is studied in relation to the sects from which His enemies arose. The Jews at the time of Jesus were divided into the following sects: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Herodians, and Zealots.”

Let’s have a brief look at four of these sects mentioned in the New Testament.

Pharisees

As we said in lesson 1, it seems likely that the Pharisees evolved out of the Hasidim of the Intertestament period - a group made up of orthodox Jews who opposed attempts to introduce Greek customs and innovations into Jewish life.  (We recall that the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes tried to wipe out Judaism and to Hellenize Jewish society).  The Hasidim wanted to preserve Judaism and to apply the principles of the Law to the questions and circumstances of the day.  Some think that the term “Pharisees” meant “separated ones” and was used to denote those who tried to maintain their purity by being separatists; others think that the term grew out of the words meaning “expounder/interpreter.”  Some think that this title was adopted by the Hasidim themselves while others think that it was given in derision.  It is not possible to be certain about all this.  The Pharisees believed in the existence of the soul, in angels, demons, bodily resurrection, and also in a future judgment.  

We learn from Josephus that in the first century there were about 6,000 Pharisees, the most learned of them being called scribes.  It is clear from the New Testament that they have supreme influence among the people, dominating the synagogue system.  It is also clear that they were Jesus’ main opponents.  According to The Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible:

“The main characteristic of the Pharisees was their legalism or legalistic rigorism. Josephus informs us that the Pharisees were noted for their strict accuracy in their interpretation of the law and their scrupulous adherence to it…  It was their ‘accuracy’ in the interpretation of the law which led to the development of the elaborate system of legal traditions, handed down orally “from the Fathers” which came to be regarded as the main characteristic feature of historical Phariseeism.”

They shunned the non-Pharisees as unclean, and the traditions of “the Fathers” became a hedge around the Law which many times resulted in their setting aside the Law itself.  According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, “they added new restrictions to the Biblical law in order to keep the people at a safe distance from forbidden ground; as they termed it, ‘they made a fence around the Law’…”  Thus:

“(They) forbade the people to drink wine or eat with the heathen, in order to prevent associations which might lead either to intermarriage or to idolatry (Shab. 17b).  To the forbidden marriages of the Mosaic law relating to incest (Lev. xviii.-xx.) they added a number of others (Yeb. ii. 4).  After they had determined the kinds of work prohibited on the Sabbath they forbade the use of many things on the Sabbath on the ground that their use might lead to some prohibited labour.  It was here that the foundation was laid of that system of rabbinic law which piled statute upon statute until often the real purpose of the Law was lost sight of” (ibid).

In Matthew 23 Jesus accuses them, among other things, of binding burdens upon others which they themselves would not carry; of desiring praise and pre-eminence; of making artificial, meaningless religious distinctions; of missing the weightier provisions of the Law - justice, mercy and faithfulness.  It appears that many Pharisees fell into the trap of viewing externals as more important than the disposition of the heart.

Sadducees

“This prominent Jewish sect, though not so numerous as their opponents, the Pharisees, by their wealth and the priestly descent of many of them had an influence which fully balanced that of their more popular rivals.  They were a political party, of priestly and aristocratic tendency, as against the more religious and democratic Pharisees” (International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia).

Foster describes them as “the liberal theologians, the cultured aristocrats, and the smooth politicians of the time,” and he tells us that their “liberal views make it evident that they accepted the Old Testament Scripture in about the same way in which the radical critic accepts it today.”  We noticed in lesson 1 that from the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, many Jews, including priests, were friendly to Greek culture and Hellenization.  This readiness to compromise with the surrounding Gentile culture characterized the Sadducean party.  If the Pharisees ruled the synagogue, the Sadducees ruled the Temple, and the High Priests of Jesus’ day were Sadducees.  Many believe that the term “Sadducee” derives from the name of the high priest Zadok who officiated in David’s reign, and whose family retained the High Priesthood until Maccabean times.

