Hıristiyanlığın ilk dönemlerinde Milenyalizm meselesi
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Date
2020-06-16
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Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi
Abstract
Milenyalizm (binyılcılık), eskatolojik bir mesele olarak tamamen teolojik bağlamı ile değerlendirilmişse de, yeryüzünde belirli bir zümrenin kurtuluşuna ilişkin dünyevî bir mesele olduğundan, bu düşünce ortaya çıktığı toplumun durumu ile yakından ilişkilidir. Hıristiyanlığın ilk dönemlerinde, milenyalizm meselesi ile ilgili görüşler dönemin sosyo-politik etkilerinden uzak kalamamıştır. Bu çalışmada, Hıristiyanlığın ilk dönemlerinde binyılcı fikirlerin Kilise dışında görüşler olarak nitelenmediği, aksine, bazı kilise babalarının söz konusu fikirleri büyük ölçüde taşıdığı savunulmaktadır.Ayrıca, binyılcı fikirlere karşı çıkan bazı yazarların aslında doğrudan binyılcılığa değil, bu yaklaşımın uzun vadede Kilise için doktrinel ya da kurumsal anlamda bir tehdit unsuru olabilecek yönlerine eleştiriler getirdikleri iddia edilmektedir. Bu bağlamda, Kilise’nin binyılcılıkla ilgili kanaatini değiştirmesinde etkili olmuş heretik hareketlerden, Hıristiyanlığın emperyal güçle ilişkilerindeki değişimin söz konusu inançlara yansımalarından ve Yahudiliğin içinden çıkan bir din olarak Hıristiyanlığın kendini tanımlaması ile binyılcılığın reddi arasındaki ilişkiden bahsedilmektedir.
Although being an eschatological matter and examined usually with its theological context, millennialism is related to the environment and the society in which these thoughts emerge, since it is very related to this world and salvation of a group of people. In early Christianity, millennial matters were not apart from the sociopolitical conditions of the period. The article argues that in early Christianity, the Church did not expurgate millennial ideas; on the contrary, the writings of some Church Fathers hold it widely. Additionally, this article states that the authors who opposed millennialism were not actually against the teaching itself, but they saw that some aspects of this idea would cause a doctrinal or institutional threat to the Church in the long term. In this context, the article mentions heretical movements, the change in the relationship of Christianity with the imperial power, and the matter of self-definition of Christianity as a religion emerging from Judaism as matters which influenced Church’s opinions about the millennialism.
Although being an eschatological matter and examined usually with its theological context, millennialism is related to the environment and the society in which these thoughts emerge, since it is very related to this world and salvation of a group of people. In early Christianity, millennial matters were not apart from the sociopolitical conditions of the period. The article argues that in early Christianity, the Church did not expurgate millennial ideas; on the contrary, the writings of some Church Fathers hold it widely. Additionally, this article states that the authors who opposed millennialism were not actually against the teaching itself, but they saw that some aspects of this idea would cause a doctrinal or institutional threat to the Church in the long term. In this context, the article mentions heretical movements, the change in the relationship of Christianity with the imperial power, and the matter of self-definition of Christianity as a religion emerging from Judaism as matters which influenced Church’s opinions about the millennialism.
