Chapter 10: Judaism and
Christianity
Introduction
Hebrews introduce monotheism into a
world of polytheism in the form of a god
above nature and free from compulsion
and fate
Hebrews took name “Judaism” in honor of
Judah, a prophet, and their homeland,
Judaea
Christianity emerged from Judaism
Judaism
The Sacred Scriptures
Early scriptures known collectively as TaNaKh
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Torah = Five Books of Moses
Nevi’im = Books of the Prophets
Ketuvim = historical, poetic, and philosophic writings
Christians accept all of the TaNaKh as the “Old
Testament”
• Jews and Christians long regarded these books as the
literal “word of God”
Judaism
The Sacred Scriptures [cont.]
“Biblical Criticism” in last 200 years has
placed these works into historical context
Close reading suggests stylistic differences
tied to different authors
Josiah’s centralization of Hebrew belief
resulted in the writing of Deuteronomy
Other stories were woven together at a
later date to create the rest of the Torah
Judaism
The Sacred Scriptures [cont.]
Oldest existing copy of complete Torah
dates to 9th-11th centuries C.E.
Greek language Torah dates to 2nd-3rd
century B.C.E.
Torah is one of best examples of “mythhistory” because it captures ideals,
concepts, and beliefs of Jewish people
even if not literally true
Judaism
Essential Beliefs of Judaism in Early
Scripture
A single, caring God
A God of history
A community rooted in divinely chosen
family
A specific “promised” geographical
homeland
A legal system
A sacred calendar
Judaism
The Later Books of Jewish Scripture
Nevi’im and Ketuvim carry Jewish story
from 1200 B.C.E. to 500 C.E.
Books begin with Joshua, the return of the
Jews from Egypt to Israel
History suggests that return was spread
out over time and that era involved
extensive borrowing from other cultures
Judaism
The Later Books of Jewish Scripture
[cont.]
Rule by Judges and Kings
• Jews adopted loose confederacy advised by
judges upon return to Canaan (Israel)
• Created kings (1020 B.C.E.) to deal with
internal strife
• Kingdom split in two in reaction to extravagant
reign of Solomon (950 B.C.E.)
Judaism
The Later Books of Jewish Scripture
[cont.]
Teachings of the Prophets: Morality and
Hope
• Prophets demanded return of morality and
compassion in face of corrupt leadership
• Placed memory of past injustice and slavery
against current events and demanded return to
religious roots
• Presented image of an inspiring future
Judaism
The Evolution of the Image of God
God’s early concerns about humanity
resulted in a flood and in the division of
people by language
Responded to evil with punishment
YHWH accessible via prayer and dialogue
Challenged self-willed polytheistic gods but
provided no answer for the existence of
evil in the world
Judaism
Patriarchy and Gender Relations
Torah granted women fewer rights than
men
Regulation of sexuality extensive in
scripture
Women had few heroic roles
Judaism
Defeat, Exile, and Redefinition
Jews exiled of northern kingdom by Assyrians
(721 B.C.E.); returned sixty years later
Outsiders including Alexander controlled Israel
Roman Empire destroyed temple in Jerusalem in
70 C.E. and dispersed people, 135 C.E.
This Diaspora reshaped Jewish beliefs
No significant numbers of Jews in Judaea until
20th century
Judaism
Minority/Majority Relations in the
Diaspora
Jews remained distinct people in new
settlements
Flourished in many instances but faced
discrimination in others
Story of Esther shows Esther in
preservation of Jewish community but also
shows pressures on minorities in empires
Christianity
Christianity Emerges from Judaism
Developed at height of Roman power
Jews were divided into four groups: Pharisees,
Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes
Jesus’ teachings challenged Pharisees who
accepted Roman rule
Called for rapid religious reform and predicted
early day of judgement for the world
Promised a life in Heaven
Christianity
Christianity Emerges from Judaism [cont.]
