Middle East - Anthony Ham [56]
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William Dalrymple observed Syrian Orthodox Christians at prayer in the 1990s, whereupon he wondered aloud if the Muslim prayer ritual could be based on the Christian, so uncannily similar were the series of genuflections and prostrations.
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Otherwise, the Arab Christians of the Middle East belong to many churches in all main branches of the religion – Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. The number of Christians in the Middle East is, however, in decline. The reasons are predominantly demographic. Over the centuries Christians, in Egypt and Syria in particular, have moved from the country to the city and this urbanisation has led to a fall in birth rates. Also, traditionally Christian church schools have provided a better education than Muslim state schools, which again has had the effect of lowering the birth rate. The professional qualifications resulting from the better education and subsequent wealth have also meant that Middle Eastern Christians emigrate far more easily. Syrian and Egyptian churches in particular have found it impossible to stem the flow of parishioners to Australia and the USA.
Foundations of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem in what is now the Palestinian Territories in the year zero (or AD 1, depending on who you believe) of the Christian calendar. After baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus was said to have been led by God into the desert, where he remained for 40 days and nights, during which time he refuted the temptations of the Devil. His ministry was marked by numerous miracles, such as healings, walking on water and the resuscitation of the dead (Lazarus). At the age of 33, Jesus was accused of sedition and condemned to death by Jerusalem’s Roman governor Pontius Pilate. After being crucified, Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven. Although doctrinal differences have tied Christian scholars and adherents in knots for centuries – hence the proliferation of different sects – Christians believe that God’s divine nature is expressed in the Trinity: God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
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The Bible as History
In Egypt, the wealth of tomb and temple texts and papyri has enabled historians to work out a detailed history of the country. For archaeologists in the ‘Holy Lands’, where the events related in the Bible’s Old Testament are said to have taken place, the situation is far more complex. Little in the way of written archives has been found and historians cannot say for sure whether characters such as Abraham, Moses or even Solomon existed. The Old Testament was compiled from a variety of sources and probably set down in script no earlier than the 6th century BC. The stories it contains could be wholly or merely partly true, but believing in their veracity has become an article of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims, rather than a proven fact.
When it comes to the New Testament and episodes related in the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we do have some means of corroboration. This was the Roman era and there are plenty of other sources in the form of written accounts, inscriptions and works of art so we can say with certainty that figures such as Herod, Pontius Pilot and a man called Jesus did exist. Even so, many sites commonly held to be of biblical significance were only fixed in the 4th century, some 300 years after the death of Christ. They owe their status more to tradition than verifiable sources.
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From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium, by William Dalrymple, takes the reader through the heart of the Middle East and pays homage to the survival of Eastern Christianity.
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The followers of Jesus came to be known as Christians (Christ is a Greek-derived title meaning ‘Anointed One’), believing him to be the son of God and the Messiah. Within a few decades of Jesus’ death, having interpreted and