early christianity

in the recent bible study:

me: even Jesus took time off from the multitudes to rest while the crowd was clamouring for his attention.

jc: but that's because Jesus had no handphone!

hk: i don't think Jesus needed a handphone, he has this (points to his head)

for an art history module, i'm doing early christian & byzantine art.

this is the following synopsis from the online handbook: This subject deals with the formative stages of the art of Christian Europe from the catacomb paintings of the second and third centuries to the development of monumental Church architecture, and mosaic and fresco decoration under papal and imperial patronage in Rome, Ravenna and Constantinople in the fifth and sixth centuries. It also addresses the distinctive character of Byzantine art and its continuing influence on the west. Topics include: the influence of classical culture on the new art; the rise of the icon and conventions for depicting Christ, Mary and the saints; the development of narrative in manuscript illumination and monumental programmes; and the significance of pilgrimage and the cult of relics for Christian art. Students should acquire a sound knowledge of Early Christian and Byzantine art, and of the ways in which Christian iconography relates to Christian beliefs and ritual, as well as reflecting changing social structures and patronal interests.

as such, i have to inevitable delve into church history and biblical teachings. as this can be considered a fairly esoteric field, i really pity my course mates who have no prior knowledge of christianity; belivers or not. having said that, it is truly interesting to discuss Christianity in a purely secular context. a hypothesis was made that christianity insists on jewish roots for the ulterior motive of claiming legitimacy as burgeoning religion for their cult following.

to make it more interesting, the 'curriculum' that my bible study group is studying is the acts of the apostles which posits itself with the same time frame of the early christians that my course covers. i had glad to be able to add value to the discussion from my personal research. for instance, i came across examples of house-churches that these early christians as mentioned in acts would have gathered. also, i am more more aware of the severity of persecution of the early christians who met often to affirm their faith.

acts 5 records such as account. ironically and tragically, it was an example of the apostles being persecuted by the jews and not the romans.

the book of acts spans from 33 AD to 62 AD and shortly after in 67 AD, they were systematically persecuted under the orders of emperor nero who blamed the christians for causing the great fire of rome.

wikipedia states:

According to Tacitus, the population searched for a scapegoat and rumors held Nero responsible. To diffuse blame, Nero targeted a sect called the Christians. He ordered Christians to be thrown to dogs, while others were crucified and burned.

Tacitus described the event:

Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.^[17]

this is indeed something to ponder upon as a modern day christian enjoying the freedom of worship.