Term Paper on "Origins of Christianity"

Term Paper 10 pages (3334 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA

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Origins of Christianity

The history of religions throughout the world represents an endless source of controversies. During the early civilizations there were several aspects that have been interpreted and adapted differently and have catered for different needs of the societies. In this sense, the religious teachings have stood as an entire system of guiding principles which served at the development of the social life altogether.

From the point-of-view of the religious perspective, it can be said that there are several differences between the major issues that the main religions take into consideration. More precisely, the status of women in the major religions of the world is an essential aspect with differentiates Judaism, Islam, or Christianity. The present paper however focuses on the role of women in the Judaic belief and society in the early centuries of the Christian world. This assessment is important for proving the differences between the Jewish people and the Christian one. Therefore, it will be argued that religion and the religious beliefs determine the way in which women act inside the family and in the society. Despite the fact that the arguments will not focus on the Talmudic teachings in particular, they will try to point out both similarities and differences between the Jewish and the Christian woman, as well as their particular development in time.

The structure of the paper will take into account in the first part a presentation of the Jewish woman in her two environments. Thus, on the one hand, she is a mother, therefore a part of the Jewish family. On the other hand, she is part of the society, of the Jewish community. Despite th

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e fact that the roles she has in these two environments differ in intensity, they are very important as means of comparison between Judaism and other religions. The second part of the paper therefore, will focus on the Christian faith, but not discussing the same aspects as in the case of the analysis of the Jewish woman, but rather through a compare and contrast action. This represents one of the best means for pointing out especially the differences lying between the two elements of comparison, which is in the end the role of this paper.

The woman is an important presence in the society of the Jewish people. However, it must be pointed out from the very beginning the fact that since the early days of Christianity, there is a certain discrepancy between the number of the women present in the society and their actual influence. In this sense, "historians, and specifically church-historians, have long noted that women have participated in large numbers in religious movements, as far back as early Christianity. Female participation in religious movements is striking when compared to their relative absence in political movements until the 20th century" (Furseth, 2001). Therefore, it can be pointed out the fact that the perspective of the analysis will be one related to men in particular. This is largely due to the fact that the behavior of women in Judaism as well as the Christian faith is related to the presence of the man, be it her husband or her idolatry. Therefore it is only natural to consider her position depending on the history of the man.

The first instance in which the Jewish woman is portrayed is as part of the family environment. First and foremost, the sacred union is that of the marriage. In this sense, Rela Geffen notes that "Jewish tradition claimed that a relationship with God, a Being no human being can fully grasp, could be better appreciated by seeking to create a parallel human model -- a relationship between two human beings." (91). Thus, the marriage and the family in this way is a means of achieving divinity because it is only through the union with a woman, can God be reached. In ancient times, this idea of the connection with the divinity through the union with a woman was much more visible in the sense that in the early days of Judaism the society was in itself patriarchal.

The act of marriage was in itself, at least in the early years of the Christian life a sort of a trade. This was obvious given the fact that in order to create the status of marriage the husband had to offer a certain amount of money or other kind of pays (Keller, 1975). Therefore in the beginning the woman was mostly considered to be a means of achieving a goal, but most importantly an item that can be bought, traded, and exchanged. This last idea is obvious in the practice of the time when the husband was entitled to posses more than one wife and in which they could be changed without the previous notice of the repudiated wife.

The patriarchal nature of the society allowed the husband to act in such a way. However, this behavior was not limited exclusively to the wife; it also included the daughters whom the father could sell as slaves if they disobeyed him. However, the father did not have absolute power over his children, as he was unable to sell his sons, regardless of their deeds (Keller, 1975). Even so, it can be said that the transition from the matriarchal society which dominated the early years of Judaism is in the first centuries of Christianity one dominated by a certain sense of inferiority in the status of women.

There are sources nonetheless which suggest the contrary. In this sense, it is argued that, despite the fact that the position of the woman was somewhat submissive, it did have certain advantages. More precisely, "in traditional Judaism, women are for the most part seen as separate but equal. Women's obligations and responsibilities are different from men's, but no less important" (Judaism 101, 2002). Therefore, it can be said that from this perspective women are not seen as an object which completes the man's life, but rather as a distinct individual, with needs and expectations, with duties and rewards.