Description
İsa’nın ikinci gelişi, yeniden dirilme, hüküm günü ve dünyanın sonu gibi eskatolojik meseleler ile ilişkili olan milenyum düşüncesi, ahirette değil bu dünyada bir kurtuluş fikri taşıması bakımından diğer eskatolojik meselelerden farklı bir boyuta sahiptir. Çoğu zaman milenyumla ilgili fikirler, dünyanın içinde bulunduğu düzene meydan okuyucu bir tavra sahip olduğundan, sosyo-politik meselelerle milenyum fikirleri arasında bir ilişki söz konusudur. Yahudilikte Mesih beklentisi ile yakından ilişkili Tanrı Krallığı fikrinin ortaya çıktığı dönemler incelendiğinde apokaliptik literatürün Yahudilerin sürgün dönemine tarihlendirilmesi şaşırtıcı değildir. Babil, Pers ve Grek hakimiyetleri dönemlerinde Yahudilerin yaşadıkları zulümler onları bu durumlardan kurtulacaklarına dair inanışlara sevk etmiştir. Aynı durum, Hıristiyanlığın imparatorluk tarafından benimsenmesine kadarki süreçte de karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Hıristiyanlıkta binyılcı fikirlerin en önemli literal kaynağı olan Vahiy Kitabı, Hıristiyan inancına göre Yuhanna’nın sürgün döneminde yazılmıştır. Hıristiyan apokaliptik metinleri, konuya ilişkin hem kanonik hem de kanonik olmayan Yahudi literatürünü kendi inanç ve değer sistemleri bağlamında tekrar yorumlamıştır. Bu bağlamda, büyük kısmı Yahudi kökenli olan ilk Hıristiyanlar, İsa Mesih’in Yahudilerin beklediği Mesih olduğunu iddia etmiş, çarmıh hadisesinden sonra ise krallık için yeniden geleceğine dair inançlar taşımışlar ve bu inançlar milenyum fikri ile harmanlanmıştır. Hıristiyanlıkta tek bir milenyum fikrinden bahsetmek mümkün değildir. Kitab-ı Mukaddes’e yaklaşım türleri farklı binyılcı yorumları ortaya çıkarmıştır. “Bin yıl” ifadesinin geçtiği tek kitap olan Vahiy Kitabı’nın sembolik içerikli olması, özelde bu kitabı, genel olarak ise Kitab-ı Mukaddes’i yorumlamak için farklı ekollerin ortaya çıkmasına neden olmuştur. Vahiy Kitabı’nı ve kehanet içerikli metinleri tarihsel bağlamı ile ele alan ve gelecekle ilgili öngörülere karşı olan ekoller, geleceğe dair bir milenyum fikrine karşı çıkmıştır. Öte yandan fütürist ekol, söz konusu metinlerin geleceğe dair gerçekleşmemiş kehanetler içerdiğini iddia etmiştir. Kitab-ı Mukaddes’e yaklaşım tarzına göre günümüzde milenyum ile ilgili olarak premilenyalist, amilenyalist ve postmilenyalist olarak isimlendirilen farklı anlayışlardan bahsetmek mümkündür. İlk Hıristiyanlar, büyük ölçüde Yahudilikten etkilendiklerinden, barış ve refah dönemini getirecek bir kurtarıcı fikrinden hareketle, İsa Mesih’in milenyumdan önce tekrar geleceğini savunmuşlardır. Hıristiyanlığın resmi din olarak kabulünden sonra, Hıristiyanlar arasında zaten bir milenyum döneminde yaşadıklarına dair kanaatler oluşmuştur. Hıristiyanlığın ilk dört yüzyılı içerisinde milenyum ile ilgili kanaatler sosyo-politik durumdan beri olmamıştır. Bu makalede, ilk Hıristiyanların milenyumla ilgili düşüncelerinin şekillenmesinde ortodoksi-heresi meselesinin, iktidarla ilişkilerin ve Yahudilere yaklaşımın etkili olduğu görüşü savunulacaktır. Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus gibi ilk dönem kilise babalarının yazılarında milenyum fikrine rastlamak mümkündür. Öte yandan, Montanist Kilise’nin ana-akım Kilise tarafından sapkın kabul edilen ve kendine tehdit olarak algıladığı bazı fikirlerinin yanında binyılcı inançlar da taşıması, sonraki süreçte Hıristiyanları binyılcı fikirlere karşı tedbirli davranmaya sevk etmiştir. Origen de binyılcı fikirleri materyalist olarak değerlendirmiştir ve maddi bir krallık fikrinin Hıristiyan kutsal metinleri ile çeliştiğini savunmuştur. Tyconius ile birlikte milenyumun, içinde yaşanılan çağa işaret ettiği fikri kabul edilmeye başlanmıştır. Augustine ile bu fikir genel kabul görmeye başlamış ve ortodoksiyi temsil etmeye başlamıştır. Augustine, binyılcı fikirleri önceden savunduğunu, ancak bu fikirleri taşıyanların imanı tehlikeye atan materyalist ve şehevî birtakım arzulara saplanması dolayısıyla milenyum kanaatinden vazgeçtiğini belirtmiştir. 4. yüzyıla kadar milenyum fikri tamamen karşı çıkılan bir fikir olmamıştı. Binyılcı düşüncelerden ziyade, bu fikirlerin yol açabileceği materyalist arzulara karşı çıkılmıştı. İmparator Konstantin’in Hıristiyanlığı resmi din olarak kabulünden itibaren Hıristiyanlar, huzur ve refah beklentilerinin zaten gerçekleşmiş olduğunu düşündüklerinden, milenyumun vaat ettiği kurtuluş fikrine ihtiyaç duymamaya başladılar. Nitekim, kutsal metinlerinde milenyum olarak yorumlanan bazı metinler de imparatorlukla zıt düşmeyecek şekilde tekrar yorumlanmış, milenyum fikrini literal anlamda savunanlar Kilise dışına itilmiştir. Binyılcı fikirlerde Yahudilikle ilgili yaklaşımlar da önemlidir. İlk Hıristiyanlar, Yahudi mirasının taşıyıcısı olarak bu fikirleri kendi cemaatlerine de taşımışlardı. Paganlar gözünde Yahudiliğin seçkin ve otantik bir din olması Hıristiyanlığın kendisini Yahudiliğin devamı olan bir din olarak ortaya koymasında etkili olmuştur. Öte yandan, gentileler arasında yayıldıktan sonra Hıristiyanlık kendisini, kendinden menkul bir din olarak tanımlamaya ve bu anlamda “yahudileştirici” etkilerden arındırmaya çalışmıştır. Origen gibi isimler ise, milenyum fikrine Yahudilik mefhumu olduğu için karşı çıkmıştır.
