God's Changing Vision Part 6

Another transformation of God occurred around 30BCE. “When Philo was illustrating his Platonized Judaism in Alexandria and Hillel and Shammai were debating in Jerusalem, a young, charismatic healer was starting his own career in the north of Palestine.” [1]

At this time Jews were extremely devout monotheists who expected the Messiah to be an ordinary man. Forty years after his death is when the first full account of the life of Jesus was written down by Mark. In it, he presented Jesus as a perfectly normal man from a family that included brothers and sisters. Angels did not sing over his crib and his infancy and adolescence was not remarkable in any way. It was not until he was baptized by John the Baptist that it was proclaimed he was the son of God.

“No sooner had he come out of the water than he saw the heavens torn
apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came
from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests upon you.’”[2]

It was not until after his death that his followers deemed Jesus divine. He spread “faith” and the promise of salvation. With forgiveness came strength that allowed them to see their frail, mortal lives transformed into something stronger and bigger. The powers of God were present and active in the world of the Messianic Kingdom. And this teaching was so powerful that his followers could not abandon it after his death.

It was Paul who traveled to Turkey and Greece. He believed it was his mission to convert the non-Jews into members of the New Israel. Ultimately this New Israel, inspired by the life, death and resurrection, would become a Gentile faith that would evolve its own distinctive conception of God, belief, and faith.[3] By 235 it had become one of the most important religions of the Roman Empire; so important that Emperor Constantine himself converted in 312 and legalized the religion the following year. For the next 300 years it continued to grow and proper spreading across continents. Developments through the Synod in Nicaea under the rule of Constantine became doctrine. The Holy Trinity and the books of the Holy Bible were decided upon and devoutly followed as well as argued about for generations through today.

[1] Armstrong, The History of God, 1994, pg. 79
[2] Mark 1:18, 11
[3] Armstrong, The History of God, 1994, pg. 80