History is a fascinating subject. It is full of stories,
has its heroes and villains – though it's sometimes difficult to distinguish
the two – its comedies and tragedies, its adventures and romances. History
cannot be undone, and even if I don't know about it, or if there's no memory or
record of it, history still happened. It defines our identities, both individually
and as a nation. However, not all history is completely accurate; history is
written by the victor, and it always is slanted and biased one way or another.
But histories of nations were merely stories, tales passed orally from one generation
to the next, so how did they become the glorious records we have today? How did
the early Christian church look at history, versus their Greco-Roman
counterparts?
Many cultures and civilizations sought to keep a record of
their presence, leaving some sort of monument for future peoples. Usually it
was a physical monument, like the Egyptian pharaohs' pyramids. But the Greeks
took a different approach: they began to experiment with a monument of
literature. They wanted to perfect a way to preserve the memories and histories
in a more direct fashion, as opposed to previous civilizations. Roughly around
the 5th century BC, an entirely new literary genre was born:
histories. Herodotus, usually considered the Father of History, was one of the
first to venture into this previously-unknown field, and despite being a
pioneer in the world of historical recording, his methods were subject to harsh
criticism, even while alive. His writings – while captivating and entertaining
– were less than factual, something that Thucydides, a peer at the time of
Herodotus, criticized him for rather severely. Thucydides preferred a more
investigative method, trying to discover the truth of what actually occurred.
He wanted his writings to be informative, to educate rather than to entertain.
These two men set the tone for Greek historical writing, and while each
subsequent writer had his own style of documentation, nearly every one mirrored
either Herodotus or Thucydides in some way. ("Greek Historians",
n.d.)
However, the Hellenistic age of the world ended when Greece and her
empire fell to the rapidly rising Romans. Much of the Grecian way of life and
pursuit of philosophical interests was absorbed and assimilated by the Romans,
and such was the case with history. Romans worshiped the same gods – albeit
under different names – kept many of the same cultural traits and Roman
historians modeled their works after the two main Greek methods, with one
notable exception: Titus Flavius Josephus, otherwise known as Joseph ben
Matityahu. Josephus was a Jew by birth, into both the priestly line – via his
father – and the royal line – via his mother. Not much is known about his early
life, but he was highly educated in both Jewish texts and Greek works, although
he was, and is, often criticized for his faulty Greek grammar. A Judeo-Roman
historiographer and hagiographer, Josephus was given command of the Galilean
forces during the Great Revolt in 66-73 AD, but defected and offered to record
the history of the Great Revolt. Then-general, and later emperor, Vespasian
took him up on the offer, after Josephus claimed Jewish prophecies that lead to
the revolt also made mention of Vespasian becoming emperor, and thus Josephus
began to record a first hand, eyewitness account of the fall of Jerusalem. These
accounts were most certainly biased, since he was writing for arguable the most
powerful man in the Roman Empire at the time; however, he mentions on several
occasions that he also wrote an Aramaic version of the uprising, that might
possibly had been less biased, or at least slanted to the Jewish side of the
conflict. But copies of the Aramaic history have been lost in the vast expanse
of time, and are yet to be discovered. Vespasian must have liked what he read,
because he brought Josephus back to Rome
with him, where Josephus wrote The Jewish
War and Jewish Antiquities, the
latter of which described the complete history of the Jewish people. Despite
its exhaustive nature, including a great deal of information about Alexander
the Great's conquests and the destruction of the Second Temple, Josephus was
accused of relying too heavily on legend and hearsay -- much like the Grecian
historians he was instructed on, so he is often discredited on some subjects. ("Josephus
Flavius", 2003)
Lastly, early Christian historians were few and far
between, at least as we today think of historians. Since most of the New
Testament authors were not classically trained, not many were learned in the
ways of historiography. However, the Gospel writer Luke was one of the few with
extensive training, and could be considered the first true Christian historian.
("A Christian Approach to History", n.d.) Luke wrote his works for
the records of "most honorable Theophilus", writing for posterity and
to clarify any mistakes or false notions that the aforementioned hearsay might
have implanted in Theophilus' mind. This was unique in and of itself, since
Luke was writing not to entertain, but to educate using facts in a easily
comprehensible, something previous historians hadn't done, whether Greek or
Roman. ("Behind Luke's Gospel", n.d.) It was in essence a biography,
beginning Jesus' earthly tale with the political climate under Caesar Augustus,
and merely following His life. There is some slant and bias to it, as there is
with any historian's works, but it's incredibly fact-based for being religious
writing, and set the tone for church scholars for years to come.
Overall, since the art of historiography was so new at the
time, there wasn’t a set standard for any to follow. Some historians gave us
credible histories, while some made great tales to read, but not so much to use
for study. But all of them – Greek, Roman, Jewish and Christian – borrowed from
each other, whether directly or indirectly. Modern historians should take all
writings of the period with a proverbial grain of salt, but shouldn't discredit
them entirely. In all legends, there is a small trace of truth, it's just up to
us to find it.
References
A Christian Approach to History - Christian
Homeschooling Resources. (n.d.). Christian Living Resources, Jesus
Christ, Bible Study, Faith in God.
Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://www.crosswalk.com/family/homeschool/resources/a-christian-approach-to-history.html
Behind Luke's Gospel: The Roman
Empire During the Time of Jesus. (n.d.). Patheos |
Hosting the Conversation on Faith.
Retrieved February 15, 2013, from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/thepangeablog/articles/unpublished-papers/behind-lukes-gospel-the-roman-empire-during-the-time-of-jesus/
Greek Historians. (n.d.). College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences | The University
of Florida. Retrieved February 13, 2013, from http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/kapparis/GreekHistorians.html
Josephus Flavius. (2003). Jewish Virtual
Library. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Josephus.html
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