Several of the early church Fathers maintained that the Sadducees accepted as canonical only the first five books of the Old Testament, but neither Josephus nor the Talmud mention this.  Anyway, they denied the immortality of the soul, the resurrection, the existence of angels and spirits (cf Matt 22:23-33; Acts 23:6-10).  What’s more:

“Instead of sharing the Messianic hopes of the Pharisees, who committed the future into the hand of God, they took the people’s destiny into their own hands, fighting or negotiating with the heathen nations just as they thought best, while having as their aim their own temporary welfare and worldly success.  This is the meaning of what Josephus chooses to term their disbelief in fate and divine providence (“B. J.” ii. 8, § 14; “Ant.” xiii. 5 § 9)” (Jewish Encyclopedia).

They also rejected the traditions of the “Fathers” so valued by the Pharisees.

“According to Josephus (ib. xiii. 10, § 6), they regarded only those observances as obligatory which are contained in the written word, and did not recognize those not written in the law of Moses and declared by the Pharisees to be derived from the traditions of the fathers.  Instead of accepting the authority of the teachers, they considered it a virtue to dispute it by arguments” (ibid).

Their opposition to Jesus grew out of the fear that His Messianic claims would lead to Roman intervention and to their own loss of power.  The Sadducees became relentless persecutors of the infant church but ceased to exist after the destruction of Jerusalem.

Herodians

In lesson 1 we discussed the circumstances under which the Jewish nation came to have an Idumaean king.  The New Testament speaks of “the Herodians” in Jerusalem and Galilee, and evidently they were members of a political party of well-to-do people who favored Herodian rule (and thus Roman rule).  Seeing Christ as a threat to their position, they joined with the Pharisees in opposing Jesus and plotting His downfall.

Antipas (4 BC-39 AD) is the most prominent of the Herodians in the Gospels.  He is “the fox” (Lk 13:32), the murderer of John the Baptist (Matt 14:10) and the one before whom Jesus was tried (Lk 23:7-12).  In Acts 12 we meet Antipas’ nephew Herod Agrippa 1, who executed James and imprisoned Peter.  Luke records his death (Acts 12:23) in 44 AD.  We meet three of Agrippa’s children later in the sacred narratives:  Bernice, Agrippa 2nd (Acts 25-26) and Drusilla (Acts 24:24).  In 66 AD, Agrippa 2nd openly supported the Roman suppression of Jewish rebels.  He died in 100 AD.

Zealots

This party was made up of Jewish patriots who advocated revolt against Roman rule and whose rallying cry was “No tribute to Caesar, no king but Jehovah, no tax but the Temple tax.”  Evidently the movement was started by one Judas the Galilean during the days of Quirinius (6/7 AD).  The Zealots’ fierce opposition to Roman rule was a major factor in the abortive revolution which led to the destruction of Jerusalem in

70 AD.  Foster says:

“The continual necessity which Jesus had of warning men who were healed by prodigious miracles to keep silent about it, and not to stir up too much excitement by reporting it abroad, doubtless came from the constant pressure of the Zealots to start a revolution against Rome.”

We are told that one of the apostles was a Zealot (Matt 10:4).

The Greek Factor

Earlier we spoke about the amazing conquests of Alexander the Great more than three centuries before Christ was born, and of the spread of the Greek language and culture throughout the ancient world as a result of his astonishing victories.  The effects of Alexander’s campaigns continued long after his death.  In his Grammar of the Greek New Testament, A. T. Robertson reminds us that the Greek language of Alexander’s day became what he calls a world-speech “because Alexander united Greek and Persian, east and west, into one common world-empire.”

Robertson tells us that the “successors of Alexander could not stop the march toward universalism” and that “the time for world-speech had come and it was ready for use.”  It was he says, “an epoch in the world’s history when the Babel of tongues was hushed in the wonderful language of Greece.”  We are told that “The language spread by Alexander’s army over the Eastern world persisted after the division of the kingdom and penetrated all parts of the Roman world, even Rome itself” and that “The Greeks were the school-teachers of the empire.”  Thus in the providence of God, the Greek language and culture became the medium through which the gospel was spread to the outposts of the civilized world.  The New Testament documents are all written in common Greek, the second language of virtually everyone.  It is also worth noting that for centuries the Greek language had been used by some of the world’s greatest thinkers to express philosophical and theological ideas, and this made it an ideal vehicle for the dissemination of a theological message.

