Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Reformation (The Story of Christianity)

by Justo L. González

Luke has left us two books, the first on the deeds of Jesus, and the second on the deeds of the Spirit.

But Luke’s second book does not seem to have a conclusion.

Hellenism.

But there were many Jews who did not regard Hellenism as a blessing.

The high point of that struggle was the Jewish rebellion led by the family known as the Maccabees,

But Roman tolerance could not understand the seeming obstinacy of the Jews, who insisted on worshiping only their God, and who threatened rebellion at the least challenge to their faith.

It is to this rebellion that Gamaliel refers in Acts 5:37, as an example of useless revolt.

To them, it was important to be faithful to the Law, and for that reason they studied and debated how the Law was to be applied in every conceivable situation.

That may be true to a degree. But, on the other hand, one must remember that they sought to make

the faith of Israel relevant to everyday situations, and to new circumstances under Roman ru...

Those more conservative Jews were the Sadducees.

A great deal of the friction between Christians and Pharisees was due to the similarity of their views, rather than to their difference.

Essenes,

This group, and probably others like it, sought to obey the Law by withdrawing from the rest of society, and often had a very intense expectation that the end was near.

The various parties might disagree as to the exact shape of such relationships, but they all agreed on the need to honor the only God with the whole of life.

Of all these groups, the best-equipped to survive after the destruction of the Temple was that of the Pharisees.

When the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, the Sadducees received a mortal blow, while the theological tradition of the Pharisees continued to bloom into modern Judaism.

One of the common traits of Diaspora Judaism was that many of its members had forgotten the language of their ancestors. For this reason, it was necessary to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into languages that they

This translation, which originated in Alexandria—the main city in Egypt is—called the Septuagint, or the version of the Seventy

It is the text of Scripture quoted by most New Testament authors, and it profoundly, influenced the formation of early Christian

vocabulary—including the very name of “Christ,” which was the Septuagint word for “Anointed One” or “Messiah.”

But the high point of this entire tradition was the work of Philo of Alexandria, a contemporary of Jesus who sought to show that the best of pagan philosophy agreed with the Hebrew Scriptures.

Through such interpretation, Philo tried to prove that the God of Scripture is the same as the One of the philosophers, and that the moral teachings of the Hebrews are basically the same as those of the best among the Greek philosophers.

provinces. Since trade flourished, travel was constant; thus Christianity often reached a new region, not through the work of missionaries or preachers, but rather through traveling traders, slaves, and others. In that sense, the political circumstances favored the spread of Christianity.

Rome had a vested interest in having her subjects from different lands believe that, although their gods had different names, they were ultimately the same gods.

Syncretism was the fashion of the time.

In that atmosphere, Jews and Christians were seen as unbending fanatics who insisted on the sole worship of their One God—an alien cyst that must be removed for the good of society.

“mystery religions.”

From Egypt came the

myth of Isis and Osiris, which explained the fertility of the Nile and all other fertility. Greece contributed rites that from time immemorial had been celebrated near Athens. The cult of Mithra, a god of Indo-Iranian origin, was very popular in the army. Others worshiped the Great Mother, of Semitic origin. Given the syncretism of all these religions, soon they were so intermingled that today it is exceedingly difficult for historians to determine which doctrine or practice arose in which context.

But it was another element in Roman religion that eventually became the reason for persecution. This was the worship of the ruling emperor.

When Christians refused to burn incense before the emperor’s image, they did so as a witness to their faith; but the authorities condemned them as disloyal and seditious people. To communicate their faith in the midst of Hellenistic culture, Christians found two philosophical traditions particularly attractive

and helpful: Platonism and Stoicism.

All this many early Christians found attractive and useful in their attempts to respond to the charges that they were ignorant and unbelieving.

eventually they began influencing the manner in which Christians understood their own faith.

all Stoics believed that the purpose of philosophy was to understand the law of nature,

and to obey and adjust to it.

reason prevails. When this happens, passions subside, and the

apatheia—life without passions.

The virtues one must cultivate are four: moral insight, courage, self...

And many of the arguments that Stoic philosophers had used against the gods were now taken up by Christians.

The earliest Christian community is often idealized.

Peter’s firmness and eloquence at Pentecost tend to eclipse his waverings as to what ought to be done with the Gentiles who wished to join the church.

These last words do not refer to a conflict between Jews and Gentiles, for Acts makes clear that at that time there were still no Gentiles in the church.

In any case, it would seem that all seven were “Hellenists,” for they had Greek names. Thus, the naming of the seven would appear as an attempt to give greater voice in the affairs of the church to the Hellenistic party, while the twelve, all “Hebrews,” would continue being the main teachers and preachers.

that his attitude towards the Temple was not entirely positive.

Furthermore, when persecution finally broke out and Christians had to flee Jerusalem, the apostles were able to remain.

When Saul left for Damascus to seek out Christians who had taken refuge there, the apostles were still in Jerusalem, and Saul seemed to ignore them.

All of this would seem to indicate that the earliest persecution was aimed mostly at the “Hellenistic” Christians, and that the...

Thus, a church is being born beyond the confines of Judea, and that church, although not founded by the apostles, still acknowledges their authority.