The Early Christian Church

Most scholars date the beginning of the Christian Church in 30 AD, “the year Jesus was crucified, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven” (Nickens). The Early Church is often referred to as the Apostolic Age, stretching from 30 AD to roughly 100 AD (Nickens). During this age, Christianity was largely opposed by the Roman Empire and Christians were harshly persecuted. Much of what we know about the Early Christians comes from the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the letters and epistles of the Disciple Paul. These three sources detail the lives of Jesus, the Apostles, and the Disciples of the Early Church and are a large chunk of the Christian New Testament (Palmer, 112-113).

To understand the Early Christian Church, we must first look at the life of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew presents the most story-like account of his life. Furthermore, it presents readers with a direct link between Jesus and Ancient Hebrew history. In the Gospel of Matthew, there is a distinct Jewish background. In regards to explaining the demographics of the Early Church, it presents readers with a faction of the early Christians—Jewish decedents. The Gospel of Matthew details the life and work of Jesus and his Apostles and their ministry. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus begins His work in His home of Jerusalem. He then travels around, preaching in several different lands, landing in Galilee, and then returning to Jerusalem.  It is in Galilee that Jesus calls his first disciples, Simon Peter and Andrew. These two were fishermen, and they dropped everything to follow Jesus, believing He was the Messiah. Many of the other Apostles were also of humble beginnings. Many of them were fisherman like Peter and Andrew. For Christians, this serves as a metaphor for being the fishermen of people through the preaching of Jesus’s teachings (Hiesberger, 275-290).

After the death of Jesus, the main group of evangelists consisted of eleven Apostles and the Jewish-Convert, Paul. The Acts of the Apostles outlines the works of the Apostles and Disciples after the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, including the conversion of Paul that was said to be around 35 AD (Davies, 16). In the Acts of the Apostles, the Early Community is presented as being in harmony on the meaning of the teachings of Jesus and the need to spread the Word. However, there was some dissent as to how to spread the Word and how vocal to be in spreading the teachings due to the persecutions that were taking place at the time (Hiesberger, 334-350). During this time, the church demographic expanded as the Apostles and Disciples went out to spread Jesus’s teachings. The Apostles mainly focused in Syria, Palestine, Jerusalem, and Galilee (“The Lives of the Apostles”). The letters of Paul spread more light onto where the Apostles and Disciples spread their ministry. The Bible includes letters from Paul to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Ephesians, and Colossians. He also wrote letters to several men including, Philemon, Timothy, and Titus (Hiesberger, 351-353). Many consider Paul to be the most influential Disciple. Throughout his time on earth, he completed several missionary journeys to preach the Word of God. These journeys are documented in the letters he wrote. Many of these letters were written after he visited a place, serving as reminder to that particular society of the teachings of Christianity (Palmer, 115). The following image is a map of the Paul’s missionary journeys. As the map suggests, Paul had a large reach within the Gentile community, spreading the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus.

("Journeys of Paul")

Works Cited

Davies, J. G. The Early Christian Church. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965. Print.

Hiesberger, Jean Marie. The Catholic Bible: Personal Study Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

“Journeys of Paul.” Christianity Oasis: Daily Bread Devotional. Christianity Oasis, 2014. Web. April 5, 2014.

“The Lives of the Apostles.” Religion Facts. Religion Facts, 2014. Web. April 4, 2014.

Nickens, Mark. “Resources for Studying Christianity & Church History.” Christian Timelines. n.p., 2004. Web. April 4, 2014.

Palmer, Martin. “Christianity.” World Religions. London: Times Books, 2004. Print.

Anthropomorphism

            Anthropomorphism is an ancient idea and concept that still exists in society today. Anthropomorphism, according to many scholars and the dictionary can be defined as the “ascribing of human characteristics to nonhuman things” (Hamilton 166).  The concept of Anthropomorphism is something that humans still actually practice on a daily basis, probably without even knowing they are doing it. According to Jay S. Blanchard the concept of anthropomorphism can be seen in day to day living if/when someone “sees human faces in the moon, give human attributes to our automobiles, get mad at furniture when we bump into it, and use metaphoric language (Blanchard 586).  It can also be said that human beings practice this concept when we give full human personalities to our pets (Hilbert 123).

             The term “anthropomorphism” received its name from a Greek philosopher Xenophanes when he was describing the relationship that the people of Greece and other areas of the world maintained with their Gods, such as a Greek God being depicted as blonde haired and blue eyed, whereas an African would be depicted as Dark skin and brown eyes (psychnet.com). The word itself comes from the Greek words “anthropos” meaning man and “morphe” meaning form. The Greeks were also accredited with being the first to have a full academic discussion about the topic (Blanchard 586). However, the idea had been in practice years before the Ancient Greek society. Anthropomorphism is often being accredited with being a literary device, and often shows up in children’s literature (Blanchard). However, anthropomorphism also rears its head in one of the most popular literary works of all time, the bible.

