The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there
— “The Go Between,” by L. P. Hartley
The crux of Christ’s mission and the core tenant of his gospel—his “good news” for mankind—was revealed on the day he was born. So, too, was an “alternative theology,” i.e., a different recipe for achieving peace on earth championed by a most formidable opponent.
“Now it happened that in those days an edict went out from Caesar Augustus that all the inhabited world should be enrolled in a census. * * * * And suddenly there appeared with the angel a throng of the heavenly army, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest places and peace on earth among men of goodwill. Luke 2:1; 13-14. (D. B. Hart Translation).
The majority of biblical scholars believe there was no census mandated by Rome at the time of Christ’s birth.[1] Luke knew this. And so did his readers. This was simply a literary device, aka, a pretext, for introducing the villain of our story: Augustus.
Before we proceed, I feel the need to repeat something I’ve said many times before in these pages: the inhabitants of the ancient world were not like us. Their culture, economies, politics, and customs bear little or no resemblance to our own. Most importantly, the concept of “truth”—which we define almost exclusively in terms of factual accuracy—was communicated and understood in a variety of different ways: myth, literature, poetry, humor, propaganda, and even satire.[2] In the words of my dear friend Gonzo, “This one thing you must remember, or nothing that follows will seem wondrous.”[3]
* * * * * * * *
Augustus, born Gaius Octavius (63 bc, died in 14 ad), is best known as the first Emperor of Rome and the author of “Pax Romana,” an era of unprecedented peace he brought to Italy by ending a century of civil war. This brutal conflict had ravaged the entire country and parts of Asia Minor for almost 100 years, and only came to an end as the first century AD was beginning.[4]
For his efforts, he was hailed as “the savior of the whole world” and the greatest peacemaker known to man. Also, in 13-9 bc, just a few years before Christ’s birth, a great altar was erected to the peace brought about by Augustus, and this Ara Pacis Augustae still still stands in Rome today as a monument to the man’s ideals.[5]
A decree was also sent by Rome to all of its provinces mandating the adoption of September 23rd, the birthday of Augustus, as the first day of the New Year. The date of his birth was also celebrated on an inscription discovered in 9 bc—a few years before Christ was born—in the ancient town Pirene (modern-day Bodrum, Turkey) grandiosely proclaiming: “The birthday of the god marked the beginning of the good news [aka, gospel] for the whole world.”
If you are confused by the phrase “birthday of the god [i.e., Augustus],” don’t be. Beginning with Julius Caesar, the Roman Senate began conducting religious ceremonies to deify worthy leaders shortly after they passed away. Kings in the Middle East at the time were also known to arrange for their deification during their lifetimes.[6]
In the classical world, the boundary separating the gods from mankind was not straight forward. And heroes in Greek legends, such as Achilles, Perseus and Theseus, were thought to be half human and half divine. Nobody really believed a deified ruler was of a different nature from the rest of humanity. But divine status added to the majesty to their office and created a respectful distance between them and their subjects.[7]
Modern parallels can be found in several religions today. In the Catholic church, for example, the doctrine of papal infallibility, states that the Pope is preserved from error when he solemnly defines a doctrine of faith. Similarly, the prophet of the Mormon church a few years ago reminded all Latter-day Saints that “Prophets are rarely popular. But we will always teach the truth!” (Emphasis in the original.)[8]
* * * * * * * *
The deification of Caesar in 42 bc (two years after his assassination), was a turning point in the life of Octavius Augustus and helped solidify his grip on power. You see, he was the grandnephew and adopted son of Caesar. Thus, he could now stake his claim to being the son of a god.[9]
When a comet appeared in the skies over Rome in July 44 bc, during the funeral games for Julius Caesar, sponsored by Octavian, it was hailed by the people as the soul of Caesar ascending to the gods, solidifying his deification. From that moment forward, Gaius Octavius “insisted on the being known as Caesar Divi Filius—the Son of God.”[10]
Now, the spooky part.
