Hellenistic influence. The Gentiles. The complex relationship between Jews and Romans. Trade routes. Cross-cultural influences throughout the Mediterranean and Near East. Pagan beliefs versus Jewish and Christian beliefs. Diversity amongst Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian practices. All of these elements from the ancient world — around and after Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection — reveal a time of dramatic social change between various cultures continually adapting to each other.
One common practice among all ancient cultures in this ancient world was religion. While Christianity was persistently making roots in cities such as Corinth, Antioch, Galatia, and many other places spanning from Israel to Asia Minor and Syria (Irvin and Sunquist 29, 30), the already established pagan and Jewish religions had a strong presence in these regions. Shrines and temples were abundant; and the believers of the various religions – particularly, pagan — were expected to be devout in their prayer life and avoid questioning the will of their gods (Irvin and Sunquist 33).
And while all religions in this period had their unique tenets and customs, they were not so widely different when preaching how believers should conduct themselves in everyday life. For example, followers of Zeus, a god of Greek paganism, were commanded to avoid selfish pride, disorderly conduct, and pleasures of the flesh (Cleanthes’ Hymn to Zeus). Compare this to Paul’s letter to the Romans, 1:18-32: Paul reminds the Christians in Rome to avoid partaking in wicked behaviors, including falling into lust, envy, and arrogance.
However, similarities between belief systems did not preclude their adherents from criticizing one another. Early Christians and some Greek philosophers pointed out glaring inconsistencies with how pagans practiced their faith. Epictetus tells of those who cling to “bits of flesh” in place of their spirituality, as well as looking to emperors and pagan gods instead of understanding the supreme God that is above all things (Epictetus, Ch. 3, Ch. 14). This relates to Matthew 6:25-33, in which Jesus chides pagan hypocrisies and tell his disciples to seek out the kingdom of God instead.
Lastly, religious persecution was also abundant in the ancient world. Pliny the Younger writes extensively about interrogating and punishing Christians (Pliny XCVII); and Caesar Drusus banned Jews from Rome for uproariously clashing with followers of “Chreestus” (Tranquillus Vol. 5, par. XXV).
This fits with earlier challenges that Jews and the first Christians faced against each other, as well as the ruling authorities. From initial debates between Jewish and Gentile Christians about whether to keep with Mosaic Law (especially circumcision); to Paul both diverging from, and aligning to, how the other apostles converted new believers; to connecting this diversity to a single belief in Christ as savior, early Christians faced a plethora of obstacles to deliver a unified message — to what they now viewed as a more unified, communal oriented faith (Irvin and Sunquist 39,40).
Works Cited
Irvin, Dale T., and Scott W. Sunquist. History of the World Christian Movement: Earliest Christianity to 1453. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2001.
Cleanthes’ Hymn to Zeus (C. 3rd Century B.C.E): Western Civilization I. https://salemcc.instructure.com/courses/121/pages/cleanthes-hymn-to-zeus-c-3rd-century-b-dot-c-e
Epictetus. The Discourses. http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/discourses.1.one.html
Pliny., Bosanquet, F.C.T. editor. Letters of Pliny. Project Guttenberg ebook. 2001. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2811/2811-h/2811-h.htm
C. Suetonius Tranquillus. Tiberius Claudius Drusus Caesar (Claudius) The Lives Of The Twelve Caesars, Volume 5. Project Guttenberg ebook. 2004. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6390/pg6390.html