Discouragement and a general gripe-fest

Alright this is kind of stupid. But I wasn't able to go to Church today, and right now I am trying not to plummet into the depths of deep dark discouragement. Basically I haven't been to an official Sunday morning Church service for about a month now. Now I'm in Bible college, which means I'm being spoon-fed doctrine every which-way I turn around, and which also means that I am listening to, commenting on, learning from, writing, reading about, and generally surrounded by every kind of sermon mankind has invented since the 1800's. Okay maybe not THAT thorough but some days it feels like it. So as far as my personal convictions go, I'm not too bummed about missing another doctrine-fest from an American pulpit. However, I'm in this Church planting Praxis, and I need to choose one of three churches to work with this semester. And then I need to get to know that church really well and determine with my 'team members' or class mates and the pastor of that established church where we are going to try and plant a church somewhere else in Louisville.
The church I was going to go to this morning is in the middle of a large Serbian community with a very poor African American community near by. I'm pretty sure it's the church I want to work with I just haven't ever BEEN to it yet. So I was going to go this morning with one of the Senior students in my class. After waiting for her for about a half hour I went to her room and discovered that she's fighting the Flu or something and can't go, and everyone else who was going was already at Church.
There is this one Church (Calvary Chapel) that I've wanted to visit since before I moved here, however since I have no car and haven't figured out the public transportation yet I can't make it there either!!
SO I'm trapped in the dorms for another day.
Part of the problem is that I've just been generally experiencing an all around 'I hate college" phase for about a week now. I screwed up my back again, so have been walking around in pain, and the only way to get this problem fixed is to regularly go see a Chiropractor, which I can't afford. My "I hate college' phase did start around the same time my back started hurting so that might be part of it.

My main problem is my assignment due on Tuesday. I have a group project on Global Christianity. I have two others in my group. The guy seems fine with doing whatever the other girl and I tell him to do as far as this project is concerned. The girl is interesting to work with. However she is covering the introduction, and in her outline says that basically ONE good thing has come out of America and that was the Missionaries of the 1800's. Now, I know America has problems, I'll be the first one to give you an exhaustive list on my culture's problems. However, I am 100% American. Patriotism and me are friends. If I come across as a prideful whack, then I have certain people who have permission to slap me. But just don't tell me that there's nothing good about America, because I'm American, and that's part of who I am. A lot of good has come from America. "Well yeah but not Spiritually." you say. Really? I have news for you.
Korea was the only country whose EFFECTIVE missionaries were almost EXCLUSIVELY American. Yes the Roman Catholics got there first, but for the most part were ignored or killed or just weren't effective at spreading the gospel. In other parts of the world they were awesome, just not Korea. So the effective ones were Americans. "So what" you say. Well, look at South Korea today. The largest church of every established denomination is found in what city? Seoul, Korea. Not that numbers mean everything, they don't. But they do say SOMETHING. Korea currently sends out more missionaries per capita than the United States does right now. My interpretation: America had something SPIRITUALLY good to offer. Observe the fruits of her labor.
Anyway. So I'm trying to figure out if I should just leave my class-mate's assessment of America alone, as I am doing the conclusion, and just try to redeem the presentation with my own (patriotic) points, or if i should say something.
The other problem is that for this report I've had to do a lot of research and interviewing of people on the mission field or doing ministry. Which should be encouraging, I know. However, it makes me want to go NOW. Not in four years after I graduate, not next summer during break. NOW. But I can't go now, which means I have yet another opportunity to practice patience. I really think they need to stop inventing stupid things like steroids and effective nail-polish remover and start making a solution that when mixed with Hot Chocolate makes you start developing a healthier heart and a healthier Patience. :-)
Well I've probably rambled on enough for one entry. I'll probably re-read it sometime next week and think, "oh my gosh. What was I thinking broadcasting these dark thoughts to the entire world?!" Not sure. :-)
Cheers,
Princess Ouch

Caste study in Missions

"In the year 1606 a young Italian Jesuit, Roberto de Nobili, was sent to the city of Madurai in southeast India (today this is in the state of Tamil Nadu). Within two years of arriving in Madurai, de Nobili was employing a strategy for evangelizing high caste Indians that was different than any previous strategy. His methods created a controversy within the Catholic Church, a controversy that finally had to be settled by the Pope. However, the issues raised by de Nobili's strategy continue to be debaithin missions' circles even to this day.

