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The Christian Church was born out of the legacies of the Greek, Roman and Jewish cultures. Through God’s providence and perhaps advantageous timing, the Christian Church entered a world prepared for the truth of God. The Greeks provided a universal language and philosophy that supported the acceptance of the Church.
Roman laws, organization, and commitment to peace created proper surroundings for the Church to flourish. Lastly, the Jewish religious principles, helped form the backbone of the Christian Church.
Through a detailed examination of the language and philosophy, organization and structure, and religions views of the early Christian Church we can determine that the Greek, Roman, and Jewish Cultures all contributed to the birth and spread of the Church.
The Hellenistic culture of the ancient Greeks contributed its philosophy and language to the Christian Church. Alexander the Great built an empire united by a common thread: Greek ideology, language and culture. This process of assimilation by which Greek culture was transplanted to the east became identified as Hellenization.
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The popular Greek language became a medium on which the Christian religion could flourish, as the language created a disposition of acceptance. The Greek language was the contemporary language associated with a well-established culture.
Though the Greek religion was considered one-dimensional and simple, its language allowed the Jewish and other eastern religions, which would eventually contribute to Christianity, to communicate properly. The dominant Greek philosophical ideals of the time, which where Stoicism, Platonism and Epicureanism, all contributed greatly to the evolution of the Christian Church. One early Christian by the name of Clement of Alexandria wrote:
Philosophy has been given to the Greeks as their own kind of Covenant, their foundation for the philosophy of Christ ... the philosophy of the Greeks ... contains the basic elements of that genuine and perfect knowledge which is higher than human ... even upon those spiritual objects. (Miscellanies 6. 8)
Clements’ statement demonstrates how important Greek philosophy was to the Christian religion. Great philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato added important concepts and teachings to the Christian faith. The Greek culture was instrumental in providing a well-known and respected language for the Christian Church, as well as many significant philosophies, which contributed to the birth and spread of the Church. The Roman Empire provided efficient structure and organization, which catalyzed the growth of the Christian community. In the year 509 B.C. after multiple monarchs had failed to satisfy the Roman society, the Republic of Rome was founded. The republic divided the power of Rome among a group of Assemblies, two consuls and the Senate. The Republic government flourished for 376 years, but in 133 B.C. it collapsed to civil war.
After years of fighting, betrayal and violence, a powerful authority named Augustus founded the Roman Empire. Augustus brought peace and prosperity to the Roman world. This great time for the Roman Empire was called the Pax Romana, a revolutionary era where the Christian religion gained the ability to expand its administration. During the times of the Pax Romana, travel across large distances became very efficient and safe for new public highways were introduced throughout the Roman Empire. Such highways made the spread of the Christian Church much easier than before. Suddenly, messages and people could travel vast lengths very quick.
Direct highways in the Roman Empire enabled Christians to unite, communicate and gain power and information. Rome also served as a protected area for early Christians to live and worship God. The Empire’s structure and law under the reign of Augustus supported the importance moral conduct and justice, key concepts that would eventually become part of the Church’s purpose. The Roman structure and law was influenced by the dominant Stoic philosophy. Stoics believed that the highest good that man can achieve is to live a life of virtue in harmony with reason. This Stoic belief would ultimately aid in the Christian understanding of the Natural Law. It is true to establish that the Roman Empire’s structure, law and organization greatly helped facilitate the birth and spread of the Christian Faith.
The Jewish culture formed the religious foundation of the Christian Church. The Jewish people were the chosen people of God, the true descendants of Abraham. The early Christians were originally members of the Jewish faith. Many of the Jewish principles of religion continue to exist in Christianity, such as their firm monotheistic belief. Perhaps the most important Jewish relation that helped initialize the Christian Church is the life of the Messiah Jesus. The word Christian did not exist until 40 years after the crucifixion, Jesus was born and died a Jew. The origins of Christianity evolved from the heart of Jewish culture. Jesus challenged the customs of the day by teaching revolutionary interpretations of Jewish scripture.
