)
>>"THE ANGEL GABRIEL WAS SENT
FROM GOD TO A CITY OF GALILEE
NAMED..."
>>Narrator: EVERY SUNDAY, IN
EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD...
>>"...THE VIRGIN, BETROTHED TO
A MAN WHOSE NAME..."
>>Narrator: ...PEOPLE GATHER TO
HEAR A STORY.
>>"...AND THE VIRGIN'S NAME WAS
MARY."
>>Narrator: FOR MORE THAN 2,000
YEARS, THAT STORY HAS BEEN TOLD
AND RETOLD.
>>"...AND TO BEAR A SON."
>>Narrator: ALONG THE WAY, EACH
GENERATION HAS FOUND IN ITS
TELLING ITS OWN MEANING AND
INTERPRETATION.
>>"'...YOU SHALL CALL HIS NAME
JESUS...'"
>>Narrator: THAT STORY, OF A
MAN CALLED JESUS OF NAZARETH, A
MAN WHO BECAME JESUS CHRIST, WAS
ORIGINALLY TOLD BY HIS FIRST
FOLLOWERS...
>>"'...AND BE CALLED THE SON OF
THE MOST HIGH.'"
>>Narrator: AND THEN RETOLD IN
ACCOUNTS BY LATER BELIEVERS IN
THE GOSPELS.
>>"THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST.
LUKE."
>>Narrator: SO BEGAN THE
BUILDING OF A RELIGION.
IN THE FIRST TWO PARTS, WITH THE
HELP OF SCHOLARS AND HISTORIANS,
WE TRIED TO RECONSTRUCT HIS
TIMES, AND HOW, AFTER HIS DEATH,
A SMALL JEWISH SECT BEGAN TO
SPREAD THE WORD.
TONIGHT, HOW THAT STORY WAS
TOLD, AND HOW A FAITH OVERCAME
AN EMPIRE.
)
>>Narrator: JEWISH RESISTANCE
WAS NOT COMPLETELY SNUFFED OUT
AFTER THE SACK OF JERUSALEM.
REBEL FIGHTERS HELD OUT FOR FOUR
MORE YEARS.
THE JEWISH HISTORIAN JOSEPHUS,
WHO HAD TAKEN PART IN THE WAR,
RECOUNTED THE STORY:
>>THERE WAS A FORTRESS OF VERY
GREAT STRENGTH NOT FAR FROM
JERUSALEM
WHICH HAD BEEN BUILT BY OUR
ANCIENT KINGS.
IT IS CALLED MASADA.
>>THE ROCK OF MASADA, ONE OF
THE MOST GLORIOUS PLACES IN ALL
ISRAEL, BECAME THE MAJOR REFUGE
POINT FOR SOME OF THE MOST
EXTREMIST ELEMENTS OPPOSING
ROME.
THE ZEALOTS, AND THEIR MOST
ARDENT SUPPORTERS, FLED RIGHT IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE WAR TO MASADA.
): HERE HAD BEEN
STORED A MASS OF CORN AMPLY
SUFFICIENT TO LAST FOR YEARS, AN
ABUNDANCE OF WINE AND OIL.
THERE WAS ALSO FOUND A MASS OF
ARMS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION
HOARDED UP BY THE KING AND
SUFFICIENT FOR 10,000 MEN.
>>Narrator: FROM THE HEIGHTS OF
MASADA, THE DEFENDERS COULD SEE
THE ROMAN ARMY SURROUNDING THEM.
THE OUTLINES OF THEIR CAMPS AND
SIEGE WORKS ARE STILL VISIBLE
FROM THE AIR.
>>IF YOU WERE A ROMAN SOLDIER
APPROACHING MASADA, I THINK YOUR
HEART WOULD SINK BECAUSE YOU
KNOW THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO...
FIRST, TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME
BUILDING A LOT OF RAMPS, MASSIVE
RAMPS, TO MOVE THE ARMY UP THE
SIDES IN ORDER TO BREACH THE
WALLS.
BUT YOU WOULD KNOW IN THE
PROCESS THAT YOU WERE ON A
SUICIDE MISSION, BECAUSE ALL THE
WHILE, THE FORTIFIERS AND
GUARDIANS OF MASADA WOULD HAVE
BEEN PELTING YOU WITH ANY NUMBER
OF LETHAL OBJECTS AT, NO DOUBT,
GREAT LOSSES TO THE ARMY.
>>Narrator: JOSEPHUS DESCRIBED
THE SIEGE AND ITS AFTERMATH:
): THE ROMANS
EXPECTED TO MAKE AN ASSAULT UPON
THE FORTRESS, WHICH THEY DID.
BUT THEY SAW NOBODY BUT A
TERRIBLE SOLITUDE ON EVERY SIDE,
AS WELL AS A PERFECT SILENCE.
>>THE IRONY, OF COURSE, IS THAT
WHEN THE SOLDIERS BREACHED THE
WALL, FINALLY, IT WAS NOT THEY
WHO HAD BEEN SUBJECT TO THE
SUICIDE ATTACK, IT WAS THOSE WHO
HAD BEEN GUARDING MASADA WHO HAD
COMMITTED SUICIDE.
>>Narrator: ACCORDING TO
JOSEPHUS, THE DEFENDERS HAD
KILLED THEMSELVES RATHER THAN
SUBMIT TO THE ROMANS.
BUT MODERN ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE
FOUND LITTLE EVIDENCE OF MASS
SUICIDE AMONG THE RUINS.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED THERE
REMAINS A MYSTERY.
BUT JOSEPHUS' VERSION OF THE
STORY TURNED MASADA INTO THE
POWERFUL SYMBOL OF A NOBLE
FAILURE.
>>THE FAILURE OF THE FIRST
REVOLT REALLY WAS A TRAUMATIC
EVENT FOR EVERYONE LIVING IN THE
JEWISH HOMELAND, JEWS AND
CHRISTIANS ALIKE.
AS A RESULT, THEY HAD TO START
RETHINKING SOME OF THEIR OWN
ASSUMPTIONS.
WHEN JERUSALEM WAS DESTROYED, A
WHOLE NEW SERIES OF QUESTIONS
HAD TO BE ASKED.
"WHAT DO WE DO WITHOUT THE
TEMPLE?"
"WHERE IS THE SOURCE OF OUR
FAITH AND OUR AUTHORITY?"
"WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO DO?"
>>THIS ERA WAS AN AGE OF
DEFINITION, NOT JUST FOR
CHRISTIANITY, BUT ALSO FOR
JUDAISM.
IT MARKS THE EMERGENCE, FOR THE
FIRST TIME, INTO THE LIGHT OF
HISTORY OF A NEW GROUP AND A
NEW CULTURE, AND A NEW
LITERATURE AND A NEW WAY OF
THINKING AND WRITING.
>>Narrator: WITHOUT THE TEMPLE,
THE PRIESTHOOD THAT HAD PRESIDED
OVER ITS RITUALS LOST ITS POWER.
THERE EMERGED NEW LEADERS, THE
PHARISEES, RABBIS WHO WOULD LEAD
THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN A NEW
DIRECTION.
>>AND THE RABBIS REPRESENT FOR
US A NEW AGE OF DEFINITION.
IT IS THE RABBIS WHO NOW EMERGE
AS A NEW KIND OF JUDAISM, AND IT
IS THIS JUDAISM WHICH WILL
ENDURE FROM THE SECOND CENTURY
OF OUR ERA DOWN TO OUR OWN AGE.
)
>>Narrator: THE FAILURE OF THE
FIRST REVOLT ALSO CREATED A
CRISIS FOR EARLY CHRISTIANS WHO
WERE STILL A PART OF JUDAISM.
THE KINGDOM HAD NOT COME; THE
MESSIAH HAD NOT ARRIVED.
THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS COPED BY
TELLING STORIES ABOUT THE MAN
THEY HAD EXPECTED WOULD DELIVER
THE NEW KINGDOM ON EARTH.
>>WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT
JESUS DIED AROUND 30.
FOR 40 YEARS THERE'S NO WRITTEN
GOSPEL OF HIS LIFE, UNTIL AFTER
THE REVOLT.
DURING THAT TIME, WE HAVE VERY
LITTLE IN THE WAY OF WRITTEN
RECORDS WITHIN CHRISTIANITY.
OUR FIRST WRITER IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT IS PAUL, AND HIS FIRST
LETTER IS DATED AROUND 50 TO 52;
SO STILL A GOOD 20 YEARS AFTER
JESUS HIMSELF.
BUT IT APPEARS THAT IN BETWEEN
THE DEATH OF JESUS AND THE
WRITING OF THE FIRST GOSPEL,
MARK, THAT THEY CLEARLY ARE
TELLING STORIES.
THEY'RE PASSING ON THE TRADITION
OF WHAT HAPPENED TO JESUS-- WHAT
HE STOOD FOR AND WHAT HE DID--
ORALLY, BY TELLING IT AND
RETELLING IT.
>>Narrator: MEETING IN EACH
OTHERS' HOMES, EARLY CHRISTIANS
TOLD STORIES OF JESUS' PARABLES
AND MIRACLES, AND OF HIS
SUFFERING AND DEATH.
THESE WERE NOT HISTORICAL
ACCOUNTS, BUT SHARED MEMORIES
SHAPED BY A COMMON PAST.
>>LEGEND AND MYTH AND HYMN AND
PRAYER ARE THE VEHICLES IN WHICH
ORAL TRADITIONS DEVELOP.
ONE COULD, FOR EXAMPLE, IMAGINE
THAT THE OLDEST WAY IN WHICH THE
EARLY CHRISTIANS TOLD ABOUT
JESUS' SUFFERING AND DEATH WAS
THE HYMN THAT PAUL QUOTES IN
PHILIPPIANS 2:
): AND BEING
FOUND IN HUMAN FORM, HE HUMBLED
HIMSELF AND BECAME OBEDIENT TO
THE POINT OF DEATH, EVEN DEATH
ON A CROSS.
>>PAUL QUOTES THIS HYMN IN THE
EARLY '50s OF THE FIRST CENTURY.
HE QUOTES THIS AS A HYMN THAT
PROBABLY WAS SUNG IN THE
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES, TEN OR 20
YEARS EARLIER.
THAT IS THE WAY IN WHICH YOU
FIRST TELL THE STORY, AND THAT
YOU TELL THE STORY IN THE FORM
OF A HYMN ALSO SHOWS THAT THE
TELLING OF THE STORY IS ANCHORED
IN THE WORSHIP LIFE OF THE
COMMUNITY.
SO HERE IS REALLY THE BEGINNING
OF THE ORAL TRADITION.
>>IT SEEMS THAT, OVER TIME,
SOME OF THESE STORIES CAME TO BE
WRITTEN DOWN, AND... OR WHAT
CAME TO BE THOUGHT OF AS THE
GOSPEL, THE GOOD NEWS, THE STORY
OF JESUS.
): THE BEGINNING
OF THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS
CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, AS IT IS
WRITTEN IN THE PROPHET ISAIAH.
PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
MAKE HIS PATH STRAIGHT.
>>Narrator: THE GOSPEL OF MARK
IS THE OLDEST IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT.
IT WAS WRITTEN SOON AFTER THE
FAILURE OF THE FIRST REVOLT FOR
A COMMUNITY THAT WAS STRUGGLING
TO RECONCILE ITS EXPECTATIONS OF
JESUS WITH THE LOSS OF THE
TEMPLE.
>>WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
MARK'S COMMUNITY FROM SOME
THINGS IN THE GOSPEL ITSELF.
MARK'S AUDIENCE READS GREEK AND
NOT ARAMAIC.
MARK ALWAYS HAS TO EXPLAIN THE
ARAMAIC PHRASES THAT JESUS USES.
): TAKING HER BY
THE HAND, HE SAID TO HER,
WHICH MEANS,
"LITTLE GIRL,""I SAY TO YOU,
ARISE."
>>MARK IS WRITTEN FOR A JEWISH-
CHRISTIAN AUDIENCE LIVING
SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE THE HOMELAND,
AND THUS REFLECTING ON THE
EVENTS OF THE FIRST REVOLT, FROM
THAT VANTAGE POINT.
>>Narrator: MARK'S AUDIENCE MAY
HAVE WATCHED ROMAN SOLDIERS
PARADING THROUGH THE STREETS,
BEARING PLUNDER STOLEN FROM THE
TEMPLE.
THEY WOULD CERTAINLY HAVE SEEN,
EVEN BEEN FORCED TO USE, THE
COINS THAT DEPICTED THE TERRIBLE
DEFEAT.
>>MARK IS CLEARLY REFLECTING ON
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE AS
PART OF HIS UNDERSTANDING OF THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LIFE AND
DEATH OF JESUS.
>>Narrator: IN MARK'S STORY,
JESUS PREDICTS THAT THE TEMPLE
WILL BE DESTROYED BECAUSE IT HAS
BEEN DESECRATED.
>>JESUS IS STANDING AGAINST THE
TEMPLE IN MARK'S GOSPEL.
AND MARK WANTS US TO UNDERSTAND
THAT THAT'S SIGNIFICANT TO WHY
HE MUST DIE AND WHY JERUSALEM
WILL BE DESTROYED.
): DO YOU SEE
THESE GREAT BUILDINGS?
NOT ONE STONE WILL BE LEFT HERE
UPON ANOTHER.
ALL WILL BE THROWN DOWN!
>>THE GOSPEL OF MARK IS
EXTRAORDINARY AND STRANGE, THE
STORY, IF YOU READ IT APART FROM
THE OTHERS.
IT'S A STORY OF THIS COUNTRY
TEACHER COMING FROM NOWHERE,
WITH INCREDIBLE POWER DESCENDING
UPON HIM, HEALING PEOPLE,
EXORCISING PEOPLE, SPEAKING
!%9
THINGS, AND STARTLING EVERYONE.
): HE SAID TO
THEM, "WHY ARE YOU AFRAID, HAVE
YOU NO FAITH?"
AND THEY WERE FILLED WITH AWE,
AND THEY SAID TO ONE ANOTHER,
"WHO IS THIS, THEN, THAT THE
WIND AND SEA OBEY HIM?"
>>Narrator: MARK WAS THE FIRST
TO WRITE THE STORY OF THE LIFE
OF JESUS.
HE TOOK DISPARATE ELEMENTS OF
ORAL TRADITION AND A FEW EARLY
WRITTEN SOURCES AND WOVE THEM
TOGETHER TO CREATE A NEW
NARRATIVE.aq(!Rñ"w0
>>MARK SEEMS TO HAVE A
KNOWLEDGE OF AT LEAST ONE AND
MAYBE TWO OR THREE DIFFERENT
COLLECTIONS OF MIRACLE STORIES.
THE FACT THAT MARK TAKES THESE
EARLY SOURCES OF JESUS MIRACLE
STORIES SUGGESTS THAT, IN FACT,
ONE OF THE EARLIEST WAYS OF
UNDERSTANDING JESUS IS AS A
MIRACLE WORKER.
BUT MIRACLE WORKERS ARE A DIME A
DOZEN IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.
WE HEAR ABOUT ALL SORTS OF
PEOPLE WHO CAN PERFORM MIRACLES,
SO THAT DOESN'T REALLY SEEM TO
SET HIM APART.
>>Narrator: IN "MARK,"WHAT
DOES SET JESUS APART IS THAT HE
IS A PECULIAR KIND OF MIRACLE
WORKER.
IN ONE CASE, HE HAS TO ATTEMPT
THE MIRACLE TWICE TO GET IT
RIGHT, AND AT ANOTHER TIME, HE
CAN'T PERFORM MIRACLES AT ALL.
>>IT SEEMS TO BE ONE OF THE
POINTS OF MARK'S GOSPEL TO SAY,
A MIRACLE WORKER;
HE'S MORE."
>>Narrator: JESUS EMERGES FROM
MARK'S GOSPEL AS A STRANGE AND
SOMEWHAT ENIGMATIC FIGURE.
>>JESUS IS MYSTERIOUS.
JESUS INTENTIONALLY KEEPS PEOPLE
FROM UNDERSTANDING WHO HE REALLY
IS AT TIMES.
): HE SAID TO
THEM, "FOR THOSE OUTSIDE,
EVERYTHING COMES IN PARABLES IN
ORDER THAT THEY MAY, INDEED,
LOOK BUT NOT PERCEIVE, AND MAY,
INDEED, LISTEN BUT NOT
UNDERSTAND."
>>Narrator: THE JESUS IN MARK'S
GOSPEL BOTH REVEALS AND CONCEALS
HIS TRUE IDENTITY-- A PARADOX
SCHOLARS CALL THE "MESSIANIC
SECRET."
