Chapter 8: focus questions: western civ

1. How did Saint Paul transform a Jewish sect in to a world religon?: living out of the diaspora with the millions of jews living outside palistine,Paul, came from the Greek city of Tarsus in South East Asia minor. Diaspora jews retained their faith, their holy ancient faith, although they were influenced by a Greek culture. Paul became a follower of je'-us l, became a zealous missionary and preached to his fellow jews in the diaspora throughout the Roman empire.

2. What factors contributed to the triumph of Christianity in the Roman empire? By establishing Christianity independence from Judaism practices, Paul effectively made the new religion attractive to the Greco-Roman Roman world. As a movement from reason to emotion and Revelations the truth of cap g and his salvation lived in every man's chest thumper and offered comforting problems to life. The capacity to stir human hearts by faith offered comforting solutions to human hearts. In the late dates of Rome reason lome couldn't compete with myth, mysticism and the divine. The spirituality of philosophy, mysticism and mystery cults offered a promising solution to a hellinistic culture.

3. How was early Christianity influenced by Judaism, Greek philosophy, and hellenistic mystery traditions? : By the late Roman empire, science and philosophy were unable to compete with myth, mysticism and the divine. Stoic's and epicureanism were performing a religious function by helping indivduals overcome emotional stress, while neo-platonists yearned for the mystical union union of the one. In the Greco-Roman world that was spiritually troubled, new meanings of life were offered through the mystical union of the one to broken individuals through Christianity. In a Greco-Roman world that did not offer emotional needs of many personally opressed,poor,and slaves were enamored with the resurrection of je'-sus, his love for all and a concern for the sufferings of humanity.

4. What factors contributed to Christian anti-judaism? What is the historical significance of the negative image of jews and Judaism by the christians?: christians identified opponents - jews, pagans, heritics- with Satan fallen angels and the conflict between God's faithful and santans servants.

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6. What do the worldviews of Christianity and Greco-Roman humanism have in common? Why essiantialy different? :