The Dual Inheritance Within Christianity Of Greek And...

(1) Describe the dual inheritance within Christianity of Greek and Jewish thought. How were these traditions similar? How were they distinct? How did each contribute to the formation of Christian life and belief? Cite MacCulloch in your answer. Christianity has been heavily influenced by both Greek and Judaic traditions. As we said in class, â€Å"the first generations of Christians were Jews who lived in a world shaped by Greek elite culture† (Christianity The First Three Thousand Years MacCulloch 2). The Greeks and the Jews have many similarities. For example, both the Greeks and the Jewish peoples had their own sense of uniqueness, the Greeks with their tradition and culture being spread and adopted throughout the Eurasian and African continents, and the Jews believed they were an elect group of people chosen by God and having a special relationship with him. Both the Greeks and the Jews were also alphabetic cultures, something not common in that time. This allowed the two cultures to easily convey complex thoughts and ideas through a set of symbols rather than with pictograms that were popular with other cultures in that time period. And the final similarity between the Greek and Jewish traditions is how each culture was anchored in a text specific to them. The Greeks had The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer, two books that became defining texts in the Greek tradition as well as a focal point of classic Greek ideals and values. However, the Judaic tradition focused on theShow MoreRelatedhistory of philosophy5031 Words   |  21 Pagesto): How can changes in philosophy be accounted for historically? What drives the development of thought in its historical context? To what degree can philosophical texts from prior historical eras be understood even today? All cultures — be they  prehistoric,  medieval, or  modern;  Eastern,  Western,  religious  or  secular  Ã¢â‚¬â€ have had their own unique schools of philosophy, arrived at through both inheritance and through independent discovery. Such theories have grown from different  premises  and approachesRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesepidemics. In no previous epoch of history was war so vilified and peace so consciously pursued through the establishment of international organizations and diplomatic exchanges. Despite these endeavors, the levels of domestic and international violence within human populations and the ravages visited upon animals and the natural world by humans vastly exceeded that of any previous era in history. In a century where human communities globally and individuals locally had the potential to be much more