Christianity in the field of tension in the Hellenistic-Roman world

The advent of Christianity took place in a historically unique phase in which the Roman Empire showed and shaped immense cultural and religious diversity. This epoch was characterized by a complex interplay of different belief systems, philosophical currents and state principles of order that determined life. Understanding this environment iscrucial in order to be able to understand and understand the challenges and opportunities of the early Christian movement. The world of that time provided a framework that included both openness and strict traditional ties and shaped thinking. Within this field of tension, the new religion had to assert itself and find its place in society.

Religious Diversity and Tolerance in Hellenism

The religious and spiritual world of Hellenism, in which Christianity entered, was characterized by the variety of possibilities, by far-reaching tolerance, within limits through religious and spiritual freedom, by curiosity and search for truth. From the numerous ovaries and grave inscriptions one gets a lively impression of the religious attitude of broad sections of the peoplewithin the empire and their practice. Here we find a living religion, an orderly diversity of gods, responsibilities for certain human needs and concerns, and help for the most diverse professional groups. There were ancestral cults and healing cults alongside pilgrimages and religious political associations that structured and held together social life. In short, everyone couldfind suitable help for his purposes and join a community.

The spread of oriental cult forms

Only a very thin layer of philosophers, writers and intellectuals was skeptical and distanced from common beliefs and rituals. Oriental religions were popular because they met the need for mysteries, consecration, cults, rites and religious enthusiasm and offered exclusivity. They were not represented nationwide, but in Rome and mostly inspread and known to the trading centers and port cities. Some had already invaded the Roman Empire in pre-Christian times and had gained a foothold there and gained followers. Here only a few of the most important things are mentioned, such as the mother and vegetation deities Magna mater and Attis, who came from Phrygia and were revered.

Important deities from the east

Astarte and Adonis came from Phoenicia, while Isis and Osiris had their roots in Egypt and were worshiped there and exerted influence. Dea Syria came from northern Syria and the cosmic gods of salvation Sarapis from Egypt and Mithras from Persia supplemented the offer and the variety. Its cult was known in Rome since the end of the first century and was in the second and third centuryEspecially among lower officials, traders and soldiers. He was officially promoted under the Emperor Commodus and the Severers from one hundred and eighty to the end of the first third of the third century and then again under Diocletian and Galerius. This promotion ranged from two hundred eighty to three hundred eleven and showed the political relevance of the cult forthe kingdom.

The establishment of sun cults

Under Emperor Elagabal, the cult of the sun god Elagabal from Syria was established in Rome and officially introduced and celebrated. Finally, Emperor Aurelian installed the cult of the syncretist sun god Sol invictus to give and strengthen the empire a unifying cult. Emperor Constantine had approached Christianity and a connection through this cult.manufactured and tested. The cult worship of the rulers, which has arisen since Alexander the Great, found reluctantly and acceptance among the Romans. Since Augustus, every emperor who was not overthrown has been raised to a divus after his death and thus deified and honored.

The development of the ruling cult

The titles, Mr and God already claimed by Domitian, have only been commonly used and accepted since Aurelian. But a close connection between cult and state was already created by Augustus, which had great consequences for the development of Christianity and set the framework. The Roman understanding of religion of this time was primarily due to thePublic character of religion and on the other hand determined by the principle of counter-service. The corresponding public reverence was the condition for the protection of the gods and secured the well-being of the state and the citizens. But this could then also be expected and was considered a contractual obligation of the divine powers towards the people and the kingdom.

The connection between state and cult

None other than Cicero emphasizes in his philosophical considerations and writings and statements that this was genuine religiosity. The Romans surpassed all other peoples by understanding that everything was subject to government and directives through the gods and that nothing would be left to chance. The Christian conception of religion of a personal relationship with GodBut as a father, it led far beyond such principles and changed the understanding of piety. Since the time of Hellenistic philosophy, attempts have been made to grasp religious diversity in a three-way scheme and systematically organize and structure. This included the mythical theology of the poets, the speculative theology of the philosophers and the lawsgiven theology of the state and its organs.