            Anthropomorphism makes an appearance in the bible in quite a few areas. One of the main areas of the bible that this concept appears is in the figure of God. Some scholars consider the God in the bible to be one representation of anthropomorphism because the Hebrew God portrays some distinct human qualities (Cherbonnier 188). God himself even says that he is not human saying “For I am God and not man” (Hosea 11:9). He not only talks, but also walks and breaths just like an ordinary human would. This allows scholars to draw a distinct connection between the Greek and Roman Gods and the Hebrew God Yaweh. They find this connection strong because all sets of Gods in these cultures are in fact not human, however share and practice very human like characteristics (Cherbonnier 188).

            Anthropomorphism is a very common idea that most people actually follow, whether they know they are or not. Anthropomorphism has spread to the minds of all ages from toddler to those late in their lives. Some scholars believe that we attempt to make connections to these non-human items because of the exponential time that we spend with them every day (Stebbins 113). However, this concept has yet to be universally accepted. The literary world and even Walt Disney have given children the push in the anthropomorphic direction. However, adults can express anthropomorphic qualities as well, remember Wilson the volleyball in “Castaway”?

(One of the most popular forms of modern day anthropomorphism can be seen in Walt Disney’s classic characters. You’ll never be able to think about Mickey the same will you?)

Anthropomorphism is an idea that has been around for centuries, and will be for years to come. The concept itself is still hard for scholars and psychologists alike to understand. It is truly daunting why we find it necessary to give the objects and forms around us human like characteristics. However, this behavior has been around for centuries and will most likely continue to torture scholars everywhere as the human population becomes more and more anthropomorphic.  

Hamilton, Cliff. “Anthropomorphism: You Should Know What it is” Rangelands, Vol. 5 No. 4 ( Aug. 1983) pp. 166 Web. 4 April 2014

Cherbonnier Lab E. “The Logic of Biblical Athromorphism” The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 55, No. 3 (Jul., 1962), pp. 187-206  Web. 4 April 2014

Hilbert David. “Anthropomorphism” Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition, Vol. 69, No. 2/3, Papers Presented at the American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting 1992 (Mar., 1993), pp. 123-127 Web. 4 April 2014

Blanchard, Jay S. “Anthropomorphism in Beginning Readers” The Reading Teacher, Vol. 35, No. 5 (Feb., 1982), pp. 586-591 Web. 4 April 2014

Sarah Stebbins. “Anthropomorphism” Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition  Vol. 69, No. 2/3, Papers Presented at the American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting 1992 (Mar., 1993) , pp. 113-122

Nauert, Rick. “ Why Do We Anthropomorphize” psychnet. n.p. 1 March 2010. 5 April 2014.

Sheol

Sheol means “the world of the dead”.  It basically refers to the place and state of dead souls after they are physically dead and before their resurrection to face God’s judgment. Hell and Sheol are referenced as two separate things; Hell being where the soul goes after God’s judgment. The aforementioned idea that Sheol is a place before one goes to Hell is a more plausible explanation than it directly being Hell. The word Sheol is mentioned sixty five times in the oldest manuscripts. Sheol is sometimes seen as a synonym for "grave", "pit", or "the abode of the dead", and that it is the underworld of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. However this should not be taken literally because it is not a physical grave where dead bodies are laid to rest. It is a place of darkness where all of the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life, it is a place of silence and darkness which is detached from God.

The dwellers of Sheol are known as the "shades" or “rephaim”, which are entities without personality or strength. There is a valley named The Valley of Rephaim which is mentioned is Joshua 15:8. Under some situations the shades could be contacted by the living, as the Witch of Endor contacts the shade of Samuel for Saul, however such practices are forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:10.The reason that contacting the dead was forbidden is because necromancy is forbidden. The dead are often referred to as “familiar spirits” in the Bible. The Old Testament writings describe Sheol as the permanent place of the dead. During the Second Temple period (roughly 500 BCE-70 CE) a more varied set of concepts developed: in some texts, Sheol is the home of both the righteous and the wicked, separated into respective sections; in other, it was a place of punishment, meant for the wicked dead alone. The idea that it is a place for the wicked and righteous is supported with the idea that Sheol is the place souls go before being judged by God. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek in ancient Alexandria around 200 BC the word "Hades", or the Greek underworld, was substituted for Sheol, and this is shown in the New Testament where Hades is both the underworld of the dead and the personification of the evil it represents.

According to Thayer there is a figurative sense to Sheol, which is often seen in the later scriptures of the Old Testament. When Sheol is used in the figurative sense it represents “a state of degradation or calamity, arising from any cause, whether misfortune, sin, or the judgment of God” (Thayer, 1855). This is a simple transition because Sheol was described as gloomy and grave, then the word Sheol began to take on the description of its self. There is always some sort of ailment involved when Sheol is referenced in the Bible, but they never specifically mention what is causing the pain just that Sheol/Hell is the source.  One example would be Psalms 116:3 "The sorrows of death compassed me, the pains of hell got hold on me: I found trouble and sorrow."

 According to McLaughlin’s quote of Johnston, “those destined for Sheol are predominantly the ungodly… identification of the underworld with the wicked is paramount” (McLaughlin, 2005). This quote is discussing the idea that Sheol, or Hell, is where the sinners are destined to go.