Jesus’ preaching angered Jewish and Roman
leaders
Followers saw him as messiah and miracle worker
Roman crucifixion did not stop growth of followers
Message of compassion, salvation, and eternal life
attracted many Romans
Christianity
Jesus’ Life, Teaching, and Disciples
Adapting Rituals to New Purposes
• Jesus’ prayer and preaching was writing Jewish
tradition
• Baptism was modification of unimportant
Jewish ritual
• “Last supper” an extension of Passover meal
Christianity
Jesus’ Life, Teachings, and Disciples [cont.]
Overturning the Old Order
• Assertion that “the end of the world” was at hand was
recognition that world would soon change
• Argued that wealth was a hindrance to salvation
• Raised commandment to “love your neighbor” above a
broad range of Jewish commands
• Predicted violent end of world
Christianity
Jesus’ Life, Teachings, and Disciples
[cont.]
Jesus and the Jewish Establishment
• Was condescending and confrontational toward
Jewish religious leaders
• Scoffed at dietary and Sabbath restrictions
• Restricted divorce
• Teachings reflect desire to return to earlier
beliefs in faith and spirituality, and that the
future lay in Heaven, not earth
Christianity
Jesus’ Life, Teachings, and Disciples [cont.]
Miracles and Resurrection
• Miracles rather than teachings brought followers
• Crucifixion and resurrection completed the miracles of
Jesus
• Apostles, especially Paul of Tarsus (d. 67 C.E.),
transformed Christian sect into broad religion with
preaching, organizational network, and instructional
letters
Christianity
The Growth of the Early Church
Peter, designated as leader of early
organization, stressed Christian ethics over
Jewish practices such as circumcision
Broadened appeal to Gentiles
Made little mention of the apocalyptic side
of Christianity
Christianity
The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
Paul Organizes the Early Church
• Saul converted from a critic to an apostle of
Christianity
• Was Jewish by ethnicity, Roman by citizenship,
and Greek by culture
• Linked Christian communities of eastern
Mediterranean with letters (Epistles)
• Formulated concept of original sin and
redemption from it
Christianity
The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
The Christian Calendar
• Created sacred calendar with special days
– Christmas = Jesus’ Birth
– Easter = Jesus’ Resurrection
– Pentecost = Jesus’ Ascension [had been date of
Jewish commemoration of the receipt of the Ten
Commandments]
• Numbered years from the presumed date of
Jesus’ birth
• Sabbath was changed from Saturday to
Sunday, from the seventh to the first day of the
week
Christianity
The Growth of the Early Church [cont.]
Gender Relations
• Women were central to earliest church but became less
so over time despite “spiritual equality”
• Paul recommended celibacy for all but monogamous
marriage for those who could not remain celibate
• Made wife subordinate to husband at home
• Commanded women to keep silent in church
• Accepted slavery
Christianity
From Persecution to Triumph
Adopted imperial capital (Rome) as center
of the new religion
Christianity started as one of a number of
“mystery religions” in Rome
Refusal to worship emperor seen as threat
Persecution extensive within empire
Decided on content of New Testament by
200 C.E.
Christianity
From Persecution to Triumph [cont.]
The Conversion of Constantine
• Constantine vision in 313 C.E. regarded as Christian
sanction of his military career
• Immediately made Christianity legal
• Sponsored council at Nicaea that produced Nicene
Creed
• Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official
religion of the empire in 392 C.E.
Christianity
From Persecution to Triumph [cont.]
How Had Christianity Succeeded?
• Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) scorned
Christianity but revealed strengths and secrets
of the spread in his critique
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Zeal
Promise of future life
Miracles
Austere morals
Created state within a state
Created personal community within universal religion
Christianity
Doctrine: Definition and Dispute
Augustine (354-430 C.E.) emphasized the spiritual
rather than the political possibilities
Connected Christian theology to Greek philosophy
of Plato
Emphasized meditation
Believed sexuality to be perilous
Believers should subordinate their will to the
teachings of the church
Christianity
Doctrine: Definition and Dispute [cont.]
