Aββα ὁ πατήρ and the Aniconic Monotheism of Early Christianity: The New Testament Vision of the Fatherhood of God in Its Greco-Roman Context

Abstract This article argues that Jesus and his earliest followers exclusively honored God as “father” to express their fidelity to Jewish aniconic monotheism within their Davidic covenantal framework in contradistinction to Roman tributes to Caesar as pater patriae and to Greco-Roman prayers to Zeus/Jupiter as “father of gods and men.” Homage to Zeus/Jupiter and Caesar as “father” conflicted with Christianity’s endorsement of the Hebrew Scriptures, where the aniconic monotheism of the first Commandment (Exod 20:1–5) and Shema (Deut 6:4–9) consecrated the fatherhood of God expressed in the Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:8–14). While Jesus and his followers were not subversive in the militant fashion of the Zealots (Mark 12:17), they were subversive in disavowing culturally correct divine honors to foreign deities, human beings, and images thereof. God alone was “father” and his abode was in heaven and not on earth. Exclusive allegiance to God as “father” evidenced union with Christ, the Son of God. God’s exclusive fatherhood was thus sacrosanct. This article builds upon the Greco-Roman studies of Mary Rose D’Angelo (1992) and Abera M. Mengestu by investigating previously unconsidered primary sources before arriving at a fresh set of conclusions.1