Roberto de Nobili began his career in 1604 as a Jesuit missionary in Goa, a Portuguese colony on the west coast of India. Early in 1606, his Superior Alberto Laerzio sent Roberto to work among the Parvas, a large tribe of outcastes whose occupation was fishing and pearl diving. The Parvas lived along the southeast coast of India. For the most part, the majority of Parvas claimed to be Christians, but many of them simply became Christian in exchange for Portuguese protection from the Muslims who were seeking to invade from the north of India. While among the Parvas, Roberto realized that many of the Parvas who had converted to Christianity had taken Portuguese names. Not only did they have Portuguese names, the converts were expected to adapt Portuguese customs and practices. Soon after beginning work among the Parvas, Roberto was reassigned once again to the city of Madurai.

By the time he arrived in Madurai, India had a total population of 140 million, but only a small number had become Christian. Most of those who had become Christian had come from the tribal peoples and outcaste groups. These peoples, who faced discriminations from the high caste Hindus, were attracted to Christianity. In the city of Madurai, there were only a few hundred Christians all of who had come from the Parva group or who were Portuguese.

Roberto wondered why all the Christian work had focused on the tribal peoples and outcastes. Roberto made friends with a Hindu schoolteacher who helped him understand Indian culture. Roberto discovered that the Tamil-speaking Indians called the Portuguese and those converted to Christianity as "Parangis." The missionaries thought that this word simply meant "Portuguese," however, the word was actually a word that meant unclean and uncultured. The Hindues despised the "Parangis," because they drank wine, ate meat, bathed irregularly, wore leather shoes, and ignored the Indian social customs. The missionaries, because they misunderstood the meaning of the term, were proud to refer to themselves and their converts as "Parangis," However, in doing this the missionaries had created a barrier between themselves and the caste Hindus. Roberto, learning more and more about the Indian caste system from his schoolteacher friend, became convinced that the missionaries would never be able to reach the caste Hindus with the gospel until there was a complete break from Parangi Christianity, that is, the caste Hindus had to see Christians as something other than unclean and polluted before they would be willing to accept the gospel message.

Roberto came up with a plan. He decided that he would deny that he was a "Parangi." He would learn to speak Tamil and onl speak it when among the Hindus. He would avoid touching or even associating with the Portuguese and the outcastes and tribal people who had converted to Christianity. He would bathe daily, learn to sit cross-legged, and call himself a 'sanyasi,' that is, someone who has given up everyting (Sanyasi was a Hindu word to denote someone who was at the last stage of life). Roberto would eat no meat and wear Indian clothing.

The leader of the Jesuit mission in Madurai was opposed to Roberto's ideas. He believed that if Roberto withdrew from contact with the believers who had come from an outcaste background, he would be turning his back on the people who had accepted the gospel. Furthermore, it would mean accepting the prohibitions of the Hindu caste system. Also, if Roberto refused to eat meat or wear leather sandals, while at the same time wearing Indian clothing and referring to himself as a 'sanyasi,' he would essentially be agreeing with superstitions and prejudices that opposed the gospel. There was disagreement between Roberto and this leader, so much so that an appeal was made to their Superior Laerzio to settle the dispute. Initially, Laerzio agreed that Roberto to stop using the name "Parangi" and use the title "sanyasi." However, Laerzio did not respond to the other issues.

Roberto was determined to move forward with his plans. He moved out of the mission compound into a small hut in the center of the Brahmin area of the city. He shaved his head like most of the other Brahmins. He spoke only the Tamil language, became a vegetarian and wore Indian clothes. He referred to himself as a 'sanyasi.' He bathed daily and ritually cleansed himself before saying the mass. In almost every way, Roberto had the appearance of a high caste Hindu. Slowly, a small number of converts were made. Roberto faced two issues. The first issue was whether to try to force the Brahmin converts to worship with the outcaste or lower caste converts. Should he segregate the believers according to caste? Second, should the Brahmin believers have to discard the triple thread and shave off the single braid of hair that marked them as Hindu Brahmins? Roberto decided to form a totally Brahmin church and did not insist on the removal of the thread and the braid of hair, as he insisted these were social issues not religious. By the end of 1609, there were now some sixty converts, none of who were obligated to violate their beliefs on caste or to discard any custom that was not clearly idolatrous. As word came back to Jesuit leaders as to what ROberto was doing, they strongly condemned his methods. The debate between Roberto and Jesuit leaders continued for a number of years. Finally in 1617, the Pope ordered that a conference be held in Goa the following February in which Roberto would be called to give an account of his missionary methods. Twenty theologians and two inquisitors appointed by the Pope were present at this meeting."