Although they did not call themselves Christians yet, Jesus’ followers founded the beginning of the Church. Jesus used modified and logically understood Jewish scriptures to inform the people of God that salvation was at hand. The entire Old Testament originates from the Jewish written Tanakh. Much of our Christian models such as heaven and hell, angels and devils, and respect and love for human life come from Jewish tradition. Through Jewish religious conception and Jesus’s role in empowering and teaching early Christians, it is true to conclude that the Jewish faith directly aided Christianity to commence and develop.
A clearer understanding of the Roman, Greek, and Jewish contributions to the Christian Church allows us to identify the significant impact such cultures have had on the Church. An analysis of the language and philosophy, organization and structure, and religions views of the early Christian Church enables us to conclude that the Greek, Roman, and Jewish Cultures all contributed to the birth and spread of the Church.
I have grown up as a Hindu Indian, and as one who does not go to temple every week either. I have never been to any kind of a Catholic service. I was nervous to go and did not know what to expect from the church or the service or even the people there. Being Hindu, I did not know very much about the Catholic religion at all. From the little that I know about the Catholic religion, Hindu rituals and prayers were very different from Catholic rituals and prayers.
One big thing was that, for church you usually go in the morning, whereas whenever my family and I would go to the temple, we would go later at night; which is what most Hindu’s went to. I went to Cathedral Basilica in Saint Louis with a few friends, one of which goes every Sunday morning. The three of them were all Catholics and I was the only one from a different religion, so it felt really weird. We went to the ten o’clock service. All I had to do was walk out of my building and walk down the street. At least being with friends, it felt a little less weird.
When we walked into the church, I noticed that there were a lot of students there. That made me feel even more comfortable, to be with people who were my age. I was a little surprised that that many students went to church on Sunday mornings. When I’m at home, I don’t attend temple every Sunday but I do know that other Hindu’s who are my age do go every Sunday. But the difference between the students who attend the Journey and the students who attend temples at home, is that the students here actually go to church for the religious service; whereas the kids at home just go for the social life that goes along with going to temple every week.
My first impression of the church was that it was absolutely gorgeous and huge. The building was white with green tops. You can hear the church bells going off every hour. The church was just beautiful on the outside. The inside did not disappoint either. Once I walked in, I noticed the beautiful stained glass windows and high ceilings. Not only are there high ceilings, but the paintings on the ceilings are absolutely beautiful. They are so colored filled, with specks of gold and red all over. I don’t really understand what the paintings on the ceiling exactly mean, but I knew that they had something to do with the Catholic religion.
What was very different from the temple that I occasionally go to, was that instead of sitting on the ground, in this church there benches. I thought that Catholic services were when you wore the veils over your heads and pray to Mary. If they wanted to erase their sins, they would go to the pope and tell them all their sins and the pope would forgive them. But that was not what people at this mass were doing when I first walked in. They greeted me warmly and tried to make me feel at home. We sat down and some people around me were praying and some were just looking up.
Soon before I knew it, the mass had started. They first started off with prayer and said some things that seemed like it was coming from the bible. There was a self-praying time and then the praise started, which was all hymns. I was not used to this because at church, I mostly sang praise songs by praise artists. I was getting a little bored singing four verses of the same melody; however, I was familiar with most of the hymns and singing hymns made the service seem very traditional. After praise, the pope spoke the word which was about sin.
I understood what the pope was talking about and I also agreed with a lot of what he said. The pope said sinning is bad but you will always be forgiven and you can ask for forgiveness during the confession time with him. However, the fact that they go to the pope to ask for forgiveness is what I do not understand or agree on. I believe that only God can forgive your sins and you need to pray to him about it. However, then that was just my view, and I needed to understand their religion and their beliefs. Next, they prayed and had bread and wine.
The pope said some things about eating the bread and wine and what it meant to eat it. I did not eat the bread or wine but I saw everyone around me eating it. However, my friend told me that you were not able to eat the bread and wine if you skipped a mass, unless you did the confession, because it was against the 10 commandments. Afterwards, the mass ended by doing the rosary prayer. For rosary prayer, they believe that the number of rosary prayer they do will pile up and be good for heaven. Therefore, the more rosary prayers, the better it is. When the mass ended everyone stood up and went outside to talk to each other.