Publius Vergilius Maro (70 BC – 21 BC), known to us as Virgil or Vergil, was one of the greatest poets of the ancient Latin world. His most famous long-form poem was Aeneid. But it is his Ecologues, a group of ten poems modeled on the pastoral poetry of Theocritus—to which I wish to call to your attention.[11]
This poem composed in 40 BC, mentions a virgin and a divinely descended child before whom all the earth will tremble in homage in a golden age of peace when the remaining “traces of guilt” will disappear.[12]
It is not a stretch to suggest that Gentiles living in the Middle East and Asia Minor during first century ad and who were familiar with Matthew and Luke’s Infancy Narratives, may have read this poem as a pagan prophecy of the Savior’s birth. It also seems to reflect indirectly a knowledge of some of the themes found in Isaiah 7–11.[13] But before you pick up the phone and say, “Hey, mom. Guess what I just learned!” please note: Virgil does not suggest that the Child was conceived by the Virgin.
Without getting further into weeds on this, suffice it to say that this poetic prophecy would have allowed both the followers of Augustus and the disciples of Christ to claim their man was the child of whom Virgil wrote.
* * * * * * * *
Augustus and his successors, in Luke’s telling, are Christ’s competition. And Luke appears to respond to the Augustus publicity campaign with his own proclamation: “Unto you this day is born in the city of David a Savior who is Messiah and Lord.”[14] In the words of the foremost student of the Infancy Narratives, Raymond Brown: “Men built an Altar to the pax Augustae, but a heavenly chorus proclaimed the Pax Christi.”[15]
The Pax Romana was certainly the greatest achievement of Octavian Augustus. But it was brought about by compulsion—at the point of the sword. And he repeatedly found it necessary to unsheathe that weapon in order to keep the peace.[16]
Jesus offered a different approach: “peace on earth” but only “among men of good will.” This isn’t peace by force. Rather, it is peace grounded in the good will of mankind and is premised on three unambiguous rules:
1. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind and strength.
2. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
3. Thou shalt love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
The third of these precepts—loving your enemy—was revolutionary in Christ’s day. In the words of the biblical scholar, Amy-Jill Levine, “[Jesus] may be the only person in antiquity to give this instruction.”[17]
Unsurprisingly, the risks for those who venture to practice this precept are formidable. If you don’t believe me, just ask the Good Samaritan.
[To be continued]
[1] See, e.g., Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, pp. 412-418; 666-668; John Dominic, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, (New York, New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992) p. 372 (“There never was a worldwide census under Caesar Augustus”).
[2] E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, (Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Books, 2012).
[3] Spoken by Gonzo, the narrator of the Muppets Christmas Carol.
[4] Adrian Goldsworthy, Pax Romana: War, Peace and Conquest in the Roman World, (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2016), pp. 12-13, 185
[5] Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, (New York, New York: Doubleday, 1977) p, 59.
[6] Anthony Everitt, Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Great Emperor, (New York, New York: Random House, 2006, p. 85.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Russell M. Nelson, “The Love and Laws of God,” devotional address delivered at Brigham Young University on September 17, 2019, last accessed on February 25, 2023: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/russell-m-nelson/love-laws-god/ . Two years later, Nelson went further, stating that the teachings of all of the church’s General Authorities are pure truth. Russell M. Nelson, “Pure Truth, Pure Doctrine, and Pure Revelation,” October 2021 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, last accessed on February 25, 2023: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/11nelson?lang=eng.
[9] Everitt, Augustus, p. 85.
[10] Tom Holland, Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar, (New York, New York: Doubleday, 2015) p. 42.
[11] Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, pp. 564.
[12] Ibid, p. 565.
[13] Ibid, p. 564.
[14] Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, p. 59.
[15] Raymond Brown, An Adult Christ at Christmas, (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1978), p. 18.
[16] For a modern-day equivalent, the animosities between the various ethnic and religious groups in the Baltics—Muslims, Bosniaks, Roman Catholic Croats and the Eastern Orthodox Serbs—were kept in check during most of the 20th century by Moscow since they were all constituent parts of the Soviet Union. But one year after the U.S.S.R.’s disintegration, the Furies escaped, engulfing the Balkans in war for most of the 1990s.
[17] Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables by a Controversial Rabbi, (New York, New York: HarperOne, 2014), p. 86.