Betrayal:The Unstable Foundation For The Unstable World

BETRAYAL: THE UNSTABLE FOUNDATION FOR THE UNSTABLE WORLD
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A Paper
Presented to
Professor Kevin Stilley
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
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In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for HIS 1103 A
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by
Christy Hill, Philip Penley, Jonathan Phillips and Reece Presson
November 13, 2007


Betrayal: The Unstable Foundation For The Unstable World
Culture is defined by people. The actions, art, beliefs and history of a people group are just a few leading facets in the foundation of their culture. These patterns of human activity can serve as a strong foundation for culture when they benefit the good of their populace. However, these activities often reflect the corruptive nature of the human soul and therefore provide an unstable foundation for the culture.


Western Civilization has a foundation steeped in betrayal and deceit. With examples ranging from Julius Caesar to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, it is evident that betrayal was a leading attribute in the shaping and foundation of Western culture. These acts of betrayal are evident through every division in Western history and have created an unstable foundation in Western culture.


The Established Trust
Betrayal cannot exist in the absence of trust. The betrayer (whether it be a country, people group or individual) cannot lead the betrayed astray without first establishing trust with the aforementioned party. The psychologist, James Hillman, states it best in his book Loose Ends: Primary Papers in Archetypal Psychology:
"We are betrayed in the very same close relationships where primal trust is possible. We can be truly betrayed only where we truly trust–by brothers, lovers, wives, husbands, not by enemies, not by strangers. The greater the love and loyalty, the involvement and commitment, the greater the betrayal. Trust has in it the seed of betrayal; the serpent was in the garden from the beginning, just as Eve was pre-formed in the structure around Adam’s heart. Trust and the possibility of betrayal come into the world at the same moment. Wherever there’s trust in a union, the risk of betrayal becomes a real possibility. And betrayal, as a continual possibility to be lived with, belongs to trust just as doubt belongs to living faith."
James Hillman understood the validity of established trust when investigating the history of betrayal. Established trust is one of three important aspects used in the inquiry of the unstable foundation of Western Civilization.


The Act of Betrayal
"One should rather die than be betrayed. There is no deceit in death. It delivers precisely what it has promised. Betrayal, though ... betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope."
This quote by the American playwright, Steven Dietz, describes the act of betrayal as being the “willful slaughter of hope.” There is an established trust playing a key role in betrayal’s inquiry, yet there is also the act of betrayal itself acting as a vital source of information when observing the unstable foundation of Western Culture. This act could be anything from murder to adultery, or siding with an opposing force to theft. It is the “willful slaughter of hope.” Evident throughout the beginnings of Western Civilization, the act of betrayal is the central building block to the unstable foundation.


The Aftermath Effects
After the basic foundation was laid, the effects of the foundation created the body to this unstable society. With every act of betrayal, there is an effect that leaves its mark on the culture. This simple truth rings true even in a personal realm of betrayal such as adultery, abuse and simple deception.


Historical Examples
The three key aspects outlined previously are vital to the investigation of historical examples of betrayal in Western Civilization. This outline will guide the research of the established trust, the act of betrayal and the aftermath effects of each historical example to show a definitive pattern in the unstable foundation of this culture.

Agamemnon
From the beginning of his life, Agamemnon’s personal foundation was rooted in betrayal. His family history was teeming with instances of murder, rape and treachery. During the Trojan War, Agamemnon was betrayed and joined his family’s foundation.


The Established Trust
Agamemnon’s betrayal and eventual murder was brought on by his own wife, Clytemnestra. Agamemnon, like most husbands, established a layer of trust in his wife when he married her. His defeat came in the form of the one he trusted most.


The Act of Betrayal
Clytemnestra had been secretly having an affair with Agamemnon’s cousin while he was away at war. Upon Agamemnon’s return from Troy, she and her lover, Aegisthus, invited him to a banquet and killed him mercilessly. The act of betrayal was brought to the table in two instances in this example. The first is the affair of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Clytemnestra betrayed her husband’s trust and “willfully slaughtered” his hope and dignity. The second is Agamemnon’s murder. Deceived into a banquet invitation, Agamemnon unknowingly walked into his death.


The Aftermath Effect
Aegisthus ruled over Mycenae for seven years before the effects of Agamemnon’s betrayal took action. In the eighth year of Aegisthus’ reign, Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, rose up and avenged his father’s murder by killing Aegisthus. The effects of Agamemnon’s betrayal came back and ultimately led to the destruction of his betrayer.

Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius Gracchus was a politician in Rome during the second century. Often remembered as causing political turmoil, Tiberius constantly tried to integrate laws of agrarian reform that opposed the stealing of the wealthy Roman citizens.


The Established Trust
Elected as Tribune of the people, Tiberius began working to put his laws into action. However, the Senate strongly disagreed with the laws and convinced Octavius, another tribune and friend of Tiberius, to use his power to veto Tiberius’ proposed laws. This greatly distressed Tiberius, because he was deceived by a member of his trusted circle of friends and fellow tribunes.


The Act of Betrayal
It looks as though the rich ganged up against him out of anger and hatred rather than for any of the plausible reasons they gave. This is strongly suggested by the savage, illegal, and disrespectful treatment of his corpse. They refused his brother permission to collect the body and bury it at night, and instead threw it, along with all the other corpses, into the river.
This excerpt from Plutarch’s Roman Lives describes the anger and hatred of the wealthy factions’ opposition to Tiberius’ reforms. If Tiberius had not been deceived by Octavius, the tribune and the senate would have succumbed to his reforms and would have supplied him with protection from such harsh opposition.


The Aftermath Effects
Tiberius’ brother, Gaius, followed in his brother’s footsteps to try to reform Rome. Gaius’ involvement in politics was much more of an obligation rather than a desire due to the brutal death of his brother. The reforming views of Tiberius carried on to Gaius and ultimately led to his death. The effects of this betrayal had a strong impact on the poor as they were left to fend for themselves against the thieving, wealthy population of Rome.

Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar was a Roman military and political leader as well as being one of the most influential men in world history. He played a pivotal role in the metamorphosis of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Caesar was the cause of both of the Roman Civil Wars; the first he brought on by bringing his army into Rome, and the second was induced by his assassination.

The Established Trust
Caesar had a bond of trust with many members of the Roman Senate, but the one with whom he was extremely close was Brutus. Brutus was to be Caesar’s heir and was his pupil. The trust established between these two was in obvious existence, for they had a near father/son relationship. Caesar also trusted many others in the Senate that would come to be his enemies.

The Act of Betrayal
Brutus, and several other members of Senate, devised a plan to assassinate Caesar. They enacted their plan and stabbed Caesar to death. The pain of Brutus’s act of betrayal was accentuated by his closeness to Caesar. The assassination occurred because the Senate feared Caesar’s power and thought that if he remained alive he would turn the Roman Republic into an Empire. By killing Caesar, they put the Roman populous into turmoil and ultimately caused that which they wished to prevent: the Roman Empire.

The Aftermath Effects
Caesar’s assassination sparked a panic in Rome. Shortly after Caesar’s death came the second civil war and the establishment of the Roman Empire under Caesar Augustus. The assassination not only caused all of these things, but also robbed the world of one of the most battle savvy, influential, powerful men of all time.


Jesus Christ
The betrayal of Jesus Christ is the single most important event to shape the course of Western Civilization. This single event forever changed the face of history. Jesus Christ, the incarnation of the second person of the Triune God, was born to a virgin in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His surrogate father, Joseph, taught him the family trade of carpentry. He preached in the Temple at Jerusalem when he was only twelve-years-old and amazed the leaders at the time with His wisdom that exceeded His years. He was baptized (most believe) at the age of thirty by his cousin John the Baptist, thus marking the beginning of His earthly ministry. He took on twelve men to be His close disciples and for approximately three years taught them about His Father’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. During His time here on earth, He lived a perfect and blameless life, thereby being the first and only person in the history of the world to do so. This was to fulfill what was prophesied about Him by various prophets hundreds of years before His birth.


The Established Trust
The trust was never established. Instead, the betrayal was known from the beginning. This is a unique case in history, because Jesus who was betrayed knew of his betrayal before it ever happened. Even before sin entered the world, it was in the divine foreknowledge of God that Jesus would be betrayed. Jesus came to earth fully knowing that He would be betrayed and killed. This was a demonstration of His holy desire to fulfill the will of His Father, as well as being a display of His immeasurable love for His people.


The established trust that occurred between Jesus Christ and His disciples existed through the friendship and discipleship that had been built over the few years of ministry together. Now considering that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, He knew that His followers would betray, deny and desert Him. This did not stop Him from teaching them about the Kingdom of God or allowing them to experience fellowship with the living God.


The religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, met with Jesus everyday in the Temple with the motive of arresting Him. They were kept back by His power because the time had not come for Him to be betrayed. They put on a false front in order to gain Jesus’ trust. They attempted to trick Jesus with a series of questions in order to either make Him look foolish in front of His disciples or make Him say something blasphemous and arrest Him. Jesus knew what they were attempting and always cleverly answered their questions without being blasphemous, thereby further proving His deity to His disciples.


The Act of Betrayal
Jesus Christ was betrayed, first of all, by Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, while Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane with His other disciples. Judas had been bribed by the religious leaders with thirty pieces of silver to lead them to Jesus. Judas led them to Jesus in the Garden and kissed Him to show the religious leaders who He was. Jesus then asked the religious leaders why they had not arrested Him when they were together in the temple. He questioned them as to why they had come under the cover of darkness to arrest Him like a criminal. Peter one, of His disciples, then proceeded to cut off the ear of the High Priest’s servant. Jesus then interceded and miraculously restored the servant’s ear. Jesus was then led away to be tried before a fixed court. Peter and John, two of His disciples, followed the mob at a distance to where He was to be tried. Three times Peter denied the fact that he even knew Jesus, which was a direct fulfillment of prophecy.


Jesus was tried before Pilot, the Roman Governor, and Herod, the mock Jewish King (who wasn’t even Jewish). He was then brought before the people to decide what was to be done with Him. When the people were presented with the choice of freeing a convicted thief, Barabbas, or having Jesus Christ, who had never sinned, released to them, they chose Barabbas. His disciples were nowhere to be found at this point in time. Pilot then sentenced Him to death by way of crucifixion, a form of execution that was meant to cause the victim to slowly suffocate to death. They led Him to a hill called Golgotha, where they proceeded to nail Him to a wooden cross by His hands and feet. Around the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Shortly after, Jesus Christ cried aloud and breathed His last breath. The curtain that separated the most holy place from the rest of the Temple in Jerusalem was torn in two from top to bottom. All this was a direct fulfillment of prophecy.
Three days later, Christ rose from the dead. He revealed Himself to His closest followers in the Upper Room where they enjoyed their last supper. He ate a meal with them on the shore of the sea of Galilee. He was seen by almost one hundred and twenty witnesses before He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father. Peter was forgiven by Jesus and became a leader in the early Church. Judas Iscariot was ashamed that he had betrayed innocent blood and, therefore, hanged himself. The religious leaders of the day told the guards who were posted at the tomb to say that Jesus’ disciples came and stole His body in the night. This is the story that has been circulating among the Jews to this day.


It is easy to point fingers at certain people and try to appoint blame. In reality, we are all to blame, which is why Christ had to come and die. It is easy to blame the religious leaders of the day and leave the disciples innocent; the disciples, however, knew what they were doing, which is the damning difference. They saw His signs and wonders and still betrayed, denied and deserted Him in His time of trial. What are we to make of modern day Christians, for every sin is a betrayal Christ all over again. There are no members in this story who are without blame, with the exception of Christ Himself.


The Aftermath Effects
This story of betrayal is the single most important event that has shaped Western culture. This story of betrayal is the foundation of the Christian faith. There have been many wars, persecutions and lands discovered in the name of Christianity. Although Christianity has been in existence since the Fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, it has proceeded to take the world by storm. Hebrews 13:20 establishes that the work of Christ was an eternal covenant in the plan of the triune God.



Conclusion
Societies have been founded on a standard of morality and trust. Therefore, when those standards are broken, society crumbles. One can see through these documentations how betrayal has affected Western Civilization. Even in modern day, we see examples of betrayal through adultery, fraud, divorce and politics. As a result, many Western cultures are suffering in the aftermath of these examples. One specific instance is England, and how it is being overtaken by Islam due to the betrayal of the original Christian principles on which it was founded. Furthermore, in the United States, one can see the affects that betrayal has had in the public school system, in which Christianity has been completely removed from schools. Therefore, one is able to see the humanistic affects on our youth.


It is quite disconcerting to see the potential downfall of Western culture. It can be clearly seen how corrupt politics, schools, and even citizens have become through betrayal of trust, principles, and morals. Post-modern thinking has exposed Western Civilization’s base flaws: our weak foundation and self-centeredness. This problem must be addressed by God-fearing Christians, or the downfall of Western culture is inevitable.