Elise: Christianity

Elise Sjogren

Visions of Christianity

14.09.2008

Since our study of Christianity began with a overview of Judaism, I want to explore some thoughts regarding the essentially pre-Christ history of Christianity. Dr. Redick reminded us that there was no law before Moses. No rules for daily life. No writings. No sacred texts. When I realized what the full extent of that sentence meant, I was struck with the fact that the "religion" of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph was incredibly different than the one practiced by later Jews, and even later by Christians. 

These original patriarchs based their faith solely on hearing from their God. Their families had even less to follow... only the word of their fathers. And what did this faith mean to them? They no longer worshipped the idols of their people, but what did they practice instead? Were there daily ramifications to their religion, or only the occasional actions required by God? 

What did the generations of Israelites living under Egyptian slavery believe? They were waiting for their God to deliver them, but what did they practice? Did they ever gather together to worship their God? Did they recount the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? It seems they (especially Joseph) had some concept of sinning against God, but before the ten commandments were given, was there a definite morality streak to the religion?

And did the early Israelites have an axis mundi? There was so temple, no torah, no center for their religion. Could their axis mundi have been the monuments erected by the forefathers when they met with God? That would certainly agree with the notion that an axis mundi is where hell, earth, and heaven intersect, but I don't think the Israelites visited these monuments over again. 

When God appears to Moses at the burning bush, he says, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." It had been over 400 years since these men walked the earth, and I can only assume that their stories were passed down by oral tradition to the generation of Moses. I wonder what Moses thought about this God before his encounter with him. Did he really believe in his existence? Was he totally surprised? 

Moses tells God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" It seems the early Israelites didn't even have a name for their God! What kind of a religion did they have?

I wish I knew more about the beliefs and practices of the early patriarchs, before the law and the temple. The direct relationship between God and his chosen leaders is fascinating, as is the evolution of Judaism and ultimately Christianity.