Dear Readers of Rome,
I know we covered a lot of material today, but please do not worry, we will be reviewing the most important points as we move forward. To this end, you should read over the timeline, available here, on your own, in order to reenforce what I said today about the Jewish revolts against Rome and the Hurban (Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem), as well as to note a couple of other things that I had to skip over.
For Monday, we turn to portions of the Bible written in Greek, which form the Christian New Testament. Even though the stories are still set a good distance from our City, they are limned by Roman imperial power. As the basis for Christian faith and practice, these texts become as important as any document we will read the entire semester for understanding the long history of Rome, so do give them careful consideration.
Please do the following:
(1) Download, print, and read the fact sheet about the New Testament.
(2) Download, print, and read the selections from the Gospels.
(3) Download, print, and read the rabbinic texts pertaining to the Second Great Revolt and the Coming of the Messiah.
In class, we will focus squarely on the figure of Jesus, but we will look briefly at some rabbinic texts in order to underscore how messianism continues to be a Jewish, and not only a Christian, concern, and to consider how messianic fervor plays a role in subsequent Jewish revolts against Rome.
gs
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