|
Source: (consider it)
|
Thread: Why midnight?
|
Humble Servant
Shipmate
# 18391
|
Posted
It has always been my tradition to go to church at midnight (or half an hour before) on Christmas morning. When did this tradition arise? Why do we do it? Is it to get church out of the way the night before so that we can devote Christmas day to family, feasting and gifts? Why is Christmas different to Easter, when nightfall is considered the start of the new day (if I've understood it correctly)?
Posts: 241 | Registered: Apr 2015
| IP: Logged
|
|
Oblatus
Shipmate
# 6278
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Humble Servant:
It has always been my tradition to go to church at midnight (or half an hour before) on Christmas morning. When did this tradition arise? Why do we do it? Is it to get church out of the way the night before so that we can devote Christmas day to family, feasting and gifts? Why is Christmas different to Easter, when nightfall is considered the start of the new day (if I've understood it correctly)?
I assume it's in imitation of the appearance of the angels to the shepherds "keeping watch over their flock by night." Their proclamation and worship happened at night; so do ours.
Posts: 3823 | Registered: May 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
John Holding
Coffee and Cognac
# 158
|
Posted
Who knows where it started...the tradition of midnight mass in Anglican churches is relatively recent -- the last hundred years or so. Ask the church of Rome, would be my guess. As for the contrast with Easter Eve, please note that until sometime after/around Vatican 2, the "easter Eve" rites were performed some time before noon on that day, and certainly didn't wait for darkness.
Around here, midnight mass has practically vanished. CHristmas Eve masses (leaving aside those focuess on children at 5:00) tend to start sometime between 7:00 and 9:00. Older people are getting less and less ready to go out in the cold and ice late at night; families are increasingly less willing to bring children so late at night or try to find child sitters. Only the young adults are left, and there aren't enough of them to pretend to be the parish's congregation. Christmas morning, again in this area, is practically a non-starter -- many churches don't even have a service. So if you want people to come to church, you have the service at a time people will come. It's a case, I think, of the Sabbath being made for people, not people being made for the sabbath.
John
Posts: 5929 | From: Ottawa, Canada | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Cathscats
Shipmate
# 17827
|
Posted
It is a strange one, especially if you go to a service where at midnight the minister declares "Christ is born" or something similar, as if a) what we are doing is re-enacting, rather than celebrating a birth, and b) he must have been born on the stroke of midnight.
As a teenager I loved midnight services - a real reason to stay up late, how could the parent object? But now it is my job to lead the service, it is one of my least favourite. How can I do my best at a time when I really, really only want to be asleep? (I would happily lead a dawn service; of course, at Christmas that is 9a.m.). However the midnight tradition is too firmly ingrained. To meddle with it would be one meddle too far.
--------------------
"...damp hands and theological doubts - the two always seem to go together..." (O. Douglas, "The Setons")
Posts: 176 | From: Central Highlands | Registered: Sep 2013
| IP: Logged
|
|
Knopwood
Shipmate
# 11596
|
Posted
Yes, evening masses only came in with Pius XII: before then, any earlier than midnight and one would still be bound by the Communion fast from the night before. And even with the Holy Week reforms, on the last Holy Week schedule I saw from an SSPX chapel, the Blessing of the New Fire occurred late in the evening (perhaps 9ish?) but the First Mass of Easter wasn't until 00h on Sunday, just like at Christmas.
Apart from the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, literal "Midnight Masses" are indeed a rarity. Ours is at 10, while I know other Anglo-Catholic parishes that begin at 11 or 11:30, with the idea of having the consecration falling around 12.
Posts: 6806 | From: Tio'tia:ke | Registered: Jun 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
|
Posted
Ours is at 1145pm, so that the Gospel is read at midnight...
IIRC, one of the Brother Cadfael novels by Ellis Peters depicts the 12thC Benedictines of Shrewsbury Abbey beginning their Christmas Day worship with festal Matins, at the then usual monastic time of midnight!
Midnight Mass has certainly waned in popularity in most churches around here, though one or two have reported increased attendances in the last year or so.