Wyatt’s article “The Concept and Purpose of Hell” suggests that contemporary Greek and Roman cosmology are recipients of the ideas such as the Lake of Fire from some Jewish influences. He does go on to say that he does not know how much the Greeks and Romans are in debt of the Jews for their influence because they may not have been the only influence. “At all events, there is no certain corroboration of Iranian influence, even if it was perhaps catalytic, and the old Judahite cultic associations give an independent source for the fiery image”(Wyatt,180).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S781snPVQ4Q

Sources Cited

Seeman, Chris. "Shades Of Sheol: Death And Afterlife In The Old Testament (Book)." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 65.4 (2003): 609-611. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.

McLaughlin, John. "Review of Philip S. Johnston, Shades of Sheol: Death and Afterlife in the Old Testament." Journal of Hebrew Scriptures. 5. (2005): n. page. Print. <http://www.jhsonline.org/reviews/review190.htm>.

Wyatt, N. Th e Concept and Purpose of Hell: Its Nature and Development in West Semitic Th ought. Numen 56. Brill Academic Publishers, 161-184. Print.

Thayer, Thomas. The Biblical Doctrine of Hell. 1855. Print.

Mitchell, David C. "‘God Will Redeem My Soul from Sheol’: The Psalms of the Sons of Korah." Journal for    

The Role of Women in Ancient Hebrew Culture.

Ancient Hebrew culture was dependent and structured around a separate but equal system of the sexes. However, it is obvious that women were treated as the lesser sex (surprise, surprise, huh?) in this patriarchal society. However, the roles that they did hold within the community were considered important and necessary, just like the men's. Just different.

Obviously, a primary source from this culture and quite possible the only thorough way of looking at ancient Hebrews in by use of the Bible. Biblical stories themselves demonstrate the basics that women and men are clearly treated as separate from one another. For instance, an attribute of being a 'good woman' (that is also shared with some of the other cultures we've discussed in class) is sexual purity.  Women are regarded as wives and mothers, and any sex outside of these predetermined parameters are strictly against God's rules and the societal expectations of the people. Modern feminist readings interpret this as an act of ownership - these women are not allowed to participate in sex unless their father or husband so dictated that it be so (Streete 210). It would appear as if women, while simultaneously being praised for being important in her duties as child-bearer and caretaker, were also somewhat regarded as a property and bargaining tool.

(Sexual purity is still regarded as a good and admirable attribute in today's modern Christianity and Judaism. Purity rings - like the one shown above - represent this goal that the Hebrews cherished in women (purityrings.com).)

Alice Bach mentions the Biblical story as a way of representing the role of Hebrew women in the event of a husband's death. This is a reference to the Biblical story of Ruth, who must rely on the generosity of her husband's brothers to support her (Bach, xx). Hebrew women were not allowed to own property nor were there many methods of occupation, which goes more into depth on the truly limiting role of women in Hebrew culture.

Along with being property in a sense, Hebrew women were praised for their ability to bear children. In terms of having specific duties, this one was a female-exclusive one. However, in a time where becoming pregnant was a life-threatening affliction (Bach xx), it is clear to see how the privilege of fulfilling the role of mother might not be considered advantageous.

Further along these lines, Streete provides examples of women in the Bible using tools they had on hand (aka, feminine wiles and whatnot) to get their way. Women mentioned in the Bible that do such a thing would include Jezebel, Delilah, Eve, and many more (Streete 211). So, perhaps a role of women is one of leading men into deviance.

(This 1630 painting by Anthony Van Dyck entitled Samson and Delilah depicts the moment in which Delilah - a temptress and love of Samson - cuts the Biblical hero's hair (the source of Samson's incredible strength), making him powerless against the ones attacking him.) (Van Dyck)

However, while a modern audience may view this as oppressive and stifling, some evidence points that perhaps the women of ancient Hebrew culture were still supposed to be treated as equals in this society. According to the God of the Hebrews, Woman is the mother of all living and is a partner with man - not necessarily subservient to (as some accounts in the Bible suggest). This would indicate that perhaps while women were meant to be regarded as equals, this was not actually carried out in practise (Brouer 24).

In summary, the roles of women in Ancient Hebrew culture were ones of being mother and wife - to the point where one may consider them simply property in a way. This contrasts with the Biblical original intent of women, obviously, so this may indicate that their stereotypical role of solely being the family caretaker was also not set in stone.

Works Cited:

• Bach, Alice. Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader. Routledge, 1998. Print.

• Brouer, Deirdre. "Voices of Outrage Against Rape: Textual Evidence in Judges 19." Priscilla Papers 28.1 (2014): 24-28. Academic Search Premier. Web.

• PurityRings.com. Purity Ring - Girls Sterling Silver "LOVE WAITS" Cross. Digital image. PurityRings.com. N.p., 2014. Web.

• The Strange Woman: Power and Sex in the Bible by Gail Corrington Streete. Review by: Mayer I. Gruber. The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series, Vol. 92, No.1/2 (Jul. - Oct. 2001), pp. 210-215. 

• Van Dyck, Anthony. Samson and Delilah. 2005. Photograph. artbible.info Web.