Page 198 - Prophet Jesus (Pbuh): A Prophet Not A Son, Of God

196 Prophet Jesus (pbuh): A Prophet, Not A Son, of God

Hermes, and Venus, were found throughout the empire, most often in
the public squares of large cities. Every city and district, as well as every
home, featured various statues, pictures, and special shrines to these
deities. Roman administrators used these polytheistic religions as a way
to spread their own rule, and thus did not interfere in anyone's religion
as long as they did not threaten Roman rule. In fact, it encouraged pa-
ganism by building temples, altars, and statues. For them, religion was a

way to encourage the loyalty of and regulating communities, and be-
longed to an abstract sphere that had no direct relationship with this
world.
Whenever the Romans encountered another culture, they looked for
the equivalents of their own deities and thus sought to establish a paral-
lel that would ensure their superiority. Particularly in the time of
Antiochus Epiphanes IV (d. 163 bce), they aberrantly sought to make
Jews who believed in the One and Only God accept their head god Zeus,

although this led to major struggles among them. Devout Jews refused
these Roman deities that spiritually polluted the holy land and strongly
resisted the Romans' attempts to spread their pagan beliefs. Even so,
Greek culture still had a profound influence on Jewish society.
Prophet Jesus (pbuh) preached to this Jewish society that was under
Hellenistic influence. The Disciples and the first Christians grew up in
the same society, and their lives and Hellenistic culture were intimately
entwined. In his article "Jesus in Historical Context," Sanvders examines
Hellenism's influence on Galilee, where Prophet Jesus (pbuh) lived. He
cites the views of many academics and makes the following comment:

Galilee was urbanized, cosmopolitan, and prosperous. In the view
of one scholar [Burton Mack] "Galilee was in fact an epitome of
Hellenistic culture"… The villagers could see and hear Greek plays
and philosophers by nipping into one of the nearby cities. For holi-
days, they could go to larger cities in Syria, where they could soak
up still more Greek culture. Rome, finally, is very important in this