The Lost Letters of Pergamum is a collection of letters in which prominent people from the nobility and churches of the century first communicate and discuss various matters. In general, this book shows people writing letters about how Christianity gradually and appeared influenced the world around. The plot describes the appearance of the first ideas of Christianity through persecution to recognition. This paper analyzes the development of personality and the transformation of Antipas and his attitude towards honor and shame.
Antipas is a character in the dynamics of aging, a member of the nobility with significant land holdings. He spent most of his time in Tire and Caesarea Maritima but later moved to Pergamum (Longenecker & Witherington, 2003). The whole book is a reflection of the transformation of Antipas’ personality through his letters. If at first, he appears as a classic representative of the upper classes, with his principles, characteristic of most representatives of this stratum of society. Participation in various associations, activities aimed at the charity, demonstrating a high position in society were typical actions of wealthy people of that time. However, Antipas still had a distinctive feature in the form of a deep and sincere interest in literature, which eventually led him to a new life.
Initially, Antipas thought that honor is created from the number of titles, and an ambitious person should behave arrogantly towards the plebeians. In the first century, the world depicted in this book was divided into several layers. The desire for honors and patronage stood guard over the code of relations between patricians and plebeians. Therefore, when communicating with Luke and discussing Jesus of Nazareth, Antipas initially fears for his honor (Longenecker & Witherington, 2003). It seemed impossible to compromise social norms in the way that Jesus did, but it was this example that allowed a different look at honor, reciprocity, and patronage.
External indicators of honor, such as patronage, participation in various associations, contributing to the segregation of the society of that time, in the new Christian teaching are not at the center of human well-being. The transformation is especially noticeable concerning the servants: if at first Antipas is ashamed of any manifestation of feelings towards the lower classes, then later he shows concern and Christian love by offering lodging for the night in his house (Longenecker & Witherington, 2003). The pursuit of titles, events, and bragging ends as Antipas becomes familiar with the new doctrine.
In letters to Luka, at first in Antipas, interest is struggling with shame; Antipas still values his position in society more than the desire to learn more about the new teaching. However, as communication continues, his personality is transformed with each letter. The dynamics of Antipas’ transformation show that honor is not connected with the number of titles and positions in society. Moreover, reciprocity and patronage began to be expressed through love, not condescension, characteristic of representatives of the noble society. As a result, Antipas achieves the sacrifice of himself for the sake of saving his brother, which confirms his faith in Christ.
First, a profound closeness to like-minded people in the houses of Kalandion and Antony, later, real Christian love awakens in Antipas, who increasingly understands the diametrical opposition of the society for which Jesus stood up and the Roman society of the first century. In addition, through Luke’s stories about Pontius Pilate, the Pharisees, and the great fire in Rome, the identity of Christ is gradually revealed, which makes Antipas feel his growing influence (Longenecker & Witherington, 2003). These stories sounded new to the representatives of the Roman society of that time, built on old traditions, the reasons for which were not so obvious. Christ’s actions are contrary to the code of honor and shame concerning sinners or tax collectors. Also, Jesus was not always meek; he selfishly adhered to the principles of these anachronistic codes, which demonstrates his behavior in a society without culture.
The clash of imperial ideas of honor and shame with Christian ones is unique in this book in that the culture of the New Testament is presented not in religious language, not in academic terms, but the context of real life. In the letters, the authors maintain an intimate atmosphere of personal conversation, where they can afford to open their souls much more, in contrast to society and the world. Antipas, with his transformation, predicted a change in social thought, which at first met the teaching with persecution, a desire to keep the social code between patricians and plebeians. Instead, mercy, gratitude, and humanity come, which not only are not a reflection of condescension, shame, and other feelings available to the upper class but are new feelings for society. The generation of Christian love completely changes the idea of honor, which is still an excellent quality of a person but has different values.
People who have undergone a transformation and are impressed by the new teaching no longer stop on the way because of shame, fear of losing privileges or titles, acquired property, but value their relatives more. The New Testament with this book is now much better perceived as a real story with a hidden and very complex layer of problems. In addition, Antipas learned the New Testament in a language more accessible to him, in the stories of Luke. So readers will learn about the transformation of thought in society towards the New Testament in a more familiar way. Although it may not be that all the character traits of other heroes are revealed in as much detail as Antipas, this does not prevent from feeling the atmosphere of the work. Finally, the book is of great historical importance for understanding the foundations of the emergence of values characteristic of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Thus, Antipas undergoes significant changes in his personality, including understanding honor and shame. At first, these categories are interpreted as opposites, while arrogance stands behind honor, and behind shame is the fear of sacrificing it. Then Antipas is imbued with Christian teaching, the honor of mercy and humanity, the most important values that do not exclude self-sacrifice in love for loved ones. The Lost Letters of Pergamum demonstrates, in the example of one person, how this understanding of honor and lack of shame was born about the manifestation of good feelings towards the plebeians and other representatives of the upper classes. The number of titles no longer contributed to the segregation of society, while a keen interest in new values transformed the personality of the already established hardened nobleman. As a result, society’s opinion, including about honor and shame, in Antipas’ system of values ultimately gives way to Christian love, which he learned from Luke’s letters.
