Skip to main content

Tom Holland on the Ancient World and Near Antiquity

Historian Tom Holland's thesis here is that the Greek and Roman empires were the last in an old world paradigm based on power, domination, violence, and yes, patriarchy.  It was only Christianity that changed the trajectory of what it meant to be civilized.  The concept of Civilization that included morality, and with it the elevation of mercy and equality, and the value of all humanity is one that only developed as a result of a collision with Christian principles.  Jesus and his apostles, especially the later teaching of Paul, forced a re-examination of what it meant to be a good person, a wise person, and a powerful state.

"Humanism derives ultimately from the claims made in the Bible that humans are made in God's image.  That the Son died equally for everyone, that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female.  

Repeatedly, like a great earthquake, Christianity has sent reverberations across the world."

The concept of a division between the Secular and the Spiritual is now taken as self evident, it's just the way of the world.  But it isn't at all, it's a very distinctive way of comprehending society and how it functions; that had essentially not been conceptualized before Christians in the West did it.  And you can see the kind of strains that it imposes on non-Christian societies like India or Turkey.

Jesus said, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And what happens throughout the High Middle Ages is that this division becomes more pronounced.  So there are violent Crusades, and detractors are branded as Heretics, or denounced as witches.

When the British dominated India, they attempted to create a religion for its people and called that Hinduism,  But actually, Hinduism is not a religion that anyone in India recognizes.  It is simply a way of existing.  This idea that Hinduism is a religion separate from the secular state of India is imposed externally by the British because that is how they see the world.

It is indisputable that Christianity inspired the abolition of slavery. While it doesn't say that explicitly, it is clear the inspiration for it is coming from a matrix of Christian Scripture and belief and understanding.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Story of Prestor John

 Prestor John was a largely medieval invention, a figure taken from Biblical beginnings and then elevated beyond proportions to a mythic hero that would save Christendom. The story of Prestor John takes place in two parts. The first part begins in the Apostolic age, in the Gospel of John.  In John 21, Jesus has been telling Peter that he should prepare for a martyr's death.  Peter then asked about John, who was the author relating the story. In verse 22, Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me!” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. However, Jesus did not say that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you?”  The apostle John seems to write to dispel a rumor that Jesus told him he would not die until Jesus returned.  In fact, though many of the apostles were martyred for Christianity, John himself was not a mart...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tom Wadsworth - The Early Church Didn't have Worship Services

Why the Early Church Didn't Have Worship Services  Origen, ca 230 AD.  "We object to building altars, statues, and temples because we have learned from Jesus Christ the true way of serving God." Wadsworth's thesis is that modern Christianity has changed from the original practices of the Early Church.  We have adopted the communion sacrament as a "sacrifice", that takes place on an Altar, officiated by the pastor, who is now a Priest.  And all of this happens within a dedicated church building that is the modern equivalent of a Temple, with its sanctuary.  Rather than edifying our fellow believers in Early Church Assemblies, we now gather in these temples to participate in a "worship service." He says that Christianity, through its history, has in effect re-created the temple practices of historic Judaism. Irenaeus:  We make an offering to God of the bread and the cup of blessing.  And then when we have perfected the offering, we invoke the Holy Sp...
Post a Comment
Read more

How were the Gospels written: mere speculation

 Let's start by setting the stage for the Early Church.  In the mid 30s AD, Jesus was crucified by the Romans.   Jesus was resurrected and appeared to many people, including his disciples.  This happened both in Jerusalem and in Galilee, on the road to Emmaus and elsewhere. Peter preached his message in Jerusalem at the day of Pentecost.  From there, new Jewish/ Christian believers dispersed to their home towns including Antioch, Ephesus, Rome. Peter remained a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church, along with James the Lord's brother and, interestingly, accompanied by John Mark.  Tradition tells us that other of the apostles embarked on missionary journeys.  For example, Phillip met the Ethiopian and traveled to north Africa.   Matthew was said by Papias (the Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia ca. AD 130) to have written the Oracles or Saying of Jesus in his native Aramaic.  This was probably a work in progress during the time he ...
Post a Comment
Read more