Christianity - Research Paper Example

?Worksheet 10 Rome had been theologically backward, one main reason being language problem. The shift from Greek to Latin was of little help. The Christians in Rome had traces of both Hellenistic culture as well as some Jewish traditions. Even some members of the Roman Christian community fasted on Sabbath and observed Jewish food laws. Many questions on identity were raised during that period. (Frend, 339-341) 2) The Easter controversy was regarding the date on which Easter should be celebrated. The Asian Christians celebrated it on the 14 Nisan whereas the Romans believed that the fast of Easter should be observed from Friday to Sunday following the 14 Nisan. Pope Victor went off to declare that all the Greco-Romans from any part of the world are to follow the Roman dating. His way got accepted everywhere but in Asia Minor. Eventually the crisis came to an end but the controversy survived and became a global debate issue. (Frend, 341-342) 3) Irenaeus had stated that there was only one God. But the question that how can Christ be worshiped as God, his relation with Father, difference between Christianity and Judaism etc started coming up. The Asian Christians of Rome believed that “Christ was the Father himself and the Father himself was born, suffered and died.” Roman Christians were not in favour of this view. (Frend, 343-344) 4) North Africans did not believe in the Universalist ideas regarding the church in Rome, but were followers of absolute purity of church as well as integrity of membership. They considered baptism by water to be a mere prelude to the real baptism of blood. They thought these members to be Spirits who were impatiently awaiting the end of their physical life. (Frend, 346-347) 5) Agape meal was described as a simple meal which benefited the less fortunate and was coupled with hymn, reading of the Holy Scripture and prayers. It was beneficial because it implanted love among Christians and made them morally stronger. The special practices during baptism (renouncing the devil, a threefold immersion, having milk and honey afterwards and not taking a bath for a week to follow), thanksgiving (accepted prior to daybreak) and worship (using cross sign and not kneeling on Sundays). (Ehrman, 349-350) 6) From the 38 surviving pieces of Tertullian’s work, little has been learnt regarding his life. But going by Jerome’s evidence, he was “the son of a centurion in the proconsul’s guard” and had a very “sharp and violent talent”. (Frend, 348) Tertullian had drifted towards Montanism because of the ill treatment that was extended to the clergy in the Roman churches. He had died in an old age. Owing to his deep knowledge of the pagan literature and Stoicism, he did not act as a bridge between Athens and Jerusalem. In fact, he tried to establish a clearer difference between the two. (Frend, 348-350) 7) Cyprian in order to deal with the problem of “the lapsed” announced that a person who had once become an apostate was religiously impure and company of such people was dangerous and evil. A person who had left the canopy of the church and had gone to other party was to be removed from the church and the rewards related to it. Only if the person goes through penance for a considerable period of time can he be admitted back to the church. It was further said that a person baptized by someone who is no longer the part of the church will gain need to baptize himself. These views were widely accepted and applied by the council. (Frend, 353-355) 8) Seneca had given common insight on how Lord needs to be worshipped. For instance he had forbidden lighting of lamps on Sabbath as the Lord does not require light. He had further said that by offering morning prayers and visiting temples every day, God’s prayer are not successful as Lord can be offered prayers by only those who really know him. God does not need servants or offerings as He is the one who does service to the whole mankind and possesses everything. Lord is kind by nature and he will not let someone harm if the person did not have an intention to harm. The distinction between faith and superstition should be drawn, for example, offering parts of our body to God in sacrifice is not an honorable act but a disgraceful one. (Macmullen, 81-84) 9) In Apuleius’s Metamorphoses, human affairs are said to be governed by Iris and that her divine light influences everything from cattle to non-living things. Again, the number seven is said to be divine and specifically suited for religious practices. Iris is described as an extremely beautiful maiden with long hair, multicolored clothes, flowers and a mirror like small circle near her forehead representing that she was the moon. Lucius is given instructions