The Separation of Church and State?

Written in Winter 2020 for Making of the Modern World 12 at UC San Diego, under Professor Edmond Chang — the same quarter that produced the essay on Pan Chao and Empress Wu. Reading them together now, I notice they're in quiet conversation: both are tracing how power consolidates by deciding whose voice gets to count as authoritative. Here, the lens is the Roman transition from Republic to Empire, and the argument is that Christianity didn't just ride that transition — it shaped it, and was in turn reshaped by it. The Gnostic Gospels, buried for centuries, are the evidence of what that reshaping cost. Of course, I'm no expert and this was written because we were prompted to find an angle that was both controversial and could prompt interesting research!

Good News: The Separation of Church and State is a Hoax

Christianity, now one of the world’s most dominant religions, did not have an easy start. Originally considered a “Nazarene Cult” or “Jesus movement,” Christians living during the shift from the Roman Republic to Empire faced many obstacles (Chang, Lecture One, Jan. 7). This transition can be traced through the lens of the Gospels, both Synoptic and Gnostic, especially since the former became mainstream in the faith and the latter disappeared until the 1900s (Chang, Lecture Four, Jan. 16). By analyzing the use of the Gospels of Mark and Mary, we can look at persecution during the transition, as well as the eventual merging of Christianity into the foundations of the Empire. Although the joint rise of the Empire and Christianity may seem like coincidences, by using the Gospels and other texts, we can see that in reality, religious beliefs heavily influenced the way that political power developed for the Romans.

After the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, there was a conflicted environment. Therefore, the teachings, such as the idea that Jesus has not come to “abolish the Laws or the Prophets” but is instead there to fulfill the word of God, were used as an incentive to get the dissenting communities to join the Jesus Movement (Chang, Lecture Two, Jan. 9). The Synoptic Gospels of Luke, Mark, Matthew, and John are a “biographical” and retrospective account of Jesus and his preachings, but the way they are written reflect more on their time period’s problems (Chang, Lecture Two, Jan. 9). Mark’s writings are very straightforward, with little embellishments, which is more likely to convince people of the truth of a statement than an overly dramatic statement(Chang, Lecture Two, Jan. 9). For example, Mark states that the chief priests of the time plotted to “arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him” (Mark 14:1). This sentence is so concise it makes people connect empathetically with Jesus’s plight. The Gospels went against the very basis of the Roman society, where rulers already had a fragile grip (Chang, Lecture Two, Jan. 9). During Jesus’ crucifixion, people twisted “some thorns into a crown” and placed it on him, which mirrors and mocks the laurel wreath of the Romans (Mark 15:17). The Roman political insecurity led to them issuing laws to “forb [ id] the existence of organized clubs” (“Letters to Emperor Trajan,” 17), and some turned so hostile that they ordered the persecution of Christians. They faced a dilemma of identity, which is evident when they were ready to persecute Paul as a Christian, but since he was “born a citizen” they could do him no harm until he faced a court of law (Acts of the Apostles Ch.23). Therefore, we can see a close link between the writing style of the Gospel of Mark (and its preachings) and the way that the Roman Republic was crumbling in its transition into a Christian empire. 

In contrast, the Gnostic Gospels help with an analysis of the Roman Empire after the transition, when Christianity became dominant. In the Gospel of Mary, Mary is shown as an authority figure on Jesus’ teachings but the male followers do not believe her (Gospel of Mary). However, Levi states “if the savior considered her to be worthy who are [you] to disregard her” (Gospel of Mary). This contrasts Roman society, where women were treated like second-class citizens who had to follow the wishes of the all-powerful paterfamilias (Wiesner-Hanks et al,152). Another example is when Pliny states that he found out the truth about Christian beliefs by “torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses,” which shows that women could also have priestly roles (Pliny to the Emperor Trajan). Gnostic sources also considered God to be “masculofeminine.” The Gospel of Philip “ridicules those literal-minded Christians” who emphasize the “virgin birth” instead of its symbolism (Pagels). Therefore, the disappearance of the Gnostic until the 1900s reflects Christianity’s accommodation of the Roman middle class values in order to become the foundation of a Roman Christian Empire. Eusebius describes Constantine as the best emperor because he “honored the one supreme God” and “overthrew the tyranny” (of the Roman anti-Christian Republic) (Eusebius). By supporting the Church in the Empire, he expected to get “the support of church officials in maintaining order,” thus eventually making it a compulsory religion that helped the Empire unite a fragmented Roman identity (Wiesner-Hanks et al,170). Thus the use of the Gnostic Gospels reflects both the elimination of female power as well as the political advantage of basing an Empire off of religious beliefs. 

