The great and still undischarged task, which confronts those engaged in the historical study of primitive Christianity, is to explain how the teaching of Jesus developed into the early Greek theology.
The most historically illogical aspect of Christianitys origin, however, was its Messiah.Jesus had a political perspective that was precisely the opposite of the son of David, who was awaited by the Jews of this era.Josephus records that what most inspired the Jewish rebels was their belief in the Judaic prophecies that foresaw a world ruler, or Messiah, emerging from Judea the same prophecies that the New Testament claims predicted a pacifist. (pages 28-30)
the New Testament and the histories of Josephus each imply that the Messiah was not this nationalist leader who had been foreseen, but rather a pacifist who encouraged cooperation with Rome.For example consider Jesus instruction in Matthew 5:41:when anyone conscripts you for one mile, go along two.
Roman military law permitted its soldiers to conscript, which is to demand that civilians carry their 65-pound packs for a length of one mile.Roman roads had mile markers (mile stones), so that there would be no dispute over whether this requirement had been met.Why would the Messiah foreseen by Judaisms xenophobic world ruler prophecies urge Jews to go the extra mile for the Roman army?[xenophobic- undue fear or contempt of strangers or foreigners]
When one compares the militaristic Messiah described in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other early Judaic literature with the pacifistic Messiah described in the New Testament and Josephus Testimonium, one aspect of the lost history of Judea seems visible.An intellectual battle was waged over the nature of the Messiah.The New Testament and Josephus stood together on one side of this struggle, claiming that a pacifistic Messiah had appeared who advocated cooperation with Rome.On the other side of this theological divide stood the Jewish Zealots who awaited a militaristic Messiah to lead them against Rome.
Among Christianitys oldest surviving records is the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, dated to 96 C.E.The latter was purportedly written by (Pope) Clement I to a congregation of Christians who had apparently rebelled against the churchs authority.It shows that even at the onset of the religion the bishop of Rome was able to give orders to the church of Corinth, and that the church of Rome used the Roman army as an example of the kind of discipline and obedience that it expected from other churches and their members. (page 32)
The church of God which sojourneth in Rome to the Church of God which sojourneth in Corinth.15
Let us mark the soldiers that are enlisted under our rulers, how exactly, how readily, how submissively, they execute the orders given them.
All are not prefects, nor rulers of thousands, nor rulers of hundreds, nor rulers of fifties, and so forth; but each man in his own rank executeth the orders given by the king and the governors.
1 Clem 37:2-3
But how did the churchs authority structure come into existence resembling the Roman military?Who established it and who gave the bishops such absolute control?Cyprian wrote:
The bishop is in the Church and the church is in the bishop and if anyone is not with the bishop. That person is not in the Church.16
And why was Rome, supposedly the center of Christian persecution, chosen as the churchs headquarters?
A Roman origin would explain why the bishop of Rome was later made the supreme pontiff of the church.And why Rome became its headquarters.It would explain how a Judean cult eventually became the state religion of the Roman Empire.A Roman origin would also explain why so many members of a Roman imperial family, the Flavians, were recorded as being among the first Christians.The Flavians would have been among the first Christians because, having invented the religion, they were, in fact, the first Christians.
When considering a Flavian invention of Christianity, one should bear in mind that the Flavian emperors were considered to be divine and often created religions.The oath that they swore when being ordained emperor began with the instruction that they would do all things divine in the interests of the empire.The Arch of Titus, which commemorates Titus destruction of Jerusalem, is inscribed with the following statement:
SENATUS POPULUS QUE ROMANUS DIVO TIT DIVI VESPASIANI. F VESPASIANO AUGUS[The Senate and People of Rome, to the divine Titus, son of divine Vespasian](page 33)
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