to pray and leave behind sorrows and laments and that will relieve him from his pain. Through prayers, Lucius does get back him initial form. (Macmullen, 84-88) 10) Sometimes, pagan expectations can be bit harsh. Divine punishments are met for misdeeds or human ills. Example of Tatias was presented who was awarded divine punishment for giving poison to Jucundus. Similarly, her son too died on the same day after a grape cutting tool fell on his foot. Marcus Aurelius’s distinctive faith attitudes are: Don’t put off things for a later time else the time will run out and the opportunity will be lost as well. Life is short and it does not give second chances to anyone, therefore, a person should take command of his/her own life. God’s work is filled with Providence and it is not detached from nature. A person should take out time from his routine life to learn new things. If our work is in accordance with nature then no other human being can stop us from doing it. (Macmullen, 106-108) Worksheet 11 1) Platonism and Christianity kept on oscillating between attraction and repulsion for over two centuries. By the end of second century, the difference between the biblical and the platonic Christianity were uncovered by the Pagan oppositions and it was said that in order to succeed in the Greek speaking nation, Christianity must be coherent in Platonic terms. Clement and Origen’s work in the 4th century, where they had accepted the challenges of Platonism, is accepted and followed even today. This had helped in forming the state-church relations, theory of trinity etc. But a disadvantage of this was the widening of difference in knowledge among the learned and less learned Christians across the globe. (Frend, 368-369) 2) Main features of Clement’s writing is the teaching regarding the basic aspects of a Christians life like why should a person eat, what should he drink, need for prayers before going to sleep, exercise, sexual activities, public manners and restrained use of humor etc. Clement’s writing is a path that makes a person an ideal Christian. (Ehrman, 387-399) 3) Clement has described a pious life-style in teachings. It is difficult to follow but represents an ideal kind of life. A person should eat for living and not live for eating, should not consume wine, have sexual relations with the sole objective of a large family, should not indulge in adultery, pray and thank God for everything before going off to sleep, control our humor etc. By following this kind of a life, a person will be far from vices and nearer to God. (Ehrman, 387-399) 4) Origen was known to be fearless and outspoken. He was a fighter and was at his best as a writer and not an orator. Clement on the other hand was quiet by nature and passive towards the secular authorities. Hexapla was Origen’s own work. Porphyry had described Origen as a Greek (wrongly described) who later became the protagonist of Christianity, “a barbarous religion”. (Frend, 373) 5) A) God is not visible to everyone. Only those who are worthy can see him. Only the disciples of Jesus could see Jesus as Jesus i.e. the people whom Jesus thought worthy could really behold him. (Ehrman, 370-371) B) A child even when in mother’s womb will have Holy Spirit’s influence/blessing his/her life. The birth of John is an example where an archangel had announced at his birth, “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.” (Ehrman, 371-372) C) Birth of the Lord was concealed from the world. Lord Jesus himself chose the womb of a virgin who had taken a husband and had escaped the notice of the king. (Ehrman, 373-374) 6) Origen understood Jesus as the holy one and his birth as divine. He believed in the blessings and miraculous powers that had been bestowed on Jesus even before he was born. This understanding was against Gnosticism as Origen believed Jesus’s birth and being to be miraculous and God’s blessing. (Ehrman, 373-374) 7) In the second and third centuries, Origin had published the most number of Homilies, i.e. more than three hundred. Origen used to read out these scriptures and explain their meaning during worship services. These scriptures had a distinct view of the Bible and this view has played major role in developing the future Christian theology. (Ehrman, 369) 8) Dionysius of Alexandria was the Pope of Alexandria for some 17 years starting from 248 till his demise on 17th November 265. He mediated between the antagonists during the 261-262 civil war and was a follower of Origen’s work. He had to deal with the problem of millenarianism and he did this by using biblical evidence to prove that book of Revelation had not possibly been written by the writer of the Fourth Gospel. Again, he had to face the problem of Monarchianism existing among the