I am starting to write about the things I have learned from reading the book “Foundations of Christianity” by Karl Kautsky. I have always been a strong critic of religions for various reasons: they fail to explain our world in a minimally accurate way and rely on mystical concepts in their explanations. Religion has also been used over time as an instrument of control over the population, and its history and texts have been refined over time to either please new converts or denigrate and justify practices like slavery, which was frequently legitimized through religious interpretations to sustain economic systems based on forced labor, or to limit the rights of certain groups, such as the subjugation of women depending on the interpretation of biblical texts. As the author states:
“Christianity, at its inception, was a reaction to the dire social and economic conditions of its time. The ruling classes utilized religion as a mechanism to enforce social conformity and justify the established hierarchies. This strategy was achieved by shaping religious doctrines to align with the interests of the elite, thereby legitimizing their authority. However, primitive Christianity emerged as a distinct phenomenon—its earliest adherents were largely composed of the oppressed classes, including slaves and the impoverished. This new religious movement articulated a vision of hope and resistance, one that sought to address the suffering and aspirations of these marginalized groups.”
Reflecting the social conditions of oppression of the time. Primitive Christianity was adapted to meet the needs of the elites, who used religion as a means of legitimizing the social status quo and keeping the masses submissive to the dominant system. For example, the text discusses how early Christian narratives were shaped to align with the needs of different social classes and how biblical texts were used by Roman elites to maintain the existing social order.
The idealistic concept of religions has no material basis in reality, and their passages have very few verified historical facts. Even Jesus is a controversial figure, as no historian of the time wrote about a person so important that when he was crucified, the sky darkened for several hours. It is pointed out that:
“The image of Jesus evolved progressively into that of a superhuman figure, embodying the idealized virtues and aspirations of early Christian communities. These communities, grappling with oppression and socio-economic hardships, infused their narratives with mythical and symbolic elements that reflected their longing for justice and redemption. This transformation not only elevated Jesus as a spiritual leader but also as a unifying symbol of resistance against Roman hegemony, providing a sense of collective identity and purpose to his followers.”
Indicating how symbolic narratives were constructed around his figure. The absence of consistent references to Jesus in contemporary historical sources reflects how the events attributed to him were later amplified by followers to consolidate his symbolic importance. There are only small mentions in texts by Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived during the Roman domination of Jerusalem, and Tacitus, who merely mentions that a person called Christ was crucified during the governance of Pontius Pilate. The text notes:
“The limited references to Jesus in historical sources like those of Josephus and Tacitus underscore the marginal status of the nascent Christian movement in its early days. These sources, while brief and often disputed, reveal an indifference or ambivalence toward the figure of Jesus, suggesting that he was not considered a significant historical personality during his lifetime. His subsequent elevation to prominence in Christian texts reflects the evolving needs of early Christian communities to establish a compelling and authoritative foundation for their faith, which involved the construction of a rich narrative imbued with theological and ideological significance.”
However, discovering that the origins of these religions often have foundations related to class struggle offers a new perspective on these texts. This relationship is explored by highlighting how primitive Christianity was shaped by the economic and social conditions of its time, including the exploitation of slaves and extreme poverty, which profoundly influenced its messages and initial organization.
“The primitive Christian community had a proletarian character. It consisted predominantly of the poor, slaves, and marginalized groups within the Roman Empire. This community developed a form of communal living, emphasizing mutual support and equality, which starkly contrasted with the hierarchical and exploitative structures of Roman society. These conditions deeply influenced the teachings and organizational strategies of early Christianity.”
It is emphasized the impact of social conditions on the ideology of primitive Christianity. According to Kautsky, the early Christian community was composed mainly of proletarians and slaves, its ideology being shaped by the social struggles and inequalities of the time. We can use these texts to understand specific periods by consulting them solely with the intention of understanding. Using parallel historical material is fundamental for this work, adding, modifying, and closing some gaps in historical understanding.
