Pilate and the Roman conversion
To this day, Pilate is not seen as a hero to all sects of Christianity, and arguably with good reason. In short, he is not Abraham, nor Daniel,. Abraham did not kill his son, and Daniel successfully stopped the persecution of Susannah. Pilate, by contrast, was in a position to halt the execution of Jesus, but did not. The fact that he believed in Jesus' innocence, which is well documented, arguably means little when one considers that he did not act on his moral convictions to save Jesus' life. Perhaps Pilate was little more than a pawn in a greater plan by God, and therefore deserves a pass from those who would revile him, but there could be more to attempts by early Christians to portray him favorably.
It is important to remember that Emperor Constantine in the fourth century converted the Roman Empire to Christianity, and that this movement had been afoot by the early Christians practically since the death of Christ. The time period of the conversion lines up directly with some of the evidence presented by Jensen (2003), such as sarcophagus images from the fourth century and the writings of Augustine, who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries. Even some of the earlier writings, such as the second-century accounts of Pilate's conversion, were arguably during conversion attempts. At any rate, one must consider that these historical events made Pilate an important figure to the Christians and the Romans. From the perspective of the early Christians, if Pilate really was a convert, he would have helped the Christians make an argument for converting Rome. Pilate helped the Christians frame the religion as larger than the cult or breakaway sect of Judaism it was viewed as during its early days. Christianity encompassed more than just a handful of zealots - it also became the religion of choice for a Roman leader who came to know Jesus personally. It could have been to the advantage of early...
The life and death of Jesus Christ especially him being the founder of the Christian faith should always have a universal appeal to all peoples from all walks of life and all ages. This has always been the foundational precept of the establishment of the Christian faith. However, in Gibson's The Passion, the universality was not adhered to especially when it was given an R-rating as a result of the
Much literary criticism assumes that the gospels are not necessarily historical or else it plays down theological or religious context. However, these assumptions are not inherent in the method; a well-crafted piece of historical writing also promotes certain ideological concerns in an artistic and aesthetically pleasing (Bloomberg)." Now that we have garnered a greater understanding of the climate of Israel at the time of Jesus Christ and the criticisms that
Render to Ceasar the Things That Are Ceasars Render unto the Caesar the Things that are Caesar's "Render unto Caesar what belong to the Caesars" is the beginning a phrase ascribed to Jesus in the synoptic gospel, which fully reads, "Render unto the Caesar what are Caesar's, and unto God what belong to God." This phrase has been a widely quoted and controversial summary on the relationship between the contemporary secular authorities
212). The second point of criticism Hoekema levels at dispensationalists is that "the kingdom which Christ offered to the Jews of his day did not involve his ascending an earthly throne," as most dispensationalists assert (Hoekema, p. 213). If in fact Christ had made an offer to rule the Jews from a throne on Earth, certainly, Hoekema goes on, "his enemies would have brought up this offer in the trial
And he gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. He was the Messiah. And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him previously did not cease to do so. For he appeared to them on the third day, living again, just as the divine prophets had spoken of
" In fact, he and others instead see the gospel as a condemnation of the Jews who chose insurrection. Mark saw the choice between Barabbas and Jesus, as it was told and not necessarily as it happened, as one that symbolized the dramatic fate awaiting Jerusalem. In Greek, the technical term for such a rebel bandit is lestes, and that is exactly what Barabbas is called. He was a bandit, a
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