The Judeo- Christian Tradition

Ch 1.3 and 1.4

Brief History of the Jews

• Abraham left Mesopotamia and started the Jews in the land of Canaan around 2000 BC

• His descendent Jacob left during a famine and went to Egypt. While there, Jews become slaves

• 400 years later, Moses leads the Jews out of Egypt, but gets them lost in the Sinai Desert for 40 years, before finally returning to Canaan

Jewish History Continued• By 1000 BC, “Israel” is a powerful country between the

Mediterranean Ocean and the Jordan River– King David and his son Solomon ruling Jerusalem• Famous for being WISE kings

• 922 BC splits into two countries- Israel in the North and Judah in the South

• Babylonian Captivity by 500 BC• When Persian king captures Babylon he sends all the Jews home

• Becomes part of the Roman Empire. Jews keep revolting, and in 71 AD, Romans kick Jews out of Judah and give Jerusalem to the Arabs, called Palestinians– When they get kicked out and have to live in different

countries, it is called the Diaspora • Jews don’t return in large numbers until after WWII.

By then, the Palestinians consider this THEIR home and don’t want to give up their land, and so there is an uneasy peace right now in Israel

The Torah and the Law

• Made a covenant, or agreement, with God that if they followed His laws, He would take care of them

• Torah: 1st 5 books of the Hebrew Bible– Give the early history of the Israelites– Also includes the important laws that God gave the

Jews• 10 Commandments• Laws about staying kosher• Other moral laws to lead their lives

The Ten Commandments• After leading the Jews out of Egypt, Moses went

up Mount Sinai and God gave him the 10 laws• 10 rules about how to deal with God, how to deal with your family, and how to deal with your neighbor• So important the Christians follow it too• http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=4TAtRCJIqnk

The 7 Universal Truths• The 10 Commandments talk about how to

interact with other Jews; the 7 U.T. talk about how to interact with ALL people, even those who don’t believe in God

• Shows a standard way of treating people• Especially important for the Jews who were living with people of

different cultures during the Diaspora

People who helped shape

the laws• Prophets: spiritual leaders who help interpret God’s will;

reminded Jews when they messed up – Job, Isaiah, Daniel, etc.

• Preach ethics: moral standards of behavior– For the individual AND the community

• Jews did not see their ruler as a God (like the Romans) but saw him as a man who had to uphold the sacred laws passed down by God

• How does this relate to modern views of rulers?

The Rise and Contributions of Christianity

• Jesus of Nazareth– Almost all info about Jesus comes from the 4 books of

the Gospel, found in the Christian New Testament– Born in Israel, controlled by the Romans– began preaching throughout Judah

• Teachings based on the Jewish laws • Encouraged people to spirituality• Emphasized God’s love, the need for justice, morality, and

service to others, as well as the importance of forgiveness

Why do we need to know about Jesus?

Why do we need to know about Jesus?

– after his death, his followers spread his word around the world• Peter went to Rome, Paul went throughout the

Middle East, Thomas went to India

– Many ideas that shaped history are based on Christian beliefs

– MANY people today believe in Jesus today• Over 1 Billion Catholics

The Spread of Christianity

• St. Paul– From Asia Minor; originally wanted to kill Christians, but

on the road to Damascus “saw the light” and became an apostle for Jesus’s message to Gentiles, or non-Jews• Apostle: someone who spreads Jesus’s words; from the

Greek for “a person sent forth” – Persecution in Roman Empire• Romans were tolerant of religious differences, except

for monotheists like Jews and Christians• Used them for scapegoats, killed them- even as

entertainment in the Coliseum

Christianity’s Appeal

– Embraced all people, even the poor and oppressed.

– Promised that if your life was awful, the next one would be better if you did what you were supposed to

– People like Paul added ideas from Plato and the stoics

– Eventually even the Emperor of Rome, Constantine, would embrace Christianity in the Roman Empire (because his mother made him)

The Christian Church

• During the Middle Ages the Catholic Church becomes the single most powerful group

• Life sucked but Hell was worse, and the only way to get to Heaven was to follow the Church– Biggest threat was excommunication: getting kicked

out of the church• Church clergy hierarchy (on board)• 1054 AD split into West Church, Roman Catholic

Church, and Eastern Churches, Orthodox Churches

The Spread of Learning

• Had church schools to teach priests to read and write in Latin, and sometimes Greek

• studied not only the teachings of the church but the Greek and Latin philosophers as well– After the fall of Rome, many of the important

books ended up in the Islamic Empire, where they were translated to Arabic. Spanish Jews translated them back into Latin, and Catholic priests could read this and spread the ideas to their congregations

– Educated clergymen had a conflict between the belief in reason that Aristotle advocated, and the belief in faith, that Jesus preached• Famous Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas

concluded that faith and reason exist together in harmony and led to the same universal truth of God

Why do we need to know all of this?

• Much of European and American culture is based on what is known as the “Judeo-Christian Tradition”– At its heart is the moral and ethical principles put

forth in the Bible• Fair treatment or justice is a big concern for

both the Old and New Testament

Terms relating to development of democracy