Pontius Pilate, without a doubt, is one of the most influential and rememberable participants depicted in the story that the Bible tells about the life of Jesus. In the first century, Pontius Pilate ruled the people of Judea. He had a method to his madness but also a powerful revolutionary, Jesus, would question his authority over the people. Jesus was claiming that he was the King of the Jews and to Pontius he was a tremendous threat. In his eyes, this was a rebellion against his authority and would be considered a threat to his power. During this time, Jesus had a vast amount of followers and greatly out numbered Pontius. Pontius knew this and would sentence Jesus to death for his so called rebellion and blasphemy against the empire. There so, Pontius is credited with sentencing Jesus to his death on the cross. However, there is controversy over whether or not his actions really viewed his beliefs on Jesus’s guilt. Pontius’s life is some what vague but from the bits and pieces of his history scholars are able to make an educated guess on what kind of ruler he would be and help clear up certain issue that make this part of his life blurry. Pontius is primarily mentioned in four historically gospels that speak of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the majority consensus was that he does not take responsibility for his death. However, the greatest question of all is: Who was this man and how did the fate of one of histories most influential men fall in the hands of this Roman Governor?
Even though Pontius Pilate was a very influential aspect of the bible, very little is actually known about the man. Most of all, there are no accurate depictions of what the ruler really looked like. However, in 1961 artifacts were found that prove...
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...ing about, there's no reason for Pilate to delay the inevitable, unless it's to provoke onlookers and in the process reassert Roman dominance a little more.” (Skinner) A man that refuses involvement in a matter and that lets the people decide is described in Matthew 27:19. “So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves." (Hooke, Matthew 27:19) I believe, Pontius was just a man doing what he had to do. It could have been any other Roman placed in that position to make that kind of decision and the result would have been the same nearly every time. Pontius Pilate was not the historical villain than all make him out to be. He was just a man whose fate happened to collide with one of histories from influential men.
Throughout Julius Caesar Brutus acts in accordance with his morals, which makes his eventual fall all the more tragic as Brutus genuinely believed his actions benefitted the future of Rome. Unlike most of the self-interested people around him, Brutus genuinely cares for the continued well-being of the Roman republic. Brutus sees Caesar's rise to power and imminent crowning as a danger to the freedom of the people in Rome since, "crown [Caesar] that, and then I grant we put a sting in him that at his will he may do danger with. Th' abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power" (2.1.15-19). Brutus knows that many past rulers have turned into tyrants and oppressed their people after gaining substantial authority, and fears that the same tragedy will befall Rome if the Senate crowns Caesar. And although Brutus conspires to kill Caesar rather than finding a peaceful solution to this disagreement, he tells the other conspirators to limit their violence as "this shall make our purpose necessary and not envious, which so appearing to the common eyes, we shall be called purgers, not murderers" (2.1.175-178). Brutus' constant requests to preform the assassination quickly and honorably reveal his concern about the fate of the Romans acts as the motivation behind his actions (unlike the other conspirators who "did that they did in envy of great Caesar") (5.5.71).
He professed to the congregation that he would go to the proconsul to be tried and in so doing, he would be martyred in front of his congregation willingly and they would become “partners in the graces” with him. It was recorded that Galerius Maximus, issued and judged the trial and after Cyprian denied the religion of Rome, he was acceptably sentenced to death. This martyr, would set off a ricochet of fellow martyrs from the Christian church, causing fear and loss of leadership to continue to damage the Christians throughout the empire. Valerian’s persecutions would be the most devastating actions from the emperor up until the time of Diocletian, the motivation behind the persecutions were in some way similar to his predecessor’s, Decius, but also involved many other problems, which will now be discussed below.
...for success, he robs his audience of the right to make certain determinations about characters such as Tarquin Superbus and Romulus because of his bias toward the motivation behind their actions. Livy’s The Rise of Rome was a grand effort and an amazing undertaking. Cataloguing the years of Roman history consolidated rumor and legend into fact, creating a model for Rome to follow. Livy’s only error in this vast undertaking was in imprinting his own conception of morality and justice onto his work, an error that pulls the reader away from active thought and engaging debate. In doing so, Livy may have helped solidify a better Rome, but it would have been a Rome with less of a conception of why certain things are just, and more of a flat, basely concluded concept of justice.
He tried to help quell the conflicts within the religion and use it to preserve the empire. However, Christianity is what led the ancient empire of Rome to its decline. The violence and intolerance from many members of the religion and members of the clergy, sanctioned by the emperor was a massive turning point in history. It influenced how people came to interact with one another and proved that the church would be in charge, or fighting to be in charge, for years to
The only things in life that cannot be avoided are taxes and death. In fact, death is the only way one can avoid taxes. Since it has such finality to it, what perspectives do people have regarding death? What are the images and attitudes they have? The documents The Epic of Gilgamesh, Apology, The Satyricon, The Iliad, and The Martyrdom of Perpetua are the most important documents of the Ancient world concerning Western philosophy on death. These documents are significant because the attitudes and images associated with each work are primarily influenced by the genre it which they were written.
