used these tactics of conquest, plundering, and murder, did the Jews have
political autonomy. Even so, the small kingdom of Judea could not sustain
itself against the empires against whom they fought. They only thing that
could was a belief system whose original meaning and historical context has
been lost.
Jesus’ teachings in relation to political power appear to be contradictory.
He had a clear antagonism with the Jerusalem priests, appealed to the poor
and condemned the rich, but appeared to be less willing to take on the Roman
Empire. If he challenged the power structure, he was also killed by it. And,
since he was unsuccessful in his bid for power, he never had to deal with
the moral contradictions of using it. Paul’s teachings were toned down and
more other worldly in contrast with Jesus. His belief in equality was equal-
ity before God, not necessarily equality on earth. And while he was con-
cerned with the equality of plebeians, he left women and slaves by the wayside.
Ancient Judaism and early Christianity were dynamic religions arising out
of conditions of political and economic inequality. There were internal conflicts
between the elites and between classes. Conflicts between the elites were
those of the prophets against the kings and the priests. The charismatic
prophets were carriers of value rationality while the priest’s rationality was
instrumental. The original class conflict was between master and slave in
Egypt but, with the establishment of a Jewish kingdom, it developed into
that of Patrician and Plebeian. Conflicts with other peoples exacerbated these
class conflicts. The Jewish kingdoms were subject to continual occupation by
foreign powers: the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and
the Romans. These internal and external conflicts were expressed ideologi-
cally through religion. Ancient Judaism and early Christianity, which were
monotheistic, had a messianic belief in freedom and equality and stood in
opposition to the polytheistic master morality of the occupying empires.
Conflict, antagonisms, tensions, oppositions and contradictions marked the
social relations of the adherents of ancient Judaism and early Christianity,
which contributed to a development that was dialectical.
222 • Warren S. Goldstein