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Better Call Saul?


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What legal basis did the chief priests and Saul have to arrest, bind and even kill Christians (Book of Acts)? Through the four gospels, they seem to have been dependent on getting / manipulating Rome to do this kind of thing for them. Thank you!

Edited by CV75
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They got Stephen on claiming the temple would be destroyed (criminal intent) and for blaspheming Moses and the Law by claiming Jesus fulfilled it. Under the Torah killing Stephen and other heretics was allowed. The Romans probably did not care as Stephen and the others were not Roman citizens and it was seem as a local religious affair with the locals killing local heretics in their weird provincial religion. The Romans also politically would not want to back Jewish heresy for fear of kicking off a Jewish revolt. “Let it be” probably seemed like the astute political choice.

Jesus was turned over to the Romans probably to give the Jewish leaders clean hands in not being responsible for the death as Jesus did have some local celebrity. It is also possible there was some supernatural fear in regards to Jesus. He had just publicly raised Lazarus from the grave before he was arrested. If you want Jesus, a guy with that much supernatural power, to be dead you might want someone else to do it just in case.

Edited by The Nehor
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1 hour ago, LoudmouthMormon said:

The bible used the word "persecute", not "use the legal process".  People did end up in prison, but you don't need to be following the law to arrest and imprison, you just need the dudes with the keys to the cells to go along with you.

1 hour ago, The Nehor said:

They got Stephen on claiming the temple would be destroyed (criminal intent) and for blaspheming Moses and the Law by claiming Jesus fulfilled it. Under the Torah killing Stephen and other heretics was allowed. The Romans probably did not care as Stephen and the others were not Roman citizens and it was seem as a local religious affair with the locals killing local heretics in their weird provincial religion. The Romans also politically would not want to back Jewish heresy for fear of kicking off a Jewish revolt. “Let it be” probably seemed like the astute political choice.

Jesus was turned over to the Romans probably to give the Jewish leaders clean hands in not being responsible for the death as Jesus did have some local celebrity. It is also possible there was some supernatural fear in regards to Jesus. He had just publicly raised Lazarus from the grave before he was arrested. If you want Jesus, a guy with that much supernatural power, to be dead you might want someone else to do it just in case.

Thank you.

From what I’ve been able to gather in the last hour or so, the “chief priests” were those rabbis associated with the Sanhedrin, the Jewish tribunal system that (d)evolved from Moses’ courts of judges to operating under Roman authority in its rule / occupation of Judea, permitting a degree of self-government among the Jewish population.

Led by the temple high priest, the council consisted of other high priests, elders, heads of prominent families, and scribes / lawyers. Under the Romans, it judged both civil and religious matters (including temple issues and adjudicating charges surrounding false prophets), served as the Jewish supreme court and could ostensibly declare war. Evidently, decisions calling for capital punishment required corroboration and sentencing by the occupying Roman governor.

So it would seem that the chief priests had enough authority, or leeway/corroboration at least, from the Roman prefect to engage in these activities and work closely with arresting officers and jailers and so forth, and perhaps employ their own.

Edited by CV75
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8 hours ago, MustardSeed said:

I’m not going to lie, I’m disappointed this thread isn’t about my favorite show. 

Clickbait? ;):D

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22 hours ago, CV75 said:

What legal basis did the chief priests and Saul have to arrest, bind and even kill Christians (Book of Acts)? Through the four gospels, they seem to have been dependent on getting / manipulating Rome to do this kind of thing for them. Thank you!

They would do so because Rome was polytheist, and would look the other way when they did many things. But t Rome did have a dim view of State Sponsored murder. This is why there was much debate surrounding Jesus Christ. Saul was present when Stephen, was stoned to death, he held the coats (for lack of a better term), when Stephen saw into the heavens, and saw “Jesus sitting on the right hand of the Father”.  

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