>>IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE
MESSIANIC SECRET IS INDEED THAT
THE TRUE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS
CANNOT BE RECOGNIZED IN HIS
MIRACLES, AND THAT THE MESSIANIC
SECRET OF JESUS IS THAT HE IS
THE SON OF MAN WHO HAS COME TO
SUFFER, AND NOT THE MESSIAH WHO
IS GOING TO DO GREAT MIRACLES.
AND THAT THAT WILL BECOME CLEAR
ONLY AT THE VERY END OF THE
STORY OF JESUS.
THE SUFFERING AND DEATH OF JESUS
REVEALS THE SECRET.
>>Narrator: SINCE THE
DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE,
MARK'S COMMUNITY HAS COME TO SEE
THE DEATH OF JESUS IN A NEW
LIGHT.
MARK IS CHALLENGING THE PREWAR
IMAGE OF JESUS AS AN APOCALYPTIC
FIGURE.
>>MARK, COMING OUT OF THE
EXPERIENCE OF THE FIRST GREAT
WAR WITH ROME, AFTER THE
DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE, MARK
SEES JESUS, LIKE MANY OF THE
CHRISTIANS THAT MARK KNEW ALL
ABOUT IN HIS OWN COMMUNITY, AS
GOD'S PERSECUTED ONE-- DYING,
ALMOST FEELING ABANDONED.
IT'S A VERY UNROMANTIC JESUS.
IT'S A TERRIFYING IMAGE, BECAUSE
THAT'S WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE
WAS.
): WHEN IT WAS
NOON, DARKNESS CAME OVER THE
WHOLE LAND UNTIL 3:00 IN THE
AFTERNOON.
AT 3:00, JESUS CRIED OUT WITH A
LOUD VOICE, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY
HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?"
>>MARK TELLS US THAT JESUS DIED
BEING MOCKED AND IN AGONY.
AND I THINK MARK IS WRITING FOR
THE EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE IN THE
'70s WHO ARE DYING LIKE THAT,
AND WHO NEED THE CONSOLATION
THAT JESUS HAD DIED THAT WAY
BEFORE-- FEELING ABANDONED BY
GOD.
>>Narrator: IN MARK'S ORIGINAL
GOSPEL, JESUS DIES AND HIS BODY
IS PLACED IN A TOMB.
WHEN THE TOMB IS DISCOVERED,
JESUS IS GONE.
>>MARK ENDS WITH AN EMPTY TOMB
AND A WAITING FOR THE RETURN OF
JESUS.
HE ENDS, ALMOST, WITH AN ABSENT
JESUS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HIS
COMMUNITY HAS EXPERIENCED IN
PERSECUTION, AN ABSENT JESUS.
NOW, NOBODY AFTER MARK IS GOING
TO ACCEPT THAT.
MATTHEW WILL CHANGE IT.
LUKE WILL CHANGE IT.
JOHN WILL CHANGE IT.
THE SCRIBES WILL EVEN CHANGE THE
GOSPEL OF MARK TO PUT OTHER
ENDINGS THERE.
MARK CREATES THE EMPTY TOMB, AS
FAR AS I CAN SEE, AS HIS WAY OF
ENDING THE STORY.
>>AND THE LAST WORDS OF THE
ORIGINAL GOSPEL ARE, "AND THEY
WERE TERRIFIED."
IT WOULD BE VERY BAD NEWS IF IT
WEREN'T THAT UNDERNEATH THIS
RATHER DARK STORY IS AN ENORMOUS
HOPE THAT THIS VERY UNPROMISING
STORY AND ITS TERRIBLE,
ANGUISHED ENDING IS,
NEVERTHELESS, NOT THE ENDING;
THAT THERE'S A MYSTERY IN IT, A
DIVINE MYSTERY OF GOD'S
REVELATION THAT WILL HAPPEN YET.
AND I THINK IT'S THAT SENSE OF
HOPE THAT IS DEEPLY APPEALING.
>>Narrator: MARK BEGAN THE
GOSPEL TRADITION WITH HIS
DRAMATIC STORY OF THE LIFE AND
DEATH OF JESUS.
THE LATER GOSPEL WRITERS WOULD
CONTINUE THE TRADITION BY
DRAWING ON THE STORY TOLD BY
MARK.
>>MATTHEW AND LUKE BOTH USED
MARK AS THE CORE, SORT OF THE
BASIC STORY LINE THAT THEY TELL,
BECAUSE MARK IS COMPLETELY
INCORPORATED, 16 CHAPTERS, INTO
BOTH MATTHEW AND LUKE.
>>MATTHEW AND LUKE DEPEND ON
MARK, WHICH IS WHY THOSE THREE
GOSPELS-- MATTHEW, MARK, AND
LUKE-- ARE CALLED THE "SYNOPTIC
GOSPELS,"BECAUSE THEY CAN BE
UNDERSTOOD TOGETHER.
>>ONCE SCHOLARS HAD DECIDED
THAT MARK'S GOSPEL WAS USED BY
MATTHEW AND LUKE, IT WAS
POSSIBLE TO COMPARE THEM AND TO
REALIZE THAT THERE WAS ALSO
MATERIAL WITH A COMMON SEQUENCE
AND A COMMON CONTENT THAT WASN'T
IN "MARK."
>>SCHOLARS OBSERVED THAT
THERE'S A PART OF THE SAYINGS IN
"MATTHEW"THAT ARE EXACTLY
IDENTICAL WITH SAYINGS IN LUKE.
IN FACT, THEY'RE IDENTICAL IN
GREEK, SAYINGS OF JESUS.
NOW, THINK: JESUS SPOKE ARAMAIC.
SO IF YOU WERE TRANSLATING
ARAMAIC AND IF I WERE
TRANSLATING ARAMAIC, THEY'D COME
OUT DIFFERENT, THESE
TRANSLATIONS.
SO YOU WOULD ONLY HAVE
IDENTICAL... YOU WOULD ONLY HAVE
JESUS SPEAKING IDENTICAL SAYINGS
IN GREEK IF YOU HAD A WRITTEN
TRANSLATION IN GREEK OF HIS
SAYINGS.
AND SO SCHOLARS SUGGESTED THAT
THERE MUST HAVE BEEN, BESIDES
"MARK,"SOMETHING ELSE WRITTEN
DOWN THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A LIST
OF THE SAYINGS OF JESUS
TRANSLATED INTO GREEK.
QUELLE,
WHICH MEANS "SOURCE"IN GERMAN,
AND THEY CALL IT, FOR SHORT,
"Q."
NOBODY EVER HAS FOUND THIS
SOURCE WRITTEN.
WE CAN RECONSTRUCT IT BECAUSE WE
GUESS THAT THERE WAS SUCH A
WRITTEN SOURCE.
>>Narrator: "Q"WAS COMPOSED
BEFORE THE WAR.
IT WOULD HAVE PRESENTED JESUS AS
AN APOCALYPTIC FIGURE, THE VERY
IMAGE OF THE MESSIAH THAT MARK
FELT COMPELLED TO CHANGE.
) THERE WILL BE
WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH
WHEN YOU SEE ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND
JACOB, AND ALL THE PROPHETS IN
THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND YOU
YOURSELF THROWN OUT.
>>Narrator: BUT THIS IS ALSO A
COMPLEX JESUS WHO SOMETIMES
SPEAKS WORDS OF WISDOM.
) CONSIDER THE
LILIES AND HOW THEY GROW.
THEY NEITHER TOIL NOR SPIN, YET
I TELL YOU EVEN SOLOMON...
>>Narrator: "Q"DOES NOT TELL
THE STORIES OF THE LIFE AND
DEATH OF JESUS.
IT CONTAINS ONLY HIS SAYINGS, SO
IT REVEALS A DIFFERENT WAY OF
UNDERSTANDING JESUS.
>>WHOEVER COLLECTED THE SAYINGS
OF "Q"WASN'T INTERESTED IN THE
DEATH OF JESUS, WASN'T
INTERESTED IN THE RESURRECTION
OF JESUS, THOUGHT THE IMPORTANCE
OF JESUS WAS WHAT HE SAID, WHAT
HE PREACHED.
NOW, OTHER PEOPLE THOUGHT, IT'S
NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE THE SAYINGS
OF JESUS.
YOU HAVE TO TELL ABOUT HIS...
ABOUT HIS DEATH, AND HIS
CRUCIFIXION, AND HIS
RESURRECTION.
THAT'S THE IMPORTANT THING.
NOW, SOMEBODY PUT THAT ALL
TOGETHER, AND WE CALL IT
"MATTHEW,"AND WE CALL IT
"LUKE."
) BLESSED ARE
YOU POOR, FOR YOURS IS THE
KINGDOM OF GOD.
BLESSED ARE YOU THAT HUNGER NOW,
FOR YOU SHALL BE SATISFIED.
>>Narrator: "Q"WAS PROBABLY
COMPOSED IN THE JEWISH HOMELAND
OF PALESTINE.
SCHOLARS DO NOT AGREE ON THE
LOCATION OF MARK, MATTHEW, LUKE
OR JOHN.
THEY WERE SEPARATED NOT ONLY BY
GEOGRAPHY, BUT ALSO BY TIME.
WRITING DECADES APART, THEY
COMPOSED THEIR GOSPELS FOR TINY
COMMUNITIES THAT WERE DEVELOPING
THEIR OWN IDEAS ABOUT JESUS,
INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER.
): BLESSED ARE
THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS
IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY
WILL INHERIT THE EARTH.
>>Narrator: ABOUT 15 YEARS
AFTER MARK, MATTHEW WROTE HIS
GOSPEL FOR A COMMUNITY CAUGHT UP
IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF JUDAISM
AFTER THE FALL OF THE TEMPLE.
>>MATTHEW'S GOSPEL IS CLEARLY
WRITTEN FOR A JEWISH-CHRISTIAN
AUDIENCE LIVING WITHIN THE
IMMEDIATE PROXIMITY OF THE
HOMELAND ITSELF.
MATTHEW'S IS THE MOST JEWISH OF
ALL THE GOSPELS.
>>Narrator: MATTHEW'S COMMUNITY
LIVED IN VILLAGES IN THE UPPER
GALILEE, OR LOWER SYRIA.
AFTER THE WAR, MANY WHO HAD BEEN
FORCED OUT OF JERUSALEM MOVED
NORTH AND SETTLED IN THESE
VILLAGES.
NEW LEADERSHIP WAS EVOLVING HERE
WITH THE PHARISEES, THE RABBIS
WHO GAVE FRESH INTERPRETATION TO
THE ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITIONS.
MATTHEW'S COMMUNITY FELT
THREATENED BY THESE CHANGES.
>>THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS WERE
CERTAINLY VERY MUCH ON THE
FRINGE OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY.
OBVIOUSLY, THE EARLY PREACHERS
HAD HOPED THAT THEY WOULD
CONVERT THE WHOLE MAJORITY OF
THEIR PEOPLE.
BUT THEY WERE BITTERLY
DISAPPOINTED TO FIND THAT ONLY A
VERY FEW ACCEPTED THEIR RATHER
IMPROBABLE STORIES.
AND THEY REMAINED VERY MUCH ON
THE FRINGE OF THE JEWISH
COMMUNITIES.
): THE GOSPEL OF
MATTHEW IS CONCERNED WITH THE
POSITION OF THESE EARLY
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES WITHIN
ISRAEL.
AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT
JESUS, FOR MATTHEW, IS FULLY A
MAN FROM ISRAEL.
THEREFORE, MATTHEW BEGINS HIS
GOSPEL BY TAKING, PROBABLY, ALL
THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS AND NOW
TRACES THIS BACK TO ABRAHAM.
FOR MATTHEW, JESUS IS A SON OF
ABRAHAM.
THAT IS, HE IS TRULY A MAN FROM
ISRAEL.
>>THE WAY MATTHEW THEN TELLS
THE STORY OF JESUS DRAWS ON A
LOT OF SYMBOLS FROM JEWISH
TRADITION.
JESUS GOES UP ONTO A MOUNTAIN TO
TEACH AND THERE TALKS ABOUT THE
LAW.
HE LOOKS LIKE MOSES.
): WHEN JESUS
SAW THE CROWDS, HE WENT UP TO
THE MOUNTAIN AND BEGAN TO SPEAK
AND TAUGHT THEM, SAYING,
"YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE
WORLD."
>>JESUS DELIVERS FIVE DIFFERENT
SERMONS OF THIS SORT, JUST LIKE
THE FIVE BOOKS OF TORAH.
>>THINK NOT THAT I HAVE COME
TO ABOLISH THE LAW AND THE
PROPHETS.
I HAVE COME NOT TO ABOLISH,
BUT TO FULFILL.
>>IN "MATTHEW,"JESUS IS A
PROPONENT OF TORAH PIETY, JUST
LIKE THE PHARISEES.
): WHOEVER
BREAKS ONE OF THESE COMMANDMENTS
WILL BE CALLED LEAST IN THE
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
FOR I TELL YOU, UNLESS YOUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS EXCEEDS THAT OF
THE SCRIBES AND THE PHARISEES,
YOU WILL NEVER ENTER THE KINGDOM
OF HEAVEN.
>>Narrator: THE JESUS OF
"MATTHEW"SINGLES OUT THE
PHARISEES FOR A BITTER ATTACK.
): WOE TO YOU
SCRIBES AND PHARISEES,
HYPOCRITES.
FOR YOU ARE LIKE WHITEWASHED
TOMBS WHICH ON THE OUTSIDE LOOK
BEAUTIFUL, BUT INSIDE, THEY ARE
FULL OF THE BONES OF THE DEAD
AND ALL KINDS OF FILTH.
>>NOW, IN JESUS' OWN TIMES, THE
PHARISEES WEREN'T THAT PROMINENT
A GROUP.
WHY DOES MATTHEW TELL THE STORY
THIS WAY, SO THAT A GROUP THAT
WAS LESS CONSEQUENTIAL DURING
JESUS' OWN LIFETIME NOW BECOMES
THE MAIN OPPONENT?
IT'S PRECISELY BECAUSE THAT'S
WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE LIFE OF
MATTHEW'S COMMUNITY AFTER THE
WAR.
THE PHARISEES ARE BECOMING THEIR
OPPONENTS, AND WE'RE WATCHING
TWO JEWISH GROUPS-- MATTHEW'S
CHRISTIAN-JEWISH GROUP AND THE
LOCAL PHARISAIC GROUPS-- IN
TENSION OVER WHAT WOULD BE THE
FUTURE OF JUDAISM.
>>Narrator: IN "MATTHEW,"WE
SEE A DEBATE BETWEEN TWO JEWISH
GROUPS.
TENSIONS CREATED BY THIS DEBATE
WILL EVENTUALLY FRACTURE JUDAISM
AND LEAD TO THE SPLIT WITH
CHRISTIANITY.
>>MOST OF THE GOSPELS REFLECT A
PERIOD OF DISAGREEMENT, OF
THEOLOGICAL DISAGREEMENT.
AND THE NEW NARRATIVE HISTORY
THAT EVOLVES IN THE FORM OF...
OF THE NEW... NEW TESTAMENT
TELLS A STORY OF A BROKEN
RELATIONSHIP, AND THAT'S PART OF
THE SAD STORY THAT EVOLVES
BETWEEN JEWS AND CHRISTIANS,
BECAUSE IT IS A STORY THAT HAD
SUCH AWFUL REPERCUSSIONS IN
LATER TIMES.
>>Narrator: BY THE TIME MATTHEW
WAS WRITING, THE TRAUMA OF THE
WAR WAS RECEDING.
NOW HIS FOLLOWERS AND THE
PHARISEES WERE COMPETING FOR THE
HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE JEWISH
VILLAGERS OVER THE FUTURE
DIRECTION OF JUDAISM.
THIS MAY BE ONE OF THE REASONS
MATTHEW'S ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH
OF JESUS IS SO DIFFERENT FROM
MARK'S.
>>MATTHEW WAS SAYING TO
HIMSELF, "I HAVE TO CONCLUDE
THIS GOSPEL."
I'M TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT
HAPPENED, SAY, IN THE YEAR 30,
BUT I HAVE TO BRING MY GOSPEL UP
TO THE YEAR 85.
NOW, WHAT'S THE LAST CLIMACTIC
STATEMENT OF JESUS?
WHERE DO I LOCATE IT AND WHAT
DOES HE SAY, AND TO WHOM?
MATTHEW IS READING "MARK."
