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Three Influences on the Early Church

The Christian movement began as a small sect of Judaism. Within a few centuries, however, the movement consisted primarily of non-Jews and became the official religion of Rome. This development begs two basic questions: how? and why?

How did Christianity take root in the Jewish religion and then rapidly expand beyond it?

Why did Christianity develop in these ways?

Answering these questions (and the many more we must ask) requires patience, humility, and a willingness to explore the nuances of ancient history. If you’re interested, I’m inviting you along this journey. In addition to subscribing to the email list, you should check out the resources I list at the end of each blog post. To dive deeper into this topic, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Justo González’s The Story of Christianity: Volume 1.

While we can’t sufficiently answer these two questions in a blog post like this, we can begin to trace some important aspects. Following Justo González’s work, we’ll look at three major, interrelated influences on the world of early Christianity.

1) Alexander the Great, the spread of Hellenism, and Jewish response

Over three centuries before the birth of Jesus, one of history’s greatest figures conquered much of the known world, including the land of Israel.

Alexander’s conquest of Israel represented just the latest in a long string of foreign empires that dominated the Jewish homeland (e.g., Assyria, Babylon, and Persia). The spread of Hellenism, however, differentiated Alexander’s conquest from the previous empires that dominated the land of Israel. Hellenism refers to the mixture of Greek thought with the beliefs and customs of the conquered people.

While the spread of Hellenistic thought generated an unprecedented amount of unity in the world, many Jewish people rejected these new ways of thinking. As González points out, Jewish people found the Hellenistic move to equate or mix deities from different cultures particularly unacceptable. Their monotheistic belief prevented them from equating Yahweh with the gods of other cultures.

A Jewish family called the Maccabees led a revolt against Rome and its cultural influences in the 2nd century B.C. They miraculously succeeded in pushing out the Roman forces and managed to maintain their independence for a while. However, subsequent Maccabean rulers assimilated to Hellenistic ways of thinking and actually persecuted Jews who protested their assimilation. Eventually, the Roman ruler Pompey ousted the last Maccabean ruler in 63 B.C.

The end of the Maccabean era did not mean the end of Jewish protests against Hellenistic thought, however. Even as the Jewish people adopted certain aspects of Hellenism, they staunchly refused to accept Hellenistic views of religion. They maintained their monotheistic beliefs.

As Rome built temples throughout the region and desecrated the temple in Jerusalem, the Jewish people continued to revolt. In response, Rome frequently persecuted Jews. At one point, they crucified roughly 2,000 of them. The rebellion continued, however, until the Romans finally sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in A.D. 70.

González notes four “parties” of Jews that grew out of the cultural conflict with Rome and Hellenistic thought: Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes. These four groups represent major ways of thinking in the culture in which Jesus lived and the early Church was born.

Pharisees were the dominant group among the people. They created systems for learning how to lead faithful lives in a culture dominated by Rome.
Saducees were the elite connected to the Temple. They were in bed with Rome and tried to garner power through that relationship. As the New Testament details, they rejected the idea of the resurrection.
Zealots were a group of Jewish people who led the revolt against Rome. They were the revolutionaries that were responsible for stoking tensions with Rome.
Essenes were a reclusive group that believed faithful living required their withdrawal from culture to the desert. The famous Dead Sea Scrolls may have strong connections to the Essenes.

2) The Diaspora

While Alexander the Great’s conquest and the spread of Hellenism influenced Judaism in the land of Israel, another development of Judaism outside of Israel influenced the development of the Church as well.

The Jewish people had already been subjugated to foreign empires and forced to leave their homeland for centuries before Alexander the Great arrived. As a result, Jewish people had already spread across the ancient world and developed tight-knit communities. Jews living outside of the land were commonly the “Diaspora.”

González notes three ways diasporic Judaism inadvertently helped the Christian movement grow.

First, Jewish people living abroad developed systems of synagogues that acted as central locations for worship. As the book of Acts reports, the Christian movement actually began within the Temple and synagogues.

Second, the loss of the Hebrew language among diasporic Jews created the need for translations of the Bible. One resulting translation is called the Septuagint. The vast majority of Old Testament quotations in the New Testament come from this Greek translation.

Third, diasporic Jews were more interested in showing the compatibility between Judaism and Hellenism. Philo of Alxandria is a prime example. He frequently allegorized Old Testament passages to show that the God of Judaism is the same one worshipped by the philosophers. Philo’s figurative reading of the Scriptures provided Christians with an example for how to engage the broader culture with their faith.

3) The Greco-Roman World

Since Jesus was a Jewish man and the vast majority of the first Christians were Jewish, it makes sense that two of the major influences on the birth and rise of Christianity were Jewish. As we’ve already discussed, however, the Roman culture also looms large over the rise and spread of Christianity.

While the Jewish people and the Roman empire frequently clashed over the centuries, the Roman era brought remarkable peace and unity to the people it subdued. Their typical strategy was to allow the people to maintain some of their identity while encouraging as much assimilation to Roman culture as possible. The success of this program meant that the early Church was born into a world dominated by Roman law and culture.

González notes two ways the Greco-Roman world influenced early Christianity positively.

First, Greek became the lingua-franca of the world. As already mentioned, the Hebrew scriptures were already translated into Greek by the time of the early Church. Consequently, the earliest Christians had the necessary tools and skills to communicate with people from a wide variety of locations and cultures.

Second, the prosperity of Rome meant that people conducted trade and commerce across the empire’s domain wih relative peace and security. Consequently, Christian missionaries could travel far and wide to spread the Gospel.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), the Greco-Roman influence on Christianity was not wholly positive. Emperor worship was an important part of Roman foreign policy. Romans used emperor worship as a test for the loyalty of its people. Consequently, when Christians and Jews refused to worship the Roman emperor, they were thought of as disloyal.

Conclusion

Justo González identifies for three major, interrelated influences on the early Christian movement.

The subjugation of Jews to the Roman Empire in the land of Israel
The tight-knit community of Jews spread across the empire.
The Greco-Roman cultural influences.

Each of these presented the earliest Christians with opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, they offered Christian missionaries a context in which they could effectively move around and spread the Gospel. On the other hand, they created hostile environments that frequently led to persecution.

If you liked this post, make sure you check out this article about why you should study Church History.

Author’s Note: I frequently use my blog to summarize what I’m learning. If you’re interested in or confused by something I write, make sure you check out the books I reference. (One more note, I usually use an Amazon Affiliate link for each resource. It doesn’t cost you anything and it helps support mybibleschool in a small way.)

Bibliography: Justo L. González, The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, Volume 1 (New York: HarperCollins, 1984), 7-17.