Also see Religion and Philosophy on page 22.

The Septuagint

It is worth saying a word about what is called the Septuagint version of the Old Testament.  Briefly, this is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament which likely appeared in the third century BC as a result of the labours of certain Jews living in Alexandria.  Many Jewish fables surround its origin (see the Letter of Aristeas).  The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible says:

“As a landmark in history, the Sept. can hardly be overestimated…  It was the Bible of the Diaspora (the Dispersion - Rex) and as such became the Bible of the Church which was given its global form and mission by Hellenistic Jews.”

Moreover, because the Septuagint is based upon a Hebrew text which antedates the Masoretic manuscripts, it often provides helpful insights for the student of the Old Testament.  Many Old Testament quotations by New Testament writers are taken from the Septuagint and this translation “exerted a deep influence on the NT, and words, phrases and verbal echoes abound in the text” (Zondervan).  Evidently:

“Some of the great theological words of the apostolic age “seem to have been prepared for their Christian connotation” by their use in the Septuagint “to quote Swete (p. 404)...” (ibid).

The Catholic Encyclopaedia points out that “the Apostles and Evangelists utilised it also and borrowed Old Testament citations from it, especially in regard to the prophecies.”

“The Fathers and the other ecclesiastical writers of the early Church drew upon it, either directly, as in the case of the Greek Fathers, or indirectly, like the Latin Fathers and writers and others who employed Latin, Syriac, Ethiopian, Arabic and Gothic versions.  It was held in high esteem by all, some even believed it inspired” (ibid).

The Roman Factor

The world of the first century was under the dominion of Rome, the iron kingdom spoken of by the prophet Daniel (Dan 2:40 ff) and in lesson 1 we saw that in 63 BC Pompey annexed Judea.  Augustus (Lk 2:1) was the first emperor of Rome and ruled until 14 AD.  During his reign Christ was born.  Augustus was succeeded in 14 AD by Tiberius (Lk 3:1).  However,

“Josephus, the Jewish historian who was contemporary with John, counted Julius as the first.  He identified Augustus and Tiberius as the second and third Emperors, and Caligula as the fourth (Ant., 18, 2, 2; 16, 6, 2; 18, 6, 10).  Suetonius, a Roman historian of the first and second centuries, begins Lives of the Twelve Caesars with Julius as the first.  Dio Cassius also counts him as first in his Roman History, and the Sibylline Oracles (Book 5) calls Julius “the first king”” (Henry Cowles, The Revelation of John).

It is worth noting this point because some find an important chronological note at Rev 17:10.  Supposedly the seven heads of “the beast” (Rome - Satan’s tool) are here identified as a succession of Roman Emperors, and Revelation is dated to the time of the sixth Emperor.  Anyway, the following chart lists the first century emperors after Julius:

Dates                             Name

27-14                              Augustus

14-37                              Tiberius

37-41                              Gaius (Caligula)

41-54                              Claudius

54-68                              Nero

68-69                              Galba

69                                   Otho

69                                   Vitellius

69-79                              Vespasian

79-81                              Titus

81-96                              Domitian

96-98                              Nerva

98-117                            Trajan

The New Testament also mentions Claudius in connection with the famine (Acts 11:28) and the expulsion of the Jews from Rome (Acts 18:2).  Nero was the Caesar to whom Paul appealed (Acts 25:10; 28:19).  We will refer to several of the others again at a later date.

Apart from Italy, most of the Roman world was made up of territory under provincial government and there were two kinds of such government:

·        The more peaceful provinces loyal to Rome were under proconsuls (Acts 13:7) who were responsible to the Roman Senate.

