“Symbolism of Language: A Study in the Dialogue of Power Between the Imperial Cult and the Synoptic Gospels ”

ABSTRACT Long before the writings of the New Testament gospels, where Jesus was being proclaimed as the “Son of God,” and “Savior,” the world existing under the influences of Hellenism resulting from the conquests by Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, had already been well acquaint ed with and expected … See more

ABSTRACT Long before the writings of the New Testament gospels, where Jesus was being proclaimed as the “Son of God,” and “Savior,” the world existing under the influences of Hellenism resulting from the conquests by Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, had already been well acquaint ed with and expected to hear certain symbolic language in determining titles for their divine ruler – the emperor. Living within a cosmological framework, i.e., a sacred cosmos, the citizens of the empire accepted the emperor as the manifestation of divinity in the world. This belief existed for centuries prior to Christianity as a reality that was “taken for granted.” In fact, this belief system was never questioned until the time of the emperor Constantine, during the middle of the fourth century C.E. (MacMullen, 85) The Julio-Claudian dynasty, beginning with the reign of Julius Caesar in the year 62 BCE, through the end of the Flavian Dynasty.

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