In the Fullness of Time:

The Greco-Roman World in the Time of Jesus Lesson 1 25 September 2011

Why Study Church History?

Winston Churchill: The further back one looks, the better ahead one can see To avoid the snobbery of the current We are the products of our history (our organizations, rituals, music, etc) Ecclesiastes 1: 9: there is nothing new under the sun

The Greek Contribution: The Life of the Mind

330-313 BC: Alexander the Great
Conquest and Division

Uniform Greek Culture and Language

Koine Greek: The language of the New Testament

Greek Philosophy
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle The Stoics and the Epicureans

Greek Religion

The Roman Contribution: The Life of the Law

63 BC: Pompeii claims Palestine for Rome 27 BC to 14 AD: Augustine Establishes the Empire 6 AD: The establishment of the Roman Procurator

The Pax Romana

The end of piracy and the consolidation of the Mediterranean Area

The Uniform Application of Roman Law

The concept of citizenship as opposed to subject Toleration of Religion

The Roman Army and Engineering Capability

Roads and Architecture The Army

The Jewish Contribution: The Life of the Word

c.a. 200 BC: The Septuagint 63 BC to 6 AD: Ruled by the Hasmoneans 6 AD to 66 AD: Under the Roman Governor 66 AD to 73 AD: The Jewish Wars

Strict Monotheism An Ethical System of Living A Coherent Philosophy of History The Diaspora and the Synagogue System

The Coming of the Messiah: The Word Made Flesh

c.a. 5 BC: Christ is Born in Bethlehem 4 BC: Herod the Great dies 26 AD 36 AD: Pontius Pilate is the Governor of Judea c.a. 30 AD: Christ is crucified in Jerusalem

Christs birth is set in history and fulfilled the Scriptures The Ministry of Christ
Approximately 3 years: In Galilee and in Jerusalem The Miracles of Christ

The Message of Christ

The kingdom of heaven is at hand Coming to seek and save the lost to the Jew first and then the Gentile

The Key Event: The Trial, Crucifixion and Resurrection

Extra-Biblical Witnesses
Jewish Testimony
The Babylonian Talmud

The Roman Testimony

Tacitus (55-117 AD) : The Annuals and the Histories Suetonius (65-130 AD): The Lives of the Twelve Caesars Pliny the Younger (61-112 AD): Letters to Trajan Josephus (30-100 AD): The Jewish Wars and Antiquities

Christian Testimony apart from the Bible

References
Brown, Colin Christianity and Western Thought volume 1 Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries Davidson, Ivor J. The Birth of the Church volume 1 of the Baker History of the Church Josephus, The Essential Writings edited by Paul L. Maier Maier, Paul L. In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas, Easter and the Early Church