·        The less peaceful provinces (like Palestine) were governed by prefects, procurators or propraetors, answerable directly to the emperor.  Often armies were stationed in these provinces.  Pontius Pilate was the agent of the emperor in Palestine at the time of Christ’s death (Matt 27:11) and two other Roman procurators mentioned in the Bible are Antonius Felix (Acts 23, 24) and Portius Festus (Acts 24:27).

Roman Peace, Roman Law and Roman Roads

Following the Third Punic War (see Lesson 1), Rome emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean basin.  Not long after the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC, she was plagued by a series of civil wars which disrupted the entire known world. Internal struggles rocked Rome for about 100 years until Caius Octavius (63 BC-4 AD), grand nephew of Julius Caesar, succeeded in restoring order and prosperity.  In 27 AD the Roman Senate bestowed the title “Augustus” (“divine” or “majestic”) upon him.  The age of Augustan is often spoken of as the Pax Romana or the “Peace of Rome” and is remembered as an era of peace, prosperity and cultural achievement.  Early Christians found evidence of divine providence in these circumstances, arguing that the world was being prepared for the advent of the Gospel.  For example, Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD) wrote: 

“(For) righteousness has arisen in (Jesus’) days, and there is abundance of peace, which took its commencement at His birth, God preparing the nations for His teaching, that they might be under one prince, the king of the Romans, and that it might not, owing to the want of union among the nations, caused by the existence of many kingdoms, be more difficult for the apostles of Jesus to accomplish the task enjoined upon them by their Master, when He said, ‘Go and teach all nations.’ Moreover it is certain that Jesus was born in the reign of Augustus, who, so to speak, fused together into one monarchy the many populations of the earth.  Now the existence of many kingdoms would have been a hindrance to the spread of the doctrine of Jesus throughout the entire world; not only for the reasons mentioned, but also on account of the necessity of men everywhere engaging in war, and fighting on behalf of their native country, which was the case before the times of Augustus, and in periods still more remote…  How, then, was it possible for the Gospel doctrine of peace, which does not permit men to take vengeance even upon enemies, to prevail throughout the world, unless at the advent of Jesus a milder spirit had been everywhere introduced into the conduct of things?”  (Against Celsus 2:30).

It is clear that Roman Peace and its attendant benefits greatly facilitated the spread of the Gospel in the first century.  A clearly defined legal code along with an efficient administration of the law contributed significantly to the stability of the Roman world. Some degree of protection was provided for minorities and the apostle Paul found protection in his Roman citizenship.  The network of Roman roads connecting the great cities could be travelled in relative safety, as could the sea lanes, because they were protected by Roman military might.  Lengthy journeys were undertaken by Paul and others, journeys which would have been extremely difficult following the demise of the Roman Empire until recent times.

Basically, the Romans respected local religious practices as far as possible and the Jews were able to observe the Sabbath and engage in Temple worship.  Ordinary civil and criminal cases between Jews were left in the hands of the governing body of the nation called the Sanhedrin which acted as a municipal court for Jerusalem and which exercised religious authority over Jews of the Dispersion. 

Religion and Philosophy

The religious world of the first century was enormously complex.  Various encyclopedias (religious and historical) deal with the subject, as do many books on the “classical” or Roman-Greek world and related topics.  Our study of the New Testament will be enhanced if we are aware of the following:

The Practice of Emperor Worship

This consisted of “Reverence paid to a Roman Emperor, whether living or dead, as a divine being.  Generally speaking, unofficial enthusiasm could recognize deity, or a germ of deity, in a living ruler, but officially (by vote of the Senate) deity could be recognized only after the rulers’ death.  In the first two centuries, those emperors who believed that they themselves were divine, were all murdered or had to commit suicide (Caligula, Nero, Domitian, Commodus…  (Outside) Rome, worship of a living emperor, theoretically spontaneous, was never discouraged by local authorities who say it as a vital symbol of solidarity especially valuable in times of crisis…” (Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible).  Emperor worship combined religion and loyalty to the state, making allegiance to Rome a religious duty.  Of course this created a difficulty for Christians who “repeatedly stated that while they could, and did pray for the emperor, they could not possibly pray to him” (ibid).  See The Graeco-Roman Pantheon below.   