The limits of philosophical classification

As much as this classification suffers from terminological schematism, it still allows the complexity of the religious situation to be recognized and understood and interpreted. Of the philosophical schools, the Stoa, Platonism and Aristotelism were particularly important and influential for the development of Christian theology. These schools provided the intellectual tools forThe later formation of Christian dogmatics and teaching and shaped thinking. In such a framework, Christianity seemed strange, as soon as it emerged from the protection of Judaism, alien in its doctrine and in its entire appearance and appearance. On the one hand, curiosity was met with the educated and a large part of the urban population for new charms, for new onesreligious customs and cults as well as for new insights and philosophical suggestions were quite open.

The strangeness of Christianity

On the other hand, however, it also met with rejection and resistance in large parts of society and among the traditionalist forces. Luke grasped this situation well in Acts when he let the apostle Paul on the Areopagus in Athens give a speech and described the reaction. Paul spoke up in synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing, and day after daythe marketplace with the passers-by and sought the conversation. Occasionally some philosophers, Epicureans and Stoics also conducted conversations with them and discussed the new ideas and teachings. Some thought what this chatterer had to say, while others thought he was a herald of foreign gods because he preached of Jesus and the resurrection.

The situation in Athens according to the Acts of the Apostles

So they took him and led him to the Areopagus and said they wanted to know what a new teaching he was proclaiming. Because some things he let were heard sounded quite strange to her ears and required an explanation and clarification. All Athenians and the strangers who live in the city have nothing more time for anything other than to say or hear the latest and themselvesto exchange. Paul gave a speech that he decided with the words that God had set a day on which he would judge all the world in justice by a man he ordered to do so. He has authenticated him in front of all eyes by raising him from the dead and thus showing and proving his power.

The reaction of the Athens population

When they heard the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, but others said they wanted to hear him talk about it again and learn more. So Paul went out of their midst and continued his journey while some men joined him and came to faith and accompanied him. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman named DamarisAnd some others from their circle and environment. The defense that the Christian proclamation encountered was considerable and widespread in different strata of the population and cities. The reservations that were widespread among the people have already been pointed out and these played an important role in rejection and resistance.

Interest in new things in Athens

The attacks from the circles of intelligence made the Christians more difficult, since the finger was placed on weak points in Christianity and since these allegations were based on thorough knowledge. But they are also a sign that people dealt with Christianity and took it seriously and not simply ignored and overlooked. Just a few anti-Christian writingsare to be explored in terms of content and provide insight into the arguments of the opponents and critics. Unfortunately, the speech against the Christians of the Rhetors Fronte from Cirta, the teacher of Emperor Mark Aurel, who was considered the greatest speaker after Cicero, has not survived. But a satire came to us from this time The death of Peregrinus of Lukian of Samosata, who was around one hundred and twenty toOne hundred eighty lived and wrote.

The split response to the resurrection

Lukian, a writer who cast his ridicule on religions and philosophies and castigate abuses, characterized the Christians in this farce and described their attitude. These poor people have set themselves in the head that they would become immortal with body and soul and would live and hope forever. Therefore it comes that they despise death and that many ofeven voluntarily walk into them and look for the martyrdom. Moreover, their first legislator taught them that they would all be brothers to each other as soon as they had taken the great step of denying the Greek gods. They should bend their knees before that crucified sophist and live and live according to his laws and adapt and subordinate themselves.

The extent of defense against Christianity

They despise everything else across the board, and they consider it vain and worthless, without having any good reason why they are fond of these opinions and are following. So as soon as some mischievous scammer gets to you who knows the right one, it’s easy for him to fool his face. soon he can at your expense a rich manbecome and enrich and benefit. Lukian portrayed Peregrinus as such a scammer in a Christian community and used it for his criticism of the belief system. The philosopher Kelsos, already mentioned in the introduction, laid with his writing around the year one hundred and seventy-eight The true logos a comprehensive examination of Christianity.

