Judaism-Christianity Essay Question. Allen C. Winco Jr. Philosophy 131 Dr. Berliner May 14, 1991 (Revised v2, June 4, 2002)

Transcription

1 Judaism-Christianity Essay Question By Allen C. Winco Jr. Philosophy 131 Dr. Berliner May 14, 1991 (Revised v2, June 4, 2002)

2 I. This paper will discuss three areas; How Hellenism linked Judaism and Christianity, The importance of revelation in Western Religion and answer the question, Did Jesus claim to be the Supreme and unique revelation? II. It all started with Hellenism as the catalyst. To please the King, Ptolemy II Philadelphus ( B.C.), seventy Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew law Scriptures into Greek for the library of Alexandria. According to Unger (p.37), The element that was to bridge the gap between the isolation of Judaism in the Old Testament to the universality of Christianity in the New was the Greek. In this significant way the Septuagint constituted a preparation for the advent of Christianity by releasing the Hebrew Old Testament in the same international tongue in which the New Testament was destined to appear. The far-reaching result of this in the history of redemption was that the completed divine revelation became available to all men in the one cosmopolitan tongue of the period. 1 Rome conquered the Greek colonies, but ironica1ly the Greek culture turned around and conquered Rome through Hellenism, the adoption of Greek language and customs. This fact became evident because Rome became a Greek-speaking city. 2 III. In addition, the Greek language was to undergo a process of popularization and dissemination that was to prepare it to be a suitable vehicle for the writing of the New Testament as a universal revelation of the truth intended for the whole world. This Greek translation in turn was to become an important factor in the formation of the New Testament, as well as with it, the Bible of early Christianity. Everywhere the Apostles to the Gentiles went in the early Greco-Roman world, they found that the Hellenic culture had gone before them to prepare the way for the 2

3 reception of the Gospel of grace. 3 With a Greek Bible from which to preach and with the Greek language as it's universal medium of communication, it soon reached the outposts of civilization. 4 Essentially in the ancient times, Judaism acted as the foundation, the Hellenistic culture was the yellow brick road, and the Apostles, fully armed with the Gospel, spread the light of the truth. IV. If Christianity were a suit, then revelation would be the thread that keeps it together. Every step of the way, God was revealing his will to man. If there were no revelations, then Christianity would have not been formed, and man would have no hope of salvation. According to Thiessen (p.7-8), "Revelation is that act of God whereby he discloses himself or communicates truth to the mind, whereby he makes manifest to his creatures that which could not be known in any other way." The following are six examples of how God has revealed himself: 1. God has revealed himself through nature: Simply look around at all the different plants and animals. Take a look at the beautiful blue ocean, feel the wind, and marvel at the clear blue sky after a thunderstorm. God, the creator, reveals his goodness through nature that surrounds us. 2. God was revealed in personal experience w/ the Israelites The Israelites, throughout everyday life, knew that God was guiding them. If you and I could have walked though the sandy desert witnessing the enormous pillars, you would have believed. For them it was an actual reality because they experienced it. 3

4 "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light God is revealed in conscience: Our conscience judges whether an action we commit is right or wrong. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that guides us in making those choices. 4. God gives man special revelations in the form of miracles: 6 They prove His existence, presence, and infinite power. Some examples are bringing water from a rock 7, multiplication of the loaves and fishes 8, and walking on the water. 9 It seems that man always needed more proof that God was real. The Bible gives more than enough of it to prove it's validity. "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book." "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name." God revealed himself in prophecy: Some examples are when God spoke to Noah 11 or when Enoch walked with God. 12 A dynamic example of prophecy occurs in Matthew, when an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. He told Joseph to name the baby Jesus. God revealed this in the Jewish law years earlier to the prophet Isaiah: "The virgin will be will child and will give birth to a son, and they will call his name "Immanuel" which means "God with us," God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ: Jesus claimed to be unique when He said, 4

5 "I am the way, the truth, and the life, No one comes to the Father except through me. 14 Jesus was almost stoned for blasphemy by the Jews when he claimed to be God. 15 The prophet John verifies that Jesus was God when he said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 16 John clarifies whom the Word was when he said, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us Listen to the dialogue when Jesus appeared to (Doubting) Thomas: Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. 18 Jesus Christ ultimately proved to be the Supreme and unique revelation through his physical resurrection (which is one of the best-attested facts of history told by the Bible years after the event took place. 19 ) that was witnessed by more than 500 persons including his disciples: " how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 20 V. Jesus himself is the best proof of the existence of God because he lived the life of God among men. 21 According to Hick, 5

6 "It is possible to see him [Jesus Christ] simply as a selfappointed prophet who got mixed up in politics, clashed with the Jerusalem priesthood, and had to be eliminated [by crucifixion]. It is also possible to see him as the Messiah of God...who gave himself for the renewing of mankind." 22 There are occasions on which God, as it were, comes forth from his hiding place and shows to man that he is a living God, that he is still on the throne of the universe, and that he is sufficient for all of man's problems. 23 Certainly one could never know God if He had not revealed himself. 24 I would believe the claims of Judaism, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Science, Islam, and Mormonism when they say that Jesus was not God. But instead of putting my faith into a man who died, I put my faith in Jesus, who rose from the dead to fulfill Old Testament prophecy, forgive humans of their sins 25, and prove that he is the one true God. 6

7 Bibliography Hick, John. Philosoph of Religion, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice Hall, Inc Tenny, Merrill C., New Testament Survey, Grand Rapids, Michi gan, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Thiessen, Henry Clarence, Lectures in Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids, Michigan, William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Unger, Merrill F., Archaeology and the New Testament, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan Publishing Company,

8 ENDNOTES 1 Merrill F. Unger, Archaeology and the New Testament, p Merrill C. Tenney, New Testament Survey, p Unger, op. cit. p Tenney, op. cit. p Exodus 13:21. 6 Henry Clarence Thiessen, Lectures In Systematic Theology, p Exodus 17: John 6: John 6: John 20: Genesis 6; Genesis 5: Isaiah 7: John 14:6. 15 John 10: John 1:1. 17 John 1: John 20: Thiessen, op. cit. p. 12. (for a detailed study of evidence see McDowell, Evidence That demands a Verdict, pp ) Corinthians 15: Ibld, p John Hick, Philosophy of Religion, p Thiessen,op. cit. p Ibid. p John 1:9. 8