IJ
--------------------
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Forthview
Shipmate
# 12376
|
Posted
As Knopwood said it is only since the time of pope Pius XII (1950s)that Mass could be celebrated in the evening.
Early Christians would celebrate a prayer vigil on the eve of a feast day followed by the eucharist after midnight.
In the course of centuries this became the first Vespers of a Feast followed by Mass early in the morning.Fasting laws stipulated that Communion should be received as first food of the day.
At both Christmas and Easter the liturgy had the first celebration of the eucharist right after
midnight.In Rome - and from there throughout the Catholic world - Christians celebrated three Masses on Christmas day 1. in the middle of the night 2. at dawn 3. during the day.
(Before Vatican 2 each priest would celebrate three Masse one after the other and not necessarily at the 'correct' time of day)
Apart from Anglo-Saxon countries there is a long tradition of a Christmas meal on the eve of Christmas,which in Catholic countries is traditionally a meatless (but festive) meal leading on to attendance at Midnight Mass.
Since Vatican 2 fasting laws have been reduced to a minimum and Mass can be celebrated at any hour.
This has seen the advancement of the time of the first Mass of Christmas to any time from the late afternoon.Mass about 6pm on Christmas Eve is very popular now with Catholics - good for taking children.
Over the centuries a different course of action was taken with the first Mass of Easter which was gradually brought forward to midday on Holy Saturday following upon a long,long Vigil brought forward to the morning of Holy Saturday.After a trial period in Germany before WW2 Pius XII in the 1950s directed that the Easter Vigil should be held on the evening of Holy Saturday with Mass beginning at midnight.This midnight Mass which did not have centuries of popular custom in the West behind it gradually but definitely changed to a complete celebration on the evening of Holy Saturday.Of course in the East the midnight Mass of Easter/Divine Liturgy is one of the major liturgies of the year.
Posts: 3444 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
Strangely enough, I suspect the in Nonconformist circles more churches are holding midnight (or late evening) Christmas Eve services than they used to. Conversely the tradition of "Watchnight Services" on New Year's Eve seems to have virtually disappeared, although here is one which still happens.
[ 20. December 2016, 07:26: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
|
Posted
I suspect the midnight service was originally an Anglo-Catholic innovation either in the late C19 or after 1920. But the notion that the night of 24-25th December is holy is much, much older. In the C19 there was a widespread practice of musicians going round farms singing carols overnight, as mentioned in Hardy. I don't know whether anywhere still does, but the village of Foolow in Derbyshire did until quite recently (late C20) - though I heard somewhere that the singing has now shifted to midday on the 25th. And there are certainly places where this is kept up but has moved backwards to the evening of Christmas Eve. There is also a long standing myth that at midnight farm animals briefly have the power of speech, though I've never met anyone who has claimed to have experienced this.
[ 20. December 2016, 07:59: Message edited by: Enoch ]
--------------------
Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
|
Posted
'Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.'
Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 1.
Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
Isn't it interesting that we always tend to think of the Nativity as a "nighttime" tale, probably because of the Shepherd/Angels story and the Star.
But there are 24 hours in the day ...
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Gramps49
Shipmate
# 16378
|
Posted
The root of an evening service comes from when the day begins. Biblically speaking, it a new day begins in the evening. The Roman understood the day to begin at midnight. Thus, you will see Christmas eve celebrations as well as midnight masses. There is really no correct time but now is the time to celebrate the light coming into the dark and the dark not being able to overcome it.
Posts: 2193 | From: Pullman WA | Registered: Apr 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
Nick Tamen
Ship's Wayfaring Fool
# 15164
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Isn't it interesting that we always tend to think of the Nativity as a "nighttime" tale, probably because of the Shepherd/Angels story and the Star.
But there are 24 hours in the day ...
Yes, but this time of year, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, most of those hours are dark. Perhaps that's why the German name for the feast is Weihnachten.
I wonder if our association of the Nativity as a night story might have to do with the "light in the darkness" theme that underlies much of Christmas.