Despite this status of so called equality, women in ancient Jewish societies had a different status in the marital relation. In this sense, in Israel, the act of adultery includes only the women; thus, only a woman can be adulterous if she engages in extramarital relations, whereas the man can easily be with another woman without him being punished for adultery. Therefore, this double standard points out precisely the fact that the equal status of men and women in ancient Jewish times was seen merely at the spiritual level, and not necessarily at the legal one. (Azeem, 2007) Moreover, should a child result from the forbidden relation, he is not considered to be legitimate, nor is he allowed to benefit from the privileges of his religion until the sin of his conception is absolved.

The aspect of the woman in the Jewish family is seen from a different point-of-view in the moment when she is no longer a wife. In this sense, her fate is regarded as an important aspect especially in the situation in which her husband passes away. More precisely, although she is not the first in line for the inheritance of her husband, she is looked after by the brother of her defunct husband. In this way, the honor of the family was protected and a decent way of life was insured to the wife.

This tradition was called levirate. In this sense, "among the Hebrews (...) when a married man died, leaving no male offspring, his brother or nearest relative must marry his widow and the phrase was: raise up children to the dead man. The firs male child of this union would be enrolled in the registry of the tribe, as the son of the defunct" (Dickerman, 1894, 499) From the perspective of this tradition it appears that the fate of the wife was not left to her own choice, nor was she consulted in this matter. Moreover, there were situations in which the wife was even forced to marry the brother of the husband. In this sense "under heavy penalties the widow must marry her husband's brother, willing or not" (Dickerman, 1894, 500).

The situation of Jewish women however was restricted in the first instance to the family life and to the interpretation as a tool to reach the absolute identification with God. This perspective is largely due to the fact that at least from the Talmud's teachings, the woman was not entitled, nor did she deserve to be part of the public life. Still, "if a woman performed her duties as wife and mother, she was honored, as men's and women's roles were still viewed as complementary" (Joy, n.d.). Nonetheless, their possible role in the life of the community was not regarded as needed. In this sense, the Jewish woman was not allowed to be part of the life of the temple or of the religious one. Indeed, "in the early Judaism of Biblical times, there was an ideology of equality… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Origins of Christianity" Assignment:

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This paper is for an Origins of Christianity class. The class description and objectives (to give you an idea of the context for the paper) are as follows:

In this course, we will examine the development of Christianity during the first

four centuries. Such examination entails, broadly, the study of the formation of structures

of authority, the solidification of a canon, the relationship between individual believers

and Christian community and the relationship between Christians and their pagan

neighbors. Through a variety of readings we will investigate theological, social and

political tensions that eventually gave rise to the formation of the *****Great Church***** and its

authoritative structure. We will meet a variety of believers, both *****proto-orthodox***** and

those deemed *****heretics,***** and we will seek to understand their views on such topics as the

nature of Jesus, the resurrection, and the Kingdom of heaven. We will begin to

understand the impact of these differing views within the social world in which the

faithful lived and gain an appreciation of the import of their choices and the high cost

paid both for assimilation and for self-definition.

Because many of the themes to be discussed, -- i.e. internal struggles over

authority, pagan response to Christians, martyrdom and asceticism -- run simultaneously

and/or sporadically throughout these early centuries, we will not attempt to approach

them in strict chronological order. Rather, we will keep a running time-line on which we

will place people and events as they are discussed. You are expected therefore to also

keep your own time-line in order to gain a sense of the chronology of events. This will

aid you significantly at exam time.

I'd like an A paper but please keep in mind this is a core curriculum class, accordingly I am not a religious studies major and I don't need a masters quality paper.

I would like the research paper to cover the following topic:

To examine the role and social status of women in Jewish society (both domestic roles and roles within their religion) at the time of the formation of the beginnings of Christianity (first four centuries A.D.) and to compare and contrast that role and social status with that of early christian women. It is important to focus on their roles within their religion and their relative importance. Stuff like: could women be religious leaders? were there many cases of women being the focus of religious importance (i am not referring to Mary, but rather perhaps some obscure martyr or especially faithful belieiver)?

How did the roles of women in each respective religion evolve and diverge (early christians were, of course, mostly jews) as time passed and christianity really began gaining steam?

If you need to contact me with any further questions or comments please feel free to. My address is pete0523@aol.com

Please keep the course objectives in mind while writing the paper. It is an "Origins of Christianity" class, after all.

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