Acts Of The Apostles Essay Research Paper — страница 3
for one reason or the other. So the charge against Paul at Philippi gives us an insight into the rules and punishments Roman Law stood by in the area of Cults and whatnot. The procedure followed at Philippi has private accusers make the charge and the accused are arrested. One interesting feature in the book of Acts is the place of women. At Philippi, Paul meets women who are of the social elite and in doing so it shows the historian the place of woman in the Roman world and how they could be quite wealthy. Paul arrives in Athens through a sea voyage from Macedonia. Gill states that “Athens had been a civitas libera et foederata after the incorporation of Greece into the Roman Empire, but her siding with Mithridates led to the Roman intervention through the action of L. Cornelius Sulla in 86 BC.” Athens at the time was essentially revered as a centre of Classical Culture, Philosophy, Literature, Oratory and Sculpture. Athens was the cradle of democracy at the time and was recognised by the Romans as such. Though lacking political power of it’s own, the importance in the history of ideas was keenly felt. Paul when he enters Rome visits the synagogue first and converses with the Jews and Gentiles. Paul also debates in the Agora, which is the main public space, sort of like the cultural heart of the city. Gill states that “these structures had long been used as meeting-places and indeed the Stoic philosophers took their name from the Stoa Poilkile where they used to meet. If Paul was debating in the agora, one of the likely settings for this dialogue would have been in one of the stoas; and it is here that he would have met with the Epicuran and Stoic philosophers (Acts17:18).” We also learn from the book of Acts about the “Areopagos” which was the effective government of Roman Athens and it’s chief court. Paul appears before it in (Acts 17:19-22). We also learn that the Areopagos would have been allowed to exact exile and capital punishments as verdicts. The Acts of the Apostles also hints at the diversity of the cult at Athens which archaeology is only just discovering now. Through the context of these three studies into Roman cities you can conclude that Roman society was very hierarchical with a range of different social groups. There is even further division seen between a citizen and a non-citizen. Acts itself also draws attention to a number of senior Roman officials and figures, and women are shown to be members of higher social groups. A wealth of information is portrayed within Acts and this is very useful to the Historian studying it. Acts is also a rich field for the study of what might be termed “Social History.” Within the cities it talks about, information on social status, influence, and mobility of the various figures and groups. We also can find out about the structure of households in the 1st Century BC, about the people living in them and attached to them, plus the all-important hospitality practice. Plus various trades, city-state religions, foreign cults and superstitions. Details of languages spoken in various cities, the places people gather to talk and so on. We also can find information into the nature of prisons and military life if you look closely, and of the hazards of the sea. Acts also provides insight into the ways of transport and communication over distances through foot, horse, chariot and ship and for the latter letters. So what can you conclude from this? Well from this we can conclude that the writer of Acts was very skilful in his job and a good observer to his surroundings, which in turn has landed us with a lot of precious information into life and society in Roman Cities. One other great issue within the Roman Empire that is brought up in Acts on many occasions is the acquisition of Roman Citizenship. This is a very interesting topic and Acts has provided a lot of information for the Historian to consider when reading it. Gill writes “that it was in 212 BC that Caracalla extended Citizenship to virtually all free people within the empire.” So in this, Citizenship could be awarded to people living in specific cities; Paul himself was a citizen through this measure. Citizenship brought with it benefits such as lighter penalties in court cases, exemption from beatings/torture and the right to appeal against a death sentence. The writer of Acts reports that Paul uses his citizenship on 3 occasions. In Philippi, in protest to getting beaten without a fair trial (Acts 16:37). In Jerusalem against being flogged by the Roman authorities (Acts 22:25). And in Caesarea he appeals to Caesar to have his case transferred from the inferior jurisdiction of the governor of Judaea to the supreme
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