~Adapted from Alan Neely's "Christian Mission: A Case Study Approach."~

So as you can imagine, we read this in Intro to Missions class today. It sparked quite the debate. I thought it was interesting.
Two notes: Portuguese Jesuit Priests evangelized to mainly lower caste or peasant peoples and sort of 'ousted' the established higher classes, then forming very Portuguese resembling settlements.
Also, at that time Brahmans were not allowed to even associate with lower castes. So if it was known that Roberto had regular fellowship with the "Parangis" it would have made him 'unclean' and unable to have any contact with the Brahmans he was trying to reach.
So the class discussion was where do you draw the line, when is it Contextualization and when is it synchronizing, is it a Salvation issue or a Sanctification issue?

~Princess Ouch~

Celtic Missionaries etc.

"Their method was to visit a country and, where it seemed suitable, fund a missionary village. In the center they built a simple wooden church, around which were clustered school-rooms and huts for the monks, who were the builders, preachers, and teachers. Outside this circle, as required, dwellings were built for the students and their families, who gradually gathered around them. The whole was enclosed by a wall, but the colony often spread beyond the original enclosure. Groups of twelve monks would go out, each under the leadership of an abbot, to open up fresh fields for the Gospel. Those who remained taught in the school, and, as soon as they had sufficiently learned the language of the people among whom they were, translated and wrote out portions of Scripture, and also hymns, which they taught to their scholars. They were free to marry or to remain single; many remained single so that they might have greater liberty for the work. When some converts were made, the missionaries chose from among them small groups of young men who had ability, trained them specially in some handicraft and in languages, and taught them the Bible and how to explain it to others, so that they might be able to work among their own people. They delayed baptism until those professing faith had received a certain amount of instruction and had given some proof of steadfastness. They avoided attacking the religions of the people, counting it more profitable to preach the truth to them than to expose their errors. They accepted the Holy Scriptures as the source of faith and life and preached justification by faith. They did not take part in politics or appeal to the state for aid. All this work, in its origin and progress, though it had developed some features alien to New Testament teaching and Apostolic example, was independent of Rome ..."

~E. H. Broadbent~
-Speaking of the Celtic Missionary Monks during the Middle Ages-

"To be human is to be scientific, yes, and practical, and rational, and moral, and social, and artistic, but to be human further is to be religious also. And this religious in man is not just another facet of himself, just another side to his nature, just another part to his whole. It is the condition of all the rest and the justification of all the rest. This is inevitably and inescapably so for all men. No man is religiously neutral in his knowledge of and his approximation of reality."

~Henry Zylstra~

"In God's Word, every other action is subordinate to the purpose of making fully functioning followers of Jesus Christ. We pray, we fellowship, we teach, we worship, we evangelize - for the purpose of making disciples. We do not make disciples for the purpose of praying, fellowshipping, equipping, evangelizing, etc."
~Bob Gilliam~

"Prayer is the power behind the principles. There simply is no more important principle in Church growth than prayer. The prayers of the early church unleashed the power of God to add thousands to the church. It happened then. It is happening in some churches today. And it can happen in your church."

~Thom Rainer~

"I slept and I dreamed that life is all Joy.
I woke and saw that life is all Service.
I served and I saw that Service is Joy."

~Mother Theresa~

New Testament Survey

I have a bad cold. Like, runny nose, coughing, headache, the works.
And I have two papers due for New Testament Survey on Tuesday, and two exams on Friday. I don't mind the papers as they are on stuff that I'm interested in, however they are pretty time consuming. For example, the first one took three hours for me to finish it! Now part of it was that my focus WAS divided between writing the paper, looking up the right answers in my book (no I was not cheating this was an open book paper so there) brewing healthy tea, blowing my nose, buying Doritos, and overdosing on cough drops with vitamin C in them and gaining canker sores through too much orange juice.
So. I decided that if my professor had to suffer through the end result of my writing spree, than so should you. It's pretty good in my humble opinion, however I do have a cold and my judgment could be effected by my inflamed sinuses. Anyhoo here ya go. Hope you enjoy. Oh, on a side note, I really wish someone would invent a Time Machine so I could go back in time and share the Gospel with Aristotle and Plato so that all these darn philosophies would stop FOLLOWING ME!! No matter what class I'm in, they pop up. As well as Calvinism, Armenian ism, and how everyone here believes it is impossible to be 'both' but that's another story.... In case you are wondering, I'm neither Calvinist or an Armenian. I'm a 'Blinkist". If you don't know what that is, read Ted Dekkar's book "Blink". And to answer your question, so far I haven't given any one from my college my Blog site, so don't worry about me getting 'F's' from here on out for not being a Calvinist or at least an Armenian. If I was at least an Armenian they might have some hope of converting me, right? But no, I'm that Maverick Blinkist.
Oh yes, if you are wondering, I'm getting my material from Craig L. Blomberg's "Jesus and the Gospels" for my paper. I'm sure my Dad will be posting on here sometime soon about some detail that I or the book got wrong, especially about the Essenes...

