Reading Response Chapters 8 - 10

In Armstrong's 8th chapter "Aelia Capitolina" she discussed the Roman destruction and takeover of Jerusalem. I find it virtually impossible to imagine that at one point, Jerusalem was littered with Roman statues, baths, and temples dedicated to gods and goddesses. The idea that the Temple must be destroyed and a new building would be placed in its stead shows a lack of cultural sensitivity. This seemed a bit odd to me because the Romans and Jews seemed to be in good communication with one another and lived rather peacefully until early Christendom evolved into something that had elements of its predecessor, Judaism, but was not an obvious offshoot or descendent. For example, according to Armstrong "Luke's favorite name for Christianity was 'the Way': the followers of Jesus are continual travelers, with no abiding city in this world." This idea reminds us of the Jews as wanderers, constantly in search of a homeland. It forced me to ask the question: Have Christians searched for a homeland in the past, and if so where? From my limited knowledge of the New Testament, the search for a homeland does not seem to be a major focus. This changes into Chapter 10, after Christ's tomb is discovered, but  It seems to be one major deviation from the Judaism, where they are constantly looking towards Jerusalem to have a religious base. Also, the dispersion and modern prevalence of Christians around the world may have impacted the way priests thought and continue to think about one central location.

Continuing into Chapters 9 and 10, Christianity religion seems to be based upon the Gospel or the actual words themselves, physical location or site. When Christ's tomb was found at Mount Golgotha, it
proposed just the opposite. The idea that people described Christ's tomb is a fascinating one and all the myths and legends surrounding its origin are fascinating. It is a shame that people did not document what the stone looked like before it was incorporated into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I think Armstrong is correct when she describes the Christian reaction to Christ's tomb because may be looking for that religious experience, but to have a tangible object or site furthers that experience. Armstrong also continues to put herself in the shoes of the people she writes about. I do believe that she tries extremely hard to be unbiased in accounts but she lists "facts" about Christ's life or what the apostles thought without footnotes or any other indication of her sources. It would be nice to know if these thoughts were taken from the Bible, works by modern day Biblical scholars, or other types of extrabiblical writings. Also, I wish there were more written accounts or reactions the findings at Christ's tomb. Eusebius' account is valuable but it has already been established that he was a skeptic and he may have been overwhelmed by the things he saw or experienced at the time. It is still a valuable resource, but I had trouble when Armstrong used his perspective in order to bolster her arguments.

One thing that particularly resonated with from Chapter 9 to Chapter 10 was the idea that Christians viewed the Jewish expulsion and their ultimate takeover of the city as a necessity for the betterment of their religion. Dissension of any kind would have provided challenges for Christianity in its early stages and into its early development. I think it is interesting that during the time period and today many groups think it is necessary to destroy or remove their competition by brute force or any means necessary in order to better their cause. Eventually the Jews were invited back to Jerusalem, but only after the Christians had a strong hold over the area. It was interesting that Armstrong used Egeria's perspective regarding her experiences in Jerusalem while on her pilgrimage. It is interesting that women's opinions regarding religious experiences were valued during that time period. The female voice in Judaism was stifled and few writings are valued or discussed. This source may be one that Armstrong personally values more so than other scholars may value it, but I appreciate it regardless of the motivation. The notion of sacred geography makes another important appearance in this chapter as physical locations and objects come to the forefront of Christian practices. The medieval map in full color is wonderful because it allowed me to understand the way in which Christians viewed other places in the world, and how little they mattered to them.

The exile out of Jerusalem forced Jews to band together and to become more dependent upon the liturgy and adaptations of modern practices such as the alter and allowing certain traditions to occur in the home or in a smaller group of people as opposed to the temple. I found it fascinating to personally trace the origins of some of the practices such as a minyan and why Torah must be studied in a larger group. I think it would fascinating to look at the implications of this exile on religious practices in modern day Jewry. Maybe a possible paper topic for me? We shall see...