Then how to understand Christianity without first understanding its creation movement, development, and contradictions? We run the risk of understanding it in the exact way the Church would like us to: a monolith devoid of connection to the material world in which it resides. Something untouchable that only ecclesiastics with higher training could interpret, with its texts being the monopoly of a class apart from society. But what do we actually know about the origin of this religion? We know it began about 2000 years ago, driven by the gigantic inequalities, social crises, and decline of the slave-based economy of the Roman Empire, creating, in turn, a great mass of discontent with this situation seeking a new form of social organization and spiritual hope amidst the collapse of society. Its origins are delicately shared with the Judaism of the time, a religious system present in Palestine, which had strong messianic tendencies. Many Jews awaited a savior who would lead the political and spiritual liberation of this people. At that time, in Judaism, religious services were all concentrated in the temple of Jerusalem, located on the temple mount (Mount Moriah), still a sacred place today due to the presence of mosques and other historically important structures. It was a sumptuous temple of approximately 144,000 square meters. Its functions were as a religious center, where animals and grains were sacrificed; as an economic role, serving as a religious bank where Jews from all over the world deposited their donations;as a symbol of unity, representing the unity of the Jewish people under God; and administrative, as the high priest of the temple also played a political role, representing the Jews before the Roman authorities.
“The temple taxes and the pilgrims must have brought quantities of money into Jerusalem and given employment to many men. Directly or indirectly the Jehovah cult in Jerusalem supported not only the priests of the temple and the scribes, but also the shopkeepers and money-changers, the craftsmen, the peasants, farmers, herdsmen and fishermen of Judea and Galilee, who found an excellent market in Jerusalem for their wheat and their honey, their lambs and kids, and for the fish they caught in the coastal waters or on the Sea of Chinnereth in Galilee, and brought to Jerusalem dried or salted. If Jesus found buyers and sellers in the Temple, money-changers and those that sold doves, this was thoroughly in keeping with the function of the Temple in the life of Jerusalem.”
“Jerusalem remained the center and capital of Judaism; they grew together. It became a rich city once more, a big city with perhaps 200,000 inhabitants; but, unlike the days of David and Solomon, it no longer derived its greatness and wealth from military might or the trade of the peoples of Palestine, but only from the temple of Jehovah. Every Jew, wherever he might live, had to contribute to its upkeep and pay a double drachma every year as temple tax, which was sent to Jerusalem. Many additional and exceptional gifts flowed in toward the shrine. Not all of them were intercepted, like the precious offering of which the four Jewish embezzlers swindled Fulvia, in Josephus story.”
The Roman conquest of Jerusalem since 63 BCE caused a struggle between dominators and dominated. The Jews resisted foreign domination due to their monotheistic culture, which was incompatible with Roman worship of various gods and the divinization of emperors. However, mainly, Roman control imposed heavy taxes and corrupt practices by its governors, such as Pilate and later Florus. The revolt began when Florus confiscated all the temple’s treasures, claiming they belonged to the emperor. The Jews managed to briefly recover Jerusalem during this period, only to be brutally crushed by Nero’s response, who sent his general Vespasian to completely destroy the temple after a months-long siege. To discourage future rebellions, the temple was burned, and thousands of Jews were killed. Today, only the temple’s outer wall, known as the Wailing Wall, remains.
The fact is that with the temple’s destruction, the Jews, feeling disillusioned, sought other religions. Christianity offered a messianic interpretation similar to Judaism, which many could adopt as a response to the tragedies of the period. Many Jews began to interpret Jesus as the new spiritual temple. Additionally, not needing to make sacrifices in the temple became attractive to the Gentiles, who were non-Jewish people, often from polytheistic cultures within the Roman Empire. Their inclusion marked a significant shift, as it allowed Christianity to expand beyond the Jewish community. One of Christianity’s qualities and differences was that its practice did not need to be connected to a specific temple; its communities were organized in houses and synagogues, facilitating dissemination throughout the Roman Empire. One of the facilities provided by the empire was its superior-quality roads, which offered the transport of ideas throughout the empire. With the temple’s destruction, Christianity and Judaism eventually completely distinguished themselves, helping the new faith to establish itself as an independent religion.
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