It was surprising how the service at the mass was the complete opposite of what I had imagined. The mass was very beautiful. Just what the pope was saying and the quietness of it was just beautiful. After mass, all the college students went out to eat and to hang out. I followed my friend and met some people from different schools. They talked about their school life and different stories about their week. I felt like I was in a social gathering and everyone was warm and welcoming. It was good to see how they all were curious about each other and cared for each other.
I was confused as to what the Catholic religion entailed, but I had ideas of what the Catholic religion was, but either some my ideas were wrong or I had actually learned something about the religion. By going to a mass service, I do have a better understanding of what the religion entails now. I never took the time to realize how similar, yet different religions could be. They all have the same concept of there being a God or someone in control, but there are so many variations. I knew that there were many different religions out there but I only grew up being aware of only mine.
I believe that it is really important to have an open mind about religion. After this experience, I learned that I need to understand that there are different people out there and we all have different thoughts on religion. Overall, I liked taking the time to learn more about a religion by attending this mass. I felt like I learned a lot and it would be different from just learning about it from reading a book. Even though I have strong faith in my religion and did not agree on a lot of aspects of Catholicism, I liked the experience a lot and I hope that I can try out different religions from now on.
A place of praise and sincere prayers bring us closer to the Almighty. I have a strong regard for all the faiths, spiritual locations and the mode of prayers they follow. I believe it is more crucial to have a strong faith, and this faith will lead us on the correct course. I decided to check out a location of worship of other faith and on my visit to Dubai recently, I went to St. Mary's Catholic Church. It is a lovely church located in Dubai and is committed to "Our Girl of Assumption" (St. Mary's Catholic Church, n.d.). When I entered the Church facilities, I was a little uncertain and did not understand whether I was doing a best thing or not. Still I was brought in towards the serene interior, and felt that I have certainly come inside a holy location. I sat on a bench and looked towards the eyes of the Mother's statue, and felt as if she is speaking with me and describing that it is we humans who have created the differences, however on the whole, we are all the exact same, the followers of just one Supreme Power. I felt a peace running through my soul and made myself comfy since I no longer had any panic anxiousness. I started reading my guide book, which provided the information of the Church. It was inaugurated on April 7, 1967 by His Highness, the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
The land for the church was also donated by His Highness; later a brand-new church was constructed in the same place and it was inaugurated on Nov 3, 1989. It can accommodate around 1700 worshippers at a single service (MobileReference, 2010). While I read the guide, I heard footsteps and looked up and saw a man coming towards me. He was worn the practice of a father and looked very peaceful. He came near me and simply provided a simple smile and sat next down beside me. He was around 50 years, and had a dark complexion. He appeared to be of Indian origin. We sat calmly for some time, and did not ask any questions. Slowly I collected my courage and simply wished him hello. He too replied hey there and continued to smile, which offered me a little confidence. I introduced myself and began with a small talk of weather condition and the markets in Dubai and then started inquiring about the Church, Christianity, Mom Mary, Jesus, and other things.
He explained me everything in detail. He answered to all my queries in a very pleasant manner. After listening to his explanation, I started comparing and contrasting my own religious practices with the Christian religious practices. Christianity and Islam have some major similarities. Both the religions can be traced to Abraham, both believe in prophecies, both have faith in the messengers of God and their revelations, both have holy scriptures and follow them sincerely, their scriptures also have many similarities, both accept the theory of resurrection of the dead and both have faith in the centrality of community services. I could analyze these similarities, and when I started to think deeply I felt that there are some similarities even in their differences. Both have faith in only one God, the difference lies in the way God has been conceptualized in both the religions. According to Islam, God is single entity and he does not have any relatives and Mohammed, peace be upon him, is his prophet.
