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Christianity. Factors that make Christianity unique.

Essay Instructions:

1. What was it that made Christianity new and distinctive in its Greco-Roman and Jewish context? Consider, for example, John 1, Acts 15 and/or Acts 17; consider Christianity’s relationship to Judaism, Mediterranean Religion, and Greco-Roman Philosophy.

2. What is the use and function of scripture in Classical Christianity?

3. Describe how Classical Christians might assess Paul’s statement on homosexuality in 1 Corinthians .9-10. Focus, not on what judgment Christians should make or have made, but the method by which Classical Christians would assess and interpret these verses.

4. What is the significance of the theological virtues (faith, hope, and love). How do they function in Classical Christian ethics?



i would recommend question 1 but please feel free to chose one and let me know. please let me know if you have any questions.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Christianity
Name
Institution/ Affiliation
Factors that make Christianity unique
Globally, Christianity is the largest religion and is based on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Today, nearly 2.3 billion of the world population are Christians, making up nearly a third of the earth's 7.3 billion people (Pew Research Center. 2020). Christians have faith in one God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and who they believe to have created heaven and earth. The belief in one God can be linked to the Jewish religion. Besides, they believe in Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Virgin Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit is the savior of the world.
Specifically, through his crucifixion, death, and resurrection, Christians receive salvation and forgiveness of sins. Nonetheless, they believe that salvation does not come freely, but it is obtained by believing in Jesus Christ and confessing of sins to him. Although Christianity is deep-rooted to the Jews and Greco-Roman, it is unique because it emphasizes the transformation into a more loving and forgiving person as a chief manifestation of faith (Ekeke, 2013). Essentially, Christianity is different from other religions in many aspects. This study seeks to explore ways in which the new Christianity is distinctive in its Greco-Roman and Jewish context.
People did not become Christianized overnight but changed slowly over time. Actually, the religion grew out of Jewish traditions and was shaped by Roman culture and political structures for numerous centuries (Ekeke, 2013). For example, the up-to-date Roman Catholic Church refers to its leader as Pope, which relates to the Roman office, Pontifex Maximus, and the highest priest. It is evident that most of the roman culture was not replaced wholly, but instead was repurposed as it came across with other people and culture (Ekeke, 2013). In a nutshell, Christianity started in a world with humans who had their culture and distinct religious lives.
Many aspects of the current society were influenced by the ancient Roman, Jewish, Greek ingredients socially, religiously, culturally, or otherwise. From literature, infrastructure, arts, languages, creation of justice and law, development of democratic government, to the planning of cities are an example of influences of Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Similarly, Christianity was greatly influenced by these cultures (Ekeke, 2013). Initially, in the Jews, Christianity was a small, disorganized religion that promised salvation after death.
The early Christians were torn between preaching the religion, and if non-Jews would also be allowed to become followers. Notably, at the early stages, Christianity had many contentious issues that needed to be improved. To strengthen the religion, Romans helped in the development of the legal and political framework, while Greeks assisted socially and intellectually (Ekeke, 2013). On the other hand, the Jews gave alms to early Christianity through strict observation of the laws of Yahweh. Although many aspects of Christianity can be linked to these cultures, the new religion is unique in some ways.
First, although both Judaism and Christianity claim to have God's word, they are different in some aspects. Judaism is the oldest of the world's monotheistic religions and the parent to Christianity and Islam. Followers believe in one God, Yahweh, who is the creator and ruler of the universe (Schäfer, 2014). The creator governs the Jewish people by his laws, the Torah, which contains 613 commands, currently summed in the Ten Commandments (Loader, 2018). Both Judaism and Christianity agree to the teaching of the Old Testament and all its teachings. For instance, both sects approve of the creation of the universe, the emergence of sin to the world through temptations, the judgment of sin, and forgiveness of sins. In the Judaism religion, the forgiveness of sins is accomplished through prayers, God's mercy, righteous acts, and sacrifices.
While Christianity developed out of Judaic texts, its followers do not observe Jewish law. In its place, Christians believe the stringent Jewish laws were abolished in favor of the universal gospel for all human race "love thy neighbor as thyself" (Mathew 22). Christianity advocates personal salvation through the forgiveness of sins and receiving Jesus Christ, whereas Judaism stresses right behavior and strict adherence to the Mosaic Law, the Torah (Schäfer, 2014). Besides, Jews connect to their God and through prayers, sacrifices, traditions, and ethical actions. For instance, Jews believe after birth, and a woman should participate in a ritual cleaning and attend mikveh.
In contrast, Christianity believes in God through who he sent Jesus Christ to become human and liberated humanity. Jews emphasize the singleness of God (Father) and rubbish God in human form. In other words, Juda...
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