Question QUESTION: Question 1: Could you please tell me if there is any truth to the manner in which the Romans used the word 'gospel' and 'apostle' in the following quotes?
Question 2: Is there such a thing as the gospel of Caesar or the gospel of Augustus? Where could I find them if they exist?
Please include references if you have them available. I have been studying Roman history since visiting Italy and have not found any references to this usage of these words.
Thank you for having the knowledge that I do not yet have and thank you for being willing to share.
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Quote 1:"Because, what a gospel was, is a documentation of the pros and cons of the privileges and responsibilities of becoming a citizen of an advancing kingdom. The Romans really perfected the whole gospel thing and you can still find, uh copies, uh of the gospel of Julius Caesar. The gospel of Caesar Augustus."
Quote 2:"What was the gospel? The gospel was a manifesto, that they would take into foreign territory; and before there was a gospel of Jesus Christ, there was a gospel of Caesar. Did you know that? Or gospels of the Roman emperors. And, and it meant ‘the good news of what’s available in their kingdom.’"
Quote 3:"…they sent an apostle. Apostle literally means ‘the sent one’, but an apostle came as th, the person who represented the government of Rome, to, to govern this new colony."
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ANSWER: Hello,
First of all the Latin terms “euangelium” or “evangelium”(“gospel”) and “apostolus” (“apostle”) do not belong to classical Latin, but to late Latin as they began to be used after Christ's death, i.e. in the 1st.century AD.
They both derive from Greek and mean literally "good news”(Greek, “euangelion”) and “messenger”/ “the sent one”(Greek, “apostolos”).
Therefore in the previous centuries from the foundation of Rome in 753 BC to the early 1st.century AD the Romans do not used such nouns which would have had no sense at all.
The only one time in fact when we find the term “euangelia” (plural of “euangelium”) in a Latin text is in Cicero’s Epistles to Atticus, 2,3,1 where Cicero writes “Primum, ut opinor, euangelia” meaning “First, I have good news for you, as I think”, and then, as you can see, he uses such a term in the meaning of “good news” which has nothing to do with the ecclesiastical gospel, as we use it in the meaning of “a written account of the life of Jesus”( See the authors of the four canonical Christian gospels just known as the four evangelists).
As for “apostolus”(apostle), this word too does not appear in Latin before the 1st.century AD, when it is used to indicate one of the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus to preach the gospel.
To conclude:
1) there is no truth to the manner in which the Romans used the word 'gospel' and 'apostle' in the quotes you mention.
2)there is no 'gospel' of Caesar or of Augustus who both lived before the death of Christ, since Julius Caesar died in 44 BC and Augustus in 14 AD, while Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilatus, procurator of Judaea, in the times of the emperor Tiberius, successor to Augustus.
The only one explanation I can find to justify (but not too much) the use of the term “gospel” and “apostle” in the quotes you mention is the following:
1-“Gospel” has been used in the sense of “doctrine” as a ”list of regulations and laws” in force in the times of Julius Caesar or Octavianus Augustus.
2-“Apostle” has been used in the meaning of the person who has been sent to represent the government of Rome.
Anyway I believe that either “gospel” or “apostle” should not have used in the quotes you mention as they would not have been used at all by the Romans until the 1st century AD when however such terms were used only in a religious sense related to the Christian faith.
Hope this is clear enough. Feel free however to ask me again.
Best regards,
Maria
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PS. Just out for curiosity, where have you found the above quotes?
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QUESTION: Hello,
Thank you for the information you provided.
Do you have any specific references to books that make reference to the terms “gospel” in the sense of “doctrine” and “apostle” in the sense of a Roman representative? The context of the words’ usage seems to be important.
I wish to confirm what you have stated with at least one other historian. Do you have any recommendations about that? Does it make sense to post this same question to one of the other historians on AllExperts?
Thank you for your help,
Doug
For the sake of curiosity…just remember that you asked for it. (humor:)
http www churchofgladtidings com/Messages.aspx
Quote 1: Message “01.18.09 - Serving Jesus Til Kingdom Come”, a few sentences past minute 34:78.
Quote 2: Message “01.04.09 - Looking Ahead: 2009 and Beyond” at minute 57:20.
Quote 3: Message “01.04.09 - Looking Ahead: 2009 and Beyond” at minute 58:54.
This appears to be a Dominion Theology (Latter Reign, Reconstructionist, etc.) that he is preaching. I have also found a blogger who attends Bethel in Redding, CA using the same definition. I have talked to a person who goes to another church in another city using the same definition. The church that he attends has close ties to Bethel.
I’ve asked someone to ask for a reference to his usage of those words…particularly “gospel”. I’m not sure that I will get a response.
A word of caution:
- These churches use redefined meanings of some of the same words. The “gospel of the kingdom” that is preached here is different than how the Bible defines it. You must listen to the context surrounding any word or concept that they use.
- Doctrinal statements are meaningless. These churches can have a sound doctrinal statement that everyone can see, but they preach something else entirely.
- These churches scripture-twist or prooftext. They provide verses that “prove” what they say even when the context of the Bible, the chapter or even the rest of the sentence proves otherwise.
Answer Hello again,
Actually I have to repeat that the Romans would never have used the terms ““euangelium” / “evangelium” for “gospel” and “apostolus” for “apostle” respectively in the sense of “doctrine” and “a Roman representative".
Therefore any usage of “gospel” in the sense of “doctrine” and “apostle” as a Roman representative is absolutely out of place and then I have to confirm that any reference to the term “gospel” in the sense of “doctrine” and “apostle” in the sense of "a Roman representative" is very debatable, at least.
In short, I cannot suggest any reliable book that makes reference to the above words.
Also, I must point out that, when I wrote that 1-“Gospel” has been used in the sense of “doctrine” as a ”list of regulations and laws” in force in the times of Julius Caesar or Octavianus Augustus. 2-“Apostle” has been used in the meaning of the person who has been sent to represent the government of Rome”, I‘ve merely advanced a hypothesis to explain the reason why you have found those terms in the quotes you mentioned.
Finally, should you want to have another answer, feel free to post this same question to one of the other historians on AllExperts.
Best regards,
Maria
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PS. As for http www churchofgladtidings com/Messages.aspx, I’m sorry, but I believe that these messages are very debatable from the historical /linguistic point of view, at least!!
