http://www.philipharland.com/Blog/2005/12/22/tis-the-season/ Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean houses my podcast, websites, blog, and publications, providing an entryway into social and religious life among Greeks, Romans, Jews, Christians, and others in the Roman empire. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:48:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.philipharland.com/Blog/2005/12/22/tis-the-season/comment-page-1/#comment-129 Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean » Alexander “the Great” (d. 323 BCE) and Christian origins (NT 2) Thu, 12 Jan 2006 14:26:19 +0000 http://www.philipharland.com/Blog/?p=115#comment-129 [...] In the history of civilizations, few people have made as much of an impact, directly or indirectly, as the guy who stands to your right (who died in 323 BCE). Although living over three hundred years before the origins of Christianity, his impact is in many ways essential for understanding Christian origins and the New Testament. Alexander, the son of Philip, King of Macedon (a.k.a Alexander “the Great”), successfully conquered a larger area than previously accomplished in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean world, from Greece, Asia Minor (Turkey), Syria, Palestine, and Egypt to Iraq (Mesopotamia) and Iran (Persia), as far as India itself. What mattered most was what Alexander “the Great” and his successors brought with them: Hellenistic culture, including the Greek language, Greek modes of social and civic organization, Greek philosophies and religions. Although local languages and cultures continued in various areas, social and cultural interactions were now inevitable and the degree of assimilation to Hellenistic ways depended on the person, group, or situation. Moreover, this situation of considerable cultural commonalities across such a vast geographical space was unparalelled at the time. Alexander’s consequences can be seen in the fact that the New Testament, and most of early Christian literature, was written in Hellenistic Greek (also known as koine, or common, Greek), and Greek language carries with it Hellenistic culture. As a sect within Judaism, the Jesus movement in Palestine entered into a Jewish world already in interaction with Hellenism, as you can read about in my earlier brief discussion of Judaism and Hellenism in connection with the Jewish Maccabees (of the second century BCE). A figure like Paul seems to have been well-trained in Hellenistic modes of rhetoric (in how to make a good argument), for instance. The Book of Hebrews expresses its understanding of Jesus’ significance in terms drawn not only from Judaism but also from Platonic philosophy, to provide another preview. We will see how important Hellenistic, as well as Roman, culture was for early Christianity as we continue in in this series.   [...] [...] In the history of civilizations, few people have made as much of an impact, directly or indirectly, as the guy who stands to your right (who died in 323 BCE). Although living over three hundred years before the origins of Christianity, his impact is in many ways essential for understanding Christian origins and the New Testament. Alexander, the son of Philip, King of Macedon (a.k.a Alexander “the Great”), successfully conquered a larger area than previously accomplished in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean world, from Greece, Asia Minor (Turkey), Syria, Palestine, and Egypt to Iraq (Mesopotamia) and Iran (Persia), as far as India itself. What mattered most was what Alexander “the Great” and his successors brought with them: Hellenistic culture, including the Greek language, Greek modes of social and civic organization, Greek philosophies and religions. Although local languages and cultures continued in various areas, social and cultural interactions were now inevitable and the degree of assimilation to Hellenistic ways depended on the person, group, or situation. Moreover, this situation of considerable cultural commonalities across such a vast geographical space was unparalelled at the time. Alexander’s consequences can be seen in the fact that the New Testament, and most of early Christian literature, was written in Hellenistic Greek (also known as koine, or common, Greek), and Greek language carries with it Hellenistic culture. As a sect within Judaism, the Jesus movement in Palestine entered into a Jewish world already in interaction with Hellenism, as you can read about in my earlier brief discussion of Judaism and Hellenism in connection with the Jewish Maccabees (of the second century BCE). A figure like Paul seems to have been well-trained in Hellenistic modes of rhetoric (in how to make a good argument), for instance. The Book of Hebrews expresses its understanding of Jesus’ significance in terms drawn not only from Judaism but also from Platonic philosophy, to provide another preview. We will see how important Hellenistic, as well as Roman, culture was for early Christianity as we continue in in this series.   [...]

]]> http://www.philipharland.com/Blog/2005/12/22/tis-the-season/comment-page-1/#comment-100 Tim Lewis Mon, 02 Jan 2006 03:37:48 +0000 http://www.philipharland.com/Blog/?p=115#comment-100 Has there been much noted by anyone regarding a correlation between one's wealth and one's willingness to acculturate? Has there been much noted by anyone regarding a correlation between one’s wealth and one’s willingness to acculturate?

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