Pergamos Ethos Chapter 4

Longenecker, Bruce W. The New Testament. The Lost Letters of Pergamum. Orlinda, TN: PhD and Lecturer at the University of St. Andrews. 2002.

Christianity was frowned upon by the Romans. The Roman Emperor wanted the people to worship him and the Roman Gods. Christians were blamed for many of the misfortunes that happened in Rome. Due to the belief that Christians were to blame they were ostracized, tortured and even killed.

“The grandeur of the ancient city is evident in the remains uncovered by archaeologists, including the ruins of the Artemision, the civic agora, the temple of Domitian, gymnasiums, public baths, a theater with seating for 24,000, a library, and the commercial agora, as well as several streets and private residences” (Holman, np). This was a big city, full of culture, and full of ungodly people and activities. Among the many religious groups in the city, there were many Jews there who were brought the gospel right after Pentecost (Orr, np). Because of the pluralism of religions in the city, new Christians didn’t know exactly what to believe or how to worship. On top of this, the city was constantly bombarded with false teachers trying to tell people that salvation came from works, not faith (MacArthur, np).

Athens is a major Greek city-state in European history. It was a great center of cultural and intellectual development, and thus home to philosophers. Socrates and Pericles, two of these philosophers, had polarizing opinions about the city-state and its citizens. While Pericles chooses to praise the Athenian citizen, Socrates criticizes Athens’ people. Pericles gave his opinion at a funeral during the first battles of the Peloponnesian War, while Socrates gave his during the trial that ultimately led to his death. The Athenian city-state has become a model for today’s systems of government and a hearth for western philosophy, so Pericles’ opinion seems to be the one that is more accurate.

In the book Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi uses three types of rhetorical appeals in the chapter, “The Veil” to achieve her purpose as a writer. Satrapi uses logos, pathos, and ethos through her words and pictures in the book to convey her messages. She uses logos to enhance her writing by adding significant details, such as: facts, dates, and concrete details. Pathos is another type of rhetorical appeal Marjane uses to capture the audience's attention, through emotion while focusing on her main point, the veil. Lastly, Satrapi can prove her evidence she states, through her credibility, which is shown through ethos.

Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.

I attended a mass at Saint Haralambos Orthodox Greek Church. The church is located in Niles which is a suburb of Chicago on Caldwell Street in between Touhy and Howard Street. The mass I went to was on the Sunday of Orthodox which is known as the first Sunday of Lent where they honor the icons. The most important foundations that are highlighted in Greek Orthodoxy are the Bible and Holy Traditions that have been passed down (“Greek Orthodox Church”). The Greek Orthodox Church believes that the bible is motivated by God. Some important dogmas of the church include things such as the Holy Trinity, Jesus, the role that Virgin Mary had, and honoring the icons. The holy sacraments are what lead Greek Orthodox believers that they are reaching

Longenecker’s The Lost Letters of Pergamum encapsulates the socio-historical, cultural, and political atmosphere of the first-century setting in which Mark’s Gospel would have been experienced. Understanding Jesus in context of this background alters the way I understand the Gospel of Mark. Specific passages in Mark can be reflected upon based on the socio-historical, cultural, and political aspects of the setting described in Longenecker’s book. In The Lost Letters of Pergamum, readers see Euphemos and Antipas admonishing Luke against associating himself with Christians for they worship and follow a different lord than the emperor as well as endorse an empire other than Rome.

The process by which Scripture has been preserved and compiled is one whose history is worth noting. The early church had many opportunities to share the Good News of Christ via word of mouth, but from the time of Christ’s resurrection until the mid-second century, there had not been a single culmination of writings considered to be essential for the purposes of

Antipas, a quite wealthy nobleman, began his letters in a bragging type of tone sharing that not only did he come from the house of Philip but he was in fact a benefactor to two very large cities in Rome. In the beginning of the book he boasted about his standing with little to no sense of restraint. But the more his relationship with Luke grew his manner became that of a much humbler person, and opened one of his letters in such a way, “Antipas, a nobleman of Caesarea; To Luke and the noble Calpurnius” (pg.157). By writing it in this fashion he was not only seeing both Luke and Calpurnius on the same level of standing as he but we wanted them to know he thought of them this way as well. Antipas’ show of humility stood to be quite significant as we see him slowly grow more and more humble while he is going through the process of being redeemed. In the beginning we could see that he thought of Christians and Jesus as a danger to the city of Rome, he also saw Jesus as a disruptive force to the way society should be. Yet the letters continued to be exchanged and through this exchange he grew more and more curious of the personage of Jesus Christ. And we start to see a change in his attitude and opinions as well as that of his grasp of the concept.

The Roman Empire, in which the early Church rises in the wake of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, is complex cultural melting pot. Rife with hedonism, the honor/shame structure of the Roman Empire encourage the worship of the Emperor as God and the Empire as his Holy Empire. Against this narrative, the early Church was a counterculture to the ways of the empire and it is against this backdrop that Bruce Longenecker’s The Lost Letters of Pergamum takes place. The Lost Letters of Pergamum is a historical narrative following Antipas and encounters with Luke through an associate in a neighboring town. Antipas, named after his relative Herod Antipas, has come to great wealth and influence in the Roman empire. Antipas is introduced to

By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.

In the source “The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas,” the narrative of a few early Christians who died for their beliefs is told. The two martyred women, named Perpetua and Felicitas, along with a few other followers of the religion were imprisoned because they identified themselves as Christians and refused to offer sacrifice to the Roman Emperor. The Christians were sentenced to death by beast for this. The source illustrate the problems Christians had in navigating the cultural realities of life in the Roman empire. This can be observed along with the struggles involved in class, family, and gender.

The title of the graphic novel I choose to read during the summer is called Persepolis. Persepolis follows the life of Marjane Satrapi as she lives in revolutionary Iran. The plot of the story is Marjane’s growth and development as a free minded woman in a close minded country that is trying to restrict her freedom to be proud as a woman. Marjane’s life is best portrayed through the use of splash panels and pages, captions, and open panels.

Perpetua was a bright, an intelligent young mother who was prosecuted for her religious beliefs. Perpetua would not renounce her religion so in turn was thrown in prison. The document talks about her dream of a golden ladder with weapon on it, and a dragon guarding the bottom. Perpetua has this dream right after she is given permission to keep her baby with her in her cell. She tells her brother about the dream, and they conclude that this dream means that they are going to die for what she believes in rather than being released. Right after this Felicity was worried that she was not going to be able to die with her friends, so they prayed for her to give birth early.