Battle over Dogma
• Divisive dispute over the divinity of Jesus
• Arius (250-336 C.E.) thought humanity of Jesus
made God more sacred than Jesus
• Arian dispute led to open warfare and military
defeat of the Arians
• Growth of Christianity sometimes led
missionaries to try to convert Jews by coercion
Christianity in Wake of Empire
The Conversion of the Barbarians
Christian bishops came from ranks of
senatorial governing class--continuity with
the empire
Extensive conversions culminated in
conversion of Clovis in 496 C.E., the first
barbarian to accept the religion
Action got Clovis support and connections
from Roman leadership
Christianity in Wake of Empire
Decentralized Power and Monastic Life
Early church dominated by missionaries who were
unmarried men and women
Pope Gregory I (590-604 C.E.) encouraged
monastic movement; useful in conversion and
discipline
Church power fragmented in West until 1000 C.E.
Monasteries developed missions, schools, and
other institutions of church
Decisive papal leadership would come later
Christianity in Wake of Empire
The Church Divides into East and West
Church superceded empire in West but Byzantium
never ceded power to the church
Eastern church urban and organized; Western
church rural and disconnected into local units
Rome seen as an outlier of Orthodox church after
Council of Chalcedon
Christianity in Wake of Empire
Church Divides into East and West [cont.]
Split between Rome and Constantinople
• Central issue was authority of Roman pope from the
perspective of Rome and Constantinople
• Leo IX (elected pope in 1048 C.E.) promoted papal
power in the West--and over Constantinople
• Result was Great Schism of 1054 C.E. onward
• Most direct confrontation was in 1204 C.E., when
western Crusaders attacked Constantinople rather than
pursue state purpose of attacking Muslims
Christianity in Wake of Empire
Church Divides into East and West [cont.]
New Areas Adopt Orthodox Christianity
• Orthodox monks became active later than monks in the
West
• Caught between Roman West and Islamic East, these
missionaries moved north to Russia, which began to call
itself the “Third Rome” after the fall of Constantinople
• East and West competed for converts in areas adjacent
to the two religions
Christianity in Wake of Empire
Christianity in Western Europe
Europe halted Muslim growth at Tours, 732
C.E.
Muslim conquests cut Christianity off from
the lands of its birth
Christianity became primarily a religion of
Europeans, often recently-converted
“barbarian” warrior nobles
Christianity in Wake of Empire
Christianity in Western Europe [cont.]
The Pope Allies with the Franks
• Pope felt surrounded by Muslims and Byzantines as well
as by powerful Goths to the north
• Turned to powerful Franks such as Charles Martel, who
defeated Muslim invasion of France at Tours in 732 C.E.
• Pope gave official approval of Martel’s son, Pepin III, and
the Carolingians as royal ruling house of the Franks
Christianity in Wake of Empire
Christianity in Western Europe [cont.]
Charlemagne Revives Idea of Empire
• Although crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800
C.E., Charlemagne’s goal was to expand his
own empire
• Victories made his empire coterminous with
Christianity except for Great Britain
• Promoted education as part of Carolingian
“renaissance”
• Charlemagne’s empire paralleled that of the
East
Christianity in Wake of Empire
Christianity in Western Europe [cont.]
The Attempt at Empire Fails
• Carolingians maintain power until end of 9th
century
• Invaders (Magyars, Norsemen, Arabs) are too
powerful to keep out; local administrators act
on their own
• Church institutions and leaders give Europe its
fundamental character and order (600-1100
C.E.)
Early Christianity: What
Difference Does It Make?
First millennium of Christianity ended in
“high” Middle Ages
By 1000 C.E., church was most
important cultural and organizational
force in Western Europe
Church took on developmental and
administrative roles in addition to its
spiritual mission