The deification of earthly rulers by their subjects was not confined to the Greeks and the Romans. For centuries, it was a common practice among Egyptians, Babylonians, and other peoples of the ancient world. Nor were the rulers the only ones deified by their followers. Some of the most noted of the Greek philosophers were said to have descended from the gods since their remarkable wisdom could be accounted for in no other way. Among the Gentiles of New Testament times, explanations of this kind were commonly given to account for the activities of a person who accomplished extraordinary things.
By the end of the first century of the Christian era, emperor worship led to a serious conflict between officials of the Roman government and members of Christian communities. Certain Roman emperors, in order to strengthen their prestige and establish further unity among their subjects, decided that their deification should not be postponed until after their deaths. Accordingly, they not only proclaimed their own deity but gave orders that statues in their honor should be erected in the provinces and that worship should be accorded them at specified times and places. Christians were thus placed in a precarious position: To refuse to conform to an emperor's orders would brand them as enemies of the civil government, but obeying these same orders would be an act of disloyalty to the one and only god whom they recognized. Portions of the New Testament are addressed to Christians who faced this dilemma and who needed both advice and encouragement with reference to the course that they should follow.
The influence of Greek philosophy was widespread throughout the Greco-Roman world. The Greek language was used by educated people, Greek-inspired schools of philosophy were established in leading cities of the Roman Empire, and the writings of the Old Testament were translated into Greek by the seventy scholars whose work was known as the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Scriptures. The influence of Greek ideas can be seen in many instances of New Testament writing, especially in those parts of the literature that attempt to interpret the Christian religion of people whose prior experience was in a Gentile rather than a Jewish environment. Such attempts are true to a considerable extent in the Pauline letters and also in the Gospel of John. In both of these instances, the writings were addressed to communities composed of Gentile and Jewish Christians. Therefore, these authors necessarily had to use language with which the people to whom they were writing were familiar and could readily understand. Greek influences can be noted, too, in other parts of the New Testament, although they are not as conspicuous there as they are in the writings of Paul and John.