1. Give a brief synopsis (1-2 paragraphs) of each of these seven major religious alternatives in the first century.

A. Traditional Mythology

Roman Mythology was in a nutshell Greek Mythology with all the names changed and a few stories tweaked to better fit their own culture or history. Greek Mythology was built around stories about the ‘gods and goddesses,’ as well as a broad assortment of fairy-tale-like creatures such as Nymphs, Fauns, dragons, and monsters. The gods were little more than humans with superpowers who embodied mankind’s best and worst qualities. The most important figures in Greek mythology were the gods who lived on Mount Olympus: Zeus, King of the gods and playboy extraordinaire, who was also lord of the storm and is usually depicted with thunderbolts nearby, and Hera, Zeus’ wise and jealous wife, queen of the gods and goddess of the hearth and home. Then there was Athena, goddess of wisdom, Hermes, god of travelers and the ‘messenger’ of the other gods, Poseidon, god of the sea, Aphrodite and her son Cupid, goddess and god of love, Apollo, the sun god, Artemis his sister, goddess of the moon and of the hunt, and many more lesser gods. The stories told about these characters usually were some interpretation of a historical event or a lesson of some kind designed to guide the listeners towards a more edifying existence.

Classical Greek gods and their mythology was far more popular during the fourth and fifth centuries BC than they were in the first century AD. The cities and more educated areas saw the myths as more part of their heritage and traditions than an actual faith, and were much more scientifically and philosophically minded. The rural areas, however, still clung to mythology as an active religion, as can be demonstrated by Acts 14:11-13.

B. Philosophies: Stoicism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, Skepticism.

Philosophy during the ancient world was not only a thought exercise in worldview principles abut a thriving religion. Great schools were set up around different philosophies. First century (AD) philosophies were mostly based on the works of Plato and Aristotle, who lived during the fourth and fifth centuries (BC). During the first century AD, four main schools of thought had developed.

Stoicism derives its name from the Greek word ‘stoa,’ which means ‘porch,’ as its founder, Zeno, taught on the porches of Third Century (BC) Athens. Zeno’s teachings focused on attaining and maintaining harmony with the cosmos. He believed that there was a Great Mind that was everything and/or part of everything. One’s focus in life should be to maintain self control, calmness, and stability through focusing on reason and being rational. This would bring harmony between the individual, the cosmos, and the Great Mind.

Epicureanism is named after its founder, Epicurus. He also taught in Athens about the same time as Zeno. While Zeno seemed to think that his ‘god’ was still involved in daily life though definitely not personally involved, Epicurus believed that gods of any kind, mythological, philosophical, or religious, might exist but were too removed from life to have any part in daily interaction. Epicurus was a frail sickly man who had impressive scientific theories and wanted to gain peace of mind and happiness in life. His followers, however, took his views of cultural activities and the quest for happiness to an extreme. From this viewpoint came the saying, Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

Cynicism was probably first taught by Antisthenes during the early Fourth Century BC, however one of his pupils donated his nickname to the philosophy. Diogenes of Sinope was so vulgar and unkempt that he was nicknamed after the mangy scavengers that society hated: the dog, or ‘kuon’ in Greek. In its best form (which Diogenes did not follow) Cynism promoted simple living. It rejected the pursuit of comfort, affluence, and prestige, and encouraged non-conventional living. They often begged for a living and would only travel with a cloak, bag, and a staff.

Skepticism came into being some three hundred years before the New Testament and was taught by Pyrro of Ellis. While he did not completely reject the concept of God, he did challenge the claim that truth could be known. Morality was defined by the accepted norms of society. Skeptics wanted peace and gentleness, freedom from disturbance, not to judge or be judged, and autonomy from any given cause.