Christians believe in the Trinity and this is considered by Muslims as "shirk", that is, attributing an associate to God. It is very difficult for Muslims to believe that Jesus is the son of God because for them God does not have any relations, He is far above human relations. Both religions believe in revelation. Christians feel that purpose of revelation is redemption, while the Muslims believe that the purpose of revelation is guidance. Muslims and Christians have strong faith that God has spoken and revealed Himself to human beings. Muslims believe that God speaks through the Quran, while Christians believe that He speaks through Jesus (ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY, n.d.). Revelation is mediated according to Christians, while according to Muslims Quran is the unmediated word of God. Sin and Salvation have been explained differently in my religion and Christianity, but I think the story of Adam and Eve is the same in both the religions. Religious community concept is same in Islam and Christianity.
They never stay isolated and like to be linked with their brothers and sisters in the faith. In Muslims, there is no “hierarchy” like the Church, and Islam stresses on homogeneity, while Christianity has the “hierarchy” system. While I was comparing and contrasting all these religious practices, Father Francis sat silently moving his fingers on his rosary. He did not even try to pull me out of my thoughtful reverie. I was awed by his patience and slowly I asked him about the Christian fasting season. He asked me about the month of Ramadan, and when I told him it is a fasting period of 30 days, he said that even Christians fast for 40 days during the Lent season, but this practice is not followed by all the Christian Churches.
The Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics usually observe Lent season (Christianity, n.d.). It is not as strict as the Ramadan fasts, but there are other dietary restrictions. During the fasting period, the dietary laws forbid the use of meat, but not of eggs, or dairy products or seasonings made of animal fat. The fast is not compulsory and people from 14 to 60 years of age can observe the fast according to their will. He also told me about the different feasts celebrated in the Church and the different dishes prepared on these occasions.
He said because Dubai is like one of the cosmopolitan places, people from all over the world are among the Church members and therefore the feasts also have a variety of exotic dishes from all over the world. People are ready to offer free service and lot of charity work is undertaken by the Church members. Food, clothes and money are sent to across the world throughout the year, and on festivals money is collected and donated to different Charity hospitals and Christian organizations in the underdeveloped countries. I was quite impressed by the work being done by the Church, and asked him if I could donate a small amount. He just smiled and touched my shoulder, and said that if I want to donate money I have to go to the Church office. He said it was time for his prayers. I thanked him for his patience and all the information he had given. It was getting late for me too and I got up to leave the premises of the Church.
On my way home, I kept on thinking about the Church and the reasons behind visiting it. Was it coincidence that I went to this particular Church? Was it coincidence that I met Father Francis? Will I be able to visit the Church again? Did I visit the Church just for the sake of this assignment? My mind was busy questioning me all these things, and my heart did not have any answers. When I was reaching Al-Khobar, I heard the Azaan, the call for prayer, and realized that I had to go to my mosque. I directly drove towards the mosque and entered the premises and to my utter surprise, I felt the same calmness and relaxation that I had felt when I had entered the Church. This ultimately made me realize that Allah is everywhere, He resides in the hearts of human beings, we can pray Him in the way we want, and the Supreme master will listen to us because He is above all the human differences.
The creator will decide what form of prayer is right or wrong, we can just bow our heads in front of His Excellency whether it is in a Church or in a mosque. Humanity is the most important religion, but when human beings fall under the category of a particular religion they forget about their basic religion-humanity. Religions are basically meant to remind us about our humane values and responsibilities as true human beings, every religion and every religious place is respectable and when people around the world accept this fact, the world would become a better place. My visit to the Church was not a coincidence; it was part of a greater plan so that I could understand some important facts of humanity and religion.
When I walked in the Church, I was just thinking of completing my assignment and had a lot of apprehensions, but when I came out of the Church I had learned many things and my mind and heart were calm under the effect of the peaceful ambience of the holy place. This assignment helped me to understand some of the basic values of my religion and Christianity and I am indeed thankful to the organizers, my professor and the University for giving me an opportunity to learn something new about my own religion, Christianity and humanity.
The Christian Church. (2016, May 06). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-christian-church-essay
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