And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed ... And Joseph also went up to Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem ... to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. -- Luke, Chapter 2
The context of the Christmas story is in the original Roman World System, in which resources flow to the core and power and control flow to the provinces. A version of this system operates in the United States today.
Of the many Roman provinces -- Gaul, Hispania, Macedonia and others that circled the Mediterranean Sea and into Europe -- Judea was the most problematic for Rome.
The Roman World System was based on resource extraction and taxes (see Luke 2 above). Resources flowed to Rome through a local puppet governor -- Herod is the most famous -- and a regional Roman governor -- Cyrenius and Pontius Pilate are examples. The governors extracted tax money or goods to keep them motivated and powerful.
In Rome the masses were the beneficiaries of cheap goods and state-sponsored events. In the Coliseum gladiators fought to the death; the blood-lust was free. Food from the provinces was cheap because lower-class Romans, the majority, had little income and often worked alongside slaves for slave wages. The Roman middle class was small but powerful. The even smaller wealthy class formed the basis of the plutocracy -- rule by the very rich.
To keep this system operating, the Caesars and their fellow plutocrats maintained the great Roman legions in the provinces that kept order perpetuating the tyranny that was the Roman Empire.
Revolt came in Judea, among the poorest of the Roman provinces, in the Jewish Wars between A.D. 66 and 135. The First Jewish War began as an anti-tax revolt with attacks against Romans. The legions responded by destroying the Temple of the Mount in Jerusalem and executing 6,000 Jews. The Jews counterattacked, overwhelming the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. Later, the 12th Roman Legion was ambushed by Jewish rebels in the Battle of Beth Horon; 6,000 legionnaires were killed.
Four Roman legions were brought in and Jerusalem was destroyed, the Temple of the Mount again razed. The surviving populace was sold into slavery. The Romans mopped up Jewish strongholds, the last at Masada, where the 960 Jewish defenders committed suicide rather than capitulate. A million Jews are said to have died in the rebellion, most by famine and disease.
The final war was led by Simon Bar Kokhba, who was considered by Jewish religious leaders to be the Messiah. Bar Kokhba defeated the occupying Roman Legion and ruled Judea for two years. Some sources say Rome brought in 12 legions to crush the rebellion. Bar Kokhba fought with guerrilla-style warfare, and Rome lost the equivalent of an entire legion. But the Roman army overcame Bar Kokhba's forces at Betar and he was executed. One source claims 580,000 Jews were killed or died from disease and more than 1,000 towns and villages were razed.
Once again Jews were enslaved and evicted from their homeland and the diaspora was complete.
The Roman World System remained intact.
Ironically, Rome eventually took over the religion of a minor Jewish rebel of the period, Jesus Christ. Emperor Constantine re-contextualized Christianity to be a religion of empire:. "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God, that which is God's," (Matthew 22). In doing so Constantine rejected its essence, which is forgiveness: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," (Matthew 5). And redistribution of wealth: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God," (Mark 10).
Western culture today can track many of its practices back to the World System of Rome. Our world system is also based on the flow of resources from Second and Third World countries to the core, and the flow of power and control to those states through puppet governments and military engagement (Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan). We have morphed from a democracy to a plutocracy. Our elected leaders reflect the will of a small number of very wealthy people and their corporations through a corrupt election system. We have perverted Christianity with the rise of prosperity theology and the blasphemy of its most important ritual, the bacchanalia of materialism known as Christmas. And we continue to minimize forgiveness and redistribution of wealth, the foundation of Christianity.
Alan Boraas is a professor of anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.
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