But he made what to me was an interesting point. I’m not sure he intended this idea directly, but I inferred it from what he said.
Jesus died, by the standard chronology, in A.D. (Anno Domini, if memory serves, or CE if one wants to wash history free of Christianity) 33. The Second Temple of the Jews was destroyed in A.D. 70, some 37 years later.
Here is the thing: much of the Law that binds the Jews centered on that Temple. They were required, per Gibbons, to “present themselves before Jehovah” 3 times a year, and of course the Temple is where the sacrifices were made. T’Shuvah, which I understand is a critical Jewish term meaning something like “repentance”, originally involved making sacrifices to atone for sins. The rabbis–or whatever they were called then–would slit the throats of animals on altars intended for the purpose, and presumably stained with blood.
When the Temple was gone, the Law could no longer be followed exactly. Here is the interesting point: Jesus was made the FINAL sacrifice, such that the Temple was no longer needed. Virtue was made of necessity. Christianity, as it came to be called, was in effect an alternative to the traditional faith which not long after his death was rendered impossible. As Gibbon has it, it seems many early Christians wanted to keep the details of the traditional Jewish law, but append it to include an end to sacrifice.
We seem to know that none of the Gospels were written within fifty years of Christ’s death, and some much later, seemingly.
We also know–and we can reference documents found from that era–there were many contending stories and doctrines which were not included within the dominant narratives that were created by the Romans, impatient with competition and alternative.
People, and the history they make, are endlessly interesting. I’m drinking again, and should go to bed, but my dreams don’t stop. I can just sit, and watch endless and endlessly interesting visions flow through me. There will be an end to all this, but not tonight.