Browsing by Author "Hardenberg, Benedict Ralph"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemCity centres of the apostle Paul(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002) Hardenberg, Benedict Ralph; Thom, Johan C.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Department of Ancient Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The apostle Paul was called and commissioned to the city centres of the eastern Mediterranean world. These city centres were places of power, trade, wealth and travel. They were the nerve centres of civilisation in the East. People from various parts of the Roman Empire were found in these major cities. The city was therefore a highly significant institution in the Roman Empire. The governing authorities wanted hellenization and romanization to spread from these cities. The Christian leaders also decided that Christianity had to spread in the Roman Empire from its city centres. The apostle Paul's Christian mission was therefore to the various cities in the Roman Empire. The sociohistorical realities in these cities therefore formed the context of Paul's life and apostolic work and determined his relation to a city. The political, social, cultural and religious factors in a city could therefore impinge on his life and work. The apostle Paul was usually drawn to these large cities where he could find Jewish communities. As Christianity was resting on a Jewish foundation, his initial strategy was his work in the synagogues amongst the Jews. Paul also needed an alternative venue for his Christian work in the city. These alternate venues were usually the private homes of individuals who had become Christians. In these homes Paul established his church in a city. The hosts in these homes would usually become the benefactors and leaders in the church. Paul's apostolic work in a city was also done in the city streets. His church therefore became thoroughly mixed in terms of social status, however, the church gave all equal rights and privileges. When Paul left a city, he also placed on them the responsibility to reach their surrounding regions and provinces with the Christian message. These cities therefore had to be strategically located. The apostle Paul chose five specific cities that had an advantageous geographical position in the Roman provinces to complete his apostolic work in the eastern Mediterranean world.