Millennialism is very relevant to eschatological matters such as Parousia, resurrection, judgment day, and the end of the world. However, it is also related to this world and promises worldly redemption to a group of chosen people. Therefore, it differs from other eschatological issues, which only regard the hereafter. Since the idea of millennialism criticizes and challenges the order of the world and claims a collective redemption, there is a relationship between socio-political issues and millennialist ideas. When one considers the environment in which the Jewish apocalyptic literature developed, it is not surprising to see that it was developed during the exiles. The persecution and oppression of Israelites during the periods of Babylonian, Persian, and Greek domination led them to believe that their lousy situation was temporary, and they would be freed from the exile to a bright and wealthy future. The same situation would be seen in early Christian millennialist ideas until the Empire recognized Christianity as one of the official religions. According to Christian perception, for example, The Book of Revelation, the most significant literal source for the idea of millennium, was written in the exile by John. Early Christians were mostly Jews, and they received Jewish apocalyptic literature -both the canonical and the non-canonical ones- and reinterpreted them under their belief and value systems. In this way, the first Christians claimed that Jesus was the Messiah whom the Jewish had been waiting for a long time. After the crucifixion, Christians had to believe that he would come again to establish the Kingdom, and then the idea of the Kingdom of God and millennial beliefs were blended. There is no monolithic idea of millennium in Christianity. Different approaches to biblical interpretation cause different types of millennialisms. Interpreting the Book of Revelation and other prophetic books historically would mean that all prophecies had already realized in the past, and there remains no more to come in the future. On the other hand, literal interpretation and futurist approach claim that the prophetic texts are including unrealized prophecies yet to come. According to different interpretations of the texts, we can identify three different views for millennialism as premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. In the first four centuries of Christianity, it is not possible to think about the millennium's opinions separately from the socio-political situation. Defining orthodoxy and heresy, the relations with the Empire and the approach to the Jews were effective in shaping millennial thoughts. Early church fathers such as Papias, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus defended a primitive version of premillennialism in their writings. Montanism of the 2nd century had a millennialist character. The Church perceived the thoughts of Montanism regarding on-going prophecy and criticisms of the establishment of the Church as a threat to its unity, and Montanism was condemned by synods in the 3rd century which in turn prompted Christian to be cautious against the millennial ideas of the movement, as well as the other heretical doctrines. Origen considered millennial ideas as materialistic and argued that the idea of the literal millennium contradicted the scriptural idea of the Kingdom of God. Tyconius stated that the era lived in was the actual millennium. With Augustine, this idea became widely accepted and orthodox doctrine. Augustine, himself confessed that he was once a millennialist but then abhorred the carnal and materialistic views of the millennialists and became an opponent of the millennial ideas. After the Roman Empire recognized Christianity as the state religion, Christians did not need to comfort themselves by believing a literal and worldly redemption since they thought that peace and prosperity had already fulfilled. Apocalyptic and millennial texts were reinterpreted in a way that does not contradict the Empire, and those who defend an idea of the literal millennium were marginalized, and the millennial writings mostly were expurgated. Jewish-Christian relations are also crucial in millennial beliefs. The early Christians were the bearers of Jewish apocalyptic heritage to their communities. Pagans highly respected Judaism as an authentic religion. Therefore, early Christians not only manifested themselves as true successors of Judaism but also tried to define their religion as authentic. For the sake of the latter, Christian writers tried to purify Christianity from the Jewish effects. Origen, for instance, opposed the idea of the millennium because it was the concept of Judaism.