The Graeco-Roman Pantheon

By the first century, the Romans, under Greek influence had taken over the Greek pantheon of gods under new names.  For example, Jupiter was identified with the Zeus the god of the sky; Juno his wife with Hera; Neptune with Poseidon and Pluto with Hades.

The failure to diligently observe Roman state religion was thought to have resulted in the chaotic civil wars (above) and under Augustus there was a short lived religious revival.  The observance of the ceremonial practices of official state religion was part of one’s civic duty and had little to do with personal religious convictions.  In fact Rome was very tolerant of private religious beliefs and practices provided they did not threaten public order.  See Mystery Religions on page 23.

In Acts, Luke demonstrates that those involved in keeping order were favourably impressed by the early Christians and found no grounds for complaint.  Eventually however, the refusal of Christians to “toe the party line” on state religion brought down the wrath of Rome upon the heads of Christ’s disciples and many were martyred for their faith.  Because they refused to engage in state worship, they were accused of atheism. They were also accused of anti-social behavior by the ill-informed.  For example, Tacitus describes Christians as “a class hated for their abominations” and speaks of their “hatred against mankind” (Annals 15).  He records that having accused them of arson, Nero cruelly persecuted those who embraced this new superstition.  They were “(covered) with the skins of beasts…torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired” (ibid).  According to Eusebius, “Domitian…finally became a successor of Nero in his hatred and enmity toward God (and) stirred up a persecution against us” (Church History 3.17).  Pliny the Younger (61 AD-113 AD) recognized that “those who (were) really Christians” would not “(offer) prayer with incense and wine to (Caesar’s) image” and accordingly took no action against those who “worshipped (Caesar’s) image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ” (Letters 96). 

Disillusionment with the “gods”

Some influential Greek thinkers had expressed their disdain for the Homeric “gods” whose immoralities, brutalities and deceptions repulsed many thoughtful people.  For example, in Plato’s ideal society, the citizenry are not to be exposed to unwholesome stories of rapacious, gluttonous, unjust deities.  Plato places these words in the mouth of Socrates:

“And let us equally refuse to believe, or allow to be repeated, the tale of Theseus son of Poseidon, or of Peirithous son of Zeus, going forth as they did to perpetrate a horrid rape; or of any other hero or son of a god daring to do such impious and dreadful things as they falsely ascribe to them in our day:  and let us further compel the poets to declare either that these acts were not done by them, or that they were not the sons of gods; - both in the same breath they shall not be permitted to affirm.  We will not have them trying to persuade our youth that the gods are the authors of evil, and that heroes are no better than men - sentiments which, as we were saying, are neither pious nor true, for we have already proved that evil cannot come from the gods” (Republic Book 3).

In a surviving fragment from Xenophanes’ writings we read:  “Homer and Hesiod have attributed to the gods all sorts of things that are matters of reproach and censure among men:  theft, adultery, and mutual deception.”  The contempt which Xenophanes, Plato and other influential Greek thinkers expressed for decadent “gods” of the poets was shared by many ordinary Greeks who were exposed to the ideas of the philosophers by the travelling teachers found in the major cities of the ancient world.  Understandably, many of these thoughtful individuals were attracted to the holy, loving, just God of the Christian faith.      

The Mystery Religions

“The term ‘mystery’ derives from the Greek mysteria which described the oldest initiation rites at Eleusis.  The Eleusinian and Dionysian mysteries were Greek, while those of Isis, Mithras, Kybele and Attis came from the East.  (Other well known mystery cults include Demeter, Persephone and Atargatis - Rex).  Common to each of the mysteries was the prohibition against revealing its secrets to non initiates.  They were literally unspeakable because it was not knowledge but an experience that was transmitted through specific ritual acts, with each cult offering a different experience through the performance of an initiatory rite” (Gregory Shaw, The Oxford Companion to the Bible).   

