Cultural Context and Religion

I heard today, in passing, some minister, on some TV show, talking about the need to start stressing the Gospel again. He seemed like a decent guy, and I certainly have great interest in the Gospels, but, when I heard him start mentioning a few points, I became a bit discouraged.

We do not seem to ever learn one important lesson. You cannot read the Gospels without understanding their cultural context, without understanding the world of Roma and Jerusalem 2000+ years ago. Let me correct that; you can read them without that understanding, but boy are you going to get confused and you will make dreadful mistakes. That is what has happened over the years and one reason Christianity, and, for that matter, Judaism, make no sense to many folks.

Much of what Jesus taught, he taught to people who had the understanding of the World at their time. How else would he teach? It was taught to a specific audience. He had to base his words around what they understood and around their customs. Also, much of what he taught revolved around the politics of the time and the horrible tension between the Romans and the Jews.

Judaism was not a simple thing. Most read the gospels and hear mention of the Pharisees and the Sadducees without having much of a clue  about their very different beliefs. Maybe some have heard of the Essenes, but know little about how truly powerful and how truly weird they were. And that's not to mention other groups like the Nazarites, the Theraputae, all the assorted militant groups and revolutionaries. Even more obscure, but perhaps more important are the differences between the Priests and their version of the Law, and the rural people who remembered the times before the return from the Babylonian exile and the rise of the Temple (remember, much of the Old Testament was not written before the return from Babylon and no such book existed until then). Many saw differences between the Basic Mosaic Law, the 10 Commandments, and the countless addendums of the Priests and resented the power of the Priests.

On top of all that, many Jews had some ties to other, local religions, many had become enamored of the Greeks and the Neoplatonists and were seeking a synchronistic  belief system.

So, you see, there is no way to understand the Gospels without understanding the culture of the times and, unfortunately, many ministers seem to have no knowledge and even less interest in this history. And, just think, I haven't even brought up such issues as lineage (all of those begats) and the systems of Roman and Jewish government. Educate yourselves before you preach.