God who became man v man who became Gods.

How did the Jews get by as time went on? They offer up a sacrifice for the emperor every day – but they don’t pay for it. This is there way of saying they pray for the emperor but not to the emperor. How do the Christians cope with this? How do they come to this arrangement?

Some sit with the Jews (and Judaism) within the province of Asia – if you look Jewish and do Jewish things it’s hard to tell the difference.

Some deny the Imperial Cult existed

The cult is there and on these celebration days you had to have a little altar outside the gate of your home, you had to wear a white robe and make a sacrifice at the temple – in this case the temple is in Caesarea (Herod set it up there when he came to power).

Pilate brings some of the emperor’s insignias to Jerusalem, to the temple – merging the two cultures??

Augustian Declaration (Declared Augustus the beginning of all things, saviour of the world, sustainer of mankind)

Did the Christians borrow this language?

Did the Christians borrow the title of the Emperor. No they didn’t because Jesus was the son of God (Rome stole them rather than the Christians borrowing them) – all these counterfeit terms came into being for a reason.

At the very moment of the coming of the son of God there is already a “saviour” and a “son of God” with good news running around.

The propaganda coming from Rome all the time is the Pax Romana – the Roman peace. There had been enormous tension prior to Augustus who brought about peace for the empire.

You take this to the emperorer and say that “we’re going to build a temple for you” the emperor says “no, no, no” and you go back understanding that they’re to build temples to the emperor. It was a polite way of saying “that’s really too much” but came with a quid pro quo.

Emperor recognition was a “carrot” whereby governors could earn favours from the emperor.

“This will come to the ears of the governor”… Ephesus. Acts 19.

The “governor” hearing things would create major dramas. You’d get beaten up by the travelling Roman army. If you did the right thing you were rewarded.

Rome ruled an empire with just a governor, a few assistants and Caesar back in Rome. The taxes weren’t collected by public servants but via private tender.

At the end of the first century in Bethinia, Pliny the younger arrests the Christians and forces them (with the threat of death) to burn incense to the emperor. How many of us would lay down our lives like the early martyrs? This comes as a culmination (Revelation) of the conflict. Bruce thinks the canon is finalised pre 70AD.

On these Holy days everyone (including the Christians but not the Jews) was expected to wear white and worship the emporer.

Reclining in the temple was a right of Roman Citizens (1 Corinthians 8). The city paid a levy which contributed to the provincial cult. This contribution went to buying feasts as a “right” for people in the temples – leading to a conscience based dispute in 1 Corinthians.