Neo-Pythagoreanism was based on Sixth Century BC teachings by a mathematician and philosopher named Pythagoras. Neo-Pythagoreans were vegetarians, involved in mathematical investigations, mysticism and numerology, believed in reincarnation, resolution between opposites, harmony, and discovering the divine within oneself.

C. Mystery Religions

While Philosophy during the First Century was more for the wealthy and highly educated. Mythology was growing less adequate to all but the isolated and those in rural areas. The common person was hungry for answers and began developing a hodgepodge of cults and secrete sects that gleaned inspiration from the vast amount of religions found throughout the Roman Empire. They usually all had the following characteristics: They wanted personal connection with a deity, eternal, conscious life in union with that deity, and equality and community in culture despite a society that had clearly defined segregation between the sexes and social classes.

The Mystery Religions usually had rituals, traditions, feasts and holidays unique to their particular cult, which ranged from Creative, innocent and edifying to bizarre, pointless and degenerative. It is interesting to note many of the similarities between the Mysteries and Christianity, and how Christians took advantage of established Mystery practices to help promote or defend their faith. A perfect example would be Christians using the Roman holiday of the sun on December 25^th to celebrate the birth of the Sun.

D. Magic

Magic was found to be both an independent religion and a part of many established religions. It was the attempt at manipulating gods and goddesses, or cheating Fate and Fortune through spells, formulas, rituals, or incantations. Those who practiced magic ranged from those just trying to bring some control and happiness to a difficult existence, to sinister sorcerers trying to gain power and prestige for their own glory. Many of the magical practices used then would fall under our modern-day definition of the Occult.

Magical spells and incantations often drew off of established religions, including Christianity and Judaism. Magicians saw that there was power in the name of Jesus and so they would try to ‘tap into’ God’s power by saying or repeating the many names for God, Jesus, and the prophets.

E. Gnosticism

Gnostics believed that there was a spirit world and a material world. The latter was inherently evil, the former was only potentially good. Two theories of living daily life emerged from this viewpoint: hedonism and ascentism. Hedonists did not believe redemption was attainable and so indulged their bodily appetites as much as they pleased. Ascenticists were more common and believed that denying normal bodily pleasures and satisfactions would make one more redeemable. Salvation for a Gnostic came by divine revelation that usually included understanding one’s divine origin, current state of slavery, and possibilities of redemption for the future. One could attain a resurrection of sorts to perfection in this life, all that was left to be done then was to die and be liberated from the evil material world.

Gnostics believed in an unknowable God which was formed by abstract virtues called aeons. However one of these aeons rebelled against the others and formed the material world, and due to the fact that it was created in rebellion the Gnostics called it evil. They believed another aeon, Sophia or Wisdom, then had to be sent to help redeem the world (although sometimes Sophia was the ‘bad guy’ instead of the ‘good guy’). Gnostics believed the ultimate goal was to return everything to its original innocence and perfection.

F. Emperor Worship

The first emperor to be declared a god was Julius Caesar by his nephew Octavian. Octavian then took the title Augustus Caesar and claimed his throne on the basis of being a son of a god. Augustus generally rejected worship of himself during his lifetime, although he tried to rebuild mythology as an established religion and hinted that his spirit or ‘genius’ was found in the powers or qualities of all the gods.

Gaius Caligula was the first emperor to attempt deification during his lifetime, but Nero was the first to actually attain it. Even then he only enforced worship sporadically towards the end of his life. Emperor worship could have been more of a pledge of allegiance in the Roman mind than an actual worship of a glorious Deity.

G. Judaism: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots

There were four groups of elite Jews during the First Century AD. All but the fourth were generally vastly more educated than the common Jewish man, and held themselves to a much stricter lifestyle.

Pharisees was a word that could be derived from a Hebrew word that means ‘separatists.’ They tried to incorporate the Torah into every area of life. They also were very fond of Oral Law (interpretation of Old Testament law that was far more detailed than anything actually found in Old Testament Scripture, which was known as Written Law). They believed God would send a Messiah based on how obedient the Jewish people were to His laws and mandates. Because of this, they tried to instruct the common people in obedience to Written and Oral law so to hurry the coming of the Messiah.

They believed in an immortal soul, resurrection of the body, rewards and punishments based on one’s actions or works, the existence of Angels and Demons, and they did not believe in Predestination. The Pharisees were generally of the common people, for the common people. They also were not fond of the Roman empire, but sought to peacefully attain independence through obedience to God’s word and hurrying the coming of the Messiah.