These cults appealed greatly to those who were unmoved by the cold formalism of state religion.  “Men were seeking a more personal faith that would bring them into immediate contact with deity, and they were ready for any sort of experience that would promise them that contact.  The mystery religions fulfilled that desire” (Tenney).  Various means, such as the use of wine, stirring music and the inhalation of fumes, were used to induce forms of ecstatic feeling in worshippers and these feelings were expressed in such things as frenzied dancing, the gnashing of the flesh, “speaking in tongues,” feelings of euphoria and such like.  Typically, the cults offered enlightenment, provided an outlet for the religious feelings of the people, and supplied an environment in which people of all classes could mingle and interact.  Some kind of resuscitated god features in various mystery religions.

The mystery religions enjoyed great popularity, particularly since, among other things they promised:

·        To deal with man’s guilt problem

“The early Christian preachers could assume in their hearers, whether Jews...or Pagans, a sense of guilt.  (That this was common among Pagans is shown by the fact that both Epicureanism and the Mystery Religions both claimed, though in different ways, to assuage it).  Thus the Christian message was in those days unmistakably the Evangelium, the Good News” (C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock).

·        Some kind of immortality

“Why were the priests able to attract the men and women who were dissatisfied with their lives and anxious for a better hope?  What could they offer to the votaries?  The best answer maybe given in a single word.  The great need and longing of the time was for salvation, soteria.  Men and women were eager for such a communion with the divine, such a realization of the interest of God in their affairs, as might serve to support them in the trials of life, and guarantee to them a friendly reception in the world beyond the grave” (P. Gardner, Mysteries Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics).

·        Safety and security

Inhabitants of the first century world were dominated by fear of malignant spirits, a sense that they were simply the toys of Fate and a conviction that human life was ruled by “the stars.”  Some “tried to deal with these powers in various ways that included resignation to fate, magical practices and initiation into mystery cults” (Andrew T. Lincoln Word Biblical Commentary Ephesians).  Union with a god or goddess promised deliverance from the tyranny of Fate and the cruelty of malevolent deities.

Many spiritually minded first century individuals recognised that the Gospel answered the greatest yearnings of the human heart, and that Christ’s call to holiness offered a peace and joy which could not be secured by the drunken orgies, ecstatic experiences and groundless superstitions of the mystery cults. 

Attempts to show that Christianity developed from the “Mysteries” are misguided and unconvincing for a number of reasons.  

Intimations of monotheism and materialism

Although the details are not always clear, it is evident that the notion of a motionless, changeless and eternal “One” permeated Greek thought.  For example, Xenophanes spoke of “one God, greatest among gods and men, neither in shape nor in thought like unto mortals...  He is all sight, all mind, all ear...  Without an effort ruleth he all things by thought.  He abideth ever in the same place motionless, and it befitteth him not to wander hither and thither...  Yet men imagine gods to be born and to have raiment and voice and body, like themselves...”  Plato, Aristotle and others helped this movement towards monotheism and although such concepts as an impersonal “Prime Mover” and secondary deities are foreign to the New Testament, interest in monotheism and monism helped pave the way for the Gospel with its message about the One True God.  For example, consider Paul’s words in Acts 17:28 when he reminds the Athenians of the statement of the Cicilian poet Aratus:  “It is with Zeus that every one of us in every way has to do, for we are also his offspring.”

“By (this maxim) Paul is not suggesting that God is to be thought of in terms of the Zeus of Greek polytheism or Stoic pantheism.  He is rather arguing that the poets his hearers recognized as authorities have to some extent corroborated his message.  In his search for a measure of common ground with his hearers, he is, so to speak, disinfecting and rebaptizing the poets’ words for his own purposes” (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositors Bible Commentary vol 9).

Ironically the earliest known expressions of atheism (as we understand this term today) are also found among the Greeks.  Epicurus (341-270 BC) is considered by many to be the first atheist, and although he is ambiguous on the subject of the gods, it is clear if they did exist, they had no interest or involvement in human existence.