Lesson 2 Religious Views & People in the NT

Pagan Religions a. Each family worshiped the gods of

their own tribe or home. - These gods were a personification

of the forces they met in daily life. - All the different gods from the

different regions were worshiped. - Zeus & Hera (his wife) were the

chief gods.

b. Emperor worship - At the death of Augustus, the

Roman Senate bestowed divinity upon him.

- Caligula, Nero, and Domitian claimed deity for themselves.

- Emperor worship became a duty of all people (refusal brought persecution).

c. Occult - Superstitious practices. - Formulas and rituals were used to invoke

the protection of spirits and demons. - Horoscopes, astrology, magic, oracles,

flights of birds, movement of oil on water, the markings of a liver.

d. Mystery Religions (Most sources come from the 4th century A.D. – their pre-

Christian beliefs are largely unknown; pagans were notorious in assimilating Christianity with them).

- Secrecy and promised immortality. - Assurance of resurrection and salvation. - Human predicament: soul is buried in the body

(it dies with the body). - Soul has to be reborn before the body dies in

order for it to be set free. - Method: “redeemer-god” (a dying and raising

god).

Example of a mystery Religion Isis and Osiris Osiris-divine king of Ancient Egypt. Set-twin brother (bad): plotted to kill Osiris. - Set took the kingdom and married Isis

(Osiris’ wife and sister). - Osiris was cut up into 14 pieces and

scattered over the land. Isis-found all the pieces but one (his genitals were lost

in the Nile). Osiris-was raised in his sleep to become the king of the

underworld (he then defeated Set).

Formula: god-man, suffered, died, buried, rose again, entered heaven, reigns eternally, gives humans hope of resurrection.

Differences from Christianity: the death of the

gods was not redemptive, the gods are not historical figures, they didn’t rise in a full bodily resurrection.

Philosophies

a. Platonism (Plato: 427-347 BC) -Truth is eternal, fixed, and exists, but can only be found in the realm of thought. -Particulars (e.g. chair, cat - lots of types; this is the visible

world/matter). -Universals (e.g. ideal chair, cat; this is the invisible

world/ideas). -Love, justice, etc, are particulars (in the realm that we

experience them), but they point us to universal justice, love, etc. (The Real).

b. Stoicism (Zeno: 310 BC) - All that is real is physical. - Materialistic. - Deterministic/Fatalistic. - Virtue and the good life is being in

harmony with nature. - Logos (reason). - Cosmic force (impersonal).

Epicureanism (Epicurus, 342-270 BC)

- Deliverance from the fear of the

gods. - The gods exist, but they do not care

about us. -Aim in life is happiness (not doing

your duty). - The world came from a clash of

atoms. - Everything is unpredictable (free

will). - Happiness is mental bliss. - Some of Epicurus’ followers became

totally hedonistic.

d. Gnostics - Matter is evil and spirit is good. - Creator god is not the real good god. - Highest sphere is pure Spirit. - Many different realms (the further out the more good/spiritual). - Some rejected all worldly endeavors and became

ascetics. - Others (viewing the body as insignificant) promoted

immoral behaviour, since the activities of the body didn’t affect the soul.

- With the fall, humanity lost the knowledge of the human spirit. - Salvation come by regaining that knowledge.

e. Cynics - Rejected all standards and convictions and tried to

live with simple needs. f. Skeptics - Gave up all hope of finding any absolute truth. These and other philosophies did not determine the

lives of very many people. Generally, superstition (folk religion) characterized the masses.

Judaism a. Monotheism - There is only one God. - Humanity is created in the image of God. - Complete freedom to choose whether or not to

follow God’s ways. - Life is good (consists of obeying God’s commands).

- Scripture is the revelation from God. - They denounced idolatry. - Ethical emphasis inherent in its religious

worship. - Believed in the coming of God’s Deliverer

(Messiah) who would free them from political oppression by destroying their enemies.

b. Places of Worship The Temple - Chief center of worship. The Synagogue - The destruction of the Temple in 586 BC

may have led to the rise of the Synagogue in Babylon.

- Synagogues eventually were founded all over the Roman Empire.

- Ten men were needed to have a synagogue. - Typical order of service: prayer, singing of psalms, reading from scripture (OT), a sermon, and a benediction. - Qualified visitors were invited to speak (which gave Paul many opportunities). - Early Christians, mainly Jews, adopted the

synagogue as the basic pattern for their churches.

The Jewish Supreme Court - The Sanhedrin. - Towns throughout Palestine had numerous local courts. - The Romans allowed the Jews to handle their own legal matters. - Jerusalem had the Great Sanhedrin (who met

daily in the Temple, except for Sabbath and other holy days, and was made up of Sadducees and Pharisees).

High Priest - Presided over the 70 members

of the great Sanhedrin. Herodians - A small minority of important

Jews who supported the Herodian dynasty and Roman rule.

Four Jewish Sects

Pharisees Sadducees Essenes Zealots

Pharisees

- The spiritual fathers of modern Judaism. - The Pharisees accepted the law (Torah) and the prophets and believed in an oral law that God had given to Moses at Sinai. - This oral tradition was codified and written down roughly three centuries later in what is known as the Talmud.

Pharisees

-Believed in an after-life of resurrection. -Believed that God punished the wicked and rewarded the righteous in the world to come. -Believed in a messiah who would herald an era of world peace.

Pharisees

-The Pharisees were Jews who adhered to the tenets developed after the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians and the establishment of the synagogues. -They were opposed to Hellenism.

Sadducees

-A group that wanted to maintain the priestly caste. -Rejected the idea of the oral law and insisted on a literal interpretation of the written law (Torah).

-Only accepted the Torah (5 books of Moses) as scripture.

Sadducees

- They did not believe in an after life, since it is not mentioned in the Torah. - Main focus of life was rituals associated with the Temple. -The Sadducees disappeared around 70 AD, after the destruction of the Second Temple.

Essenes

-Emerged out of disgust for the Pharisees and Sadducees. -Believed these groups had corrupted the city and the Temple. -They moved out of Jerusalem and lived a monastic life in the desert. -Adopting strict dietary laws and a commitment to celibacy.

Essenes

- They are believed to be an offshoot of the group that lived in Qumran, near the Dead Sea. - Some scholars believe John the Baptist was a part of this group.

Zealots

Jewish terrorists which sought to incite the Jews to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from Palestine by force of arms.