Cyrenaica’s Christians. The third and most serious problem that he had to face was the questions that were raised by Origen and the Arabian Christians regarding the soul and immortality which were in contrast with the original Christian beliefs. (Frend, 383-384) 9) Antioch was under Paul from Samosata whose doctrines on Jesus and flamboyance pleased some and annoyed the others. He had had to face much criticism for his interpretation scriptures. Paul considered himself to be on a higher level than others and used to lead a worldly life. He was attracted to women and was open about this. He was devoted to his work, so much so that he used to dictate letters to his secretary even on the roads. (Chadwick, 166-169) 10) Tertullian distinguished Father and Son by saying that the Father is the entire substance whereas the Son is only a part of the whole. He further emphasized that in order to be a Son, one must have a Father and vice-versa. No one can be a Son and Father at the same time. (Ehrman, 409-410) Ans.11) Mani had left his group of followers of Elchasai to form his own group. He thought himself to be a prophet. He did not believe in following a religion which was confined to geographical boundaries. Mani’s writings had the power ensure stability for the future generations. (Chadwick, 170-172) Plotinus was an Egyptian philosopher and used to teach Platonism. Porphyry was his disciple. In a biography written by Porphyry, he had described Plotinus and the fact that Plotinus had “experienced mystical union with the One” four times in his life whereas he himself had done it only once. (Chadwick, 173) Worksheet 12: Ans.1) The writings of Origen and the letter criticizing Paul of Samosata show that there were conflicting views present regarding Jesus. Paul had differentiated Jesus from the Lord. To him, Jesus was a person on whom the spirits had taken full control. To Origen, Jesus was the son and mediator between the Lord and all the other divine powers. He was lesser in comparison to the lord but higher than any other existing things. (Frend, 376-377 and 387) Ans.2) For Alexandrians, Jesus was not a human being but a representation of humanity but Paul did not believe in the pre existence of Christ. However, at last the Alexandrian view prevailed. A synodal letter was written to “all our fellow ministers throughout the world, bishops and presbyters and deacons, and to the whole Catholic Church under heaven” including Dionysius of Rome and the Maximus of Alexandria to forward the view held by the council regarding Christ. (Frend, 386-387) Ans. 3) Initially, the bishops and clergy used to have very limited responsibility. There job used to be to look after the disciplinary issues of the church, i.e. to correct the wrongs of the church goers. But during the course of 4th century, there was an irreversible change in their duties. Their powers increased and the governance of the church went into their hands. (Frend, 412-413) Ans.4) Clericalization of Church life means the clergy activities carried by the priest in the churches. Since 240, the level of miscellaneous work which included administrative work increased in the churches. The people involved in these acts were not the technical people of the church but they remained associated to the church. Inside the church there were presbyters, deacons, sub deacons acolytes, readers and doorkeepers who continued with the clergy activity. All of them carried out their distinct jobs. (Frend, 405-406) Ans. 5. According to liturgy, Hippolytus and Origen complemented each other. According to Origen, the bishops and the presbyter had a considerable authority. Prayers and readings were done from both the old and the New Testament .The kiss of peace according to Hippolytus was followed by the offerings placed by the deacons. Later it was followed by prayers and thanks giving to the almighty. On the other hand penitential system was associated with purging faults in the ritual and means of exercising control within worshippers. It leads to a conflict between the Episcopal and the non Episcopal forms of leadership in the church. The issue was interpreted in a different manner in the west and rivalry grew. (Frend, 407-409) Ans 6. Penitential system gave rise to conflicts between different forms of leadership within the church. The system was associated with the removal of faults in the rituals and the exercise of the controls over the worshippers. Some of the confessors went through intolerable pressure Congressional control over the worshippers were either too much or too relaxed under the different leadership of Episcopal and Non Episcopal ways. The difference in idea held by the two forms of leadership gave rise to conflicts with the bishops emerging as winners in the conflict. (Frend, 409-410) Ans. 7. During the practice of Celibacy different traditions evolved. A second marriage to a wife after the death of the spouse was prevented. In the third century some bishops were married and they settled with a family. In Egypt example of numerous family by a Bishop was also evident. The ascetic tradition had a strong base. Virgins were held in high esteems and the widows were registered as “Apostolic Tradition “. Widows would stay home and pray and was barred from visiting churches.