On Finishing A Thesis

My thesis was involved with benefaction. To explore the role of benefactors in the Mediterranean during the first century of the years of Our Lord, benefactions donated by powers and principalities of this world, I had to view the entire social, political, and economic situation dominated by Roman imperial rule. On finishing my thesis, I found my local political, social and economic situation changing, and it becomes more obvious that many of the features of that ancient civilisation are alive and well in the present era.

            We live in a time of high culture and technological development, so much that future generations may well look back on us with amazement. We also live in a time of extreme self-interest, greed, and corruption, and these features we share with the Roman world. In fact, my thesis taught me a good deal about how the world is constructed.

            This was a culture that valued power, celebrity and money. Sound familiar? Fame, or glory, was the driving desire of people who sought honour and exaggerated forms of respect every day of their lives. The dominant culture throughout the Roman world was actually Greek: it loved trips to the gym, sporting events, and competition. The great feature of interest was the physical body: beauty, bodily strength and physical skills. I think we see ourselves mirrored here.

            Many benefactions came as infrastructure: public buildings, roads, and aqueducts (the one built by Pontius Pilate using Temple funds caused a riot — put down with severity — in which many persons died). We see an emphasis on infrastructure today, accompanied by contempt of the land. Damage done to the earth by Roman mining methods can be seen from space.

            Although owning land was the chief means of wealth, money was important too. Taxes were heavy and money collected went straight to the top. In Palestine Herod the Great killed off traditional landowners and replaced them with money-hungry souls loyal solely to himself: he would level an ancient cemetery and ancestral tombs to build a city named for the Roman Emperor. Money pays troops, for one thing, and conquest and control were always in the Roman mind. Do we see an anything for money mentality today?

            More money, more power, more fame, more beauty, more strength leading to more money more power and more fame. In a situation of such high competitiveness, there was little mercy for the losers. “Money-lovers” is a term of contempt in the Bible. There are other values. The prophets can tell you about them.

            My thesis was a fascinating pilgrimage. It took me to some very strange places, and then it brought me back here to face the same situations and sins of humankind that have hardly changed throughout the ages.