The importance of intellectual criticism

He had thoroughly studied the situation of Christianity of his time and his writings and knew the sources in detail and in detail. His criticism was therefore partly well-founded, but partly also not very suitable and constructive for the start of a dialogue, some of which were also due to irrelevant polemics. The standard for Kelsos was the teaching of the ancient Greek philosophers on the one hand and on the other handmoral standard of the upper echelons of Roman society. Kelsos made three main accusations against Christianity, all of which were damnable evils for his time, and denounced and criticized them. Characteristic of Christianity is its rebellious nature, because it is a rebellious separation from Judaism and thus unstable and dangerous.

Lucian’s satire on Christians

Kelsos therefore emphasized the unity of Judaism and Christianity in many aspects and saw no significant differences in origin and root. At the time of Moses, Judaism itself had fallen away from the ancient Egyptians and was therefore by no means the oldest religion and tradition. The fact that rebellion is a characteristic of Christians was also proven by the splits of Christian sectsand the internal fragmentation of the movement and group. Furthermore, Christianity only arose late, i.e. an innovation, a break with the old and proven traditions and customs of the ancestors. Christianity is neither original nor convincing in its beliefs, but in every respect inferior and weaker to the teachings of the great Greek philosophers.

The contempt of death among Christians

The polemic against the gods can already be found in these, but Christian monotheism and the idea of God’s sole electivity are presumptuous and arrogant and haughty. Kelsos was a representative of the Stoic doctrine of nature and Platonic dualism, so the Christian bond with history had to be suspect and alien to him. So the biblical doctrine of creation, whichIncarnation of God in a historical person, belief in a constant revelation of God in history and the hope of overcoming death. The birth, effect and passion of Jesus is nothing extraordinary, but rather has its role models in Greek legends and myths and is not unique. There have also been greater miracles than Jesus and theGospels contained ambiguities, contradictions and unbelievable things in the presentation and the reports.

Criticism of credulity

The complete rejection of the emperor’s cult by Christians and their refusal to sacrifice and honor is also completely incomprehensible. Since Kelsos assumed an orderly hierarchy of gods, in his opinion it did not harm the supreme God if sacrifices were made to the emperor, to whom power was transferred on earth. After all, Christians also accept intermediaries such as angels and demonsand thus accepted a hierarchy in the spiritual and supernatural. Christianity is anchored in the lowest and most uneducated strata and has its basis and spread there and its origin. The apostles were already simple people, fishermen and tax collectors, and so it remained until the presence of Celsus and his time.

Peregrinus as an example of a fraudster

Even in private homes, we see woolen workers, shoemakers, laundresses and the most uneducated peasant boobies who would not dare to say anything at all in front of the elderly and their masters. But when they can gather children and some foolish women around them in confidence, they make amazing utterances and teach and instruct. They teach that these are not dependent on theirFathers and teachers should listen, but they should obey them and acknowledge and respect their authority. They say that their fathers and teachers talk nonsense and have no sense, and that in reality they neither know nor are able to do good. Rather, they engage in empty chatter and have no true knowledge and no true insight and wisdom.

The standards of Kelso

Only they, they say, know the right way of life and the way to salvation and salvation and eternal life. If people would believe them, then they would become happy and also make their whole family happy and redeem and liberate. Accordingly, Christianity demands blind obedience and does not provide reasonable evidence for its claims andDoctrines and dogmas. Gullibility characterizes the lower classes of the people and makes them susceptible to such doctrines and promises and hopes. Therefore, even the most vulgar beliefs and the belief in magic are widespread and accepted and believed in here.