(Frend, 411) Ans. 8) During the 3rd century, persecution was thought to lead to salvation, man had individualistic morality i.e. he thought of not committing sin himself and not of collectively reforming the society. In general, the view was that a man should discard a public life. Adultery was thought to be a greater crime than even murdering a slave. Slavery was accepted under Christianity. War had confronting view among varied thinkers. Love for the less fortunate, sick, orphans and captives, arranging for proper burial for the deceased etc were also practiced by the Christians. (Frend, 419-421) Ans. 9) Phrygia: Montanism had survived the pressure that the orthodox framework had exerted on it and the Phrygian Christianity was getting reinforced by Novatianism. The general view “Christians for Christians” prevailed. Egypt: People were fleeing Egypt to avoid economic stress and the Persecutions. Their future was amidst uncertainty. Many had fled Egypt and had led ascetic form of life. Syria: A movement similar as Egypt but of more individualistic character was going on in certain parts of Syria. After the origin of Syrian monasticism in the mid-third century, Syrian and Egyptian monasticism were meant to move on parallel tracks. Later on in the fourth century, the beliefs of Clement and Origen formed a major part of Egyptian monasticism whereas, Syria remained anti-Hellenistic. North-Africa: Christianity was rapidly spreading here. A new group of rural-Christians came up which later, coupled with Egyptian rural Christians confronted the church and the state which grave outcomes during the Great Persecution. (Frend, 422-424) Ans. 10) In Novatian’s treatise, “On the Trinity”, Novatian refers to God as the Creator of everything around us. He made man and placed him on the top of his creation because man had intelligence and could imitate God. Though man was given freedom but restriction had been imposed too. If a man was to disobey the commands that had been laid down to him, evil was to follow. Again, in the treatise it was said that God was all superior and there was no space for a “superior God”. God has been described as perfect. God is said to be everywhere, in heaven above or the earth below. Again, it has been said that God’s goodness is visible to the whole world and He alone is good. A man comes in contract with evil only when he/she is far removed from the Lord. All this shows that Novatian held God in the orthodox view. (Ehrman, 430-435) Worksheet 13: Ans1) Closing years of third century saw the consolidation of the traditional paganism and in turn, it’s more agile defence against Christianity. Long debates between Christianity and Neo-Platonists covered the second part of the 3rd century and finally resulted in the Neo-Platonic influence getting thrown away to the sides of Christianity’s enemies. (Frend, 440-441) Ans2) The major positions adopted by Porphyry are in his work On the Return of the Soul which had freed Augustine from Manichean dualism. He had criticized the followers of Christ harshly and had called Peter a “dabbler in the black arts”. He had even ridiculed the belief that Christ was the sole source of attaining salvation by raising the question that what had then been the result of those numerous souls who used to exist before Christ had come. What was the lack in those souls? Porphyry was puzzled by the rapid spread of Christianity and commented on it in the light of the spreading of a “property holding institution”. (Frend, 441-443) Ans.3) In the spread of Christianity in the original Missionary area, evidence of strong Christian communities during the 3rd century in the province of Asia Minor is seen. An autonomous place in Phrygia is recorded to have an entirely Christian community. Similarly, Cyprus, Greece and parts of Rome and Italy saw growing roots of Christianity. Again, it spread to North Africa, southeastern parts of Spain, Celtic and Germanic provinces which included northern Italy and Britain. (Frend, 444-449) Ans.4) Arnobius used to be a highly qualified critic of Christianity who later turned to Christianity. He wrote seven books glorifying Christianity so as to convince the bishop of Sicca regarding the truth of his feelings. (Chadwick, 