THERE'S A MASSIVE CONSENSUS OF
SCHOLARSHIP ON THAT.
HE FINDS THAT MARK ENDS WITH THE
WOMEN FLEEING AND TELLING
NOBODY.
IS THAT THE WAY MATTHEW TELLS
IT?
NO.
HE HAS JESUS MEET THE WOMEN.
AND NOW THE WOMEN, THEN, GO AND
TELL, BECAUSE JESUS SORT OF
CORRECTS MARK'S GOSPEL.
AND THE LAST SCENE IN "MATTHEW,"
OF COURSE, IS JESUS, WHO MEETS
THE DISCIPLES ON A MOUNTAIN IN
GALILEE, WHERE THE STORY BEGAN,
AT THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, AND
THEY'RE TOLD TO GO OUT AND
PREACH TO THE WORLD.
>>THE GOSPELS ARE VERY PECULIAR
TYPES OF LITERATURE.
THEY'RE NOT BIOGRAPHIES.
I MEAN, THERE ARE ALL SORTS OF
DETAILS ABOUT JESUS THAT THEY
SIMPLY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN
GIVING US.
THEY ARE A KIND OF RELIGIOUS
ADVERTISEMENT.
WHAT THEY DO IS PROCLAIM THEIR
INDIVIDUAL AUTHOR'S
INTERPRETATION OF THE CHRISTIAN
MESSAGE THROUGH THE DEVICE OF
USING JESUS OF NAZARETH AS A
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE
EVANGELIST'S POSITION.
>>FOR SOMEBODY WHO THINKS THAT
THE FOUR GOSPELS ARE LIKE FOUR
WITNESSES IN A COURT TRYING TO
TELL EXACTLY HOW THE ACCIDENT
HAPPENED, AS IT WERE, THIS IS
EXTREMELY TROUBLING.
IT IS NOT AT ALL TROUBLING TO
ME, BECAUSE THEY TOLD ME, QUITE
HONESTLY, THAT THEY WERE
GOSPELS.
AND A GOSPEL IS GOOD NEWS--
"GOOD"AND "NEWS"-- UPDATED
INTERPRETATION, SO I DID NOT
EXPECT JOURNALISM.
>>THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT
PORTRAITS OF JESUS ENSHRINED IN
THE SHAPE OF THE TRADITIONS
ABOUT HIM, AND THAT THESE SEEM
TO GO BACK TO VERY EARLY TIMES.
>>THE MAJOR ISSUE, FOR ME, IS
WHETHER THE PEOPLE WHO TOLD US
THE STORIES IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
TOOK THEM ALL LITERALLY, AND NOW
WE'RE SO SMART THAT WE KNOW TO
TAKE THEM SYMBOLICALLY; OR THEY
ALL INTENDED THEM SYMBOLICALLY
AND WE'RE SO DUMB THAT WE'VE
BEEN TAKING THEM LITERALLY.
AND I REALLY AM WITH THE SECOND
OPTION.
I THINK WE HAVE BEEN
MISINTERPRETING THESE STORIES,
BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO WRITE
THEM DON'T SEEM THE LEAST BIT
WORRIED ABOUT THEIR DIVERSITY.
WE SEE THE PROBLEM, AND THEN WE
WANT TO INSIST THAT THEY'RE
LITERAL.
I THINK WE HAVE MISREAD THE
SCRIPTURES, NOT THEY HAVE
MISWRITTEN THEM.
): SINCE MANY
HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO SET DOWN THE
EVENTS THAT HAVE BEEN FULFILLED
AMONG US, I, TOO, DECIDED, AFTER
INVESTIGATING EVERYTHING
CAREFULLY, TO WRITE AN ORDERLY
ACCOUNT.
>>Narrator: LUKE'S GOSPEL TAKES
THE SEPARATION FROM JUDAISM ONE
STEP FURTHER, BECAUSE LUKE WAS
ALMOST CERTAINLY A GENTILE,
WRITING FOR A MAINLY GENTILE
AUDIENCE.
AND THE STORY HE HAS TO TELL IS
HOW WORD OF JESUS REACHED THE
REST OF THE WORLD.
>>THE JESUS OF LUKE IS AN
ENORMOUSLY POWERFUL FIGURE.
I MEAN, HE COMES ON THE SCENE AS
A PROPHET STRAIGHT OUT OF
THE HEBREW BIBLE.
I MEAN, AT HIS FIRST APPEARANCE
IN HIS HOMETOWN SYNAGOGUE, HE
QUOTES THE PROPHET ISAIAH.
): THE SPIRIT OF
THE LORD IS UPON ME.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM
RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES AND
RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO LET THE OPPRESSED GO FREE.
>>JESUS GOES INTO THE
SYNAGOGUE.
HE TAKES THE SCROLL OF ISAIAH.
HE IS LITERATE-- OF COURSE HE
CAN READ-- AND HE IS A SCHOLAR.
HE CAN FIND HIS WAY AROUND AN
UNPOINTED HEBREW SCROLL AND FIND
EXACTLY THE PLACE HE WANTS, AND
READS IT AND COMMENTS ON IT.
JESUS IS A SCHOLAR.
JESUS IS RATHER LIKE LUKE,
ACTUALLY.
>>Narrator: TRADITION CLAIMS
THAT THE AUTHOR OF "LUKE"WAS A
TRAVELING COMPANION OF THE
APOSTLE PAUL, AND PROBABLY LIVED
IN ONE OF THE CITIES WHERE PAUL
FOUNDED A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY.
LUKE WROTE A STORY ABOUT JESUS,
BUT HE ALSO WROTE THE BOOK OF
ACTS, THE STORY OF THE GROWTH OF
THE EARLY CHURCH AND ITS SPREAD
THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE.
): IT'S VERY
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THE
GOSPEL OF LUKE IS ONLY ONE-HALF
OF A MAJOR WORK.
AND WE MAKE A MISTAKE BY READING
THE GOSPEL OF LUKE JUST AS THE
STORY OF JESUS.
WHAT LUKE WROTE WAS A STORY THAT
BEGAN WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST AND
ENDS WITH THE ARRIVAL OF PAUL IN
ROME.
>>SO THE AUTHOR OF LUKE/ACTS--
AND THAT'S WHAT WE CALL THEM
NOW, THAT'S A TWO-VOLUME WORK--
IS TELLING US A BIGGER STORY, A
GRANDER STORY.
>>IN FACT, IT'S SUCH A GOOD
STORY THAT MANY SCHOLARS HAVE
COMPARED IT TO THE NOVELISTIC
LITERATURE OF THE TIME, AND HAVE
INTERPRETED LUKE/ACTS AS,
REALLY, A CHRISTIAN... EARLY-
CHRISTIAN ROMANCE, WITH ALL THE
INGREDIENTS OF ROMANCE, DOWN TO
SHIPWRECKS AND EXOTIC ANIMALS
AND EXOTIC VEGETATION,
CANNIBALISTIC NATIVES-- ALL
KINDS OF EMBELLISHMENTS THAT ONE
FINDS IN THE ROMANCE LITERATURE
OF THE TIME.
): WE WERE BEING
POUNDED BY THE STORM SO
VIOLENTLY THAT, ON THE NEXT DAY,
THEY BEGAN TO THROW THE CARGO
OVERBOARD.
AND ON THE THIRD DAY, WITH THEIR
OWN HANDS, THEY THREW THE SHIP'S
TACKLE OVERBOARD.
WHEN NEITHER SUN NOR STARS
APPEARED FOR MANY DAYS, AND NO
SMALL TEMPEST RAGED, ALL HOPE OF
OUR BEING SAVED WAS AT LAST
ABANDONED.
>>THE STYLE OF LUKE'S GOSPEL IS
PROBABLY THE HIGHEST LITERARY
QUALITY OF ANYTHING IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT.
SO IT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN
"MARK"ON THAT SCORE, WHICH HAS
A MUCH CRUDER QUALITY TO THE
GRAMMAR.
SO ANYONE FROM THE LITERARY
CULTURE OF THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD
WHO MIGHT HAVE PICKED UP LUKE'S
GOSPEL WOULD HAVE FELT MUCH MORE
COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
IT'S MUCH MORE LIKE READING A
GREEK NOVEL.
>>Narrator: TRADITION HOLDS
THAT LUKE WAS A PHYSICIAN.
HE CLEARLY POSSESSED A FINE
COMMAND OF GREEK.
AND HIS COMPOSITION ADDRESSES A
DILEMMA FACED BY CHRISTIAN
COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE EMPIRE.
>>ONE OF THE MAJOR CONCERNS
THAT THE COMPOSITE WORK OF
LUKE/ACTS ADDRESSES IS WHETHER
CHRISTIANS CAN BE GOOD CITIZENS
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
AFTER ALL, THEIR FOUNDER WAS
EXECUTED AS A POLITICAL
CRIMINAL, AND SOME PEOPLE WOULD
HAVE THOUGHT OF THEM AS
INCENDIARIES, AS
REVOLUTIONARIES.
LUKE, IN HIS PORTRAIT, WANTS TO
SHOW THAT JESUS, HIMSELF, TAUGHT
AN ETHIC THAT WAS ENTIRELY
COMPATIBLE WITH GOOD CITIZENSHIP
OF THE EMPIRE, AND THAT, DESPITE
THE FACT THAT PAUL WAS HIMSELF
EXECUTED, ALL OF THAT WAS A
SERIOUS MISTAKE AND HAD NOTHING
TO DO WITH THE POLITICAL
PROGRAM.
IT WASN'T IN ANY WAY DANGEROUS.
>>Narrator: IN FACT, IN LUKE'S
VERSION OF HISTORY, THE BOOK OF
ACTS, PAUL IS TREATED KINDLY BY
HIS ROMAN GUARDS.
): THE DEATH OF
PAUL IS NOT TOLD.
IT ENDS ON A TRIUMPHANT NOTE, IN
A WAY, THAT PAUL IS SPEAKING,
PREACHING FREELY THE GOSPEL,
UNHINDERED.
>>THE COUNTERPART TO THE
REALIZATION THAT LUKE IS TELLING
THE STORY FOR A GRECO-ROMAN
AUDIENCE WITH A KIND OF
POLITICAL AGENDA IS WHAT HAPPENS
TO LUKE'S TREATMENT OF THE
JEWISH TRADITION.
LUKE IS MUCH MORE ANTAGONISTIC
TOWARDS JUDAISM.
>>Narrator: WHEN LUKE DESCRIBES
PAUL'S VISIT TO A SYNAGOGUE, HE
SHOWS THE JEWS IN A HOSTILE
LIGHT.
): PAUL AND
BARNABAS WENT INTO THE JEWISH
SYNAGOGUE, BUT THE UNBELIEVING
JEWS STIRRED UP THE GENTILES AND
POISONED THEIR MINDS AGAINST THE
BROTHERS.
>>Narrator: LUKE/ACTS IS ALSO
THE FIRST TIME WE SEE THE
FOLLOWERS OF JESUS EXPLICITLY
CALLED "CHRISTIANS."
>>THIS ETHNIC SELF-
CONSCIOUSNESS THAT'S BEING
REFLECTED BY LUKE/ACTS IS
BEGINNING TO SAY THAT WE, THE
CHRISTIANS, THE ONES WHO ARE
TELLING THIS STORY, ARE NO
LONGER IN QUITE THE SAME WAY
JUST JEWS.
LUKE IS REFLECTING THE
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN
MOVEMENT MORE AWAY FROM THE
JEWISH ROOTS AND, IN FACT,
DEVELOPING MORE TOWARD THE ROMAN
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ARENA.
>>AS YOU READ THE STORY IN THE
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, YOU GET
THE IMPRESSION THAT EVERYTHING
MOVES WESTWARD-- FROM JERUSALEM
TO ROME.
THAT'S WHERE THE STORY ENDS,
WHEN PAUL GETS TO ROME.
YOU WOULDN'T KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE,
REALLY, THAT THERE WAS AN
EGYPTIAN CHURCH.
YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A
SYRIAC CHURCH.
EVERYTHING WOULD BE A ROMAN
CHURCH.
AND THAT'S THE STORY THAT LUKE
WANTS TO TELL.
WHEN THE GOSPEL GETS TO ROME,
THE CAPITAL OF THE EMPIRE,
THAT'S THE END OF THE STORY.
): IN THE
BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE
WORD WAS WITH GOD.
AND THE WORD WAS GOD, AND THE
WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT
AMONG US.
>>Narrator: THE FOURTH AND LAST
GOSPEL NOW CONTAINED IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT IS THE GOSPEL OF JOHN,
WRITTEN ABOUT 70 YEARS AFTER THE
DEATH OF JESUS.
IT IS THE STORY OF A COMMUNITY
WHERE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
CHRISTIANS AND JEWS HAS BECOME
MORE VIRULENT, ALMOST TO THE
POINT OF BREAKDOWN.
): I AM THE
LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
HE WHO FOLLOWS ME WILL NOT WALK
IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE
LIGHT OF LIFE.
>>IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL, JESUS
IS A VERY SERENE FIGURE WHO CAN
SPEAK AT LENGTH ABOUT MATTERS
DIVINE.
A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF SPEECH
FROM THE SPEECH WHICH WE HEAR IN
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS, WHICH IS
USUALLY MUCH MORE PITHY, MUCH
MORE DIRECTED, MUCH MORE WITTY.
IN JOHN, IT'S REFLECTIVE AND
REVELATORY.
>>JOHN'S GOSPEL IS DIFFEREN
FROM THE OTHER THREE IN THE NEW
TESTAMENT.
THAT FACT HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED
SINCE THE EARLY CHURCH ITSELF.
ALREADY, BY THE YEAR 200, JOHN'S
GOSPEL WAS CALLED THE "SPIRITUAL
GOSPEL"PRECISELY BECAUSE IT
TOLD THE STORY OF JESUS IN
SYMBOLIC WAYS THAT DIFFER
SHARPLY, AT TIMES, FROM THE
OTHER THREE.
>>LET ME COMPARE "MARK"WITH
"JOHN"TO EXPLAIN HOW TWO
GOSPELS DO IT DIFFERENTLY.
IN... WE CALL IT "THE AGONY IN
THE GARDEN."
NOW, THERE IS NO AGONY IN JOHN,
AND THERE IS NO GARDEN IN MARK;
BUT WE CALL IT THE "AGONY IN THE
GARDEN"BECAUSE WE PUT THEM
TOGETHER.
MARK TELLS THE STORY IN WHICH
JESUS, THE NIGHT BEFORE HE DIES,
IS PROSTRATE ON THE GROUND,
BEGGING GOD, "IF THIS ALL COULD
PASS... BUT I WILL DO WHAT YOU
WANT,"AND THE DISCIPLES ALL
FLEE.
NOW, THAT'S AN AWFUL PICTURE.
THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME BECAUSE
MARK IS WRITING TO A PERSECUTED
KNOW
WHAT IT'S LIKE TO DIE.
THAT'S HOW YOU DIE, FEELING
ABANDONED BY GOD.
OVER TO "JOHN."
JESUS IS NOT ON THE GROUND IN
"JOHN."
THE WHOLE COHORT OF THE
JERUSALEM FORCES COME OUT, 600
TROOPS COME OUT TO CAPTURE
JESUS, AND THEY END UP WITH
THEIR FACES ON THE GROUND IN
"JOHN."
AND JESUS SAYS, "OF COURSE I
WILL DO WHAT THE FATHER WANTS."
AND JESUS TELLS THEM TO, "LET MY
DISCIPLES GO."
HE'S IN COMMAND OF THE WHOLE
OPERATION.
YOU HAVE A JESUS OUT OF CONTROL,
ALMOST, IN "MARK,"A JESUS
TOTALLY IN CONTROL IN "JOHN"--
BOTH GOSPELS.
NEITHER OF THEM ARE HISTORICAL.
I DON'T THINK EITHER OF THEM
KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
>>JESUS DIES ON A DIFFERENT DAY
IN JOHN'S GOSPEL THAN IN
"MATTHEW,""MARK"AND "LUKE."
IN THE THREE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS,
JESUS ACTUALLY EATS A PASSOVER
MEAL BEFORE HE DIES.
IN JOHN'S GOSPEL, HE DOESN'T.
THE LAST SUPPER IS ACTUALLY
THE BEGINNING OF
PASSOVER.
SO HERE'S THE SCENE IN JOHN'S
GOSPEL: THE DAY LEADING UP TO
PASSOVER IS THE DAY WHEN ALL THE
LAMBS ARE SLAUGHTERED, AND
EVERYONE GOES TO THE TEMPLE TO
GET THEIR LAMB FOR THE PASSOVER
MEAL.
