In regard to your final point, I think that even the Gentiles generally expected their prayers to be heard, but not necessarily because of a ‘personal’ relationship. In the case of the Romans (as discussed above), they felt that a prayer would be answered if it was done with great care and without mistakes. I don’t think that the Gentiles in particular thought in terms of ‘relationship’ and a ‘personal walk’ with the gods or goddesses to whom they prayed, sacrificed, etc.

I suppose the ambiguity in part explains my subtitle: “Two Ancient Views.” I cannot be absolutely sure that Jesus is referring specifically to Roman prayer practices (which could include public rituals as pictured above or private prayer), but I can be sure that Jesus’ model for prayer is very different from examples we find in Roman prayers. I think the contrast is worth noting. Fortunately, not knowing the exact referent of the word “Gentiles” does not significantly affect the meaning of Jesus’ teaching.

More on this is found in M. Chancey: Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus [Cambridge, 2005]. While I concur that we should not over Romanise Palestine, I’m confident that we can admit to Jesus being aware of their culture, because Rome had a presence in the Israel of Jesus’ day.

Thoughts?

great point about herod. there’s a recent book called “herod the great builder” or something like that which details his building projects. having stood in the herodium in bethlehem and looked at the roman bathhouses at masada, i think it’s safe to say herod heavily romanized the land. caesarea maritima is another telling example. the most pertinent examples, though, are the herodian temples to augustus (another one was recently discovered near, i think, galilee). those structures imply that herod was interested in bringing roman religious culture (not just aesthetic culture) to palestine.

good thoughts

A while back I read an interesting article in JBL by Byron McCane entitled “Simply Irresistible: Augustus, Herod, and the Empire” (127:4, Winter 2008). He contends that Herod the Great was something of an aficionado of all things Roman. He notes the architectural achievements of Herod as reflecting an Augustan building strategy with some thoroughly Roman features (giving the temple as one example!). If Herod the Great ruled from around 40-4 BCE, then I wonder how much of Roman culture he might have imported by the turn of the century. Certainly there was also a Roman military presence in addition to the Roman appointed leadership. Ultimately, I’m still a bit unsure what the cultural mix looked like.

tag! i’m recruiting you to share your thoughts – http://foxswanderings.blogspot.com/2009/10/my-problem-with-review-of-biblical.html