--------------------
The first thing God says to Moses is, "Take off your shoes." We are on holy ground. Hard to believe, but the truest thing I know. — Anne Lamott
Posts: 2833 | From: On heaven-crammed earth | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
ExclamationMark
Shipmate
# 14715
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Strangely enough, I suspect the in Nonconformist circles more churches are holding midnight (or late evening) Christmas Eve services than they used to. Conversely the tradition of "Watchnight Services" on New Year's Eve seems to have virtually disappeared, although here is one which still happens.
Yes that's the pattern here. Midnight service (quiet and reflective lasting c. 40 minutes) but no watchnight.
I introduced the Midnight Service at this church (and the last). We find it is popular with many visitors appreciating the calm before the storm
Posts: 3845 | From: A new Jerusalem | Registered: Apr 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
ExclamationMark
Shipmate
# 14715
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
There is also a long standing myth that at midnight farm animals briefly have the power of speech, though I've never met anyone who has claimed to have experienced this.
In East Anglia, the old Farm Workers believed that you should never enter a stable at Midnight on Christmas Eve - for, at that time, you would find the animals on their knees in homage and welcome to the Christ child.
My late Father, the last of a long line (in excess of 9 generations) of Farm Labourers recounted this story as he had heard it as a child in the 1930's.
What he added was this: whilst he'd never seen nor heard of anyone who had seen that happen, there was no doubt in his mind and experience that farm animals were much quieter on Christmas Day. He thought that one explanation might be that they (e.g horses) knew that they weren't working that day although he did go on to say that somehow even the countryside birds and animals - and even the land itself - seemed different on that one day.
He was the most pragmatic of people so it was hardly whimsy or emotion - simply his experience. It may be, of course, that the stories he'd heard as a child gave him an overlay within which he saw and heard things that day but he always felt (even as a non believer) that there was a difference about Christmas Day.
[ 21. December 2016, 06:32: Message edited by: ExclamationMark ]
Posts: 3845 | From: A new Jerusalem | Registered: Apr 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Gill H
Shipmate
# 68
|
Posted
Midnight was always my favourite service. Hundreds of people packed the church, you had to arrive an hour early to get a seat. It wasn't quiet or reflective - the church was blazing with light and looked amazing, there was a full choir and carols were sung with gusto. Everyone brought their kids, from toddlers through school age and teenagers too. Plus quite a few drunken revellers joined in.
Afterwards everyone raced around hugging and exchanging cards. It was an incredibly joyous occasion.
--------------------
*sigh* We can’t all be Alan Cresswell.
- Lyda Rose
Posts: 9313 | From: London | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
|
Posted
Yes, I remember that kind of midnight service. Piling onto the last bus from a night in the pub to get back in time, extra seats being brought in from somewhere right up to the advertised time, more people there than at any other time of year. Brilliant.
--------------------
My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ExclamationMark:
Midnight service (quiet and reflective lasting c. 40 minutes) ... We find it is popular with many visitors appreciating the calm before the storm
Yes, we do much the same - it's the most "alternative" service of the year, and is billed as such.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Humble Servant
Shipmate
# 18391
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ExclamationMark:
In East Anglia, the old Farm Workers believed that you should never enter a stable at Midnight on Christmas Eve - for, at that time, you would find the animals on their knees in homage and welcome to the Christ child.
Thomas Hardy again:
The Oxen
Posts: 241 | Registered: Apr 2015
| IP: Logged
|
|
georgiaboy
Shipmate
# 11294
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Humble Servant:
quote:
Originally posted by ExclamationMark:
In East Anglia, the old Farm Workers believed that you should never enter a stable at Midnight on Christmas Eve - for, at that time, you would find the animals on their knees in homage and welcome to the Christ child.
Thomas Hardy again:
The Oxen
And this poem was beautifully set to music by Vaughan Williams in his cantata 'Hodie.'
--------------------
You can't retire from a calling.
Posts: 1675 | From: saint meinrad, IN | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Zappa:
This year will be the first time in 18 years I haven't had the ridiculous up 'til 2.00, back up at 5.00 routine, trying to look as if I'm pleased abnout the Incarnation.
I won't miss it.
You said it better than I could. Trying to be jolly on four or five hours of sleep isn't my strong suit. Maybe one day I will get up the backbone to tell the choirmaster that I'm not doing it anymore, but it hasn't happened yet.
