Hellenism in First Century Judea edit
Background edit
Alexander the Great, who began his reign when he was 20 years old after the death of his father King Phillip II, remains one of the greatest kings in human history. He was a disciple of Aristotle and therefore, held philosophy and science in the highest regard and encouraged the proliferation of knowledge and understanding during his rule. Importantly, Alexander employed two very strategic moves of Hellenization wherever he fought and won: he installed Greek colonists throughout his empire and encouraged them to intermarry with the local women. Practically, it meant that the natives would come to trust his rule, possibly adopt the Hellenistic way of life without much resistance and secured trade routes and resources for the empire. Syncretism was an important factor in aggregating the wealth of knowledge and local practices, and its wide acceptance by the majority of the indigenous people.
The Language of the People edit
One of the most dominant outcomes of Hellenization was the inauguration of koine (colloquial) Greek as the lingua franca[1] of the eastern Mediterranean. The Septuagint (abbreviated LXX) translation was commissioned by Ptolemy II, who requested Eleazar, the Jewish high priest in Jerusalem, to undertake the translation of the Torah into Greek. Eleazar sent 72 scholars, six from each of the twelve tribes, and completed the translation in 72 days).[2] History shows us that the Greek obsession and pursuit of logic and reasoning were the engine rooms of breakthroughs across disciplines in human history. Through reasoning, significant advances were made in architecture, the arts, astronomy, democracy,[3] fashion, engineering, mathematics, metaphysics, medicine, physics, politics, poetry and sports. Ancient Greece is commonly referred to as the cradle of western civilization, and was the progenitor of the Greco-Roman world which as the name suggests, continued to build on the vast foundation of Hellenistic achievements and culture. We can see the large common overlaps between the extents of these empires as shown in the maps to the right, which extended to cultural practices and beliefs as well. The Romans greatly benefited from Greek infrastructure that were already in place such as the gymnasium, lyceum, theaters, stadia, hippodromes and temples[4] when they overtook the Greeks. Simply put, the thirst for knowledge and understanding, beauty and a sense of fairness are the hallmark of Hellenistic influences even up to this day.
The existence of a Greek translation of the Hebrew Torah meant that both the Jews and the Gentiles would be able to understand God's Word in Greek.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page without content in them (see the help page). The people in Jesus' world were mostly trilingual in that they spoke their local languages such as Aramaic, read and wrote Greek and understood Latin. Jesus, in his giving of new knowledge, advice and warnings across all levels of society from the esteemed Pharisees to the lowly "sinners", and in performing miracles, inspired and amazed them greatly. The locals could not have enough of Jesus and followed him on foot from town to town, gathering more people on the way (Matt 4:23-25, 7:28-29).
Monotheism versus Polytheism edit
Creating and worshipping an image of a "god" in art or sculpture is common practice as the Hellenistic religions included god-kings such as Alexander the Great and the Ptolemaic kings. These men became 'gods' because of their conquests and achievements in the known world. The Hellenists would have gladly worshipped Satan if he offered them all the kingdoms and splendour of the world! However, we learn from Jesus that even gaining the whole world would be meaningless if we lose our soul (Mark 8:36) and that we are to worship and serve the Lord God only (Matt 4:8-10).
The very idea of a monotheistic faith in a polytheistic society was frowned upon in the first century. They had many gods to choose from and in addition to Greek gods, Roman Gods, new religions from Egypt, god-kings, astrology and magic and Hellenistic philosophy[5]. Further, there were the different sects of Jews that were jealous and wanted to harm Jesus for his authoritative exposition of their Torah. It was very probable that the Pharisees reacted very strongly against Jesus because of his "questionable regard" for the Torah and the temple and hence, accepting any "new" way of understanding the Torah might bring punishment from God.[6] In some senses, the Pharisees' reaction was understandable, as in the backdrop of centuries of Hellenization, 'attempts to pursue the "hope of Israel" through assimilation, would encounter greater resistance from those who had become even more certain that the "hope of Israel" lay in fidelity to the distinctive way of life set out for her by God.'[7]
Conclusion edit
In Luke 14:25-35, Jesus taught that we must consider the cost of being a true disciple and put Him above all. It is apparent that Jesus wanted each person to actively and soberly consider the cost of following Him. The main concept to grasp is that the new life that God imparts through Jesus' resurrection will inevitably result in a new way of life in holiness, where faith, obedience and trust increase as one's relationship with God deepens. In this, we see how incompatible syncretism and the Hellenistic desire to continuously fill one's mind, time and resources with the next big discovery and revel in the "victories" of humankind, displacing God with the self, are. In Christianity, every believer is to subject him/herself under the authority of God and therefore, the reliance and pride of oneself and love for any material thing above God are not acceptable to Him. To lead such a life necessary meant that one must understand God's precepts and apply them to one's life with the sole aim of pleasing Him.
Footnotes edit
Bibliography edit
- deSilva, David Arthur (2004). An Introduction to the New Testament. Zondervan. ISBN 978-0830827466.
- History.com staff (2010). "Ancient Greek Democracy". A+E Networks. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- Hemingway, Colette (2007). "Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition". Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- Strauss, Mark L. (2007). Four Portraits, One Jesus. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-22697-0.