176-177) Lactantius was the pupil of Arnobius. He too became a follower of Christianity in the later part of his life and wrote many books praising and popularizing the Christian way of leading life. (Chadwick, 191) Ans5) In November 284, under the guidance of Valerius, the empire went on to reorganize itself in order to be better at defending frontiers, checking inflation and having better governmental control. This campaign went off to be hugely successful, so much so that a part of it got incorporated in Justinian’s Code well over 200 years later. Provinces were divided with the intention to reduce the chance of civil-wars. This in turn increased administrative cost thereby raising taxes, which in turn made the people poorer but the small size of the provinces made it difficult for them to revolt. (Chadwick, 176-177) Ans.6) In terms of timing as well as military success and economic policies, The Great Persecution became more of a reality. The Persian War of 296 had sprung back to life and had gone poorly from the Roman point of view. Moreover, by 282, the Manichean missionaries had spread to Egypt and in subsequent years had spread beyond that. After Diocletian realized the dangers related with making Martyrs out of Christians, he had insisted on shedding of no blood. His only goal was to call the Christians to perform their duty of understanding the greatness of the Roman Gods. (Frend, 456-457) Ans.7) Lactanius in his initial days was a teacher and he had been invited by Diocletian to teach at Nicomedia. He decided to become a Christian and later wrote books on Christian exhibition and justification. After being an eyewitness to the demolition of city church at Nicomedia, he wrote about the ideas on divine punishment, God’s anger, divine creation and about his first contact with the Christian faith. (Chadwick, 191) Ans.8) Lactantius: The Deaths of the Persecutors has many tales while describing the death of the Persecutors. He wrote of Galerius’s mother, who used to pray to the Lord of mountains and used to offer sacrifices to them almost every day. Then, she used to donate these meals to her country men whereas, the Christians used to keep fasts and were not a part of it. This angered her and she had passed on this anger to her son and the willingness to do away with the Christians. Galerius and his son-in-law Maximian were described as the worst of all evil doers and the Diocletian had been called the beginner of all evils. (Ehrman, 12-14) Ans.9) Under Diocletian, the state got re-organized. Many provinces were broken up into smaller parts and high taxes and duties funded the increased cost of governance. The officials were given titles corresponding to their ranks. At the top, there were four members who used to wear purple and this color was not allowed to anyone else. Diocletian himself had adopted the title of Jovius, Maximian Herculius. He himself was a religious man, conservative by nature and did not therefore want a new religion to come up. The second half of the 3rd century witnessed the expansion of churches as the existing buildings were overflowing with believers. It spread further to Greek eastern states and Asia Minor. (Chadwick, 176-177) Ans.10) In the year 303, Diocletian fell and finally retired after constant persuasion by Galerius. At around 310, the council of Elvira emerged. Freedom of worship in churches was restored. The council bought many laws on Christian worship, slave treatment, marriage etc. After the death of Galerius, Daia again started harassing the Christians. Christians were not allowed to build churches or hold meetings in private or public and were taken to the court if they refused sacrifice to the Gods. But, Daia too realized that this policy of suppressing the followers of a religion impractical and gave the Christians the liberty to build churches. (Chadwick, 181-183) Workbook 14: Ans.1) Even after the persecution in the West had stopped, the second Tetrarchy, namely “Constantius, Glerius, Maximin and Severus” had come under a new threat. On 25th July 306, Constantius had died. Severus too had become unpopular with his subjects because of the raised taxes and as a result of this, the people had turned to Maxentius, the son of Maximian. He defeated Severus and Galerius himself retreated. Eventually, Maxentius too saw a downfall because to some he was a pagan but to others, he was a usurper.