Reading Response, Chapters 8-10

And so we continue forward in history...

It's really interesting for me to be going through such a thorough cover of the history of Jerusalem because I am noticing where aspects that I identify with in Judaism developed.  One example is of the Shekhinah, or God's presence on earth.  Going back to the discussion of sacred space, it was really at this time where Jews had to redefine how to go about practicing religion.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  When one's religion requires for the use of a certain space but the space is not available, one must make do and rethink ways of doing things.  I also find it interesting that the rabbis reformed the idea of animal sacrifices through charity and compassion, two things that seem inherently opposite.  Also, I see that this is around the time when Jews really began to question God and what the displacement of their people meant.

In this time when the Jewish were exiled from the holy land and the Romans were in charge, I noticed how so much of what happened was really dependent on one man's opinion.  Whoever was in power at the time had final say and influence as to whether the Jews could be there or not.  I question why there was so much variation.

Another thing that stuck out to me was how at the beginning of this reading, Armstrong was talking about how Jerusalem "had no special status on the Christian map" (171).  I think that this shows the nomadic nature of the Christian faith.  However, towards the end of the reading she was talking about how Christians were licking the tomb of Christ.  I thought that that was a big jump, going from not much connection to practically idolizing.

I also noticed that in these chapters the Christians went from being the "Jewish Chrisitians" to just "Christians".  I also find that the tension and dissonance between the two groups diverged rather quickly.    I find the spread of Christianity fascinating, but at the same time I wonder how the two groups came to hate each other so much.  As I was reading I found myself thinking, "are they forgetting that the person responsible for starting their faith was a Jew?"

I find that as I'm reading more and more about the history, I'm seeing the triggers that lead to where we are today.  Sometimes I forget that what I'm reading is history.  It's like I'm watching a movie for the first time in a long time.  I remember the overall idea of what happens, but when I'm watching it I begin to remember what eventually happens.  While I'm doing this I also am rooting for a different ending, even though I know what is going to happen.  When I was reading about the reign of Emperor Julian, I was surprised because I didn't know where were Romans that liked Jews.  As I was reading about him I noticed that I liked him, but then I began to wonder why things did not work out like they were described in the beginning of chapter 10.  Then I saw that he was killed in battle and it all made sense, and the fate of the Jewish people was placed in different hands.

The Jews have been struggling so long for the holy land throughout history, sometimes I wonder if the fighting will ever end.