IN JERUSALEM, THIS WOULD HAVE
MEANT THOUSANDS OF LAMBS BEING
SLAUGHTERED ALL AT ONE TIME.
AND IN JOHN'S GOSPEL, THAT'S THE
DAY ON WHICH JESUS IS CRUCIFIED.
SO THAT, QUITE LITERALLY, THE
DRAMATIC SCENE IN JOHN'S GOSPEL
HAS JESUS HANGING ON THE CROSS
WHILE THE LAMBS ARE BEING
SLAUGHTERED FOR PASSOVER.
): HERE IS
THE LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKES AWAY
THE SINS OF THE WORLD.
>>JESUS DOESN'T EAT A PASSOVER
THE PASSOVER
MEAL.
): MY FLESH IS
TRUE FOOD, AND MY BLOOD IS TRUE
DRINK.
THOSE WHO EAT MY MORTAL FLESH
AND DRINK MY BLOOD ABIDE IN ME,
AND I IN THEM.
>>BUT THE IDEA OF DRINKING
BLOOD IS ABSOLUTELY ABHORRENT TO
JEWISH DIETARY REGULATIONS.
SO THE VERY LANGUAGE AND THE
SYMBOLISM THAT IS SO RICH WITHIN
JOHN'S GOSPEL ALSO HAS A
DECIDEDLY POLITICAL TONE TO IT
IN TERMS OF THE EVOLVING
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JEWS AND
CHRISTIANS.
>>Narrator: THROUGHOUT THE
ROMAN EMPIRE, JUDAISM ITSELF WAS
EVOLVING.
THE ROLE OF THE SYNAGOGUE WAS
CHANGING FROM A MEETING PLACE TO
A PLACE OF WORSHIP.
WORSHIP IN THE SYNAGOGUE
INCREASINGLY CENTERED ON TORAH
AS THE WORD OF GOD.
BUT JOHN'S COMMUNITY SAW JESUS
AS THE WORD OF GOD, AND FOR THIS
CONVICTION THEY WOULD BE FORCED
OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE.
): THE JEWS HAD
AGREED THAT ANYONE WHO CONFESSED
JESUS TO BE THE MESSIAH WOULD BE
EXPELLED FROM THE SYNAGOGUE.
>>AS I READ "JOHN,"I COME TO
TWO CONCLUSIONS.
ONE IS THAT THIS IS A JEWISH
GROUP.
IF YOU WANT TO CALL THEM
"CHRISTIANS,"THEY'RE JEWISH-
CHRISTIANS.
THEY'RE ONE GROUP WITHIN
JUDAISM.
THE SECOND CONCLUSION IS THAT
THEY ARE BEING MORE AND MORE
MARGINALIZED.
THAT IS, THEIR APPEAL TO LEAD
ALL OF JUDAISM IS BECOMING LESS
AND LESS LIKELY.
THEY'RE BECOMING SMALLER AND
SMALLER AND SMALLER.
AND THEY CAN REFER TO THEIR
OTHER... THEIR FELLOW JEWS AS
"THE JEWS."
THEY ARE FEELING PROFOUNDLY
ALIENATED FROM THEIR OWN
JUDAISM.
IN PLAIN LANGUAGE, THEY'RE
LOSING, AND THAT MEANS THE
LANGUAGE OF INVECTIVE GETS
NASTIER AND NASTIER.
): THE JEWS
ANSWERED HIM, "ABRAHAM IS OUR
FATHER."
JESUS SAID TO THEM, "IF GOD WERE
YOUR FATHER, YOU WOULD LOVE ME.
YOU ARE FROM YOUR FATHER, THE
DEVIL."
>>SO MARK TALKS ABOUT THE CROWD
BEING AGAINST JESUS.
BUT BY "MATTHEW"-- 15 YEARS
LATER, SAY, IN THE YEAR 85--
IT'S ALL THE PEOPLE.
AND BY THE TIME YOU GET TO
"JOHN,"IN THE '90s, IT IS THE
JEWS WHO ARE AGAINST JESUS.
>>Narrator: THE CONFLICT
BETWEEN JEWS AND CHRISTIANS THAT
JOHN DESCRIBED IN HIS STORY OF
JESUS WAS STILL A LOCAL
EXPERIENCE.
BUT IT SOON WOULD BE SWEPT UP IN
THE RISING POLITICAL CONFLICT
BETWEEN JEWS AND ROMANS OVER
ROMAN RULE IN JERUSALEM.
>>THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY AFTER
THE TURN OF THE SECOND CENTURY
WOULD BECOME MORE AND MORE
HOSTILE AS TIME WENT ON, PARTLY
BECAUSE OF OTHER POLITICAL
FORCES THAT CONTINUED TO
DEVELOP.
>>Narrator: IN THE YEAR 132 OF
THE COMMON ERA, JERUSALEM
BRISTLED WITH RUMORS THAT THE
EMPEROR HADRIAN PLANNED TO
REBUILD THE CITY AND THE TEMPLE,
DEDICATING IT TO JUPITER, THE
PATRON GOD OF THE CITY OF ROME.
FOR MANY JEWS, THIS WAS AN
ABOMINATION WORTHY OF DIVINE
VENGEANCE.
>>THE POLITICAL EXPECTATIONS OF
APOCALYPTIC DID NOT SIMPLY DIE
OUT AFTER THE FIRST REVOLT.
SOME PEOPLE, BOTH WITHIN
CHRISTIAN TRADITION AND WITHIN
JEWISH TRADITION, STILL EXPECTED
A CATACLYSMIC EVENT TO BRING A
NEW KINGDOM ON EARTH SOON.
): BEHOLD, THE
DAYS ARE COMING, AND IT WILL
HAPPEN WHEN THE TIME OF THE
WORLD HAS RIPENED AND THE
HARVEST OF THE SEED OF THE EVIL
ONES AND THE GOOD ONES HAS
COME."
>>WITHIN 60 YEARS AFTER THE
FIRST REVOLT, THERE WOULD ARISE
A NEW REBELLION.
WE TYPICALLY CALL THIS THE
"SECOND JEWISH REVOLT AGAINST
ROME,"OR THE BAR KOKHBA REVOLT.
AND IT'S NAMED AFTER A FAMOUS
REBEL LEADER WHO REALLY BECOMES
THE CENTRAL FIGURE OF THIS NEW
POLITICAL PERIOD.
HE'S CALLED BAR KOKHBA.
>>BAR KOKHBA WAS A PSEUDO
MESSIAH, SUPPORTED BY LARGE
SEGMENTS OF THE POPULATION.
HE CLAIMED TO BE A DESCENDENT OF
KING DAVID.
HE CLAIMED TO BE THE MESSIAH
HIMSELF, AND WAS SUPPORTED BY
NONE OTHER THAN ONE OF THE MAJOR
FIGURES OF THE DAY, RABBI AKIBA.
SO THIS WAR WAS VERY DIFFERENT.
IT WAS A MILLENNIAL REVOLT.
IT WAS A MESSIANIC REVOLT.
AND IT TOUCHED CHORDS THAT WERE
NOT TOUCHED IN THE FIRST REVOLT.
): THE EARTH'S
INHABITANTS AND ITS RULERS WILL
HATE ONE ANOTHER AND PROVOKE ONE
ANOTHER TO WAR.
>>APPARENTLY, HE DID TAKE
JERUSALEM FOR SOME TIME.
AND COINS ARE FOUND NOW THAT
SAY, "THE YEAR ONE OF THE
REDEMPTION OF ISRAEL."
THEY REALLY THINK THEY HAVE
ESTABLISHED THE NEW KINGDOM.
>>YOU MIGHT THINK THAT THERE
WOULD NEVER BE ANOTHER WAR LIKE
THE FIRST WAR.
BUT THE SECOND WAR WITH ROME,
THE BAR KOKHBA WAR, WAS PROBABLY
EVEN WORSE THAN THE FIRST WAR.
EVEN THOUGH JERUSALEM WASN'T
DESTROYED, THE DEVASTATION MIGHT
HAVE EVEN BEEN GREATER.
>>SOME PEOPLE IN THE SECOND
REVOLT TRIED TO PRESS OTHER
JEWS, INCLUDING CHRISTIANS, INTO
THE REVOLT, SAYING, COME JOIN US
TO FIGHT AGAINST THE ROMANS.
YOU BELIEVE GOD IS GOING TO
RESTORE THE KINGDOM TO ISRAEL,
DON'T YOU?
JOIN US.
BUT THE CHRISTIANS, BY THIS
TIME, ARE STARTING TO SAY, "NO,
HE CAN'T BE THE MESSIAH.
WE ALREADY HAVE ONE."
>>Narrator: NOT LONG AGO, IN
THESE INACCESSIBLE CLIFFS ONLY A
FEW MILES FROM THE FORTRESS OF
MASADA, ARCHEOLOGISTS HIT ON A
DISCOVERY THAT HAS FINALLY
REVEALED THE ULTIMATE FATE OF
BAR KOKHBA AND HIS FOLLOWERS.
>>APPARENTLY, THE REBELS THAT
FOLLOWED BAR KOKHBA HID IN THESE
CAVES DURING THE LAST STAGES OF
THE WAR.
BUT WE KNOW THAT THE ROMANS KNEW
WHERE THEY WERE AND SIMPLY
CAMPED UP ON TOP OF THE HILL
WAITING FOR THEM TO STARVE TO
DEATH OR COME OUT AND GIVE UP.
>>Narrator: RUBBLE FROM THE
ROMAN LOOKOUT POST IS STILL
THERE, BLOCKING THE ONLY ESCAPE
ROUTE.
>>ONE OF THE CAVES IS CALLED
THE "CAVE OF HORRORS,"AND IT
CONTAINS OVER 40 SKELETONS OF
MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO
PREFERRED TO DIE RATHER THAN
GIVE IN TO THE ROMANS.
ANOTHER CAVE IS CALLED THE "CAVE
OF LETTERS,"AND IN IT WERE
FOUND CACHES OF POTTERY AND
COINS AND OTHER THINGS OF DAILY
LIFE.
NOW, AMONG THE LETTERS FOUND IN
THE CAVE OF LETTERS IS AT LEAST
ONE FROM BAR KOKHBA HIMSELF.
AND IT'S A VERY INTERESTING
LETTER BECAUSE IT ASKS HIS
G
CERTAIN THINGS TO THE CAVES.
SO THEY'RE EXPECTING TO HOLD OUT
FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
>>Narrator: 60 YEARS AFTER
MASADA BECAME A SYMBOL OF FAILED
EXPECTATIONS, THE CAVE OF
HORRORS NOW STOOD FOR THE FINAL
FAILURE OF JEWISH RESISTANCE TO
ROME.
WITH THE DEATH OF BAR KOKHBA,
JEWISH EXPECTATIONS OF A COMING
MESSIAH RECEDED, AND CHRISTIANSKMÍÍOú
NOW LOOKED TO THE DISTANT FUTURE
FOR THE RETURN OF THEIR MESSIAH.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS BECOMING
LESS AN APOCALYPTIC VISION THAN
A SPIRITUAL ABSTRACTION.
>>THE SELF-CONSCIOUSLY
APOCALYPTIC AND MESSIANIC
IDENTITY OF BAR KOKHBA FORCES
THE ISSUE FOR THE CHRISTIAN
TRADITION.
AND AT THAT POINT, WE REALLY SEE
THE FULL-FLEDGED SEPARATION OF
JEWISH TRADITION AND CHRISTIAN
TRADITION BECOMING CLEAR.
>>Narrator: IT IS A DEFINING
MOMENT IN HISTORY.
THE TWO HEIRS OF AN ANCIENT
FAITH, RABBINIC JUDAISM AND
UPSTART CHRISTIANITY, WOULD NOW
FOLLOW SEPARATE PATHS.
CROWD CHANTING AND CHEERING IN
)
>>Narrator: IN THE ROMAN
COLISEUM, DEATH BECAME MASS
ENTERTAINMENT.
AMPHITHEATERS DEMONSTRATED THE
POWER OF THE EMPEROR.
CONVICTED CRIMINALS WERE SENT
HERE TO BE DEVOURED BY WILD
BEASTS.
IN TIME, THOSE "CRIMINALS"WOULD
INCLUDE CHRISTIANS.
EVER SINCE THE TIME OF CAESAR
AUGUSTUS, ALL RELIGIONS WERE
TOLERATED BY ROME, PROVIDED THAT
THEIR WORSHIPPERS PERFORMED
THEIR CIVIC DUTY AND SACRIFICED
TO THE CULT OF THE EMPEROR.
IT WAS THIS THAT EVENTUALLY
BROUGHT CHRISTIANS INTO CONFLICT
WITH ROMAN AUTHORITY.
BUT AT THE END OF THE FIRST
CENTURY, CHRISTIANITY WAS STILL
THE RELIGION OF A FEW.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE WAS"
OVERWHELMINGLY PAGAN, AND IT
#RI.7&sszbeAT THE TEACHINGS OF AN OBSCURE
SECT COULD CHALLENGE ITS
INFLUENCE.
>>RELIGION IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
IS VERY MUCH A PART OF PUBLIC
LIFE.
THEY HAD NO IDEA OF A SEPARATION
OF RELIGION AND STATE.
>>PAGANISM IS THE RICH, NATIVE,
RELIGIOUS STEW OF THE
TRADITIONAL SOCIETY IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN.
IT'S A SPIRITUAL UNIVERSE THAT'S
THICKLY POPULATED WITH GODS AND
SPIRITS.
WHEN YOU LOOK UP INTO THE STARS
AT NIGHT, YOU SEE THE SOULS OF
HEROES.
>>Narrator: PAGANISM WAS VERY
TOLERANT OF OTHER RELIGIONS.
THE OLYMPIAN GODS WERE REVERED,
BUT THIS DID NOT PREVENT THEIR
DEVOTEES WORSHIPPING OTHER GODS.
>>YOU HAVE LOW-TECH RELIGIONS
LIKE MAGIC.
PEOPLE ROUTINELY GO TO
MAGICIANS.
IF YOU HAVE A SINUS INFECTION,
IF YOU NEED SOMEBODY TO FALL IN
ETTING
ON A HORSE AND YOU'VE LOST THE
PAST THREE RACES, YOU GO TO A
PROFESSIONAL.
>>Narrator: AT THE SAME TIME,
MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WERE
SEEKING SOLACE IN MORE SPIRITUAL
AND PERSONAL FORMS OF RELIGION.
A FRESCO IN POMPEII SHOWS
WORSHIPPERS CELEBRATING THE
SOLEMN RITES OF THE ANCIENT
DIONYSIAN MYSTERY CULT.
AND NEWER CULTS, OFTEN FROM
FOREIGN PARTS, WERE TAKING HOLD
AROUND THE EMPIRE.
): GREATEST OF
THE GODS, FIRST OF NAMES, THOU
RULEST OVER THE MID-AIR AND THE
IMMEASURABLE SPACE.
THOU ART THE LADY OF LIGHT AND
FLAME.
>>ONE WOULD HAVE FOUND, IN THE
MAJOR CITIES OF THE
MEDITERRANEAN BASIN, A CULT OF
THE EGYPTIAN GODS.
EGYPTIAN CULTS WOULD HAVE
INCLUDED, PROBABLY, ISIS AS THE
ASCENDANT DEITY.
ISIS WAS PERCEIVED BY HER
DEVOTEES AS BEING REMARKABLY
ATTENTIVE.
ISIS WOULD RESPOND TO YOU WHEN
YOU WERE IN TROUBLE.
SHE WOULD ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS.
SHE HAD THAT REPUTATION.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
REPRESENTATIONS OF ISIS IS WHAT
WE CALL THE "ISIS LACTANS";
THAT'S ISIS SUCKLING HER
OFFSPRING AT HER BREAST.
THIS IS A KIND OF ICONOGRAPHY
THAT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN
TERRIBLY DETERMINATIVE IN THE
EARLY ICONOGRAPHY OF MARY AND
JESUS.
>>Narrator: WORSHIPPERS OF THE
AGE-OLD PERSIAN GOD MITHRAS
GATHERED IN SECRET CHAPELS
THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE.
THEY WOULD EAT SACRED MEALS
TOGETHER AND CELEBRATE THEIR
GOD'S BIRTHDAY ON DECEMBER 25.
>>THE EGYPTIAN CULT AND
MITHRAISM WERE TWO OF THE GREAT
RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS OF THE TIME
AND CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE POSED
SOME OF THE MOST DIFFICULT
COMPETITION FOR CHRISTIANITY.
