191withwhichweoftenholdtextualrulesofscx:ialbehaviorasbeingrepre-
sentativeforactualeverydaylife. InthaIrespect,thestudyofpaganism
supplementsanddeepenstheconceptofregionalism in Palestineand
helpstopreventitfromshaping~regionsWonlyalongpredominatelyreli-
gioustcnns.
Finally,rhepresenceofpaganismisoftenseenasanindicatorofthe
degree(0whichPalestinewasHellenized:the morepaganstherewere,
themorcMediterranean(andthelessJewish)thiSregionwouldbe,and
viceversa.A closerstudyofpagancuhurewillreve,tI, however,thatthis
awkward alternative (Hellenistic-pagan versus non-Hellenistic-Jewish)
mustbeabandoned.ThepresenCeofpaganismcannotserveasanindica-
torforHellenisticinfluence.Bothfactorshavetobedistinguished.Inthis
way,thestudyofpaganismconfirmsresultsofresearchthatEricMeyers
andmanyothershavecarriedOulontheimpactofIlellenismonJewish
cultureinPalestine.BothJewsandpaganstovariousdegreesprofitedfrom
theincreaseofanisticandarchitectumloptionsmadepossiblethroughan
all·encompassinginfluenceof"Ilellenism~intheEast.
So,tosummarize,therearefourmajorreasonswhyisitnecessaryto
include Palestinianpaganism into biblical studies. First, wecan beuer
understandwhattheprocessofHellenizationintheEaStmeamwhenwe
examineits impactonotherSemitic traditions in Palestineapanfrom
Judaism.Second,wecanbenerperceivehowdiverseandcomplexthecul-
tuml,ethnic,andreligiousworldofjudaismandearlyChristianitywasand
betterunderstandwhyandhowJewsandChristiansreactedtowardtheir
environmentastheydid.Third,studyingandmappingpagansitesinthe
classroommighthelpdistinguishbetweenregionswithpaganpopulation
andthosewithout.Ourreligiousgeographybecomesmorecomplex-and
morerealistic,too.Fourth,thestudyofpaganreligioninPalestine,espe-
ciallyitsSemiticcomponents,canalsocontribute(0theunderstandingof
elementsinjewishandearlyChristiantheologyaswell. Iamfarfrom
repeatingthetenetsoftheolderreligionsgeschichllicheSchulehere, but
recentresearchintoconceptsofmonotheismandtranscendentmediating
figureshasshownthatpaganism,judaism,andearlyChristianityhavecer-
tainfeaturesincommon.Heretheinterestingquestionsbegin:Howcan
weexplainLhesesimilarities?Is itsufficient toresorttooldconceptsof
"syncretism~ortocometotheconclusionthatallreligionsarebasicallythe
same?Isitcorrecttoseeanalogousfeaturesindifferentreligioustraditions
asproofof"dependency~?Students, \"hooftenwanttohearclear-cut
answerswhenitcomestoreligion,mightbeinvitedtothinkinmoredif-
ferentiatedterms.Tospe'dkaboutpaganismisnottojudgebetweentrue
andfalse.Onthecontrary,studentsmaylearntorealizedifferencesandat
thesametimeacceptthattherecanbesimilarities,too,if theyareprepared
toovercome thetraditional wayofopposingjudaismand Christianity