(Frend, 474-475) Ans.2) Eusebius of Caesarea was a very hard working and capable propagandist who had great knowledge of the traditions of Josephus. He was also a bishop whose political theology had guided successors for centuries to come. He was a follower of Origen and hated the Tetrarchy. Some of his famous works are the Acts of Pilate, Preparation of the Gospel and the Proof of the Gospel etc. These books showed the nature of Christianity to those who did not know what it was and asserted “the progressive nature of a Christian’s understanding of his faith”. (Frend, 477-479) Ans.3) The period of 311-313 was the period of the propaganda war. Galerius’s period was coming to an end as he was seriously ill. Christians, apart from facing physical pressures were also subjected to war of words. The image of Jesus was being tarnished by the revolutionaries. The themes like Jesus was at the max a magician and fully deserved his fate were doing rounds. Christians were discredited. Temples and other sacred groves came up in the city in order to stand against Christianity. (Frend, 477) Ans.4) Constantine entered Italy in the spring of 312 with his army. He defeated Maxentius’s army and returned triumph to Rome and was given the title of senior Augustus. In 314-315 Licinius lost his Balkan provinces to Constantine and by 320-321, he had his eyes set on the affairs of the Christian kingdom of Armenia. The battle of Chrysopolis of 324 resulted in Constantine’s emergence as the only ruler of the Roman world. (Frend, 481-484) Ans.5) After Constantine came to power after defeating Maxentius, the church was restored back to harmony but the churches were not. In North Africa too situation just like the schisms in Rome was seen which took Constantine by surprise. Again, a dispute took place between the bishops of Carthage regarding the Abitinian Martyrs who were there in the prison of Carthage. The threats that had been given against the betrayers or the traditores had not been for nothing and they felt resentment against the Cecilians. Some bishops took law in their own hands against their fellow colleagues whom they thought to be against the martyrs cause. One of such activist was Donatus of Casae Nigrea. (Frend, 488-489) Ans.6) Arius had been designed presbyter by the successors of Peter. His teachings had the acceptance of the ideas regarding Christ’s ethical developments. He had entwined platonic views with the understanding of Jesus out of the bible. (Frend, 494) Ans.7) Confusion regarding theological ideas and Arius’s teachings had been the primary reason for the debates at Nicaea. The main ideas were of Origenism and the debate was among people who were against or in favour of these ideas. The emperor had declared that God was one and Jesus was the Lord of all Lords. This gained widespread acceptance but the bishops who refused to comply were exiled. The council of Nicaea also dealt with the question regarding fixation of Easter date and emperor’s hatred towards the Jews. The council of Nicaea achieved rare feats by winning over loyalty of important groups, solving disputes and maintaining peace. (Frend, 498-500) Ans.8) The new city of Constantine, Constantinople, was a Nova Roma because it had its own senate and senate houses. Even the citizens of this city were to be called populous Romanus. (Frend, 503) Ans.9) In 326, Constantine had paid his last visit to Rome, in order to celebrate the completion of his 20 years as the Augustus. There was a fierce loathing for paganism that was Constantine showed when sacrifices were offered on the Capitol. The emperor was also stopped calling “the restorer of the golden age”. It has been said by the critics that this demonstration of antagonism to the Gods went hand in hand with Constantine’s transition to Christianity. (Frend, 501-502) Ans.10) Constantine had built many churches in the main cities of his province, using the imperial funds. In Numidia when Donatists had captured their main basilica, Constantine had urged the Christians to apply to the Financial Officer and build up another basilica using that fund. In 326, he had written to king Sapor of Persia in praise of Christianity and had asked him to take the Persian Christians under his benevolence. He was fast emerging as the protector of Christians under and outside of his empire. He had even named his half sister Anastasia. (Frend, 503) Ans.11) The writings of Lactantius are important for the study because his work he evaluates the shortcomings and merits of the Roman emperors from the political, cultural, economic and social point of view. His work Deaths of the Persecutors evolves the story the story of Christian suffering and victory. His work covers the span of ten years ranging from 303-313 C.E. i.e. from the start of the Great Persecution to the rise of Constantine and end of the persecutors. (Ehrman, 11-12) Licinius after entering Nicomedia, had thanked God on the June 13th and had published a letter regarding the “restoration of the Church” i.e. the place of meeting had been restored back to its early status. (Ehrman, 22-23) Read More