02-04-2004, 10:32 AM
As Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots go: there's nothing ethnic or cultural about them, they were all Jews in the sense of 'nation' or 'people' (actually the German 'Volk' applies best). Judaism had quite a number of gentile proselytes in the first century, contrary to modern Judaism, so ethnicity or culture would be the worst term to use vis-a-vis Jews.
Judaism and Christianity only became two separate religions after the destruction of the second temple (slightly earlier in Rome under the emperor Nero; you know, the one fiddling while Rome was on fire).
Until that time 'Christians' considered themselves Jews, and Jews considered Christians a heretical sect within Judaism at worst, as Jews at best.
There's a difference between writing Aramaic to Corinth and Latin to Rome. Greek was the lingua franca of the Roman empire: large parts of the population in Rome could speak Greek, much in the same way that most people in Europe speak English, and Paul probably did not speak Latin. Aramaic speaking people living in Corinth would constitute a tiny minority. Given Paul's interest in converting also gentiles, Greek would be the obvious choice, not Aramaic.
May I also note that in the above discussion a distinction is failed to be made between the importance of Aramaic to the Jews and the holiness of the language.
And what's a 'Zorban'?
Judaism and Christianity only became two separate religions after the destruction of the second temple (slightly earlier in Rome under the emperor Nero; you know, the one fiddling while Rome was on fire).
Until that time 'Christians' considered themselves Jews, and Jews considered Christians a heretical sect within Judaism at worst, as Jews at best.
There's a difference between writing Aramaic to Corinth and Latin to Rome. Greek was the lingua franca of the Roman empire: large parts of the population in Rome could speak Greek, much in the same way that most people in Europe speak English, and Paul probably did not speak Latin. Aramaic speaking people living in Corinth would constitute a tiny minority. Given Paul's interest in converting also gentiles, Greek would be the obvious choice, not Aramaic.
May I also note that in the above discussion a distinction is failed to be made between the importance of Aramaic to the Jews and the holiness of the language.
And what's a 'Zorban'?