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This God is the sole origin of reality, creating what is good, and a world of order We know far better what God is not than what God is. Thus we rely on bent or indirect discourse to enter a way to talk about god through stories poems music and art Neither a database of supernatural information nor a sourcebook of solutions to all questions We don’t like being limited or dependent But God chooses to become limited and dependent in the incarnation Jesus was a threat to Rome because of the incident in which he overturns the money changers tables at the temple Jesus' crucifixion in Roman History Jesus was killed for being an insurrectionist, even if that wasn’t his intention •Likely a collaboration between Roman (Pontius Pilate) and Jewish Temple authority (the Sanhedrin) Tacitus describes the brutal execution of Christians in Rome by Nero and makes three key statements about Jesus: •His crucifixion occurs during the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14-37 CE) and the governorship of Pilate (26-36 CE) •“This Christ” was executed by the Roman governor of Judea •The execution of “this Christ” suppressed the “dangerous religious movement” of the Christians for a time, but then it quickly broke out again, first in Judea, but then spreading rapidly as far as Rome Historical evidence points to Jesus being executed according to Roman law, for Roman reasons; crucifixion was reserved for slaves, non-citizens, dangerous criminals, and those who sought to oppose the government, sometimes occurring in large groups The Last Words •Darkness falls: indicates a sense of cosmic significance •Mark and Matthew: after his trial before Pilate, Jesus does not speak until his death-cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm... ... middle of paper ... ...means to suffer and die as we do •God shows us the promise of new life in the resurrection and of new society in the Reign of God What is the best possible way to give yourself to someone else? How can you most fully give who and what you are to another so that s/he can receive your gift of yourself in a way that genuinely advances who that person is? Himes, p. 50 •Love is about knowing what someone needs and giving that •Requires insight into the person loved •What are some examples of how Jesus knew how to give the love someone needed? The recognition that there is a gap between creature and creator: we are finite, God is infinite. God bridges the gap by becoming one of us, by suffering and dying. we bridge the gap through striving to live in God's image through love. Our transcendence seeks the good because it is grounded in and directed towards God.
Even quite exaggerated stories about him had a characteristic stamp” (124). Beginning (Interrogation) • Andreas, son of John, was in Jerusalem when an outbreak occurred. Andreas had come up from Sepphoris in Galilee for Pentecost to visit an old friend, Barabbas, when he noticed Roman soldiers dressed as normal citizens; they had then pulled out their clubs and started hitting people during the demonstration. The demonstration was for Pilate, and Andreas just happened to get into the middle of all the action. “The demonstration was because Pilate wanted to take money from the temple treasury to build a new aqueduct for Jerusalem” (4).
Although popular knowledge of early Christians emphasize their persecution and severe ostracism within the Roman Empire, a closer study of Roman law reveals that Christianity and being Christian were not crimes in and of themselves. As a matter of fact, citizens of the Roman Empire were free to worship any god. Even their proclamations about Jesus were not considered heretical. On the contrary, it was not out of the ordinary to declare a human to be divine. After all, the emperor himself was thought by many to have been divine. In addition, the “secret meetings” of Christians to celebrate the Lord’s Supper often portrayed, as highly covert and something the Christians attended in fear of being found out, also were not illegal. As a matter of fact, most of the rituals and beliefs associated with being a Christian in ancient times were not deemed criminal. In actuality, the Roman Empire punished Christians for breaking laws that were applicable to every Roman citizen.
Walaskay, Paul W. "The Trial and Death of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke." Journal of Biblical Literature 94.1 (1975): 81-93. JSTOR. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.
Specifically in reference to the killings at the famous Roman Colosseum, it appears that, over the course of time, the public executions held there were distributed with some degree of equality among Christian and cultist pagan people. The reason for this lies in the cause of execution; according to historical records, execution in the Roman Colosseum was often the preferred method of punishment for religious treachery. Thereby, Christianity and cult paganism were both legally punishable in this manner under Roman law both before, and during, Nero’s rule. The presentation of this information is not, in any way, meant to minimize the treatment of Christians during this time, but rather to acknowledge that the number of Christian worshippers was not reduced by the degree it was once believed to. In fact, it is still believed that the persecution of Christians in Rome reached its height under Emperor Nero because the laws concerning religion were easily manipulated and abused, something Nero likely took advantage
Jesus would find the best way to care for those in need regardless of the social standards. Jesus would not let barriers like: limited resources and lack of volunteers to stop him from doing his work of serving and helping others. His number one character trait is his servitude. All God’s people
Wingo, Earle. The Illegal Trial of Jesus. N.p.: Chick Publications, n.d. Accessed March 19, 2014.
