Quote:
Originally Posted by Ithekro
We are talking in the Roman Republic period, right?
What would having no Rome do for something like Christianity even forming. Judea isn't controlled by Rome...there would be no need for any anti-Roman factions. No need for a revolution. No need for a messiah. If you believe in Jesus living or not, there would be no cause there to stir the people to the levels they were at around 30 AD. No Jewish rebels. None of that. If you believe the religious aspect, then God might have held off sending down Jesus until later. If you don't then there would have been no need for their to be even a tale of this holy figure or his deciples running around the Roman Empire speading his words and tales. No need for some Jewish sect to start causing trouble against Rome because they won't worship the Emperor.
Makes one wonder.
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Well, that's certainly untrue.
Judea was well-known for its numerous rebellions and hard-to-rule people. It revolted against Assyria, Babylon, and Seleucid. The Jewish culture did not fit well with whoever conquered the land. I think only Persia had relative success because of their more tolerant policies.
Without Roman Empire, Judea would still be ruled by the regional power. It was too small to maintain independence at the boundary of several great powers. But it was also impossible assimilate the people into the more mainstream culture of the time. Herod and his descendents were Jewish by blood but even then they had trouble ruling Judea. By the time Titus conquered Jerusalem, the city was a hellhole with a few factions fighting each other while starving. Whoever ruled Judea in place of Rome most likely could not do any better.
Messiah was promised in the Old Testament. So in times of turmoil, some people would lay claim to that title. Jesus was not the only prophet to come out at the time. There were many before and after him. That's perhaps part of the reason why Jesus was not widely mentioned in historic records at his time. He was made famous by the disciples after his death (and resurrection), especially Paul who spread the word all over the world.
In my opinion Judea's fate was unavoidable. One way or another it would rebel against whoever ruled the land. The rebelion would sooner or later fail. Eventually the conqueror would decide to uproot the Jews from the Levant and try to destroy Judalism. The Second Temple, as the centre of their worship, would be the first thing to fall. The Jews would still go on exile for centuries.