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- This examination treats the New Testament as one of many documents, written and perhaps later edited by people who wanted others to believe as they did, which can be used to piece together a more complete and authentic understanding of the life and times of Jesus and the founding of early Christianity. Critical historians begin with the assumption that Jesus was a Jew, and that key institutions and actors (the monarchy, the Temple, the priesthood, the Pharisees) must be understood in terms of contemporary Israelite and Jewish texts, and archaeological evidence. Many scholars and other students of the Historical Jesus believe that an account of his life must be viewed, and can only make sense when placed within his historical and cultural context, rather than purely in terms of Christian orthodoxy. Such a study foregrounds the forces which were at play in the Jewish and Roman cultures at that time, and the tensions, trends, and changes in the region under the influence of Hellenism and Roman occupation. The cultural and historical context of Jesus is that of Galilee and Judea during the first half of the first century. By 63 BCE, the partially-Hellenized territory had come under Roman imperial rule as a valued crossroads to trading territories and buffer state against Parthia. The Roman Prefect’s first duty to Rome was to maintain order, through his political appointee the High Priest. In general, Roman Judea was peaceful and self-managed, however riots, sporadic rebellions, and violent resistance were an ongoing risk. The conflict between the Jews’ demand for religious independence and Rome's efforts to impose a common system of governance upon its entire empire (including in religious and cultural matters) meant there was a constant underlying tension alongside peaceful governance, with minor outbreaks common. Four decades after Jesus’ death the tensions culminated with the first Jewish-Roman War and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which in turn catalysed the final stage in the birth and divergence of Early Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism.
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