Reference
Longenecker, B. W., & Witherington III B. (2003). The lost letters of Pergamum: a story from the New Testament world. Baker Academic.
“Class And Environmental History” By Karl Jacoby: Summary And Arguments
Introduction
Class and Environmental History by Karl Jacoby critically examines class relations between conservationists and the ‘backwoodsmen’ of the Adirondacks through the framework of class division. The author investigates the early conservation movement, recognizing the controversy that erupted around the dramatic expansion of state control of the environment, also known as The War in the Adirondacks (Jacoby 1997). In this essay, the author states that analyzing the class relations embedded in conservation allows illuminating ways in which ecological and social relations intertwine.
Summary
For the state officials, protecting New York’s forests often meant keeping them from lower-class rural folk, whose practices were judged as harmful and sloppy. In calling for the creation of a park, the commissioners argued that the residents’ mistreatment of the forest necessitated the state intervention and the introduction of rational, scientific management of the landscape (Jacoby 1997). To encourage the breeding of fish and game on private lands out of their control, the state allowed owners who maintained wildlife habitat to levy increased fines on their property’s trespassers (Jacoby 1997). The enclosure of state lands in a forest preserve curbed most self-sustaining practices such as hunting, foraging, and logging (Jacoby 1997). Jacoby (1997) describes how the impact of these regulations on the people already living in the Adirondack Mountains was often overlooked. In return, the loathing of the locals carried over onto New York’s conservation efforts in the region, seeding the conflict.
However, the author asserts that many of the residents of the Adirondacks did not advocate wide open exploitation of the environment. Rather, most area residents found the new state regulations inadequate to meet local needs (Jacoby 1997). The inhabitants of Adirondacks believed that the state should not equate their hunting done with that of wealthy sports hunters, whose conduct locals found barbarous. Finally, Jacoby (1997) describes how an open-armed conflict erupted in the woods of New York between members of different classes. Thus, after tracing the underlying tensions between classes and providing ample historic context, class inequality becomes an apparent part of the conservation movement’s history.
Argument
The overall tone of the essay presents a clear dichotomy of opinions. Jacoby (1997, 325) reverberates the image of upper-class sports hunters as self-righteous visionaries that distinguish themselves from ‘other’ Americans “exploiting resources in the traditionally wasteful manner.” While Jacoby (1997) refers to the early 1900s, similar sentiments are found in modern literature. According to Arora-Jonsson and Ågren (2019), Western environmentalism is driven by the urban middle class. Jacoby (1997) maintains that underlying the locals’ widespread resistance to gaming laws was the belief that these laws reflected a clear class bias. Kashwan (2017) observes a similar pattern: environmental protection is repeatedly accompanied by shifting problems of resource use and management strategies to more vulnerable classes. Overall, Jacoby’s sentiment of portraying class inequality as an emotionally charged issue is pertinent today.
Conservation practices worldwide are still exclusionary for the marginalized proportion of the population. Jacoby (1997) argues that the historic conflict ultimately represented the larger issue of the lower-class’ relinquished control over their daily life’s structures. Scheffer et al. (2017) support that, noting a larger pattern of inequality in nature and societies, both either dominated by a small elite or a fraction of all species. Furthermore, Ma et al. (2019) show that communities living within nature reserves have higher poverty levels than the national average, with income inequality exacerbated for the ‘within’ communities. Overall, the author’s analysis of the Adirondacks community losing their ways of life agrees with modern discrimination and class inequality research.
However, the mere existence of inherent inequality does not support maintaining and encouraging class disparity. On the contrary, promoting more inclusive conservation is imperative and requires addressing the underlying class division issues (Musavengane and Leonard 2019). Jacoby (1997) shows that despite authorities’ attempts to achieve a singular style to conservation implementation, it may not be effective. Essen (2017) supports this conclusion, showing that homogenizing the conservation debate compromises the very legitimacy of policy. Moreover, Tozer et al. (2020) argue that it is important to consider inclusive conservation management, which addresses access inequalities and perpetuation of dominant views on nature use and protection. Overall, both Jacoby’s and current research support including marginalized groups in conservation leadership and changing the perception of which individuals should dominate conservation.
