INTRODUCTION TO HUMANITIES, UNIT 5

Discussion:

In this, our final Unit, we encounter the Hebrews, Judaism, and Christianity. These groups bore one primary thing in common: Monotheism, The Belief in One God: YHWH.

These groups' spiritual beliefs were codified in The Holy Bible, first through a covenant based upon law-keeping [The Old Testament] and then through a new covenant [The New Testament] based upon faith in a messiah.

Based upon what you can tell (from the text and from at least one additional resource), describe in two paragraphs at least one primary difference and at least one similarity between these two systems of belief /covenants.

Let's spend our final discussion critically assessing the messages of the early Christians and what ideas and beliefs they represented.

Begin by imagining that you are one of the following people alive in c. 100 CE in Greece and you have just heard your first sermon from a Christian convert; this could be a wealthy merchant, a woman married to a shop keeper or farmer, an impoverished solider or a student at the Lyceum.

What do you think about the sermon? Share your response in one paragraph.

In another paragraph, pretend that you are a skeptic, that is, someone who holds a different view from that expressed in the sermon. How would this individual respond critically or unfavorably to the sermon?

In other words, you are offering TWO different points of view in this discussion in response to the sermon.

REMEMBER: the more you can support your ideas with details and examples and quoted passages from both our text and secondary sources, the stronger your response.

Minimum of 250 words and two scholarly sources.

Reference:

Matthews, R. T., Noble, T. F., & Platt, F. D. (2014). Experience humanities (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Complete:

Complete Section: a minimum of 350 words per question and three scholarly sources per question including the book reference.

Questions:

1.) What were the major stages in the historical development of ancient Israel?

2.) How do written and material evidence combine to reveal the history of Israel?

3.) What were the central teachings of Christianity?

4.) How do written and material evidence reveal Christianity’s relationship to classical culture?