Roman Religion and Success

The quality of Roman culture changed dramatically over the many centuries of its growth and decline.

Growth was associated with (and arguably caused by) representative and elected government; a sense of probity, honor and self-sacrifice; and tolerant syncretist polytheism.

Decline was associated with (and arguably caused by) dictatorial monarchy; greed, corruption and dissolute behavior; and intolerant monotheism.

If historians tease these aspects apart, their books may be useful. However, many pick and choose qualities from different centuries in order to reinforce their own biases, saying for example that Rome's greatness was caused by its culture of self-sacrifice and its adoption of Christianity. But the former trait was part of Rome's Republican culture of growth, while the latter event occurred several hundred years later, and was part of the Imperial decline.

If historians pick and choose whatever qualities they want from among many pairs of opposites that were culturally prevalent in different centuries, unaware of the timescale they are working with and the cultural shifts that happened, they should shift their title from "historian" to "story-teller".

The Gospel According to the Romans - ABNA 2010

The Gospel According to the Romans is in this year's ABNA, the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, and has now reached the Semifinals on the strength of a review by Publisher's Weekly and others.

The novel will now be read, assessed and reviewed by Penguin... we'll find out what they think at the end of May.

In the meantime, Amazon is offering a free download here.

Please leave a comment there, or here, or on its Facebook page.

Who was St. Matthew?

Matthew Levi was a tax collector 'sitting at the receipt of custom' in Capernaum. By definition he was a Roman agent, appointed ultimately by Pontius Pilate.
The Romans faced Jewish uprisings every ten or twenty years in their Occupation of Palestine.
It was very risky for Jesus to invite Matthew, or to allow him, to become a disciple.
After Jesus led a failed uprising, trying to take over the Temple in Jerusalem at Passover, he was executed along with two Zealot leaders.
The Romans seem to have been fully prepared for the event. Presumably they had someone on the inside of Jesus' movement.
After Jesus' execution, the movement had no clear leadership and began to disintegrate. Matthew hung around long enough to observe this, and then disappears from the record.
He apparently told people he was going to "Ethiopia, south of the Caspian Sea". Ha ha, very funny.