Transcript The Council of Jerusalem

Acts 13
1In
the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen
(who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and
Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them." 3So after they
had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and
sent them off.
Map
Old and New Corinth
Strabo on Corinth (Geography, 8.6.20-23)
Corinth is called "wealthy" because of its commerce, since it
is situated on the Isthmus and is master of two harbors...
And just as in early times the Strait of Sicily was not easy
to navigate, so also the high seas, and particularly the sea
beyond Maleae, were not, on account of the contrary
winds; and hence the proverb, "But when you double
Maleae, forget your home."
Corinthia
Acrocorinth
Acrocorinth and Lechaion Rd
Toilets on Rd to Lechaion
Acts 18:
18 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There
he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had
recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because
Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to
see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he
stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in
the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul
devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the
Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed
Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest
and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am
innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
18-month Stay at Corinth
Acts 18: One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do
not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am
with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you,
because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in
Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of
God.
Acts 19:20 : During 3rd journey –
finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months.
Why not Athens?
• Corinth was the commercial and political center
of Greece under the Roman Caesars.
• Athen’s religious trend has not been interrupted
(Corinth was destroyed by Romans and rebuilt 44
BC).
• Corinth was like Ephesus, a large, prosperous
port attracting many immigrants.
People at Corinth
• Priscilla and Aquila – Acts 18:1-3 Jews, also tent makers. Paul
stayed and worked with them.
• Crispus, synagogue ruler, was converted (Acts 18:8)
• Titius Justus a gentile God-fearer, offered his house, next to the
synagogue, for meeting after Paul was rejected by the synagogue.
• Corinthian characters mentioned in Romans 16
Corinthians in Romans 16
16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in
Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy
of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for
she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
…
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius,
Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy,
sends you his greetings.
Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our
brother Quartus send you their greetings.
Erastus
[ ..] Erastus pro aedilit[at]e s(ua) p(ecunia) stravit.
"[ .. ]Erastus for his aedileship (some kind of public office in charge of
buildings and festivals) laid (the pavement) at his own expense."
Rom 16:23
Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works
(oikonomos), and our brother Quartus send you their
greetings.
Reconstructed model of the home of the Tragic Poet
destoyed by eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 in Pompeii
Atrium
Geograpahical Advantage of Corinth
• Springs
• Ports
• Isthmus
Peirene fountain
Cenchrea
Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea
because of a vow he had taken. Acts 18:18
Cenchrea
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant (literally
being diakonos) of the church in Cenchrea. Rom 16:1.
agora
Bema
A bema was a platform for public addresses that stood in the forum
(agora, marketplace) of Greek cities. The bema of Corinth was built
about 44 C.E. of blue and white marble.
Paul before the Corinthian Bema (Acts 18)
•
12 While
Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth
made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of
judgment. (Bema -βῆμα) 13 “This man,” they charged, “is
persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the
law.”
• 14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you
Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or
serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But
since it involves questions about words and names and your own
law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such
things.” 16 So he drove them off [literally: from the Bema] 17 Then
the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and
beat him in front of the proconsul [literally: in front of the Bema];
and Gallio showed no concern whatever.
Lawsuits Among Believers (I Cor 6)
•
1If
any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it
before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the
saints? 2Do you not know that the saints will judge the
world? … 5I say this to shame you. Is it possible that
there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a
dispute between believers? 6But instead, one brother goes
to law against another--and this in front of unbelievers!
<such as in front of the Bema in public!>
Pagan Cults at Corinth
• The Greek and Roman pantheon –
Poseidon, Zeus, Aphrodite, etc, identified
with Roman gods.
• Imperial cult
• Oriental religions (e.g. Isis, Mithras)
Religions and Business
• Pausanias lists more different religious cults practiced in
Corinth than in any other city in the Peloponnese.
• Some involve initiation requiring presence at shrines and
involve heavy use of flowers, perfume, scented oil, religious
utensils.
• Initiation rites also attract large crowds (relatives and friends
of the initiated)
Dining Rooms in Temple to Asclepius
Votives to Asclepius
Signs of an Apostle
II Cor 12:12 I persevered in demonstrating among you the
marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and
miracles.
The problem of food sacrifice to idols
• Apollonius asks you to dine at a table of the lord Sarapis on
the occasion of the coming of age of his brothers in the
Thoerian [temple] (P. Oxy. 1484).
• Diogenes asks you to dine at the first birthday of his daughter
in the Sarapian [temple] tomorrow, which is well-spread from
the 9th hour (P. Oxy. 2791).
• Sarapis asks you to dine at the sacred offering for the lady Isis
in her [or, his] house tomorrow, which is the 29th, from the
9th hour (P. Fouad 76).
The problem of food sacrifice to idols
• Antonius, [son] of Ptolemaeus, asks you to dine with him
at a table of the lord Sarapis in the [house] of Claudius
Sarapion on the 16th from the 9th hour (P. Oxy. 523).
• Sarapion, former gymnasiarch, asks you to dine at a table
of the lord Sarapis in his own house tomorrow, which is
the 15th, from the 8th hour (P. Oslo. 157).
• Dionysios asks you to dine on the 21st at a table of Helios,
great Sarapis from the 9th hour at his father's house (P.
Yale 85).
Food Sacrificed to Idols ( I Cor 10)
25 Eat
anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of
conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat
whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.
28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,”
then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for
the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s
conscience, not yours.Eating somewhere else19 Do I mean then that
food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God,
and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot
drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot
have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are
we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Plutarch, Historian (Ad 46-120) on Isis
• Holy dedication to the Goddess imposes a strict
regimen and abstinence from many foods and
sexual activities and teaches the initiate to restrain
the undisciplined and sensual elements of his nature
and to endure the demanding and rigorous service of
the temple. The purpose of this rule is the knowledge
of the First One, the Lord and the Intellectual Being,
whom the Goddess exhorts us to seek as being by
Her and with Her and Her companion.
I Cor 8 on Sex
• 7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a
man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But
since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should
have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman
with her own husband.
Strabo on Aphrodite
“And the temple of Aphrodite was so rich that it owned more
than a thousand temple slaves, courtesans, whom both
men and women had dedicated to the goddess. And
therefore it was also on account of these women that the
city was crowded with people and grew rich; for instance,
the ship captains freely squandered their money, and
hence the proverb, "Not for every man is the voyage to
Corinth."
I Cor 6:15 - Do you not know that your bodies are members of
Christ himself? Shall I then unit with a prostitute?
Entertainment at Corinth
•
•
•
•
•
Isthmian games
5 bathing facilitates, swimming pools, gymnasium
Theatre accommodating 15,000
Odeum for musical performances
Amphitheatre outside of the city for gladiator contests and
wild-beast hunts (98 x 63 meters, bigger than the coliseum
in Rome (80 x 50 meters)
Isthmian Games
• Olympic Games held every four years, in honor of
Zeus
• Isthmian Games held every two years, in honor of
Poseidon
• Pythian Games held every four years, in honor of
Apollo
• Nemean Games held every two years also in honor
of Zeus
Aerial View of Isthmia
Temple of Poseidon at the Isthmus, #D
reconstruction by U. of Chicago
Barrier Cord
I Cor 9:24 – 27
24Do
you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one
gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a
crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man
running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I
beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to
others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
“they adopted the celery crown from the
Nemean games.” - Plutarch
Later History
• The city was largely destroyed in the earthquakes of 365
and 375. The Gulf was created by movement of tectonic
plates. Seismically very active.
• The city was rebuilt after these disasters. 4 churches were
located in the city proper, another on the Acrocorinth, and
another at the port of Lechaion.
• Other major earth quakes 856, 1858.