Millennialism is very relevant to eschatological matters such as Parousia, resurrection, judgment day, and the end of the world. However, it is also related to this world and promises worldly redemption to a group of chosen people. Therefore, it differs from other eschatological issues, which only regard the hereafter. Since the idea of millennialism criticizes and challenges the order of the world and claims a collective redemption, there is a relationship between socio-political issues and millennialist ideas. When one considers the environment in which the Jewish apocalyptic literature developed, it is not surprising to see that it was developed during the exiles. The persecution and oppression of Israelites during the periods of Babylonian, Persian, and Greek domination led them to believe that their lousy situation was temporary, and they would be freed from the exile to a bright and wealthy future. The same situation would be seen in early Christian millennialist ideas until the Empire recognized Christianity as one of the official religions. According to Christian perception, for example, The Book of Revelation, the most significant literal source for the idea of millennium, was written in the exile by John. Early Christians were mostly Jews, and they received Jewish apocalyptic literature -both the canonical and the non-canonical ones- and reinterpreted them under their belief and value systems. In this way, the first Christians claimed that Jesus was the Messiah whom the Jewish had been waiting for a long time. After the crucifixion, Christians had to believe that he would come again to establish the Kingdom, and then the idea of the Kingdom of God and millennial beliefs were blended. There is no monolithic idea of millennium in Christianity. Different approaches to biblical interpretation cause different types of millennialisms. Interpreting the Book of Revelation and other prophetic books historically would mean that all prophecies had already realized in the past, and there remains no more to come in the future. On the other hand, literal interpretation and futurist approach claim that the prophetic texts are including unrealized prophecies yet to come. According to different interpretations of the texts, we can identify three different views for millennialism as premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. In the first four centuries of Christianity, it is not possible to think about the millennium's opinions separately from the socio-political situation. Defining orthodoxy and heresy, the relations with the Empire and the approach to the Jews were effective in shaping millennial thoughts. Early church fathers such as Papias, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus defended a primitive version of premillennialism in their writings. Montanism of the 2nd century had a millennialist character. The Church perceived the thoughts of Montanism regarding on-going prophecy and criticisms of the establishment of the Church as a threat to its unity, and Montanism was condemned by synods in the 3rd century which in turn prompted Christian to be cautious against the millennial ideas of the movement, as well as the other heretical doctrines. Origen considered millennial ideas as materialistic and argued that the idea of the literal millennium contradicted the scriptural idea of the Kingdom of God. Tyconius stated that the era lived in was the actual millennium. With Augustine, this idea became widely accepted and orthodox doctrine. Augustine, himself confessed that he was once a millennialist but then abhorred the carnal and materialistic views of the millennialists and became an opponent of the millennial ideas. After the Roman Empire recognized Christianity as the state religion, Christians did not need to comfort themselves by believing a literal and worldly redemption since they thought that peace and prosperity had already fulfilled. Apocalyptic and millennial texts were reinterpreted in a way that does not contradict the Empire, and those who defend an idea of the literal millennium were marginalized, and the millennial writings mostly were expurgated. Jewish-Christian relations are also crucial in millennial beliefs. The early Christians were the bearers of Jewish apocalyptic heritage to their communities. Pagans highly respected Judaism as an authentic religion. Therefore, early Christians not only manifested themselves as true successors of Judaism but also tried to define their religion as authentic. For the sake of the latter, Christian writers tried to purify Christianity from the Jewish effects. Origen, for instance, opposed the idea of the millennium because it was the concept of Judaism.
Keywords
Dinler tarihi, Hıristiyanlık, Milenyalizm, Eskatoloji, Binyılcılık, History of religions, Christianity, Millennialism, Eschatology, Millenarianism
Citation
Elmas, B. (2020). “Hıristiyanlığın ilk dönemlerinde Milenyalizm meselesi”. Oksident: Yahudilik, Hıristiyanlık ve Batı Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2(1), 1-25.