Week Two: Early Christianity and The Roman Empire Flashcards
when had the Roman Empire reached its ‘zenith’?
during the reign of Emperor Trajan 98-117
where did christianity originate?
Roman province: Judea
what was the Roman Empire originally and why did it change?
a republic and changed due to political weakness and the need for centralised authority of an emperor
what was an emperor
the supreme leader of the empire, not called king so as to dissociate from disregarded segments of roman history
under which emperor did significant territorial expansion in Egypt ad northern Europe take place?
under Augustus
why was imperial Egypt so important?
provided grain imports which would feed roman population
who succeeded Augustus?
Tiberius 14-37- ineffectieve leader as he preferred to live in seclusion
who stabilised the empire after Tiberius?
Trajan
what did Trajan do to the city of Rome?
major public program to build Rome into an enriched city
what was ‘civil religion’?
a dead emperor who was worthy of honour was given divine status and was incorporated into the Roman Pantheon. those who refused to take part in the cult were seen as treasonous
four things which made the spread of new ideas easy in the Roman Empire:
1) common language (latin)
2) ease of transport, over seas and on land
3) freedom of movement for soldiers, administrators, merchants
4) immigration from the colonies to Rome people bringing new ideas and religious beliefs with them
where were there distinctions in terms of religion in the Roman Empire?
distinction between the state cult and the private religions which took place in houses
why did christians find he distinctions in religious practices hard to grasp?
they though their alliance which god prevented them from bowing down to the imperial cult and civil religion
where did the ‘imperial cult’ originate?
for an elevated view of Augustus and his achievements. he could no longer be regarded as just an emperor but as divine and worthy of worship.
where was the ‘imperial cult’ especially strong?
(Corinth and Galatia) in eastern regions of the empire, where christianity would eventually take route
what did the famous letter of Pliny to the younger Trajan state?
asking for help in regions where christian were refusing to participate in the practices of the imperial cult
what effect did the refusal of christians to worship in the imperial cult have
it encouraged the tendency to refer to christians as ‘atheists’
a lower social group who followed jewish tradition but were associated with early christians
ebionites
Marcion of Sinope (c.110-60)
rich christian in Rome who thought christianity should sever all associations with judaism
what did Marcion of Sinope refer to the God of the new testament as?
a war god who had nothing to do with the christian god
characterise Marcions canon
no works included that were sympathetic to the jewish tradition
what was the churches response to Marcions ideas?
they were rejected and it was agreed that christianity was a fulfilment of the hopes of pagans, jews and christ
what was Justin Martyr’s (103-65) concern?
associating christianity with platonism
how could Justin martyr see christianity as a philosophy?
because philosophy was more than just a set of ideas but rather a way of living as a way of thinking