>>MOST PEOPLE WHO STUDY THE
ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY ARE
CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THIS UNLIKELY
MOVEMENT WOULD HAVE SUCCEEDED IN
SUCH A POWERFUL AND DRAMATIC
WAY.
AND IT'S NOT AN EASY QUESTION TO
ANSWER, WHY THIS MOVEMENT
SUCCEEDED WHEN OTHERS DID NOT.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE GODS OF
THE ANCIENT WORLD AND YOU THINK
ABOUT WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE,
THEY LOOKED LIKE THE EMPEROR AND
HIS COURT.
BUT THIS RELIGION IS SAYING THAT
EVERY PERSON-- MAN, WOMAN,
CHILD, SLAVE, BARBARIAN, NO
MATTER WHO-- IS MADE IN THE
IMAGE OF GOD, AND IS THEREFORE
OF ENORMOUS VALUE IN THE EYES OF
GOD.
NOW, IN A SOCIETY THAT'S THREE-
QUARTERS SLAVE, THAT'S AN
EXTRAORDINARY MESSAGE.
>>Narrator: BUT THE MESSAGE OF
CHRISTIANITY WAS BY NO MEANS
UNIFORM.
IN EGYPT, AN ASTONISHING
DISCOVERY MADE IN 1945 SHED
LIGHT ON THE ENORMOUS DIVERSITY
OF EARLY CHRISTIAN THOUGHT.
>>OTHER THAN THE DISCOVERY OF
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS, THE MOST
IMPORTANT ARCHEOLOGICAL FIND FOR
MUCH OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN
PERIOD IS THE MANUSCRIPT
DISCOVERY AT NAG HAMMADI ON THE
NILE RIVER IN EGYPT.
THERE, IN 1945, WAS DISCOVERED A
CACHE OF MANUSCRIPTS IN CLAY
JARS BURIED IN THE HILLSIDE
BESIDE THE RIVER.
>>THE DISCOVERY AT NAG HAMMADI
BEGAN WITH AN ARAB VILLAGER,
WHOSE NAME WAS MOHAMMED ALI,
GOING WITH HIS BROTHERS ON AN
ORDINARY ERRAND.
THEY TOOK THEIR CAMELS AND RODE
UP TO A CLIFF WHICH IS
HONEYCOMBED WITH THOUSANDS OF
CAVES.
THEY WERE DIGGING UNDER THE
CLIFFS FOR FERTILIZER, THAT IS
FOR BIRD DROPPINGS, WHICH
FERTILIZED THE CROPS.
AND MOHAMMED ALI SAID HIS... HE
STRUCK SOMETHING WHEN HE WAS
DIGGING UNDERGROUND.
AND CURIOUS, HE KEPT DIGGING,
AND HE WAS STARTLED TO FIND A
SIX-FOOT JAR, SEALED, AND NEXT
TO IT WAS BURIED A CORPSE.
MOHAMMED ALI SAID HE HESITATED
TO BREAK THE JAR BECAUSE HE
THOUGHT THERE MIGHT BE A JINN IN
IT.
BUT HOPE OVERCAME FEAR.
HE SAID HE PICKED UP HIS MATTOCK
AND SMASHED THE JAR AND SAW
PARTICLES OF GOLD FLY OUT OF IT,
MUCH TO HIS DELIGHT.
BUT A MOMENT LATER, HE REALIZED
IT WAS ONLY PIECES OF...
FRAGMENTS OF PAPYRUS.
INSIDE THE JAR WERE 13 VOLUMES
BOUND IN TOOLED GAZELLE LEATHER.
>>Narrator: WHAT MOHAMMED ALI
HAD DISCOVERED WERE BOOKS
WRITTEN IN THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
LANGUAGE KNOWN AS COPTIC.
UNABLE TO READ THEM, ALI TOOK
THEM HOME.
>>LATER, HIS MOTHER SAID THAT
SHE TOOK SOME OF THEM AND THREW
THEM INTO THE FIRE FOR KINDLING
WHEN SHE WAS BAKING BREAD.
WHAT HE DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL...
WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL MUCH
LATER IS THAT THESE CONTAINED
SOME OF THE MOST PRECIOUS TEXTS
OF THE 20th CENTURY, THAT THEY
HAVE UNCOVERED FOR US A WHOLE
NEW WAY OF SEEING THE EARLY
CHRISTIAN WORLD.
>>Narrator: WHAT THE BOOKS
SHOWED WAS THAT EARLY
CHRISTIANITY WAS EVEN MORE
DIVERSE THAN SCHOLARS HAD
SUSPECTED, WITH MANY DIFFERENT
WAYS OF INTERPRETING JESUS.
>>THERE WERE 52 TEXTS
ALTOGETHER, APPARENTLY; UNLESS
SOME OF THEM WERE BURNED THAT WE
DON'T KNOW ABOUT.
AND THEY CONTAIN SECRET GOSPELS
SUCH AS THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS,
THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP.
THEY ALSO CONTAIN CONVERSATIONS
BETWEEN JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES
THAT CLAIM TO GO BACK TO JESUS
AND HIS DISCIPLES-- ALL KINDS OF
LITERATURE FROM THE EARLY
CHRISTIAN ERA, A WHOLE DISCOVERY
OF TEXT RATHER LIKE THE NEW
TESTAMENT, BUT ALSO VERY
DIFFERENT.
>>CHRISTIANITY, OR ONE WOULD
OF
THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES
WERE, AGAIN, A HIGHLY VARIEGATED
PHENOMENON.
WE REALLY CAN'T IMAGINE
CHRISTIANITY AS A UNIFIED,
COHERENT, RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT.
>>WE PROBABLY OUGHT TO THINK OF
IT AS A KIND OF REGIONAL
DIVERSITY.
THAT IS, THE CHRISTIANITY OF
ROME WAS DIFFERENT THAN
CHRISTIANITY IN NORTH AFRICA IN
CERTAIN WAYS, AND THAT WAS
DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE FIND IN
EGYPT, AND THAT DIFFERENT FROM
WHAT WE FIND IN SYRIA OR BACK IN
PALESTINE.
>>Narrator: SOME OF THE OLDEST
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES WERE IN
WESTERN TURKEY, WHERE PAUL AND
HIS FOLLOWERS HAD ESTABLISHED
MANY OF THE EARLIEST
CONGREGATIONS.
AT THE END OF THE FIRST CENTURY,
CHRISTIANS HERE FOUND THEMSELVES
IN A CONFRONTATION WITH ROMAN
POWER AND AUTHORITY.
>>ABOUT THE YEAR 112, AN
IMPORTANT EVENT TAKES PLACE THAT
BRINGS US ON THE STAGE IN A NEW
WAY IN THE HISTORY OF EARLIEST
CHRISTIANITY.
THE SCENE IS IN THE ROMAN
PROVINCE OF BITHYNIA, IN MODERN-
DAY TURKEY.
AT THAT TIME, THERE IS A
RELATIVELY NEW GOVERNOR SENT TO
TAKE OVER.
HIS NAME IS PLINY THE YOUNGER.
>>PLINY WAS A FRIEND OF THE
EMPEROR TRAJAN, AND WAS AN
EXTREMELY RESPECTED ROMAN
OFFICIAL.
>>Narrator: ONE OF PLINY'S
DUTIES WAS TO MAINTAIN ORDER.
IN THIS CAPACITY, HE WAS
PRESENTED WITH A LEGAL AND
ETHICAL PROBLEM WHICH HE
DESCRIBED IN A LETTER TO THE
EMPEROR TRAJAN.
): HAVING NEVER
BEEN PRESENT AT ANY TRIALS OF
THE CHRISTIANS, I AM
UNACQUAINTED WITH THE METHODS OR
LIMITS TO BE OBSERVED EITHER IN
EXAMINING OR PUNISHING THEM.
>>SO WE HAVE TO IMAGINE PLINY
SEATED IN THE FORM OF A ROMAN
ADMINISTRATOR, A ROMAN
MAGISTRATE, ALL DECKED OUT IN
HIS FINERY, ENTHRONED IN THE
TRIBUNAL WITH HIS GUARDS AND HIS
BAILIFFS AND HIS COURTIERS
AROUND HIM.
AND BEFORE HIM STAND THESE
CHRISTIANS, AND PLINY CAN'T
FIGURE OUT WHO THEY ARE OR WHY
THEY'RE THERE.
APPARENTLY, THEY'VE DONE
SOMETHING THAT GET THEIR
NEIGHBORS MAD AT THEM.
THE NEIGHBORS HAVE COMPLAINED
THAT THE TEMPLES ARE EMPTY, AND
NO ONE IS BUYING CERTAIN THINGS
FOR THE GODS, AND THEY'RE
CHRISTIANS.
AND SO, SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER,
PLINY IS FORCED TO DEAL WITH
THIS AS A CRIMINAL MATTER.
>>PLINY GENUINELY WAS PERPLEXED
BECAUSE HE SEES WHAT APPEAR TO
BE GOOD, LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS
BEING HAULED UP ON TRUMPED-UP
CHARGES OF BEING A CHRISTIAN,
AND SIMPLY ON THAT BASIS, BY
CONVENTION, BEING SUBJECT TO
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
SO I THINK PLINY ALLOWS US A
RARE GLIMPSE INTO THE MORAL AND
LEGAL CONUNDRUM THAT
CHRISTIANITY POSED FOR
SCRUPULOUS, MORALLY SCRUPULOUS
ROMAN OFFICIALS.
): THE METHOD I
HAVE OBSERVED IS THIS:
I INTERROGATED WHETHER THEY WERE
CHRISTIANS.
IF THEY CONFESSED IT, I REPEATED
THE QUESTION TWICE AGAIN, ADDING
THE THREAT OF CAPITAL
PUNISHMENT.
IF THEY STILL PERSEVERED, I
ORDERED THEM TO BE EXECUTED.
>>PLINY ALLOWS, IN HIS
CORRESPONDENCE, HOW THIS REALLY
IS ONE OF THE MOST STUBBORN
GROUPS OF PEOPLE HE'S EVER
ENCOUNTERED.
AND THAT IN ITSELF SEEMS TO
WARRANT A RATHER... A RATHER
STRIDENT ATTACK ON THE
CHRISTIANS.
): I JUDGED IT
SO MUCH THE MORE NECESSARY TO
EXTRACT THE REAL TRUTH, WITH THE
ASSISTANCE OF TORTURE, FROM TWO
FEMALE SLAVES WHO WERE STYLED
DEACONESSES.
BUT I COULD DISCOVER NOTHING
MORE THAN DEPRAVED AND EXCESSIVE
SUPERSTITION.
>>HE SAYS, "THEY DON'T REALLY
DO ALL THAT MUCH.
THEY MEET BEFORE DAYBREAK.
THEY SING HYMNS ANTIPHONALLY.
AND THEY WORSHIP CHRIST AS IF HE
WERE A GOD."
AND THEN HE SAYS, "THEY TAKE AN
OATH, BUT NOT AN OATH TO DO
ANYTHING BAD, RATHER AN OATH
ONLY TO BE GOOD-- NOT TO DEFRAUD
PEOPLE, NOT TO DO ANYTHING
EVIL,"AND SO ON.
): THOSE WHO
DENIED THEY WERE OR HAD EVER
BEEN CHRISTIANS, WHO REPEATED
AFTER ME AN INVOCATION TO THE
GODS AND OFFERED ADORATION TO
YOUR IMAGE, THESE I THOUGHT IT
PROPER TO DISCHARGE.
>>AND HE SAYS TO THE EMPEROR,
"DO YOU THINK I HANDLED IT
CORRECTLY?"
THE EMPEROR THEN WRITES BACK AND
SAYS, "SOUNDS OKAY TO ME.
BUT DON'T GO OUT LOOKING FOR
THESE CHRISTIANS.
AND IF YOU GET SOME ANONYMOUS
CHARGES AGAINST PEOPLE, DON'T
TAKE THAT TOO SERIOUSLY.
WE DON'T WANT TO SET ANY BAD
PRECEDENTS HERE."
>>Narrator: BEFORE PLINY, LEGAL
PRECEDENT STILL HELD THAT
CHRISTIANS WERE A SECT OF
JUDAISM.
>>BECAUSE IT WAS CONSIDERED A
PART OF JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY
WAS CONSIDERED TO BE PROTECTED
BY THE LEGAL STATUS OF JEWISH
TRADITION WITHIN THE ROMAN
EMPIRE.
SO, WHEN WE SEE PLINY TAKING
NOTE OF CHRISTIANS AS A SEPARATE
GROUP, IT REALLY MARKS A
DEPARTURE, A CHANGE IN THE
STATUS OF CHRISTIANITY, BOTH IN
ITS RELATIONSHIP TO JUDAISM AND
IN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE ROMAN
EMPIRE.
>>"CHRISTIANS ARE WARRED UPON
BY THE JEWS AND ARE PERSECUTED
BY THE GREEKS, AND THOSE THAT
HATE THEM CANNOT STATE THE CAUSE
OF THEIR ENMITY."
>>PLINY'S PROGRAM EVOLVED INTO
A VERY EXPLICIT POLICY OF
EXECUTION THAT PROBABLY WAS THE
MODEL THROUGHOUT A GOOD DEAL OF
ASIA MINOR-- WHAT'S NOW MODERN
TURKEY.
AND THAT POLICY WAS TO ASK THE
QUESTION; IF THE ANSWER IS NO,
"FINE, GO SACRIFICE."
IF THEY COULDN'T SACRIFICE, THEN
THAT WAS PROOF THAT THEY WERE
CHRISTIAN, AND THEY COULD BE
EXECUTED.
SO PLINY THOUGHT, ULTIMATELY,
THAT ONCE THE MATTER WAS
SETTLED, THAT HE WAS DOING THE
RIGHT THING, THAT HE WAS SAVING
THE EMPIRE FROM THE SPREAD OF A
DANGEROUS AND SEDITIOUS
MOVEMENT.
>>Narrator: IT WAS PRECISELY
THEIR UNWILLINGNESS TO MAKE
PUBLIC SACRIFICE TO THE EMPEROR
AND THE GODS THAT MADE
CHRISTIANS SEEM ANTISOCIAL AND
SEDITIOUS.
>>RELIGION WAS ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THE
MAINTENANCE OF THE STATE.
ONE OFFERED SACRIFICES ON
CERTAIN DAYS AS A PART OF THE
CELEBRATION OF THE... THE
FOUNDING OF THE STATE.
ONE OFFERED SACRIFICES ON THE
BIRTHDAY OF THE EMPEROR.
CITIES VERY OFTEN MOUNTED THESE
ENORMOUS CELEBRATIONS TO
CELEBRATE THE EMPERORS, AND ALL
THE POPULACE WOULD HAVE BEEN
EXPECTED TO COME AND JOIN IN.
>>Narrator: AT THESE GREAT
PUBLIC CEREMONIALS, CHRISTIANS
WERE BECOMING ALL TOO OFTEN
CONSPICUOUS BY THEIR ABSENCE.
>>WHEN THE CHRISTIANS REALLY DO
BECOME MUCH MORE PROMINENT IN
THE SOCIAL ARENA OF GREEK AND
ROMAN CITIES, THE PAGANS START
TO TAKE NOTE OF THEIR ABSENCE
FROM IMPORTANT FESTIVAL DAYS AND
THEIR UNWILLINGNESS TO
PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN ASPECTS
OF SOCIAL LIFE.
>>JUDAISM HAD LONG AGO COME TO
A LEGAL AGREEMENT WITH THE
EMPEROR THAT THEY WOULD... JEWS
WOULD NOT BE FORCED TO
PARTICIPATE IN PAGAN RITUALS.
AND PAGAN RITUALS ARE PART OF
THE NORMAL FABRIC OF LIFE IN A
ROMAN CITY.
JEWS WERE EXEMPTED FROM THIS
BECAUSE ROMANS KNEW THE JEWS
WERE ODD ABOUT THIS KIND OF
THING.
>>NOW, ALONG COME THIS NEW
GROUP, THE CHRISTIANS, AND
THEY'RE BEHAVING THE SAME WAY,
BUT THEY OBVIOUSLY AREN'T
ANCIENT.
THEY STARTED UNDER PONTIUS
PILATE; THEY SAY SO THEMSELVES.
SO IT'S NOVEL.
BUT IF IT'S NOVEL, FROM THE
ROMAN POINT OF VIEW, IT CANNOT
BE A RELIGION.
RELIGION IS, BY DEFINITION,
ANCIENT, FROM ROMAN PERSPECTIVE.