Faith as a basis of political change may be seen as a coincidence, especially since Rome was already crumbling and most people were against Christianity. The Republic had over-expanded, was fighting border wars, and was losing revenue (Chang, Lecture One, Jan. 7). Christianity could not have been the cause of the transition. The rise of Christianity could also be an effect of the Jewish crisis, instead of it being a politically influenced religion. Therefore, the view that Christianity heavily influenced the politics of the time can be challenged on the basis that the Republic and initial stages of the Empire were already fragile. However, this opposition can be countered because the Gospels reflect the political environment of the time. They clearly show a correlation between the rise of the religion and the insecurity of the Romans that led to them accepting Christianity in order to create a unified Empire.

By analyzing the use of the Gospels in society, the Roman Transition can be easily traced. The uncompromising monotheism of the Christian cult, along with their ingenious use of marketing and eventual connections with the Roman Empire, won the societal power struggle during the fragile transition from the generally- accepting republic to an Empire based on religious conformity. 

Works Cited:

“Acts of the Apostles,” Chapters 21-28 from The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 4th edition, ed.

Michael D. Coogan, (Oxford University Press, 2010), MMW 12 Classical and Medieval

Tradition, Winter 2020, Professor Edmond Chang Course Reader. University of

California San Diego. Winter 2020

Chang, Edmond. “Outline Lecture One: Religion Within Empire.” University of California, San

Diego, La Jolla, January 7, 2020, Lecture

Chang, Edmond. “Outline Lecture Two: The Challenge of the Jesus Movement.” University of

California, San Diego, La Jolla, January 9, 2020, Lecture

Chang, Edmond. “Outline Lecture Three: Imperial Appropriation of Christianity.” University of

California, San Diego, La Jolla, January 14, 2020, Lecture

Chang, Edmond. “Outline Lecture Four—Orthodoxy vs. Heterodoxy: The Suppression of the

Gnostic Tradition .” University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, January 16, 2020,

Lecture

Eusebius, “On the Conversion of Constantine,”MMW 12 Classical and Medieval Tradition,

Winter 2020, Professor Edmond Chang Course Reader. University of California San

Diego. Winter 2020

“Gospel of Mark,” New Testament, Chapters 13-16, Professor Edmond Chang Course Reader,

University of California San Diego, Winter 2020.

“The Gospel of Mary,” The Complete Gospels, Annotated Scholars Version, MMW 12 Classical

and Medieval Tradition, Winter 2020, Professor Edmond Chang Course Reader. University of California San Diego. Winter 2020 ed.R. Miller, (Polebridge Press, 1994) 357-367

Pagels, “God the Father/ God the Mother: The Gnostic Gospels and Suppression of Early

Christian Feminism,” The Gnostic Gospels, 141-155, MMW 12 Classical and Medieval

Tradition, Winter 2020, Professor Edmond Chang Course Reader. University of

California San Diego. Winter 2020

“Pliny to the Emperor Trajan,” Letters 10.96-97,MMW 12 Classical and Medieval Tradition,

Winter 2020, Professor Edmond Chang Course Reader. University of California San

Diego. Winter 2020

Wiesner- Hanks, Merry E., et al. A History of World Societies. Value Edition. 10 the Ed

Bedford/St Martin’s 2018