Did you know that Caesar's Gallic War only has 9-10 good manuscripts written 900 years after his time? Did you know that the History of Thucydides and the History of Herodotus have only eight manuscripts each, and were originally written in 460-400 BC. When dated, those eight manuscripts were found to be from AD 900. That’s 1, 300 years after the authors’ times! These documents’ historical accuracy are not questioned at all. However, this essay is about a different book, one that has been criticized from the beginning and is still criticized today though many facts prove its true worth. The Bible has around 6,000 Greek New Testament complete or fragmented manuscripts, not to mention the Latin ones and the ones from other languages. The oldest one
The death penalty transformed a lot throughout the years; laws of the death penalty go as far back as the Eighteenth-Century B.C, it was in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. The death penalty was first codified for 25 different crimes, including treason, terrorism, espionage, federal murder, large-scale drug trafficking or attempting to kill a witness, juror, or court officer in certain cases. Eventually in the Seventh Century B. C’s Draconian Code of Athens made the death the only punishment for all crimes (Part 1: History…). So, in every crime someone committed no matter how minor it is, the death penalty would have been involved. The first ways of executing people in the death penalty were crucifixion, drowning, beating to death, burning
There were many, many illegal things that happened at Jesus' trial. Their goal was to get Him condemned, not to truly and lawfully find out if He was guilty. They had been trying for a long time to find a way to put Him to death. Now, they had him in their hand and they did their best to get rid of Him. “If these men had intended to conduct a legal trial, a specific charge would have been made against Christ, and a warrant for His arrest would have been issued.”1 Since this was not what they wanted, they just twisted things to help them succeed in there agenda. This sounds like people in our government now a days. So now, what were some of the things that the Jewish leaders did?
In Morrison's novel we were constantly shown the theme of love with Pilate given to show us the strongest and healthiest example of it. Pilate who lurked in the back of the reader's mind, who was most loved of all of the characters. She is considered a mystery to those inside and outside of the story, because of her perceptive ability and her lack of agenda. Pilate was the strongest of the characters, no passive woman as well. She truly is an unusual piece of work, someone the reader wishes they saw more often in the world around them. Pilate is a personal favorite as well, and it isn't hard to see why. Pilate is the embodiment of what love is supposed to be and that is why she is so important and so dearly loved among readers. In the words of Milman, “There must be another one like you,” (336).
Crystal, great post. You made some excellent points. Do you think Pilate realized who Jesus really was? "Pilate's mind was in turmoil because he was convinced of Jesus' innocence" (Knight, 2001, pg. 233). Pilate knew in his heart that Jesus innocent and he did want the blood of Jesus on his hands. I think the controversy comes because people were trying to convict Jesus of a crime he did not commit. They were not convince Jesus was not was the Messiah, but they also could not prove he wasn't the Messiah. “Pilate does not see how this question could be of interest to him since he is not a Jew (v. 35). He has not gone looking for Jesus, but rather Jesus has been handed over to him by his own nation and the high priests” (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Pilate-Interrogates-Jesus).
Pontius Pilate was a key figure in the trial of Jesus Christ, requesting Roman troops to complete Jesus' capital punishment by torturous killing. As Roman representative and incomparable judge in the area from 26-37 A.D., Pilate had the sole power to execute a criminal. This warrior and government official got himself got into the unforgiving realm of Rome and the religious plotting of the Jewish Board, the Sanhedrin.
Who is Pontius Pilate? When most people hear his name, they immediately think he is the man who was responsible for Jesus’ death. Other people may think about his name mentioned in the Apostle's Creed. One critic and scholar of theology, Warren Carter, believes Pilate “was weak and manipulated” (Carter 2). In his book, Pontius Pilate: Portraits of a Roman Governor, Carter argues that Pilate is an “innocent man,” (Carter 2) and therefore, he should not be viewed as a negative figure. In contrast, Carter explains how Pilate should be viewed and remembered as a positive historical character. Other critics would argue against Carter’s argument and defend Pilate as a well, respected leader who made the right decision. Carter is one of many scholars
Crafted between 1501, to 1504, The Statue of David Agostino di Duccio and Antonio Rosselli were the first two artists asked to build the 14 ft David; however, Michelangelo, of course, accepted the challenge, despite many claiming the marble block contained “too many imperfections”, which could ultimately destroy the sculpture. In the end, Michelangelo created one of the most remarkable biblical statues ever known to man. Although the story David is a famous one, Michelangelo built the statue to show David’s contemplation, cleverness and alertness before his battle with the champion of the Philistines. Goliath challenged the Israelites to bring about a champion of their own. With only his faith in God leading him, a sling, a few rocks, he succeeds in beating Goliath, who wore armor. Another one of Michelangelo’s famous biblical depictions is God’s creation of Adam. Beautiful in its human anatomy, like all of Michelangelo’s masterpieces, every figure present in the fresco painting is perfectly scaled. The warm hues and shades that give excellent quality to such a picturesque and significant event in the Bible and religion all around the world. Michelangelo’s biblical references and representations are simply superlative.
•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
Crimes in ancient Rome were different then most crimes today to deal with these crimes they came up with many different consequences. Some included death, slavery, and banishment. The main reason these punishments were enforced were to keep their city under control much like our own country. Jail was not one of those ways. Jails were used in a very different way then we use them but was very effective but harsh. Most things in the roman empire were very harsh because romans wanted to be the very best. Before a punishment can happen the crime needs to committed first.