Christianity has always been a cross-cultural and diverse religion with no single dominant expression. Historically, Christians lived in diverse cultural contexts enabling Christianity to gain a multicultural and polytonal context globally. The Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Heathen ancient cultural traits influenced the development and spread of Christianity. Christianity started with the ministry of Jesus that began in Jerusalem. Christians have a history of borrowing what’s not Christian and then filling it with Christian meaning hence its growth across different cultures. Different ancient languages can be used to tell Christianity’s message even though Christianity did not originate from such customs.
The Jewish religion greatly resembles Christianity and has an integrated belief in Jesus. Jews were the earliest followers of Jesus in Judea during the Second Temple Period and recognized Christ as the prophesied Messiah. Jesus taught Jewish law during his ministries and attracted a lot of Jew followers, creating eschatological expectations. Jew people expected Christianity to be a religion of Jews and perceived other people as sinful (Schama 14). The inclusion of non-Jews influenced a division between Jewish followers of Christ and the joining Christianity. Christianity responded to the hate with Nicene Christianity that discriminated against the Jews, often with physical abuse. Jews totally drifted away from Christianity to become a strand of Christianity during the first century.
Most teachings in Christianity and Jewish are almost identical. Both Christianity and Judaism are called Abrahamic religions since they are tied together by the faith and spirituality. Recognition of the Messiah in Christianity and multiple Messiahs in Judaism are the only difference. After isolation, Judaism became a minority religion that disappeared in the fifth century only to resurface in the 20th century. The crucifixion and post-crucifixion experiences of Jesus differentiate Christians from Jews (Hamilton 42). Roman law and Greek culture were the dominating social interactions in Hellenistic cultures.
Christianity spread to the Roman law through the Hellenism language in Israel, Egypt, and the diaspora. The Roman people did not respect and opposed the Jews, constantly breaching the peace. In the beginning, Christianity was unpopular in Rome and faced numerous challenges (Wright 4). For instance, the introduction of a new king seems to many Romanian people as the beginning of a revolution. Often Romans initially believed that Christianity was a form of the Jewish religion. Moreover, the secrecy of the Lord’s Supper made the Roman people develop a popular gossip that associates Christians with eating murdered children. The progressive hate for Christianity in Rome made it identified as a capital crime, and people abandoned it with apostasy. At that time, the decision of the governor determined community direction, persecutions, and convictions.
The Roman Empire believed in the goddess Artemis who brought success and victory to the empire. Christian received unpleasant interactions, and they were distrusted due to their unwillingness to recruit in the army. Christians who denied to pray and worship the Romanian gods were sought and killed by the Emperor (Ludwig 14). During economic strains, barbarian attacks, and military riots, the Christians were blamed for the adversities because they denied the Roman gods. Christian leaders such as Cyprian were murdered under Emperor Decius. Emperor Constantine supported the church when he issued the Edict of Milan, which granted Christians full legal rights. Christianity demonstrated a true change of heart, and their spirituality and behaviors influenced the Romans to convert, including the emperor. Christianity was officially illegal in Rome, but Christians’ good behaviors and deeds influenced many Roman people to convert.
The Apologists were a group of elites who refuted false allegations such as cannibalism and promiscuity. The Arian elaborated on how religious enthusiasts and Jesus are children of God and elaborated the concept of God the Father and God the Son (Ludwig 7). Apologists protected and defended the Christianity theology against the Jewish and Roman critics. Emperor went ahead to combine efforts with the Council of Arles to form an alliance between the church and empire. Christianity was also recognized as the preferred official religion in the Roman Empire. Constantine saw to it that the principles of Christianity would enable him to establish civil dignity guided by bishops. The majority of the Romans conformed to Christianity, and it had a great responsibility to the administrative governance of Rome. Christianity gained influence and popularity in the Roman Empire, where the Greeks had a significant impact on the Romans.
As Christianity gained momentum in the Hellenic world, the majority of the bishops had knowledge of Greek philosophy. Hellenistic philosophy is the Greek philosophical ideas that were revealed between (356-323 BCE) Dualism is a Greek philosophy that contradicted the doctrines of Christianity and dismissed the biblical approach to Christianity. The relationship between Christianity and the Hellenistic philosophy is first featured in the bible when Apostle Paul discussed it with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. The Greek culture is a blend of Judaism, Platonism, and Stoicism that largely influenced Christianity. For instance, the first version of the New Testament was first written in Greek.
Hellenistic philosophy aided the conception of God. In Hellenistic philosophy, our unity can either be the essence of number or absolute number. Both aspects taken alone would introduce the concept of the Pythagorean system. This is critical to differentiate the limited from the unlimited used to conceptualize fundamental aspects of Christianity. Integrating Platonic and Aristotelian theories enables Christians to explain concepts such as Omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence (Wright 5). The platonic method describes the individual ideal in the physical world and that physical objects are just mere reflections of the main form. The Platonic theory is a vital figure in the Ancient Greek world used to assert reality in physical reality and existence
Ontological arguments reinforce Christianity’s understanding of Greek philosophy. The ontological argument is an existential challenge in explaining the actuality of God. The ontological argument describes the existence of God as irrefutable and not conceived to subsist. In essence, God is the highest being existing perfectly, that no greater can be conceived. Platonism is the basic foundation for ontological argument to explain that God exists by definition rather than conception. Platonism defines the visible or material world as less real, whereas the visible things we can touch are considered less real. The Medieval Christian philosophy includes the Platonic model of realism and infinite.
Different from Greek, Jew, and Roman, Heathenry does not influence the foundation of Christianity. Heathenry is a different religion from Christianity with various gods. Heathenry has decentralized governance with no central authority whereas Christianity has a centralized system of belief with central authority figures such as the Holy Bible. Every object and being have a divine significance in Heathenry compared with the divine separation perspective in Christianity. Many forces determine reality in Heathenry as opposed to the dualist principles of good and evil in Christianity (Sherman 13). Heathenry recognizes all gods but does not practice Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Heathen does not have divine symbols or a unified theory; rather, it is polytheistic. Nonetheless, Heathenry is not an ancient religion that started in Germany around the late 19th century and early 20th century. According to Wright (44), Heathenry is the newest religion founded on invented tradition with no inherent mandate. Moreover, deities in Heathen are representations of natural materials with magical powers. Contemporary Germanic paganism is the latest religion with no effects on Christianity’s foundation.
The cultural exchange between different religions creates the foundation of Christianity. Greek, Jews, and Romans, are the cultures that influenced the growth and expansion of Christianity. Jews were the first Christians but the enrollment of new non-Jews sparked separation between Christians and Jews. Christianity and Judaism are almost identical, and only the aspect of the Messiah is different in the two religions. The Roman law and Greek culture were the dominating social interactions in a Hellenistic culture. The Hellenism language was used by Christians in the Roman Empire. At first Christianity was unpopular in Rome, but it was embraced later by Emperor Constantine, who used biblical principles to guide government policy. The majority of the Roman population converts to Christianity, hence the faster growth of Christianity. After gaining momentum, Christianity spread to the Ancient Greeks. That helped with the conception of God and making ontological arguments. Heathen is the latest religion that does not contribute to the foundation of Christianity.
Works Cited
Hamilton, Edith. The Roman Way. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1932
Ludwig, Charles. Cities in New Testament Times. Accent Publications, 1976.
Wright, Robert. The Evolution of God. Little, Brown and Company, 2009.
Schama, Simon. The Story of the Jews. HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.
Sherman, Dennis, and Joyce Salisbury. The West in the World. 5th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2014.