著者
島 創平
出版者
東洋英和女学院大学
雑誌
人文・社会科学論集 (ISSN:09157794)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.39, pp.47-64, 2022-03

It is a commonly accepted view that Nero persecuted Christians for charge of arson and St. Peter and St. Paul were martyred in the time of Great Fire of Rome. However, B. D. Shaw denied that common view. There is no definite historical evidence that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome because of Nero’s persecution.There are no other documents than the Tacitus writing that relates the Great Fire of Rome with the persecution of Christians. Although Tacitus called those who believed in Jesus Christ “Christiani,” that naming was not common in the reign of Nero, i.e., AD60s. During the reign of Nero, Romans could hardly distinguish the Christians from the Jews.Early Christian writers often called Nero as “the enemy of the God.” After Nero killed himself, the legend arose that Nero did not die and would come back from the East to Rome. Such image of Nero influenced the literature of the Apocalypse of Judaism and Christianity. And that image also placed Nero in the position of the “enemy of the God” and “Antichrist” who would appear at the end of the world.
著者
島 創平
出版者
公益財団法人 史学会
雑誌
史学雑誌 (ISSN:00182478)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.91, no.3, pp.285-320,421-42, 1982-03-20 (Released:2017-11-29)

To what extent did Christianity contribute the decline of ancient slavery? To answer this question, we have to consider the role of "manumissio in ecclesia (m.i.e.)" the ecclesiastical manumission, which was established by the emperor Constantin in the early 4th century. Generally the origin of m.i.e. was thought to be back to the Greek sacral manumission acted in sanctuaries from 5th century B.C. to 3/4th century A.D. But an Italian historian Fabrizio Fabbrini insisted that m.i.e. had no relation to the Greek sacral manumission and by m.i.e. Christian church played a big role in the decline of ancient slavery. Many historians have thought that the Greek sacral manumission was originally a religious act. According to them, the form of consecration was the oldest form and as the age advanced, secular elements gradually increased. Meanwhile, Fabbrini said that it was not God but church and its members -churchmen and believers- who played important roles in m.i.e., but in the Greek sacral manumission, priests of sanctuary had little concern with it. Therefore, Fabbrini insisted that the different roles of God and priests indicate the individuality of m.i.e.. But was it right that -as Fabbrini and other historians thought- the Greek sacral manumission was originally a religious act? In fact, when we examined various inscriptions relating to sacral manumission, we found the fact was on the contrary. That is, the most of the early inscriptions of Greek sacral manumission of 5/3rd century B.C. took the least sacralized form and Gods played no important role there. But in the later inscriptions, sacral elements increased. For example, most of the inscriptions of Macedonia of 3/4th century A.D. took the form of consecration, and in certain cases, the motive of manumission was declared and God concerned with it. On the other hand, in the manumission of the Jewish community in Panticapaion of the late 1st century A.D., Jewish synagogue and its members had important roles. Thus, as the age advanced, Greek sacral manumission, contrary to the view of Fabbrini and other historians, was inclined to be sacralized, and when we examined the records of m.i.e. to which Fabbrini had paid little attention, we found similar tendency. In these records, the motives of manumission which had religious contents were mentioned and the role of church and its members became more important. However, we had already similar cases in later sacral manumission. In conclusion, m.i.e. was never independent of other sacral manumission, but it succeeded the later tendency of Greek sacral manumission, increasing its sacral elements.
著者
島 創平
出版者
東洋英和女学院大学
雑誌
東洋英和大学院紀要 (ISSN:13497715)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.1, pp.43-51, 2005-04-01

In the scene of Paul's trial before the members of Sanhedrin, Paul called out, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees."(Acts of the Apostles 23:6). Some scholars comment on this statement as Paul's tactics. But J. Jervell says that this statement is not tactics but "Zeugnis". That is, Luke, the author of Acts, depicts Paul as a "Pharisaic Christian". So after his conversion, Paul remained faithful to the Jewish law and he had the hope in the resurrection of the dead. On the other hand, in his own letter, Paul looks on his former life as a Pharisee as "rubbish" (The Letter to the Philippians 3:8). But E. P. Sanders says that Paul did not have one single theology regarding the law. In The Letter to the Romans Paul regards the law as Sin (chapter 6). But on the other hand, for the most part he agrees with the behavior which the law requires. His own views of proper behavior, both 'ethical' and 'cultic'. were Jewish to the core. Paul the Apostle shared many of the characteristics of Paul the Pharisee. Thus, early Christianity and Judaism of those days did not always oppose each other. The relationship between them should be re-examined more carefully.
著者
島 創平
出版者
東洋英和女学院大学大学院
雑誌
東洋英和大学院紀要 = The Journal of the Graduate School of Toyo Eiwa University (ISSN:13497715)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.11, pp.1-9, 2015-03-15