SO, IF IT'S NEW AND NOVEL,
IT'S... IT'S A SUPERSTITION,
IT'S NOT A RELIGION; AND
SUPERSTITION IS, BY DEFINITION,
NOT A GOOD THING.
>>WE HAVE A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE
PAGAN PERSPECTIVE ON CHRISTIANS
FROM A LITTLE GRAFFITI FOUND IN
ROME FROM THE PALATINE HILL.
AN INSCRIPTION SCRATCHED VERY
CRUDELY INTO THE WALL SAYS,
"ALEXAMENOS WORSHIPS HIS GOD."
IN THE PICTURE, WE SEE
ALEXAMENOS BOWING DOWN BEFORE
THE MAN ON THE CROSS, BUT THE
MAN ON THE CROSS HAS THE HEAD OF
A DONKEY.
>>CHRISTIANS HAVE MADE
THEMSELVES OUTLANDERS IN THEIR
OWN TOWN.
AND, THEREFORE, THEY ARE USED AS
AN EXPLANATORY DEVICE WHENEVER
THERE ARE THE USUAL NATURAL
INSULTS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE--
PLAGUE, EARTHQUAKE, FLOOD.
IT'S BECAUSE CHRISTIANS, AS
GENTILES WHO ARE NOT DOING THEIR
DUTY TO HEAVEN, ARE... WHY
SHOULD THE GODS DO ANYTHING FOR
THE CITY THEN?
>>Narrator: THOUGH PERSECUTION
WAS STILL MAINLY LOCAL AND
SPORADIC, IT WAS BECOMING A
CRIME TO BE A CHRISTIAN.
CHRISTIANS WHO WERE CHARGED
FACED A TERRIBLE CHOICE: TO
RECANT AND MAKE A SACRIFICE TO
THE EMPEROR, OR SACRIFICE THEIR
OWN LIVES FOR THE FAITH.
)
>>"IN THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS
LIE THE SEEDS OF THE CHURCH."
>>ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING
DOCUMENTS HISTORIANS OF EARLY
CHRISTIANITY ARE PRIVILEGED TO
HAVE IS THE PRISON DIARY OF A
YOUNG WOMAN WHO WAS MARTYRED, I
THINK, IN THE YEAR 202 OR 203,
IN CARTHAGE, AS PART OF A... A
CIVIC CELEBRATION.
HER NAME IS PERPETUA, AND SHE
INSISTED ON BEING KILLED.
): WE WERE
LODGED IN THE PRISON AND I WAS
TERRIFIED, AS I HAD NEVER BEEN
IN SUCH A DARK HOLE.
>>PERPETUA HAS BROUGHT HERSELF
TO THE ATTENTION OF THE
GOVERNOR, AND SHE IS REALLY
INSISTING ON BEING PUT INTO THE
ARENA.
THERE'S AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL
TRIAL SCENE WHERE PERPETUA'S
FATHER IS... IS PLEADING WITH
HER AND FINALLY, ACTUALLY,
TRYING TO BEAT HER.
AND THE GOVERNOR HAS HIM SUBDUED
BY HIS SOLDIERS.
AND THE GOVERNOR SAYS, "PLEASE,
WON'T YOU COOPERATE?"
AND PERPETUA SAYS, "NO, I'M...
I'M A CHRISTIAN."
NOW, THERE'S NO DRAGNET OUT FOR
CHRISTIANS.
PERPETUA IS VISITED BY OTHER
CHRISTIANS IN PRISON.
IF THE GOVERNOR WERE TRYING TO
GET ALL THE CHRISTIANS IN
CARTHAGE, HE JUST COULD HAVE
ARRESTED WHOEVER IS GOING TO
VISIT PERPETUA, BUT HE DOESN'T.
>>SHE'S PREGNANT DURING PART OF
THIS STORY AND ONLY GIVES BIRTH
JUST BEFORE SHE HERSELF GOES TO
HER DEATH.
SHE HAS TO GIVE HER OWN CHILD
AWAY AT THE MOMENT THAT SHE IS
ABOUT TO GIVE HER LIFE AWAY.
): IN MY DREAM,
I SAW A LADDER OF TREMENDOUS
HEIGHT, MADE OF BRONZE, REACHING
ALL THE WAY TO THE HEAVENS.
AT THE FOOT OF THE LADDER LAY A
DRAGON OF ENORMOUS SIZE, AND IT
WOULD ATTACK THOSE WHO WOULD TRY
TO CLIMB UP.
"HE WILL NOT HARM ME,"I SAID,
"IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST."
>>THE AUTHENTIC DIARY ENDS
BEFORE PERPETUA IS LED INTO THE
ARENA.
WHAT WE HAVE CONCLUDING THE
DIARY IS A DESCRIPTION DONE BY
SOMEBODY WHO IS PRESENTING A
HERO TALE.
): THE DAY OF
THEIR VICTORY DAWNED, AND THEY
MARCHED FROM THE PRISON TO THE
AMPHITHEATER JOYFULLY, AS IF
THEY WERE GOING TO HEAVEN.
>>SHE'S LED OUT INTO THE
AMPHITHEATER BEFORE THE CROWDS
AND ABOUT TO BE SET UPON BY
BEASTS.
SHE REALLY GOES WITH A GREAT
DEAL OF... OF AUTHORITY, AND
STATURE, AND SERENITY.
)
>>SHE FACES DOWN THE ANIMALS.
AND FINALLY, AFTER BEING
TORMENTED BY SEVERAL ANIMALS, A
YOUNG GLADIATOR IS SENT INTO THE
ARENA TO DISPATCH HER.
AND HIS... IT'S JUST AN
INCREDIBLY MOVING SCENE.
HIS... HAND IS TREMBLING SO MUCH
HE CAN'T... HE CAN'T CUT HER,
AND SHE GRABS HIS HAND AND
GUIDES HIS SWORD TO HER OWN
THROAT.
)
>>THE STORIES OF THE MARTYRS
THAT HAVE COME DOWN TO US ARE
ALL HERO STORIES, AND THEY'RE
ALL INTENDED, OBVIOUSLY, AS WAYS
OF STRENGTHENING THE FAITH OF
THOSE WHO REMAIN.
IF WE READ ONLY THOSE MARTYR
STORIES, WE WOULD SUPPOSE THAT
ALL CHRISTIANS WERE HEROES, AND
THAT THE CHURCH FLOURISHES
BECAUSE OF THAT HEROISM.
OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS AN
IDEALIZATION.
IF WE ACTUALLY TOTE UP THE
NUMBER OF MARTYRS THAT WE CAN
IDENTIFY, IT'S A REALLY QUITE
SMALL NUMBER OVER THE THREE
CENTURIES DURING WHICH
CHRISTIANITY WAS IN THE POSITION
OF BEING THE OUTSIDERS.
>>WE DON'T HAVE TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE BEING
MARTYRED.
WHAT WE DO HAVE IS TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ADMIRING THE
FEW WHO ARE MARTYRED.
)
>>THE STORY OF THE MARTYRDOM OF
PERPETUA IS A VERY IMPORTANT
MILESTONE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
EARLY CHRISTIANITY BECAUSE OF
WHAT THE STORY TELLS US ABOUT
THE PERCEPTION OF CHRISTIANS AT
THAT TIME.
WE CAN SEE THE CONTRAST RATHER
SHARPLY.
AT THE TIME OF PLINY, AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE SECOND CENTURY,
CHRISTIANS ARE AN UNKNOWN
COMMODITY.
AND SO EVEN WHEN HE EXECUTES
THEM, HE REALLY DOESN'T KNOW
QUITE WHAT TO MAKE OF THEM.
WITHIN 100 YEARS, BY THE YEAR
203, WHEN PERPETUA MEETS HER
DEATH AS A MARTYR, CHRISTIANITY
HAS BECOME A RECOGNIZABLE
COMMODITY.
)
THE DEATH OF PERPETUA IS A STORY
OF A VERY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN
THE STATUS OF CHRISTIANITY.
IT HAD BEGUN TO BE A PART OF THE
ROMAN WORLD.
>>NOW THAT CHRISTIANITY HAS
EMERGED AS A GROUP, AS A CHURCH,
AS SOMETHING NOT JUDAISM, THE
QUESTION THAT CHRISTIANS NOW
CONFRONTED IS "WHAT IS
CHRISTIANITY?"
THE SECOND CENTURY IS AN AGE OF
CHRISTIAN SELF-DEFINITION IN
WHICH THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
ITSELF WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
EXACTLY WHAT IS THE NEW MESSAGE.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE NEW CHURCH?
>>CERTAINLY, THERE WERE SOME
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS, SUCH AS
THE CHURCH, THE
LEADERSHIP, THE BISHOP, THE
DEACONS, THE PRESBYTERS.
THERE WERE INSTITUTIONS
DEVELOPING IN SOME CHRISTIAN
CHURCHES, BUT ONLY IN SOME, AND
THIS WAS NOT UNIVERSAL, BY ANY
MEANS.
>>WE HAVE, IN EFFECT, DIFFERENT
BRANDS OF CHRISTIANITY LIVING,
OFTEN, SIDE BY SIDE, EVEN IN THE
SAME CITY.
AT ONE POINT, IN ROME, JUSTIN
MARTYR HAS HIS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
IN ONE PART OF THE CITY, AND THE
GNOSTIC TEACHER VALENTINUS IN
ANOTHER SCHOOL IN ROME, AND
ANOTHER SO-CALLED HERETIC BY THE
NAME OF MARCION IS ALSO IN ROME
JUST DOWN THE STREET SOMEWHERE--
ALL OF THESE ALONGSIDE OF THE
OFFICIAL PAPAL TRADITION THAT
DEVELOPED AS PART OF ST. PETER'S
SEE IN ROME.
>>Narrator: THERE WERE STILL
DEBATES ABOUT HOW CHRISTIANS
SHOULD RELATE TO JUDAISM.
ONE GROUP FOLLOWING THE JEWISH
CALENDAR FELT THAT EASTER SHOULD
FALL ON THE SAME DAY AS
PASSOVER.
OTHERS THOUGHT THEY SHOULD
FOLLOW THE ROMAN CALENDAR AND
CELEBRATE DURING THE SOLAR
FESTIVAL OF THE SPRING EQUINOX,
ON A SUNDAY.
AND MARCION WANTED TO STRIP AWAY
EVERYTHING THAT SMACKED OF
JEWISH TRADITIONS.
>>MARCION WAS A WEALTHY SHIP
OWNER.
HE CAME TO ROME, AND HE GAVE THE
ROMAN CHURCH A LOT OF MONEY, AND
THEY WELCOMED HIM WITH OPEN
ARMS.
BUT HE FELT THAT THE ORIGINAL
CHRISTIAN GOSPEL WAS NO LONGER
PRESERVED, AND HE THOUGHT THAT
ONLY THE APOSTLE PAUL HAD THE
TRUE GOSPEL.
AND HE SET OUT TO FIND THIS TRUE
GOSPEL, AND HE TOOK THE GOSPEL
OF LUKE AND PURIFIED IT FROM
WHATEVER HE THOUGHT WAS JEWISH
AND SAID, "THIS SHOULD BE THE
SCRIPTURE FOR THE CHURCH, AND
THIS SHOULD BE THE ONLY
SCRIPTURE FOR THE CHURCH."
AND THE ROMAN CHURCH BECAME VERY
SUSPICIOUS OF HIS MANIPULATIONS
WITH THE GOSPEL OF LUKE.
IT IS REPORTED THAT THEY GAVE
THE MONEY BACK TO HIM AND SAID,
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH, BUT WE
DON'T WANT YOU AND YOUR GOSPEL."
>>THIS IS WHERE WE START TO SEE
A KIND OF PROLIFERATION OF
GOSPELS TRADITION ALL OVER THE
EMPIRE.
AND BY THE THIRD AND EARLY
FOURTH CENTURY, THERE ARE MORE
GOSPELS THAN YOU CAN ACTUALLY
COUNT, AND CERTAINLY MORE THAN
YOU CAN EASILY READ WITHIN A
BIBLE.
>>THE GOSPEL OF MARY MAGDALENE,
FOR EXAMPLE, SHOWS US A
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN WHICH
MARY MAGDALENE IS REGARDED AS A
DISCIPLE, AS A LEADER, AS ONE OF
THE MAJOR TEACHERS IN THE GROUP,
AND ONE WHO CLAIMS THAT WOMEN
SHOULD BE ABLE TO TEACH.
>>ANOTHER TEXT CALLED THE
"GOSPEL OF TRUTH"IS NOT A
NARRATIVE OF THE DEATH AND
RESURRECTION OF JESUS AT ALL.
IT'S A SYMBOLIC REFLECTION ON
CERTAIN THEMES THAT COME FROM
SCRIPTURE AND ARE ASSOCIATED
WITH THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF
JESUS.
>>WE ALSO HEAR OF OTHER KINDS
OF GOSPELS THAT DEVELOP, STORIES
OF THE BIRTH THAT TELL YOU
THE... IN LURID DETAIL, REALLY,
HOW TRUE IT REALLY WAS OR HOW
MARVELOUS AND MIRACULOUS IT WAS;
STORIES OF TRAVELING APOSTLES TO
ALL KINDS OF STRANGE LANDS--
THOMAS, WHO GOES TO INDIA,
ANDREW, WHO GOES OUT TO SOME
STRANGE WORLD, AND SO ON.
THESE KINDS OF STORIES
PROLIFERATE THROUGH THE SECOND
AND THIRD CENTURY.
>>Narrator: ONE OF THE
IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AT NAG
HAMMADI WAS A COMPLETE COPY OF
THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS.
WRITTEN IN SYRIA IN THE SECOND
CENTURY, THIS COLLECTION OF
SAYINGS PROVED VERY
INFLUENTIAL... AND STARTLING.
>>THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS IS
NOTHING BUT SAYINGS OF JESUS.
IT SIMPLY GOES ALONG AND SAYS,
JESUS SAID THIS, JESUS SAID
THAT.
WELL, SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT
JESUS SAID, ACCORDING TO THE
GOSPEL OF THOMAS, ARE QUITE
FAMILIAR.
THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR TO THINGS
IN THE CANONICAL GOSPELS, BUT
NOT IDENTICAL.
>>"GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT BELONGS
TO CAESAR; GIVE TO GOD WHAT
BELONGS TO GOD; AND GIVE TO ME
WHAT IS MINE."
>>Narrator: THESE SAYINGS OF
JESUS ARE FILLED WITH FAMILIAR,
RUSTIC IMAGES, LIKE THE PARABLE
OF THE MUSTARD SEED.
BUT OTHERS ARE STRANGE AND
UNSETTLING.
>>"LOOK TO THE LIVING ONE AS
LONG AS YOU LIVE, FOR YOU MIGHT
DIE.
AND THEN TRY TO SEE THE LIVING
ONE AND YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO
SEE."
>>MY FAVORITE OF THESE IS
SAYING NUMBER 70, WHICH SAYS,
"IF YOU BRING FORTH WHAT IS
WITHIN YOU, WHAT YOU BRING FORTH
WILL SAVE YOU.
IF YOU DO NOT BRING FORTH WHAT
IS WITHIN YOU, WHAT YOU DO NOT
BRING FORTH WILL DESTROY YOU."
>>NOW, WHAT IS TYPICAL ABOUT
THESE SAYINGS IS THAT, IN EACH
INSTANCE, THESE SAYINGS WANT TO
SAY THAT, IF YOU WANT TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS SAID, YOU
HAVE TO RECOGNIZE YOURSELF, YOU
HAVE TO KNOW YOURSELF.
>>Narrator: WITH ITS EMPHASIS
ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE AND JESUS AS
THE REVEALER OF SECRET WISDOM,
SOME SCHOLARS THINK THAT THE
GOSPEL OF THOMAS BECAME A SOURCE
FOR A COMPETING STREAM OF
CHRISTIAN TRADITION KNOWN AS
GNOSTICISM.
>>PAUL AND PAULIAN CHRISTIANITY
WOULD HAVE PLACED ALL OF THE
EMPHASIS ON JESUS' DEATH AND
RESURRECTION AND THE SAVING
POWER OF THAT DEATH AND
RESURRECTION.
GNOSTIC CHRISTIANITY, ON THE
OTHER HAND, WOULD HAVE PLACED
ITS PRINCIPLE EMPHASIS, IN FACT,
ITS PRIME EMPHASIS, ON THE
MESSAGE, THE WISDOM, THE
KNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS TRANSMITS.
>>Narrator: MOST GNOSTICS
BELIEVED THAT JESUS WAS SO
DIVINE THAT HE HAD NEVER ENTERED
INTO HUMAN FORM AND, SO, COULD
NOT HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED.