The accusation of sedition

The miracles of Jesus are those of a magician, as they are sufficiently known and interpreted from other contexts. In short, Christianity is at the level of the most primitive cults and has no philosophical value and no higher meaning. Porphyrios, a student of Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism, one of the most important philosophers of his time, wrote about one hundred yearsaccording to Kelsos, his refutation of Christianity in fifteen books. These were far superior in knowledge to the work of his predecessor and testified to great literacy and profound knowledge. Unfortunately, little of it can be reconstructed and has been preserved for posterity and research and science.

The accusation of innovation

As far as we can see, his basic arguments coincide with those of Kelsos regarding origin from Judaism, rebellion, innovation and ignorance and lack. But he is much more skilled and informed and puts his finger on the contradictions and ambiguities in the Bible and the writings and texts. In addition to the lower classes, according to him, it is mainly the women whoChristianity, as they are particularly gullible and allow themselves to be influenced. Of the Christian teachings, he especially rejected absolute monotheism, the resurrection of the flesh, and the appearance of God at this very late point in history. From which follows the condemnation of all previous generations and which seems unjust and incomprehensible.

The accusation of lack of originality

However, Porphyry not only fought Christianity, but also polemicized in other writings against the popular demon belief and superstition and errors. On the other hand, we find a more positive assessment of Christians and their attitude and change in the famous medical writer, doctor and philosopher Galen. Galen worked in the second half of the secondCentury and had contact with various currents and schools of thought and schools. During this time, especially under Emperor Commodus, there were contacts between the higher levels of society in Rome and the Roman Christian community and its representatives. Thus, Galen equated Christianity with other philosophical schools and took it seriously and appreciated it and itsTrailers

The accusation of social anchoring

He respected it on the whole and did not defame it like other critics of his time and his surroundings and his class. For him, the tendency to prescribe faith in the evidence was a characteristic that one could find and must accept in all philosophical schools. These also showed traits of a religious nature and were not purely rationalistic in their approach and theirmethod and its procedure. However, he found the Christian faith unconvincing and not fully justified and not logical enough. From the doctor’s point of view, the doctrine of creation seemed to him incomplete and not compatible and explainable with the anatomical conditions.

The social composition of the communities

In view of this, he could not distinguish between Jews and Christians and saw them as relatives and similar. It was not the Christian teachings that attracted Galen, but the Christian way of life and their practical behavior and their ethics. So the effort to match teaching and practice struck him positively and distinguished them from others and lifted themout. Most people, he writes at a point whose authenticity is not without doubt, can follow no coherent evidence and need help. That’s why they need parables, and they benefit from it and learn from them for their lives and their leadership.

The criticism of the subordination

Just as we see people nowadays called Christians, how they draw and strengthen their faith from parables and wonders. And yet they sometimes act just like those who live by philosophy and adhere to and adhere to ethical rules. Because their contempt for death and its consequence becomes apparent to us every day and is visible and recognizable to all.Likewise, their sexual abstinence and their renunciation of certain desires are noticed and are respected and appreciated. Because they have not only men, but also women who live sexually abstinent all their lives and persevere and keep it.

The claim to sole knowledge

They also include individuals who have reached a level in their self-discipline and self-control in relation to food and drink and in their striving for justice. This stand is no less than that of the real philosophers and can be measured and compared with them. With the beginning of the third century, Christianity found in the circles of the educatedIncreasing interest and acceptance and recognition. Thus, the Alexandrian Christian scholar Origen was officially invited to lectures by the governor of the province of Arabia about two hundred and fifteen. In the years two hundred eighteen or two hundred twenty-two he stayed at the court of Empress Mother Julia Mamaea in Antiocheia, toto introduce into Christian theology.

credulity and magic

The author of Julius Africanus’ first scientific Christian chronography was two hundred and sixteen educators of Prince Mannos at the court of King Abgar I of Osrhoene. In Rome, he set up the library in the Pantheon, built around two hundred and twenty-seven, at the Alexanderthermen and promoted knowledge and education.