| The Two Worlds in Which Christianity Originated: Jewish and Greek
- Key Topics/Themes
- The One God, Yahweh
- The Shema
- The divine name
- The Jewish Deity's name in the New Testament
- The Torah
- The Mosaic Covenant
- The purity laws
- Views of Hebrew Bible authors concerning the applicability of the Mosaic Covenant
- Views of New Testament authors concerning the applicability of the Mosaic Covenant
- The Divine Promises
- The promise to Abraham
- The Hebrew monarchy
- Attitudes toward the divine promises after the fall of the Hebrew monarchy
- The Jerusalem Temple
- History of the Jerusalem Temple
- Significance of the Temple for devout Jews
- The Day of Atonement
- The World of Greek Thought and Culture
- The impact of Alexander the Great
- The Hellenistic period
- The impact of Greek culture during the Hellenistic period
- Greek Philosophy
- Socrates, Plato, and the immortal soul
- The life and impact of Socrates
- Plato
- Plato's philosophical dualism
- The impact of Plato on New Testament thought
- Stoicism and Stoic Endurance
- Zeno, the founder of Stoicism
- The Logos as the divine principle permeating the universe
- The influence of Stoicism in the Hellenistic world
- Epicureanism
- The philosophy of Epicurus
- Relationship with the atomism of Democritus
- Cynicism
- The philosophy of Diogenes and his disciples
- Antimaterialism
- Opposition to prevailing cultural norms
- Relationship to lifestyle of Jesus of Nazareth
- Summary: Early Christian encounters with Greek philosophical schools
- Greco-Roman Religion
- The Twelve Olympians
- Zeus
- Poseidon
- Hades
- Hera
- Demeter
- Hestia
- Athene
- Apollo
- Artemis
- Hemes
- Ares
- Aphrodite
- The Hymn to Zeus an image of ancient devotion to the Olympian gods
- Gods offering worshipers a personal relationship
- Asclepius
- God of the healing arts
- Worshiped at healing shrines throughout the Greco-Roman world
- Dionysus of Thebes and Jesus of Nazareth
- The myth of Dionysus
- Parallels between the myth of Dionysus and life of Jesus of Nazareth
- Wine as the beverage of communion between gods and humans
- The Mystery Religions
- Dionysus and Orphism
- The myth of Orpheus
- The theology of Orphism
- Mithras and Mithraism
- The origins of Mithraism
- The myth of Mithras
- The impact of Mithras in Hellenistic culture
- Mithras as early Christianity's leading competitor
- The Mother Goddess (Isis)
- The myth of Isis and Osiris
- Religious experience in the Isis cult according to Apuleius
- Summary
|