In this report we will deal with Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. This report we'll have as bible text the gospel of Matthew 27:32-50, and these verses will be analyzed verse by verse. It's very great to observe that all gospels talk about Jesus' Crucifixion in a larger section than others events from his life. There is a great reason: for Jesus this last part of his work means the finishing God's plan of salvation. Paul says he humbled himself, and become obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross (Philippians 2:8). So we will observe the following of event as Matthew wrote in his gospel.
A second speech that was delivered by Jesus and it can be easily recalled is the speech or discussion from the Last Supper. During this speech, Jesus gave his final words and teaching to his disciples. It was also this time when he explained the purpose of his sacrifice. The significance of the Last Supper speech is due to a the time before Jesus’s crucifixion, which left a great impact. Another notable speech given
records of this action are in the book of John, Mark, Luke, and Mathew. Jesus was suspected
Both these passages describe the choice of citizens to spare Barabbas and crucify Jesus, motivated by the persuasions of Jewish chief priests and elders. Both passages also make note of the fact that Pilate refuses to condone this choice and questions what crime Jesus has committed. He then proceeds to “wash his hands” of the incident, and place blame of Jesus’ death on the Jews. The Jews accept the blame, saying “his blood is on us and our children.” Pilate agrees that Jesus is innocent in both Luke and John as
Another important source of evidence about Jesus and early Christianity can be found in the letters of Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan. Pliny was the Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor. In one of his letters, dated around 112 A.D, he asks Trajan's advice about the appropriate way to conduct legal proceedings against those accused of being Christians. Pliny says that he needed to consult the emperor about this issue because a great multitude of every age, class, and sex stood accused of
It was also later used by the Germans and the Britain. Roman citizens were rarely crucified; slaves and lower class peoples were naturally worst type criminals. Therefore, they were main subjected to crucifixion as their punishment. The citizen class of Roman society were never subject to capital punishments; instead, they were fined or exiled. A prime example of the practice of crucifixion is Jesus. Through religious speculation of the Pharisees, Jesus was then crucified by Roman law. Following crucifixions would be a Roman flogging until the victim’s blood began to flow. Then the Romans designed the act of crucifixion to be slow and painful. The person would be tortured to the point of humiliation. The Romans used crucifixion as a punishment and a universal warning to future lawbreakers. The excruciating pain of the flogging, the condemned person would be required to carry his stake across public roads to the place of execution usually a public place. If a crossbeam is used, the victim was forced to carry it on his shoulders, which would have been torn open by a brutal scourging, to the place of execution. The criminal would then be fastened to the beam with are outspread, usually roped, in some cases nails. In Roman times iron was expensive; thus, nails from a crucifixion were usually removed from the dead body and reused over and over to cut the costs. The body was
Horsley contends Jesus performing the kingdom of God was direct, deliberate, and confrontational to the oppressive injustices of the Roman Empire. Beyond Jesus being a religious figure, Horsley contends Jesus is political and therefore has bearing on what it means for Christians to be “Christ-like”. This directly critiques two dominant understandings of Jesus (1) which reconstruct Jesus as purely a religious figure through the assumption
As Christianity spread, and its influence expanded, leaders in Rome started to take notice. At the close of the first century Christianity came to be the preferred religion for Roman citizenry, as it presented a more attractive doctrine that the common man could relate to. However, it wasn’t until Emperor Constantine signed the Edict of Milan (A.D. 313) that religious tolerance became mandatory, and Christianity received a reprieve from persecutors. Christianity came under attack almost from the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jewish leaders felt threatened by Jesus’ disciples trend of increasing rejection of the dogmatic rituals and practices that made up Judaism. Ultimately, Jewish leaders, the Sadducees, were able to convince the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate, that Jesus’ teachings were tantamount to sedition and that he was a threat to Roman rule. Little did the Sadducees know at the time, but the teachings of Jesus had already taken ...
Perhaps we are wrong, even sinful, to judge Thomas harshly for doubting the information that a man that had died in the sight of hundreds of witnesses from the massive blood common to crucifixion and its concomitant physical conditions that eventually suffocate the victim when he becomes too weak to raise himself up on pierced feet and anguished legs and so reduce the pressure that compresses his chest and compromises his ability to