Nero, the 5th Roman emperor, has often been regarded as a “tyrant”. He was the first persecuter of Christians in A.D. 64 when a major fire broke out in the City of Rome. Tacitus, the Roman historian, reports that in order to deny the rumour that Nero himself had orderd the fire to be set , Nero ascribed the crime to Christians and punished them cruelly. However, Tacitus also says that Christians were convicted not so much on the count of arson as for “hatred of the human race” (Annales, 15.44). To consider the question why Christians were persecuted by Nero, we must depend mainly on the descriptions of Roman historians ─ Tacitus and Suetonius. These historians lived in the early part of the 2nd century, when the distinction between Christianity and Judaism had became more apparent. But in the days of Nero’s reign, the middle of the 1st century, the distinction was not so apparent. Christianity was regarded as a sect of Judaism. In The Acts of the Apostles, Christianity was called “the sect of the Nazarenes” by an anti-Christian Jew (Acts, 24.5). On the other hand, early Christian missionary work caused division and discord among Jewish people and often provoked disturbance between people who accepted the Christian faith and those who rejected it. In the reign of Claudius, Jews were expelled from Rome because they often created disturbances at the instigation of “Chrestus” (Suetonius, Claudius, 24.4). The Christian people of the Neronian days were thus regarded as a Jewish splinter group and troublemakers who often caused disturbances. Therefore, it is more accurate to view the persecution of Christians by Nero as persecution of a particular Jewish sect ─ “the sect of Nazarenes”.
著者
島 創平
出版者
東洋英和女学院大学大学院
雑誌
東洋英和大学院紀要 (ISSN:13497715)
巻号頁・発行日
no.11, pp.1-9, 2015

Nero, the 5th Roman emperor, has often been regarded as a "tyrant". He was the first persecuter of Christians in A.D. 64 when a major fire broke out in the City of Rome. Tacitus, the Roman historian, reports that in order to deny the rumour that Nero himself had orderd the fire to be set , Nero ascribed the crime to Christians and punished them cruelly. However, Tacitus also says that Christians were convicted not so much on the count of arson as for "hatred of the human race" (Annales, 15.44). To consider the question why Christians were persecuted by Nero, we must depend mainly on the descriptions of Roman historians ─ Tacitus and Suetonius. These historians lived in the early part of the 2nd century, when the distinction between Christianity and Judaism had became more apparent. But in the days of Nero's reign, the middle of the 1st century, the distinction was not so apparent. Christianity was regarded as a sect of Judaism. In The Acts of the Apostles, Christianity was called "the sect of the Nazarenes" by an anti-Christian Jew (Acts, 24.5). On the other hand, early Christian missionary work caused division and discord among Jewish people and often provoked disturbance between people who accepted the Christian faith and those who rejected it. In the reign of Claudius, Jews were expelled from Rome because they often created disturbances at the instigation of "Chrestus" (Suetonius, Claudius, 24.4). The Christian people of the Neronian days were thus regarded as a Jewish splinter group and troublemakers who often caused disturbances. Therefore, it is more accurate to view the persecution of Christians by Nero as persecution of a particular Jewish sect ─ "the sect of Nazarenes".
著者
島 創平
出版者
リトン
雑誌
死生学年報 = Annual of the Institute of Thanatology, Toyo Eiwa University
巻号頁・発行日
vol.2, pp.45-58, 2006-03-31

The Romans had to provide for their own burial places. Rich Romans spent huge amount of money to build their monumental tombs. But many poor Romans left no memorial. Their corpses were thrown unceremoniously into collective pits (puticuli) outside the city. So in order to make sure to have their burial places, they became members of cooperative burial clubs (collegia), or they depended on wealthy patrons, who provided collective burial chambers (columbaria) for them.Later as the population of the city of Rome grew, the price of land around the city soared. And the way of burial gradually changed from cremation to interment. Consequently the shortage of place for burial became serious problem. For that reason, burial places were located underground.