I. The Life of the Early Church:
a. Life under Grecko-Roman rule:
i. As studied during week one, the early church lived under Roman rule. Hellenization (a process begun under Alexander the Great) brought a common language, religious syncretism, and a common cultural identity to the entire empire.
ii. The empire had its own caste system that was clearly defined, and often dictated how one's life would play out.
1. At the lowest end of the system were slaves (different from American slavery, but still a horrific system and way to live), above them were those who were free (but were by no means wealthy).
Those who were free did not necessarily have Roman citizenship, which means that they did not receive all the benefits and protection of the Roman Empire (many of the early church fell into this category). Above those who were free were those who had citizenship and made up the common masses (again a good chunk of the early church was from this category). Finally there was the wealthy class and the Senatorial class (the rulers of Ancient Rome).
2. Because many in the early church were from the lower levels of Roman society, the church did not have much influence or good standing in the eyes of those who held power. This would play an important part in the life of the early church for the first two centuries of Christianity.
a. Until the Emperor Constantine ruled, Christianity was seen as a questionable religion. It was only after he took control of the empire that Christianity became the main religion, and the life of early believers changed drastically.
b. Religions and Philosophical schools of thought:
i. Hellenization practiced religious syncretism. Although Rome had it's main pantheon of gods and goddess (think back to Roman mythology you might have learned about in jr high or high school), they continually added to their list of deities as they conquered new lands.
1. Different parts of the empire therefore had different gods and goddesses they chose to elevate above others based on the needs of their communities.
2. There were also a multitude of different cults with secret rituals that were devoted to one specific god or goddess.
ii. Although different forms of Paganism remained quite popular amongst the masses, there were many who chose to instead live by different philosophical schools of thought rather than one particular religion.
1. The textbook highlights some of the more popular ones such as stoicism, which taught that individuals should forsake excesses of all kinds; and skepticism, which states that knowledge can only come from experience and each persons life is different therefore truth is relative.
iii. Acts 17 describes what religious life was like in Athens, and gives us a good idea of all the different types of religions and philosophies anyone could choose from.
c. Changing Times in the Life of the Church
i. Acts depicts the life of the early church, and much of it centers around the church growing and Peter and Paul's missionary efforts. The world of early Christians was actually quite volatile. The instability felt by the people of Palestine during the life of Jesus only grew as the years went on.
ii. For the first few decades of the church's life, the apostles who served as the earliest leaders died off creating a leadership vacuum and adding to the instability of the time.
1. In the midst of the church learning what it means to live in the Spirit without those who walked closest to Jesus around, Nero ruled as emperor.
2. In 64 CE, a large portion of Rome burned. Rumors circulated that Nero himself started the fire and stood watching the city burn, doing nothing to stop the catastrophe. In order to counter the bad PR, he started another rumor. He needed a group without power and influence to blame for the disaster, and the Christians fit the role perfectly.
This began his judgment and persecution of Christians in the city of Rome and the surrounding areas. His treatment of Christians became the template for later persecutions that would sporadically occur for the next two centuries.
iii. Simultaneously, in Palestine, the Jewish Wars against the Roman Empire began.
1. Throughout the 60s CE, frustration over mistreatment at the hands of Roman rulers grew amongst the Jewish community. By the year 66 CE, riots broke out in the territory.
a. Jewish rebels spontaneously attacked and destroyed a Roman temple, thus marking the beginning of a full fledged war.
b. For the first few years, there was success and Jerusalem was retaken by Jewish leaders. Nero's antics left instability in Rome, and the Jewish rebellion was able to utilize that.
c. Eventually, Roman soldiers retook Jerusalem and destroyed Herod's temple in the year 70 CE. The rebellion was crushed, and Judaism became a dangerous religion in the eyes of the Roman rulers.
2. Because of this rebellion and decisions made by Early Church leaders, such as the ruling of the Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15, Judaism and Christianity began the parting of the ways.
d. Views of Christianity in the Roman Empire
i. How Christians saw themselves:
1. As the people of God, inheritors of the Old Testament who are now part of an extended spiritual family chosen by God to worship the Lord and mediate salvation to the world (Elwell, Ch. 13)
ii. How the Jewish community saw them:
1. As a group to be ostracized who do not practice Judaism in an acceptable way. In some instances, they were even considered heretical and deserving of great persecution and punishment, hence Saul's actions in the beginning of Acts.
iii. How Romans saw them:
1. A group of dissenters not to be trusted because:
a. Nero's depiction of them post-fire in 64 CE
b. An illegal religion because some still saw them as a branch of Judaism (who were rebels trying to destroy the peace of the Empire)
c. An easy scapegoat because they had no power
d. Poor and to be looked down upon because only those of the lowest castes believed in it
e. Obstinate because they rejected the Roman pantheon and claimed only one God was true
f. Believers in these false charges
i. Atheists (again because they rejected Roman religious views and had no temples or statues, therefore no god)
ii. Treasonous because they spoke about things like the kingdom of God and the future, perfect reign of Jesus. They also refused to practice Emperor worship, so they were seen as unsupportive of the empire.
iii. Immoral
1. Communion was understood literally by many in Rome, so they thought Christians were actually cannibals
2. Early Church members greeted each other with a holy kiss and called each other brother and sister, so some assumed they practiced incest.
iv. Hated humanity
II. Important Events from Acts
a. Acts 2: Pentecost
i. The Holy Spirit appeared and descended upon believers thus fulfilling Jesus' promise to the church.
b. Acts 6:8-8:1: the arrest and stoning of Stephen
i. Stephen became the first martyr of the church at the hands of Jewish religious leaders and an angry mob. Most important is that Saul, later known as Paul, approved of all of this.
c. Acts 9: Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus
d. Acts 10:1-11:18
i. The story shows a massive shift and development in the thought process of the early church. Not only does Peter recognize that Gentiles are every bit as capable of becoming a follower of Christ, but he also acknowledges that Jewish laws and customs cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the spread of the gospel. Gentiles should be given the same opportunity as Jews to come to know Jesus, and their lack of knowledge of and practice of the law isn't an issue.
ii. Peter's statements raised quite a bit of controversy in the early church, as their were some who still believed and argued quite passionately that in order to follow Christ, one must also follow the law.
e. Acts 15: The Jerusalem Council
i. The decision of the council signified yet another turning point in the life of the church. In the argument set forth by Peter, Paul, and James reveals a movement and further separation from Judaism. The Christian church was beginning to see itself as something distinct.
f. Acts 17:16-34: Paul's Speech in Athens
i. Through this speech, we get a picture of how the early Christians went about explaining themselves to others. More importantly, we get a picture of the religious landscape in the Roman Empire outside of Palestine.
g. Acts 21-28: Paul's ministry in Jerusalem and Trial Before Roman Officials
i. Knowledge of the events from these chapters is important not only because it describes how Paul's last years were spent. It gives great insight into a time in which Paul wrote several of his letters contained later in the New Testament: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.