Moss begins with a discussion about the origins of the word "martyr" and the rather ludicrous notion that xtians "invented" martyrdom. It would seem that they did invent the word - martyr being taken from a Greek word meaning someone who testifies in court - but the concept of a "noble death" was well known to the Greeks and Romans. Several examples are given including Socrates.
In a review of the Book of Daniel, Moss notes that there was a fundamental change in outlook because the earlier prophets had promised that adherence to god's laws would give them earthly success. An afterlife was still a rather fuzzy concept in the ANE but not among the Greeks who were somewhat more intellectually advanced. However, "god's" promises weren't working out so well - as any fool could plainly see - so a shift to the more eschatological vision was necessary. As Moss puts it, "Scholars hypothesize that this idea of delayed judgement and eschatological reward developed because those promises of immediate reward were constantly unfulfilled. As a result and in order to avoid the conclusion that god was either notoriously unreliable or fundamentally incompetent, the idea of future eschatolgical reward and punishment emerged. Injustices that were not righted in one's lifetime would be settled at the end of time."
How convenient...and of course, good enough to fool the dolts!
In a review of the Book of Daniel, Moss notes that there was a fundamental change in outlook because the earlier prophets had promised that adherence to god's laws would give them earthly success. An afterlife was still a rather fuzzy concept in the ANE but not among the Greeks who were somewhat more intellectually advanced. However, "god's" promises weren't working out so well - as any fool could plainly see - so a shift to the more eschatological vision was necessary. As Moss puts it, "Scholars hypothesize that this idea of delayed judgement and eschatological reward developed because those promises of immediate reward were constantly unfulfilled. As a result and in order to avoid the conclusion that god was either notoriously unreliable or fundamentally incompetent, the idea of future eschatolgical reward and punishment emerged. Injustices that were not righted in one's lifetime would be settled at the end of time."
How convenient...and of course, good enough to fool the dolts!