--------------------
"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
The answer, friends, is to be a Nonconformist. We don't do 8 am services, least of all on Christmas Day.
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
|
Posted
For me it's not early church, it's a kid. She's still young enough that she won't know it's Christmas morning this year, but regular wake up time is still a bit before seven. Next year is when it starts getting real.
(Maybe that's why my parents always had us open the majority of our presents on Christmas eve and kept presents from Santa at a minimum- when the only surprise left is an orange, a deck of cards, a few nuts, and some pencils, you are less likely to be up and ready to go at the crack of dawn.)
--------------------
"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Zappa
Ship's Wake
# 8433
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Og, King of Bashan:
quote:
Originally posted by Zappa:
This year will be the first time in 18 years I haven't had the ridiculous up 'til 2.00, back up at 5.00 routine, trying to look as if I'm pleased abnout the Incarnation.
I won't miss it.
You said it better than I could. Trying to be jolly on four or five hours of sleep isn't my strong suit. Maybe one day I will get up the backbone to tell the choirmaster that I'm not doing it anymore, but it hasn't happened yet.
There's been a few times, Easter and Christmas, when I've got to the "The Lord be with you" bits and wanted to say "yeah, whatever" (or worse). I've been saved to some extent by the fact that I say that bit (or used to) so talking back at myself was a little sub-productive. But saved too by my ingrown habit of decorum. *sigh*.
[ 22. December 2016, 01:40: Message edited by: Zappa ]
--------------------
shameless self promotion - because I think it's worth it
and mayhap this too: http://broken-moments.blogspot.co.nz/
Posts: 18917 | From: "Central" is all they call it | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Og, King of Bashan
Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562
|
Posted
Did I mention that my Christmas Eve starts with a 6:00 AM kid enforced wake up call as well? I'll have been up for 18 hours when Silent Night starts. ![[Snore]](graemlins/snore.gif)
[ 24. December 2016, 14:14: Message edited by: Og, King of Bashan ]
--------------------
"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy
Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
|
Posted
We miss out on a lot of the imagery that surrounds Christmas for those the other side of the equator - no new life after the shortest day, that line of territory. But a day like yesterday shows the positive side and how a midnight (11pm actually) can work when it's summer and a warmer climate.
After a muggy and unpleasant day there was a solid summer thunderstorm late in the afternoon, with the temperature dropping to a comfortable level. A quiet dinner at home for the 3 of us, joined by Dlet's current young lady, rain coming down steadily. Off to church later, by which time the rain had stopped, plenty of time to stand around in the mild evening chatting then going into a bright church, candles everywhere. A great service, with time for more chatting outdoors afterwards. Not what we'd like to do every week, but a joyous celebration of a joyous day.
--------------------
Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Freddy
Shipmate
# 365
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Oblatus:
quote:
Originally posted by Humble Servant:
Why is Christmas different to Easter, when nightfall is considered the start of the new day (if I've understood it correctly)?
I assume it's in imitation of the appearance of the angels to the shepherds "keeping watch over their flock by night." Their proclamation and worship happened at night; so do ours.
Another aspect of this is that Christ was born at humanity's darkest hour, whereas the resurrection is the dawn of a new era.
So Christmas imagery is about darkness, stars, candles, cold, etc. Easter imagery is about morning, early light, new life, spring, etc.
--------------------
"Consequently nothing is of greater importance to a person than knowing what the truth is." Swedenborg
Posts: 12845 | From: Bryn Athyn | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
american piskie
Shipmate
# 593
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Freddy:
Another aspect of this is that Christ was born at humanity's darkest hour, [... del]
So Christmas imagery is about darkness, stars, candles, cold, etc. [... del]
I don't get this. Surely the "official" myth is that He was born at the best of times, "the whole world being at peace, JESUS CHRIST, eternal God and Son of the Eternal Father ... was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man."
Posts: 356 | From: Oxford, England, UK | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by american piskie:
I don't get this. Surely the "official" myth is that He was born at the best of times, "the whole world being at peace, JESUS CHRIST, eternal God and Son of the Eternal Father ... was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man."