Sadducees were usually from families of priests and aristocracy. While Pharisees usually had the run of the Synagogues, the Sadducees made their camp in the Temple. They were very invested in monetary gain and comfort. Their only redeeming quality in my opinion is that they rejected Oral law. However, they quickly nullify this redeeming quality when we find that they rejected the applicability of any Old Testament teaching not found in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). Thus they rejected the immortality of the soul, resurrection, angels and demons. Their sect did not survive the fall of Jerusalem.

Essenes were the only group of the four not named in the New Testament. They believed that Israel and the Temple were corrupt beyond repair, and sought to appease God’s wrath and bring the arrival of the Messiah through strict adherence to the law. They were the Calvinists of the day and believed in Predestination. They lived in set apart communities, had clear guidelines and rituals for entering in and staying in these communities, and believed they were fulfilling Biblical prophesy. Interestingly, they believed in two separate Messiahs, one who was a ‘man of sorrows’ and an apparent prophet, and another who was the Warrior King the rest of Israel was looking for. They used Isaiah 25:6 as a guideline for their communal meals, were very interested in Melchizedek and may have believed he was a kind of Archangel. Another interesting fact about the Essenes is they refused to offer sacrifices in any temple other than the new ‘pure’ temple they had drawn blueprints for but was never built.

Zealots are according to Josephus the ‘fourth philosophy’ of Judaism. Where the Pharisees and Essenes sought to bring Israel’s restoration through obedience to God’s law, the Zealots sought to bring it by force. They could be said to be the Jihad of Judaism, targeting Romans and those they saw as oppressors of Isreal. While the other ‘philosophies’ of Judaism appeared during the BC Intertestimental periods, Zealots did not make any noticeable appearance until AD 6, and were not an extreme concern until about a decade before the Temple was destroyed.

2. According to the author, what are the general characteristics of Judaism in the time of Christ? Describe each briefly.

According to the author, Judaism had roughly nine general characteristics that classified it as New Testament.

1. A vastly increased interest in Angels and Demons grew during this time, although these Beings’ appearance in Old Testament Scripture is scarce, making extensive research and understanding difficult.
2. The Jewish people wrote about their thoughts and findings on the above mentioned Angelology and Demonology, as well as trying to understand Wisdom and Evil. While Judaism stubbornly clung to believe in One God, the Jews tried to discover where lower spiritual beings belonged in placement and relevance to human beings and wrote many non-scriptural pieces on their thinking.
3. Less emphasis on the fall of mankind and a more positive view of humanity began to appear during this time. This opened the door for the belief that good works and bad works would be weighed on judgment day, versus having a Salvation concept based on God’s grace and glory.
4. Probably partially due to the above mentioned optimism towards humanity, the belief that prayer and good works could be substituted for animal sacrifice also appeared during this time. After the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, this was a good belief to have if Judaism was going to survive.
5. An increased interest in the Apocalypse grew during this time. Jews began to believe that nothing but Divine intervention would bring the Messianic age they all hoped for. This believe gave birth do a second idea that a certain elite group was responsible for bringing that even by pleasing God through intense obedience to the Law. People like the Essenes happened to believe that they were such a people.
6. The study and worship that took place during that time in the Synagogues consisted of a format that had not existed before and gave birth to the format of the Christian church. Many churches still use this format today: opening and closing with hymns with Expository preaching on Scripture and Prayer in between.
7. Scribes were no longer just copyists of the Law and Scripture but experts and teachers of it. The long amounts of time they spent with the Word of God made them prime candidates as teachers to the rest of the Jewish community.
8. The Sanhedrin was a prominent figure in Jewish daily life in Judea. It was equivalent to a combination of America’s Supreme Court and Legislative body. It was made up of both Pharisees and Sadducees and was led by the High Priest.
9. Judaism had become an option for the Gentile world. Hitherto, Jews had generally held the belief that they were predestined by God to be part of the Elect group and the rest of the world was, tragically, not. However, during this time we see more mentions of Gentile-Jewish believers than in the Old Testament. It is unsure if this is due to a newfound interest in “Missions” the Jews may have aquired through new understanding of Scripture, or if this is due to an increased interest on the part of Gentiles.

A typical Jewish man held three observations that effected him in a personal or daily way: Circumcision which took place on the eighth day after birth or just after conversion, dietary Kosher laws, and observation of the Sabbath.