Analysis
Through adhering to more storytelling than academic style, the author portrays a dramatic picture of the human dimension underlying the history of the ‘War in the Adirondacks.’ By vividly depicting the personalities and occupations, Jacoby (1997) creates a fuller understanding of the class conflict between the arrogant, high-class, state conservationists and self-sustaining, angered by oppressive regulations, forest residents. However, it can be argued that Jacoby gives up a degree of objectiveness by focusing on the emotional component of the story. The article could be improved by incorporating and analyzing some of the regulation’s specifics: for instance, a more detailed explanation of which parts of implemented rules benefited sports-hunters over Adirondacks’ locals.
Chronologically organizing the work allows for an accurate recap of the events. However, given the absence of topical sentences, theme headings, or concise conclusions, it is challenging to decipher the author’s key points carefully. Nonetheless, this historic essay is a comprehensive and insightful addition to the extant knowledge, given that it analyses the topic previously seldom discussed.
Conclusion
To conclude, the author uses a historic case study of the ever-present debate on nature conservation class dynamics. The essay discusses how the privileged population takes the moral high ground to justify making sweeping laws and the consequences for marginalized groups. By describing the slowly brewing Adirondacks conflict that erupts in an open confrontation, Jacoby paints a larger picture of the uneven and unfair benefits and consequences distribution.
References
Arora-Jonsson, Seema, and Mia Ågren. 2019. “Bringing Diversity to Nature: Politicizing Gender, Race and Class in Environmental Organizations?” Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space 2 (4): 874–98. Web.
Essen, Erica von. 2017. “Whose Discourse Is It Anyway? Understanding Resistance through the Rise of ‘Barstool Biology’ in Nature Conservation.” Environmental Communication 11 (4): 470–89. Web.
Jacoby, Karl. 1997. “Class and Environmental History: Lessons from ‘The War in the Adirondacks.’” Environmental History 2 (3): 324–42. Web.
Kashwan, Prakash. 2017. “Inequality, Democracy, and the Environment: A Cross-National Analysis.” Ecological Economics 131 (January): 139–51. Web.
Ma, Ben, Zhen Cai, Jie Zheng, and Yali Wen. 2019. “Conservation, Ecotourism, Poverty, and Income Inequality – A Case Study of Nature Reserves in Qinling, China.” World Development 115 (March): 236–44. Web.
Musavengane, Regis, and Llewellyn Leonard. 2019. “When Race and Social Equity Matters in Nature Conservation in Post-Apartheid South Africa.” Conservation & Society 17 (2): 135–46.
Scheffer, Marten, Bas van Bavel, Ingrid A. van de Leemput, and Egbert H. van Nes. 2017. “Inequality in Nature and Society.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114 (50): 13154–57. Web.
Tozer, Laura, Kathrin Hörschelmann, Isabelle Anguelovski, Harriet Bulkeley, and Yuliana Lazova. 2020. “Whose City? Whose Nature? Towards Inclusive Nature-Based Solution Governance.” Cities 107 (December): 102892. Web.
God’s Existence Arguments In The High Middle Ages
To begin with, the works of Ibn Rushd and St. Thomas Aquinas represent their own understanding and approval of the existence of God. Both philosophers prove God’s existence by using logical connections and references from religious sources. Remarkably, while Ibn Rushd uses Quran as his Holy Book, St. Tomas Aquinas is Christian, and he finds evidence in the Bible. Despite these striking differences of not identifying with the same religion, both authors justify the existence of God using similar arguments. This fact proves that the human mind is constantly looking for the omnipotence and omnipresence of God, and it does not matter what name they give to the Creator.
Interestingly, in both texts, there are some motives that are seen in the books by Aristotle, especially in the work by St. Tomas Aquinas. He agrees with Aristotle that for the greatest truths, there have to be the greatest beings. Therefore, the philosopher argues that because of the good and bright persons all around us, there has to be the most compassionate of them all – the Creator. This thought is quite similar to the idea of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Indeed, he agrees that nature is internally perfect, and it has to be moved and controlled by something as perfect and great as the world around mortal people. Both authors find God’s existence the only logical solution to the complexity and diversity of people’s lives.
Additionally, the aforementioned texts make us understand and respect the religious diversity in the High Middle Ages. We can see that writers believe in different Gods (Jesus and Allah), and they belong to different social and cultural backgrounds. However, they both refer to the famous work of Aristotle when writing their essays which shows some similarities in the religious vision as well. To conclude, these texts helped me realize how people with various beliefs can come to similar realizations when they use good reasoning and logic behind their arguments.
References
Ibn Rushd (Averroes). Ca 1190. Religion and Philosophy.
Saint Thomas Aquinas. 1268. From Summa Theologica.