Well that's a bit of homespun theology I've not heard before.
I've heard the argument that the Roman Empire was a convenient time because it was easier to get about the world to proclaim the good news. I have never heard anyone suggest that the world conditions in the time of Jesus could be described as 'the best of times'.
It hardly fits with the Holy Family having to take flight to Egypt to avoid the Massacre of the Innocents.
--------------------
Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
Surely he was born at the divinely-ordained right time, God's kairos moment: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman ..." (Galatians 4:4).
[ 26. December 2016, 10:42: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Bishops Finger
Shipmate
# 5430
|
Posted
Preach it, Pastor!
'The best of times' is indeed a most unfortunate phrase, to say the least. Possibly the preacher concerned was thinking of the (relative) stability of the Pax Romana ?
IJ
--------------------
Our words are giants when they do us an injury, and dwarfs when they do us a service. (Wilkie Collins)
Posts: 10151 | From: Behind The Wheel Again! | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
american piskie
Shipmate
# 593
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by american piskie:
I don't get this. Surely the "official" myth is that He was born at the best of times, "the whole world being at peace, JESUS CHRIST, eternal God and Son of the Eternal Father ... was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man."
Well that's a bit of homespun theology I've not heard before.
I've heard the argument that the Roman Empire was a convenient time because it was easier to get about the world to proclaim the good news. I have never heard anyone suggest that the world conditions in the time of Jesus could be described as 'the best of times'.
It hardly fits with the Holy Family having to take flight to Egypt to avoid the Massacre of the Innocents.
Enoch, it is from the Roman Martyrology, The Proclamation of the Nativity, often sung these days at the start of the Midnight Mass. "The whole world being at peace" seems to me to be almost the definition of the best of times! See
Wiki on Proclamation
Posts: 356 | From: Oxford, England, UK | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
|
Posted
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only".
Nothing to do with Jesus of course - "A Tale of Two Cities".
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Freddy
Shipmate
# 365
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
quote:
Originally posted by american piskie:
I don't get this. Surely the "official" myth is that He was born at the best of times, "the whole world being at peace, JESUS CHRIST, eternal God and Son of the Eternal Father ... was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man."
Well that's a bit of homespun theology I've not heard before.
If He was born on earth to save us then there must have been something that He was saving us from.
As I understand it the world was in mortal peril, and He came to deliver us.
Hence the dark time and the night imagery.
--------------------
"Consequently nothing is of greater importance to a person than knowing what the truth is." Swedenborg
Posts: 12845 | From: Bryn Athyn | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Nick Tamen
Ship's Wayfaring Fool
# 15164
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Surely he was born at the divinely-ordained right time, God's kairos moment: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman ..." (Galatians 4:4).
Indeed. I can't see how the times when Jesus was born were better or worse than any other time in history. But it was the right time.
--------------------
The first thing God says to Moses is, "Take off your shoes." We are on holy ground. Hard to believe, but the truest thing I know. — Anne Lamott
Posts: 2833 | From: On heaven-crammed earth | Registered: Sep 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Pancho
Shipmate
# 13533
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Nick Tamen:
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Surely he was born at the divinely-ordained right time, God's kairos moment: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman ..." (Galatians 4:4).
Indeed. I can't see how the times when Jesus was born were better or worse than any other time in history. But it was the right time.
I think a case can be made that the times when Jesus was born were better than other times. It occurred during the Pax Romana, the period of relative peace under the Roman Empire. This allowed the Holy Family and the disciples to travel in a way that might not have been possible in another place and time. It allowed Christianity to spread throughout the empire, something that would've been more difficult without the Roman infrastructure of roads, ships and whatnot. There were established Jewish communities throughout the empire that allowed Christianity to gain toeholds in different places. There was an openness to different religious ideas both among Gentiles (the mystery religions, for example) and Jews (the different Jewish movements like the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, etc.) There were probably other advantages as well.
[ 01. January 2017, 19:28: Message edited by: Pancho ]
--------------------
“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’"
Posts: 1988 | From: Alta California | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
Printer-friendly view
