Judas the Galilean rebellion sparked by new Roman direct ruling.

Great change in Jewish life from 300 BC to 200 AD.

First destruction of temple helped cultivate feeling of need to reform and repent, which fostered messianic expectancy.

No historical evidence of Herod’s mass slaughter of firstborns.

After Herod died, Judean region (with Jerusalem) given to his son Archelaus, whose ineptness led to military/procurator rule.

Jesus was victim of Pax Romana’s centrifugal force, which pushed Roman influence outside to conquered regions; Paul worked in centripetal force, which drew things to Rome.

Syncretism: flowing together of different currents of thought and practice.

Piety in Greco-Roman sense was civil/social duty and virtue to gods.

Popularity of magical arts result of desire to control fate’s fickleness.

Apostrophic magic: use of spells and incantations to ward off or exorcise demons.

Pharisees had little power, emphasized Torah and tradition.

“Christians” name possible originally derogatory from Romans.

Aramaic-like “abba” sneaks into the otherwise Greek New Testament.

The Jesus movement was at once a Jewish sect (separatist, relative to other Jews) and foreign cult (with Paul its purveyor around the Roman Empire).

Q (or the Synoptic Sayings Source) an independent sourced called by Gospels.

Paul may have seen himself as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy as divinely appointed messenger.

Paul clashed with Peter and Jews in Antioch regarding Gentiles in the movement.

Gospel of Mark written after temple destruction to correct misunderstandings about Jesus.

Matthew reiterates that the early Christians were still a Jewish sect.