THIS BROUGHT GNOSTICS INTO
CONFLICT WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS.
>>IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO
INSIST ON JESUS AS REALLY
SUFFERING AND DYING ON THE
CROSS, BECAUSE CHRISTIANS WERE
BEING CALLED UPON AT THAT TIME
TO SUFFER AND DIE AS WITNESSES,
AS MARTYRS TO THEIR FAITH.
AND IF, WITH SOME GNOSTICS, YOU
COULD DENIGRATE THE PHYSICAL
SUFFERING OF JESUS, YOU MIGHT
CALL INTO QUESTION THAT
OBLIGATION TO STAND AND TO BEAR
WITNESS FOR THE FAITH.
>>BISHOP IRENAEUS, WHO WROTE IN
THE SECOND CENTURY IN WHAT IS
NOW FRANCE, WAS ABOUT 18 TO 20
YEARS OLD WHEN HIS LITTLE
COMMUNITY WAS ABSOLUTELY
DECIMATED BY A DEVASTATING
PERSECUTION.
THEY SAY THAT 50 TO 70 PEOPLE IN
TWO SMALL TOWNS WERE TORTURED
AND EXECUTED.
50 TO 70 PEOPLE EXECUTED IN
PUBLIC IS A DEVASTATING
DESTRUCTION OF THAT BELEAGUERED
COMMUNITY.
AND IRENAEUS WAS TRYING TO UNIFY
THOSE WHO WERE LEFT.
WHAT FRUSTRATED HIM IS THAT THEY
DIDN'T ALL BELIEVE THE SAME
THING.
THEY DIDN'T ALL GATHER UNDER ONE
KIND OF LEADERSHIP.
AND HE, LIKE OTHERS, WAS DEEPLY
AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF
FRAGMENTATION.
>>Narrator: IRENAEUS THUNDERED
AGAINST THOSE HE SAW AS
HERETICS, INCLUDING THE SO-
CALLED GNOSTICS.
): LET THOSE
PERSONS WHO BLASPHEME THE
CREATOR, AS DO ALL THE FALSELY
SO-CALLED GNOSTICS, BE
RECOGNIZED AS AGENTS OF SATAN BY
ALL WHO WORSHIP GOD.
>>BISHOP IRENAEUS COINED THE
TERM WE CALL "ORTHODOX."
NOW, LITERALLY IN GREEK,
"ORTHODOX"MEANS "STRAIGHT
THINKING."
IT'S LIKE "ORTHODONTIA"MEANS
"STRAIGHT TEETH."
I MEAN, "ORTHODOX"MEANS
"STRAIGHT IDEAS."
AND THOSE WHO DIDN'T AGREE WITH
HIS IDEAS, HE CALLED
"HETERODOX"-- THAT MEANS SIMPLY
THINKING OTHERWISE-- OR
"HERETICS,"WHICH MEANS PEOPLE
WHO MAKE CHOICES ABOUT WHAT TO
THINK.
IRENAEUS DIDN'T WANT PEOPLE
MAKING CHOICES, HE WANTED THEM
THINKING WHAT THE BISHOP TOLD
THEM TO THINK.
>>Narrator: IRENAEUS HAD TO
CONTEND, NOT ONLY WITH THOSE WHO
BELIEVED IN VASTLY DIFFERENT
GOSPELS, BUT ALSO WITH THE
FOLLOWERS OF MARCION, WHO
BELIEVED THAT JESUS SHOULD BE
REPRESENTED BY JUST ONE GOSPEL.
HE LOOKED FOR A COMPROMISE.
>>IRENAEUS SAYS THAT THE NUMBER
OF THE GOSPELS IS PROPERLY FOUR;
THESE ARE THE EARLIEST, THESE
ARE THE BEST, BUT FOUR IS THE
RIGHT NUMBER.
AFTER ALL, THERE'S FOUR CORNERS
TO THE WORLD; THERE'S FOUR
WINDS; THERE ARE FOUR AREAS OF
HEAVEN; AND THERE ARE FOUR
BEASTS WHO REVEAL GOD'S WILL IN
THE APOCALYPSE.
FOUR IS THE RIGHT NUMBER; THESE
ARE THE FOUR.
>>THE STORY IMPLIED IS THAT
THERE IS SOME SMOKE-FILLED ROOM
SOMEWHERE IN THE SECOND CENTURY,
AND A BUNCH OF THESE CIGAR-
SMOKING CHRISTIAN BIG SHOTS GOT
TOGETHER AND THEY DECIDED WHO
WAS GOING IN AND WHO WAS GOING
OUT.
IT WAS A WRAP.
THEY CLOSED UP, AND THEN
EVERYTHING ELSE WAS ON THE
CUTTING ROOM FLOOR, AND THE
JANITORS TOOK AWAY WHAT DIDN'T
GET IN THE CANON.
I THINK PRECISELY THE CONTRARY
IS CLOSER TO A MORE RESPONSIBLE
HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION, AND
THAT IS THAT THERE IS SOME KIND
OF CONSENSUS AMONG PEOPLE IN THE
JESUS MOVEMENT AS TO WHAT
CONSTITUTES RELIABLE TRADITION,
RELIABLE LITERATURE-- LITERATURE
THAT THEY WANT TO READ, THAT
THEY WANT TO HEAR OVER AND OVER
AGAIN, AND OTHER KINDS OF
LITERATURE THAT THEY DON'T WANT
TO HEAR.
>>Narrator: ONE CRITERION FOR
INCLUSION WAS WHETHER THE GOSPEL
TOLD THE STORY OF THE SUFFERING
AND DEATH OF JESUS.
THIS WAS CRUCIAL TO THE EMERGING
SENSE OF ORTHODOXY BECAUSE THE
CENTERPIECE OF CHRISTIAN RITUAL,
THE CELEBRATION OF THE
EUCHARIST, CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT
THAT STORY.
>>AND IT IS OUT OF THAT
MOVEMENT THAT THE FOUR-GOSPEL
CANON ARISES.
AND IT COMES, INTERESTGLY
ENOUGH, AS A CANON THAT
PRESERVES DIVERSITY-- WITHIN
LIMITS, BUT IT PRESERVES
DIVERSITY.
THERE IS NO CLAIM THAT THIS
CANON REPRESENTS FOUR GOSPELS
THAT ARE ALL SAYING THE SAME
THING.
IT IS, RATHER, AN ATTEMPT TO
BRING TOGETHER AS MANY CHRISTIAN
COMMUNITIES INTO ONE MAJOR
CHURCH.
>>Narrator: BY THE MIDDLE OF
THE THIRD CENTURY, CHRISTIANS
WERE BURIED ALONGSIDE JEWS AND
PAGANS IN CATACOMBS, UNDERGROUND
TOMBS BENEATH THE OUTSKIRTS OF
ROME.
THERE IS EVIDENCE HERE OF THE
GROWING HOMOGENIZATION OF THE
CHRISTIAN STORY.
THE ARTWORK ON THE TOMBS SHOWS
LITTLE SIGN OF GNOSTIC IMAGERY.
THEY ARE LARGELY SCENES FROM THE
CANONICAL GOSPELS WHICH ARE NOW
MERGING INTO ONE SINGLE STORY.
>>WHAT'S INTERESTING IS WHAT
THEY CHOOSE, BECAUSE WHAT THEY
CHOOSE OF JESUS IS ESPECIALLY
THE HEALER.
HE APPEARS BEARDLESS, SO HE'S A
YOUNG... HE'S A NEW, YOUNG GOD,
AS IT WERE.
HE'S NOT AN OLD FUDDY-DUDDY LIKE
ASCLEPIUS, THE GOD OF HEALING.
AND WHAT'S EXTRAORDINARY IS HE
WOULD EITHER HAVE HIS HAND OR
EVEN A WAND ON THE PERSON HE'S
HEALING.
NOW, NOTHING THAT I KNOW OF IN
THE ENTIRE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD
EVER SHOWS ASCLEPIUS WITH HIS
HAND ON SOMEBODY HE'S HEALING.
JESUS IS AN ASCLEPIUS WHO MAKES
HOUSE CALLS.
I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT
THINGS THAT HELPS THIS SPREAD.
JESUS IS NOT SHOWN AS A
TRANSCENDENTAL BEING, HE'S DOWN
THERE IN THE MUD OF HUMAN
HISTORY WITH HIS HAND ON
PEOPLE'S HEADS.
>>Narrator: THE ART OF THE
CATACOMBS ALSO ILLUSTRATES THE
CHRISTIANS' ATTEMPTS TO
INTEGRATE INTO GRECO-ROMAN
SOCIETY.
>>AS CHRISTIANITY MOVED OUT OF
THE JEWISH SPHERE INTO THE MORE
PAGAN SPHERE, THEN ALL SORTS OF
PAGAN IDEAS AND ALL SORTS OF
PAGAN THEMES AND IMAGES AND
PICTURES START POURING INTO
CHRISTIANITY.
>>WE HAVE THIS FIGURE OF THE
SHEPHERD WITH THE SHEEP DRAPED
OVER HIS SHOULDERS.
WE, NOW, MAY TEND TO THINK OF
THAT AS REFLECTING THE GOSPEL
STORIES OF JESUS-- OF THE LOST
SHEEP OR JESUS AS THE GOOD
SHEPHERD FROM THE GOSPEL OF
JOHN.
IN POINT OF FACT, FROM ROMAN
PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS THE VIRTUE
OF PHILANTHROPY, OF LOVE OF
HUMANITY, AND IT'S ONE OF THE
MOST IMPORTANT VIRTUES OF ROMAN
CIVIC AND PUBLIC LIFE.
>>Narrator: ALL AROUND THE
MEDITERRANEAN WORLD, THE ANCIENT
PAGAN GODS LINGERED IN THEIR
AGE-OLD TEMPLES AND IMMEMORIAL
SHRINES.
BUT THEIR POWER WAS UNDER
THREAT.
>>ROMAN SOCIETY, ROMAN LAW, ARE
BOTH HIGHLY TOLERANT OF
RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY, AS LONG AS
YOU DO THE THINGS WHICH EVERY
ROMAN IS EXPECTED TO DO-- SORT
OF THOSE RELIGIOUS ACTS WHICH
ARE YOUR CIVIC DUTY.
NOBODY CARES WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN
YOUR HEART OF HEARTS.
THEN APPEARS CHRISTIANITY, WHICH
IS EXCLUSIVE, WHICH IS
INTOLERANT, WHICH WILL NOT ALLOW
YOU TO DO WHATEVER EVERYBODY
ELSE DOES.
AND IT'S A PROFOUND SHOCK TO
THOSE WHO GET TO KNOW IT WELL.
IT APPEARS AS A DANGEROUS RIVAL
TO THE PRESENT SOCIETY AS IT
BEGINS TO GROW STRONG.
>>CHRISTIAN WRITERS THROUGHOUT
THE MIDDLE AND LATER SECOND
CENTURY DEVELOPED THE TECHNIQUES
OF TRYING TO ARGUE THAT
CHRISTIANITY WAS REALLY A
SUPERIOR RELIGION, BECAUSE IT
WAS MONOTHEISTIC, OVER AGAINST
POLYTHEISTIC, AND IT...
CHRISTIANS EXEMPLIFIED HIGHER
VIRTUE IN THEIR LIVES THAN DID
PAGANS.
THEY POINTED TO EXAMPLES OF
CHRISTIANS LIVING IN CHASTITY,
GREAT VIRTUE, SELF-SACRIFICE AND
SO ON, THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES.
THESE CHRISTIAN APOLOGISTS ALSO
MADE FUN OF PAGAN RELIGION IN A
WAY THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN TOO
PRUDENT.
THEY LAUGHED AT THE VARIOUS
GREEK MYTHS THAT FORMED THE
BASIS FOR SOME OF GRECO-ROMAN
RELIGION.
THEY LAUGHED AT THE STORIES OF
THE GODS-- THEIR ADULTERIES,
THEIR JEALOUSIES, THEIR GOINGS-
ON WITH EACH OTHER, ET CETERA--
AND COULD REALLY MAKE MINCEMEAT
OUT OF THESE TRADITIONS.
>>Narrator: THE IDEAS THAT HAD
STARTED WITH THE CARPENTER'S SON
WERE BEING REINTERPRETED.
IN THE UNCOMPROMISING LANGUAGE
OF APOCALYPSE, JESUS HAD
PREACHED THE MESSAGE OF THE
COMING KINGDOM OF GOD.
NOW, JESUS HIMSELF BECAME THE
MESSAGE... AND THE SOURCE OF
ETERNAL LIFE.
>>THE MESSAGE THAT WAS PREACHED
HERE PROMISED SPIRITUAL GIFTS TO
PEOPLE THAT WENT BEYOND THE
EVERYDAY LIFE EXPERIENCE AND
PROMISED ALSO IMMORTALITY,
PROMISED A FUTURE LIFE WHICH
WOULD BE LIBERATION FROM
SICKNESS AND FROM DISEASE, AND
FROM POVERTY, AND INDIVIDUAL
ISOLATION, AND WHATEVER.
THERE IS A FUTURE FOR THE
INDIVIDUAL, BUT ONE SHOULD NOT
SEE THE SUCCESS OF CHRISTIANITY
SIMPLY ON THE LEVEL OF A GREAT
RELIGIOUS MESSAGE.
>>Narrator: TO THE SUBJECTS OF
THE ROMAN EMPIRE, CHRISTIANITY
OFFERED THE INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY
IN THIS LIFE AND HOPE IN THE
AFTERLIFE.
BUT IT WAS ALSO WINNING CONVERTS
BY OFFERING A HELPING HAND TO
THE NEEDY.
ú,M÷ó[i
ELEMENTS OF THE JEWISH
COMMUNITY, THE FOLLOWERS OF
JESUS TENDED TO FEED THE]úáé
DESTITUTE, TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE
WHO WERE WIDOWED SO THAT THEY
WOULDN'T BECOME PROSTITUTES, AND
ORPHANS, AND SO FORTH.
THAT WAS A PRIMARY OBLIGATION OF
JEWISH PIETY, AND JESUS'
FOLLOWERS CERTAINLY UNDERSTOOD
THAT.
>>OF COURSE, THERE WAS NO
WELFARE SYSTEM, SO TO SPEAK, IN
THE ANCIENT WORLD.K
WEALTHY ROMANS HAD GIVEN MONEY
FOR PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE FEEDING
OF CHILDREN, D SO ON.
BUT EVEN SUCH PROGRAMS THAT WE
KNOW OF DIDN'T COMPARE IN SIZE
AND SCOPE TO WHAT THE CHURCHES
WERE DOING.
>>SO CHRISTIANITY REALLY
ESTABLISHED A REALM OF MUTUAL
SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE MEMBERS
THAT JOINED THE CHURCH.
AND I THINK THAT THIS HAS... WAS
PROBABLY, IN THE LONG RUN, AN
ENORMOUSLY IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR
THE SUCCESS OF THE CHRISTIAN
MISSION.
>>Narrator: BY THE YEAR 250,
CHRISTIANITY HAD GROWN SO MUCH
THAT A STRONGER CHURCH
ORGANIZATION WAS NEEDED TO
ADMINISTER THE WELFARE SYSTEM.
IT WAS BECOMING A STATE WITHIN A
STATE.
MEANWHILE, ROME'S RULERS FELT
THEIR CONTROL OF THE EMPIRE
SLIPPING AWAY, AND CHRISTIAN
UNDERMINING OF TRADITIONAL
BELIEF WAS NO LONGER TO BE
TOLERATED.
>>THE MIDDLE OF THEúV.
CENTURY IS OFTEN IDENTIFIED AS A4
CRISIS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
THIS IS A TIME WHEN THE EMPEROR
IS FEELING UNDER GREAT PRESSURE.
THERE IS A SENSE THAT WE ARE
BEING BESIEGED ON THE BORDERS,
+
COMING IN AT ANY MOMENT-- THE
PERSIANS ARE DANGEROUS, THE
GERMANS ARE DANGEROUS, AND SO
ON.
AND SO THERE'S A GREAT SENSE
THAT ANYTHING THAT UPSETS THIS
ANCIENT CONTRACT BETWEEN THEBk
ROMANS AND THE GODS HAS GOT TO,ç
BE DANGEROUS TO US.
