What are some similarities and differences between Judeo ...



Greco-Roman versus Judeo-Christian

What are some similarities and differences between Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman views of law, reason and faith, and duties of the individual?

Religion

Belief in God: Judeo-Christian belief was based on monotheism, a belief in only one god whereas; Greco-Roman belief was based on polytheism, belief in many gods. This is one of the basic differences.

View of God: The nature of the Gods was also an important difference. While Greco-Romans believed the gods to be as human as people, with the same feeling and nature, including the faults, as humans. On the other hand Judeo-Christians believed their god to be perfect in every way, without faults or human faults, thus making their god beyond reach of human understanding, thus the Judeo-Christian approached their god with greater fear. The Romans viewed their gods as approachable since their temperaments were the similar. Their difference only being their mortality. The Romans approached their gods as almost equals and lacked some of the fear that the Judeo-Christian felt for their god.

Gender: Another difference was the equality of the sexes. Roman belief viewed the female as an honorable partner of the male and as such honored her and revered in the form of many of the Goddess such as Hera, Minerva, Ceres, Vesta, Diana, Venus, etc. The woman is respected and honored in their stories. Judeo-Christians reflects women differently and does not mention god as a female. Women in some stories are even considered a distraction, and less than equal to men.

Sacrifice: Both offered sacrifices. However, the Romans' sacrifice was to honor their gods while the Judeo Christians was to appease and pacify.

Place of Worship: Both erected 'great houses' [temples churches and synagogues] to house their gods however the embellishments were very different. Romans were almost stoic in their decorations of these great houses for the gods, large in proportions but sparse in decorations. On the other hand the Judeo Christians decorated their places of worship with gold, jewels and other embellishments, addressing the need to praise, and appease their god.

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