(see Chapter 2). In the Roman world, Mithra came to
be identified with the sun-god and was known by his
Roman title, the Unconquered Sun. Mithraism had
spread rapidly in Rome and the Western provinces by
the second centuryC.E. and was especially favored by
soldiers, who viewed Mithra as their patron deity.
Mithraists paid homage to the sun on the first day of
the week (Sunday), commemorated the sun’s birthday
around December 25, and celebrated ceremonial meals.The Jewish Background
In Hellenistic times, the Jewish people had been
granted considerable independence by their Seleucid
rulers (see Chapter 4). Roman involvement with the
Jewsbeganin63B.C.E., and by 6C.E., Judaea had been
made a province and placed under the direction of a
Roman procurator. But unrest continued, augmented
by divisions among the Jews themselves. The Saddu-
cees believed in rigid adherence to Hebrew law,
rejected the possibility of personal immortality, and
favored cooperation with the Romans. The Pharisees
adhered strictly to Jewish ritual, and although they
wanted Judaea to be free from Roman control, they
did not advocate violent means to achieve this goal.
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that lived in a reli-
gious community near the Dead Sea. As revealed in
the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of documents first
discovered in 1947, the Essenes, like many other
Jews, awaited a Messiah who would save Israel from
oppression, usher in the kingdom of God, and estab-
lish a true paradise on earth. A fourth group, theZealots, were militant extremists who advocated the
violent overthrow of Roman rule. A Jewish revolt in
66 C.E. was crushed by the Romans four years later.
The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and
Roman power once more stood supreme in Judaea.The Origins of Christianity
In the midst of the confusion and conflict in Judaea,
Jesus of Nazareth (ca. 6B.C.E.–30C.E.) began his public
preaching. Jesus grew up in Galilee, an important center
of the militant Zealots. His message was straightforward.
He reassured his fellow Jews that he did not plan to
undermine their traditional religion: “Do not think that I
have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not
come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”^13 According to
Jesus, what was important was not strict adherence to
the letter of the law and attention to rules and prohibi-
tions but the transformation of the inner person: “So in
everything, do to others what you would have them do to
you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”^14 God’s
command was simple—to love God and one another:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind and with all your
strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as
yourself.”^15 In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presented
the ethical concepts—humility, charity, and brotherly
love—that would form the basis for the value system of
medieval Western civilization. As we have seen, these
were not the values of classical Greco-Roman civilization.
Although some Jews welcomed Jesus as the Messiah
who would save Israel from oppression and establishJesus and His Apostles.
Pictured is a fourth-century
fresco from a Roman catacomb
depicting Jesus and his apostles.
Catacombs were underground
cemeteries where early Christians
buried their dead. Christian
tradition holds that in times of
imperial repression, Christians
withdrew to the catacombs to
pray and hide.Catacomb of S. Domitilla, Rome//Scala/Art Resource, NYTransformation of the Roman World: The Rise of Christianity 139Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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