AFTER A LONG PERIOD IN WHICH THE
PERSECUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY
WERE REALLY SPASMODIC, LOCAL,
INVOLVED VERY FEW PEOPLE,
SUDDENLY, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
THIRD CENTURY, THE YEAR 250, THE
EMPEROR DECIUS DECIDES THAT
CHRISTIANS ARE A REAL ENEMY OF
THE ROMAN ORDER, THAT THEY MUST
BE DEALT WITH.
THEY MUST BE DEALT WITH EMPIRE-
WIDE, WITH ALL THE POLICE POWER
THAT THE EMPEROR CAN BRING TO
BEAR UPON THEM.
>>CHRISTIANS COULD BE ARRESTED
SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY BORE THE
"CHRISTIAN."
THAT WAS ENOUGH, UNDER ROMAN
CONVENTION, TO CONVICT ONE OF A
CAPITAL CRIME, AND THE CRIME WAS
BEING A CHRISTIAN.
SO PUT YOURSELF IN THE... IN THE
POSITION OF SOCIETY IF... YOU
KNOW, IF YOU WERE... SAY, A
MERCHANT AND WANTED TO LIMIT
YOUR COMPETITION, ALL YOU HAD TO
DO WAS POINT FINGERS AT YOUR
COMPETITORS AND SAY, WELL, YOU
KNOW, I THINK THEY'RE
CHRISTIANS.
WELL, BY ROMAN CONVENTION, THOSE
PEOPLE THEN COULD BE HAULED DOWN
ON CAPITAL CHARGES.
>>WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IS GET A
LIBELLUS.
IT'S A CHIT SAYING THAT YOU HAVE
SACRIFICED FOR THE WELL-BEING OF
THE EMPIRE.
AND YOU GO AND YOU DO YOUR
SACRIFICE, AND THERE'S A WHOLE
VARIOUS RESPONSE ON THE PART OF
DIFFERENT CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES.
YOU CAN HAVE YOUR SERVANT GO AND
DO IT FOR YOU.
HE MIGHT ALSO BE A CHRISTIAN,
BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S HIS
PROBLEM.
PAY HIM, HE'LL GET TWO CHITS,
AND THEN YOU'RE COVERED FOR
PURPOSES.
OR YOU CAN PAY FOR THE TICKET
BUT NOT ACTUALLY DO THE
SACRIFICE IF YOU CAN BRIBE A
FRIEND OF YOURS WHO IS A
MAGISTRATE.
OR YOU CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND
GET... YOU KNOW, SACRIFICE,
KNOWING THAT THESE GODS ARE
NOTHING.
AFTER ALL, THAT'S RIGHT IN
PAUL'S LETTERS, THAT THESE GODS
ARE NOTHING.
): AS TO THE
EATING OF FOOD OFFERED TO IDOLS,
WE KNOW THAT NO IDOL IN THE
WORLD REALLY EXISTS AND THAT
THERE IS NO GOD BUT ONE.
>>Narrator: DECIUS WAS
DETERMINED TO BE COMPLETELY
RUTHLESS IN PERSECUTING THOSE
WHO REFUSED TO MAKE PUBLIC
SACRIFICE.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, ORDINARY
CHRISTIANS WERE METHODICALLY
ROUNDED UP.
>>AND THE ODD THING IS IT
FAILS.
THE NET EFFECT OF THIS IS THAT A
NEW CULT OF THE MARTYRS APPEARS
IN CHRISTIANITY WHICH
STRENGTHENS THE CHURCH.
)
>>Narrator: BUT IRONICALLY,
VERY FEW CHRISTIANS WERE WILLING
TO BE MARTYRED.
>>MANY CHRISTIANS WERE NOT MADE
OF THE KIND OF MORAL FIBER OF
THE PEOPLE WHO WENT TO THEIR
DEATHS AS MARTYRS-- THAT THEY
HAD BEEN WILLING TO RECANT THE
FAITH, TO OFFER A PINCH OF
INCENSE TO THE EMPEROR.
>>CHRISTIANS WERE SORT OF
TAKING TO THE HILLS.
WE KNOW THIS FROM THE SO-CALLED
LAPSUS CONTROVERSY.
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THOSE
CHRISTIANS WHO TOOK TO THE HILLS
AND SAVED THEIR SOULS AS OPPOSED
TO STANDING THEIR GROUND AND
DYING AS MARTYRS?
>>ALL THIS MADE A GRAVE PROBLEM
FOR THE CHURCH WHEN THE
PERSECUTIONS WERE OVER, BECAUSE
MANY OF THESE PEOPLE THEN WANTED
TO COME BACK INTO THE CHURCH.
THERE WERE MANY CONTROVERSIES
ABOUT THIS.
>>Narrator: 50 YEARS LATER, THE
EMPEROR DIOCLETIAN MADE ONE LAST
ATTEMPT TO WIPE OUT THE
CHRISTIANS.
HE TARGETED THOSE WHO HELD
PUBLIC OFFICE, BUT THE
PERSECUTION FAILED PARTLY
BECAUSE CHRISTIAN INSTITUTIONS
WERE NOW SO ENTRENCHED IN ROMAN
SOCIETY.
>>CHRISTIANS WANTED TO HAVE
THEIR MEMBERS KNOWLEDGEABLE AND
CAPABLE OF READING THE BIBLE.
SO, WE FIND THAT A LARGE NUMBER
OF PEOPLE INMPERIAL
ADMINISTRATION ARE CHRISTIANS,
BECAUSE THEY COULD READ AND
WRITE, WHICH CONSTITUTED A BIG
PROBLEM WITH THE PERSECUTION OF
THE CHRISTIANS BECAUSE THEY WERE
THROWN OUT OF THEIR OFFICE FIRST
WHEN THE PERSECUTION BEGAN, AND
SUDDENLY, THE... THE GOVERNMENT
DIDN'T WORK ANYMORE.
>>BY THAT TIME, THE CHRISTIANS
ARE SO NUMEROUS THAT THEY CAN'T
POSSIBLY BE ERADICATED; THEY'VE
ALREADY GROWN THAT MUCH.
SO, IN A SENSE, THE PERSECUTION
REALLY DOESN'T CATCH UP UNTIL
IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE.
>>Narrator: BY NOW, THE JESUS
MOVEMENT HAD SPREAD ITS MESSAGE
TO EVERY CORNER OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE.
>>THE LAST DECADES OF THE THIRD
CENTURY, YOU GET A GREAT INSURGE
OF PEOPLE INTO CHRISTIANITY.
THERE ARE SOME SCHOLARS WHO
THINK THAT, IN EGYPT, FOR
EXAMPLE, BY THE 320'S, THERE
WOULD ACTUALLY BE A MAJORITY OF
CHRISTIANS-- MAYBE A RATHER
SLIGHT MAJORITY, BUT NONETHELESS
A SIZABLE NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS.
>>Narrator: THE TURNING POINT
IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN
MOVEMENT OCCURRED IN THE FIRST
DECADES OF THE FOURTH CENTURY.
IT WAS A TRANSFORMATION FILLED
WITH IRONIES.
IT WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY A ROMAN
GENERAL WHO WORSHIPPED, NOT
JESUS, BUT APOLLO, THE GOD OF
THE SUN.
>>ONE OF THE MOST SURPRISING
CHRISTIAN HEROES IN THE ENTIRE
TRADITION, I THINK, IS
CONSTANTINE.
HE IS, FIRST OF ALL, A
SUCCESSFUL GENERAL.
HE IS, ALSO, THE SON OF A
SUCCESSFUL GENERAL AND AT THE
HEAD OF THE ARMY OF THE WEST,
AND HE'S FIGHTING ANOTHER
SUCCESSFUL GENERAL, STRUGGLING
FOR WHO IS GOING TO BE AT THE
TOP OF THE HEAP OF THIS... THE
VERY HIGHER ECHELONS OF ROMAN
GOVERNMENT.
WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT CONSTANTINE
HAS A VISION.
>>IN THE DREAM, A CROSS APPEARS
ON THE SUN.
THE SUN WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO
CONSTANTINE, ANYWAY.
HE HAD A THING ABOUT HELIOS AND
VERY OFTEN REPRESENTED HIMSELF
WITH THE SUN GOD.
BUT THE INTRUSION OF THE CROSS
WAS... WAS SOMETHING NEW, AND
BELOW THIS VISION WAS AN... WAS
AN INSCRIPTION, WERE THE WORDS
EN TOUTO
NIKE.
AND HE INTERPRETED THIS DREAM TO
MEAN THAT, BY THIS SYMBOL OF THE
CROSS, HE COULD DEFEAT HIS...
HIS ARCHENEMY AT THE BATTLE OF
THE MILVIAN BRIDGE AND BECOME
SOLE EMPEROR.
AND SO HE HAD HIS-- SO THE STORY
GOES-- HE HAD HIS SOLDIERS PAINT
THE CROSS ON THEIR SHIELDS.
CONSTANTINE WON THE BATTLE OF
THE MILVIAN BRIDGE, BECAME THE
SOLE EMPEROR OF THE ROMAN
EMPIRE, AND THEN, IN A DRAMATIC
SHIFT OF GEOPOLITICS, RELOCATES
THE CENTER OF ROMAN RULE FROM
THE ETERNAL CITY, ROME, TO A NEW
CITY, CONSTANTINOPLE.
>>Narrator: TO REUNITE A
DIVIDED EMPIRE, CONSTANTINE
MOVED THE CAPITAL FROM ROME TO A
MORE STRATEGIC LOCATION, THE
ANCIENT CITY OF BYZANTIUM, AND
RENAMED IT CONSTANTINOPLE.
>>AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT WAS
GOING ON HERE WAS JOCKEYING AT
THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION.
CLEARLY, BY THE END OF THE THIRD
CENTURY, CHRISTIANITY WAS A
MAJOR FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH
THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE, AND
SOMETHING THAT HAD TO EITHER BE
SUPPRESSED OR HAD TO BE
INTEGRATED.
GALERIUS, CONSTANTINE'S RIVAL,
WHO WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR
INSTIGATORS OF THE PERSECUTION,
FAVORED THE OPTION OF
SUPPRESSION.
CONSTANTINE AND HIS ASSOCIATES
FAVORED THE OPTION OF
INTEGRATION.
>>CONSTANTINE WAS A CONSUMMATE
PRAGMATIST AND A CONSUMMATE
POLITICIAN.
AND I THINK HE GAUGED WELL THE
UPSURGE OF INTEREST AND SUPPORT
CHRISTIANITY WAS... WAS
RECEIVING, AND SO PLAYED UP TO
THAT VERY NICELY AND EXPLOITED
IT IN HIS OWN RULE.
>>WHEN CONSTANTINE CAME INTO
POWER AND STARTED TO FAVOR
CHRISTIANITY, HE DID DO MANY
THINGS THAT PLAINLY SHOWED A
SUPPORT FOR CHRISTIANITY.
HE GAVE MONEY FOR THE BUILDING
OF CHURCHES, MONEY FOR THE
COPYING OF SCRIPTURES, HE
EXEMPTED CLERGY MEMBERS FROM
HAVING TO PERFORM CIVIC DUTIES
ON TOWN COUNCILS, THAT KIND OF
THING.
>>THE BISHOPS ARE ABLE TO TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF CONSTANTINE'S MOOD
AND HIS CURIOUS INTELLECTUAL
INTEREST IN THINGS LIKE
CHRISTOLOGY AND THE TRINITY AND
CHURCH ORGANIZATION.
THEY'RE ABLE TO HAVE BIBLES
COPIED AT PUBLIC EXPENSE.
THEY'RE FINALLY ABLE TO VE
PUBLIC CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE
AND BIG BASILICAS.
SO THERE'S A COMFORTABLE
SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
THE EMPIRE AND THE CHURCH.
>>ALL THAT CERTAINLY STANDS IN
FAVOR OF HIS TRUE CHRISTIAN
COMMITMENT.
ON THE OTHER HAND, HE DID RETAIN
THE COINAGE WITH THE SUN GOD ON
IT.
HE DID SAY THE DAY OF THE SUN
WOULD BE MADE A DAY OF REST, BUT
IT'S VERY UNCLEAR WHETHER THE
DAY OF THE SUN MEANT THE DAY
DEDICATED TO THE SUN GOD OR THE
DAY DEDICATED TO JESUS AND HIS
RESURRECTION.
>>WHATEVER ONE FINALLY DECIDES
ABOUT THE NATURE OF HIS
CONVERSION-- WHETHER IT'S A
REAL, SINCERE CONVERSION OR
NOT-- IT HAS PROFOUND IMPACT
UPON THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY,
UPON THE FUTURE OF WESTERN
CIVILIZATION.
CONSTANTINE'S PATRONAGE DOESN'T
JUST MEAN THAT A LOT OF NEW
CHURCHES GET BUILT, THOUGH IT
MEANS THAT.
IT DOESN'T JUST MEAN THAT THE
SALARIES OF BISHOPS GO UP
ASTRONOMICALLY, THOUGH IT MEANS
THAT.
IT DOESN'T JUST MEAN THAT
CHRISTIANS HAVE FREEDOM, NOW, TO
WORSHIP AS THEY CHOOSE.
IT MEANS THAT IT HAS BECOME PART
OF THE IMPERIAL ESTABLISHMENT,
AND OBVIOUSLY, THAT IS GOING TO
MEAN PROFOUND CHANGES FOR THE
SOCIETY AND FOR CHRISTIANITY.
>>Narrator: CONSTANTINE SHOWED
HIS SUPPORT BY MASSIVE BUILDING
PROGRAMS, ESPECIALLY IN
JERUSALEM.
IRONICALLY, THE CITY THAT WAS
DESTROYED BY ONE ROMAN EMPEROR
WAS BEING REBUILT BY ANOTHER.
BUT THE NEW HOLY PLACES IN THIS
TRADITIONAL CENTER OF JUDAISM
WERE NOW ALL CHRISTIAN.
TO STRENGTHEN HIS NEW CHURCH,
CONSTANTINE CALLED FOR MORE
UNITY IN ORGANIZATION AND
TEACHING.
BUT SUCH UNITY CAME AT A COST.
>>ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS
CONSTANTINE DOES AS EMPEROR IS
START PERSECUTING OTHER
CHRISTIANS.
THE GNOSTIC CHRISTIANS ARE
TARGETED, MARCIONITE CHRISTIANS
AND OTHER DUELIST CHRISTIANS--
CHRISTIANS WHO DON'T HAVE THE
OLD TESTAMENT AS PART OF THEIR
CANON-- ARE TARGETED.
THE LIST OF ENEMIES GOES ON AND
ON.
THERE'S A KIND OF, IN A SENSE,
INTERNAL PURGE OF THE CHURCH AS
ONE EMPEROR RULING ONE EMPIRE
TRIES TO HAVE THIS SINGLE
CHURCH.
>>TO APPRECIATE THE REMARKABLE,
DRAMATIC EVOLUTION THAT HAD
OCCURRED IN SO SHORT A PERIOD,
ONE MIGHT COUNTERPOSE THE IMAGE
OF PLINY IN HIS COURTROOM UNDER
THE EMPEROR TRAJAN, SENDING
CHRISTIANS OFF TO THEIR
EXECUTION SIMPLY FOR BEING
CALLED CHRISTIANS, TO THE
MAJESTY OF CONSTANTINE PRESIDING
OVER THE GREAT GATHERING OF
BISHOPS THAT HE HAD CALLED TO
RESOLVE PARTICULAR QUESTIONS.
THE IMPERIUM, ON THE ONE HAND,
BEING USED CLEARLY TO EXTINGUISH
A RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT; THE
IMPERIUM, ON THE OTHER HAND,
BEING USED CLEARLY TO UNDERGIRD
AND SUPPORT A RELIGIOUS
MOVEMENT, THE SAME RELIGIOUS
MOVEMENT, IN SO SHORT A PERIOD
OF TIME.
>>Narrator: THE CROSS, THE
HATED SYMBOL OF DEATH AND
DEFEAT, NOW EMERGED AS THE
SYMBOL OF TRIUMPH.
AND IN THE EYES OF SOME, THE
APOCALYPTIC PROPHECY OF
REVELATION HAD AT LAST BEEN
FULFILLED.
): THE KINGDOM
OF THE WORLD HAS BECOME THE
KINGDOM OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS
CHRIST.
>>Narrator: THE KINGDOM OF GOD
AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE HAD NOW
BECOME ONE AND THE SAME.
JESUS OF NAZARETH HAD BECOME
JESUS CHRIST, AND HIS CHURCH HAD
BECOME A POWER ON EARTH.
A NEW CHAPTER IN HISTORY WAS
ABOUT TO BEGIN.
JESUS TO CHRIST: THE FIRST
CHRISTIANS"ON
is available on DVD.
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