USA: +1 415 256 4347 
Sign in
Question
St Augustine of Hippo: how he’s a representative of our Greco roman Judeo Christian cultural roots double spaced, one in the margin, justified four pages containing a thesis statement, at least six quotations, the individual has chosen must be presented in the first or second paragraph of the paper
Answer
Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course Code and Name:
University:
Date Assignment is due:
The term Judeo-Christian is often used to describe a collection of values and concepts that are thought to be shared in both Christianity and Judaism, and which, together with the classical Greco-Roman civilization, are considered to be a fundamental basis for today’s Western moral values and legal codes. The Greco-Roman period in history is marked by the culture of all the people who had been incorporated into the whole of the Roman Empire and the Roman Republic. This period started with the occupation of Greece by Romans in 146 BC and ended when the Western Empire fell in the 5th Century AD. St. Augustine of Hippo, (354-430 AD) is a classic representation of our Greco Roman Judeo-Christian cultural roots.
ORDER NOW
The term Judeo-Christian was coined in the United States in efforts to create a civil religion or a highly non-denominational religious consensus, which by embracing Judaism, would have avoided all implicit appearances of anti-Semitism. The first uses of the term can be traced to the period between 1899 and 1910, during discussions about the emergence of Christianity from Judaism. The meaning that the term retains today was developed in 1938, at the start of World War II, instead of using the term “Christian civilization” in reference to Hitler’s rude attack on Jews and their Judaism faith.
Proponents of the concept of Judeo-Christian culture point out that Christians and Jews share many sacred texts and ethical norms that are similar, and that they both worship the same God. However, the notion of Judeo-Christian values has been fiercely criticized for giving the implication of more commonality that the one that actually exists. Some people say that the term is part of many creations of American politics. Other critics say that they term attempts to marginalize Islam, as the third major Abrahamic religion, instead preferring the terms Judeo-Christo-Islamic or Judeo-Islamic so as to incorporate the Islamic part of this religious evolution.
St. Augustine of Hippo lived during a time when the Greco-Roman period was coming to a close. The Romans occupied Greece in 146 and remained in control until the 5th Century. The geographical borders of the culture’s impact during this period are also normally denoted by scholars using the term “Greco-Roman”.
According to Fitzgerald (1999), the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo give a strong hint of the ethical and moral foundations that define the Judeo-Christian culture since he is one of the most famous philosophical and theological geniuses of all time. Some scholars say that he is the equal of all great philosophers of modern times and past centuries; among theologians, he remains undeniably the first among them all. So compelling has been his influence that none of the other theological and philosophical Fathers, Reformers, or Scholastics has ever surpassed it.
The Greco-Roman dominion is a reflection of the unity that existed in the Mediterranean world, especially between the 3rd Century BC and 5th Century AD, during which time the ethics and legal codes of Judeo-Christian origin flourished. There are many indicators that hint at the “social matrix of this period’s classical antiquity, which gives strong evidence of a common heritage”. The philosophical and theological teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo are a strong indication of how far this culture had flourished, and it contains elements of both Judaism and Christianity.
Augustine was the bishop of a third-rate city and he scarcely had any control over the city’s politics. Some scholars suggest that he did not have the qualifications of becoming a statesman. If Augustine continues to occupy a high place elsewhere apart from in the history of humanity, he does so as a thinker, whereby his influence is felt even outside the confines of theology, thereby playing a very important role in the way the origins of Western thought are traced.
Today, it is universally conceded that his influence in the intellectual field rivals even that of Thomas Aquinas, and by implication, his teachings, are a mark of a distinct epoch in the entire history of Judeo-Christian thought. Critics of both the protestant and Catholic worlds are unanimous in placing Augustine in the frontline as one of the Doctors, proclaiming him to be the Greatest of all Church Fathers.
Born in North Africa, Augustine was ordained in 395 as the Bishop of Hippo. As a prolific and ecclesiastic theological writer, he launched many attacks on Christian sects. He also raised many issues regarding Judaism. His religious and philosophical convictions are “a manifestation of his influence on many different spiritual trends and movements” (Somos, 2010). His major doctrines appear to be opposed to the Jewish teaching in its traditional setting, for instance, predestination and the concept of innateness in all men’s sins. Nevertheless, throughout his teachings, writes Fredriksen (1995), “Jewish influences are clearly discernible, although they are largely derived from a very common biblical background as well as from a Hellenistic Jewish philosophy”.
Augustine emphasized on “absolute unity of God and transcendence in such a way that the doctrine of the Trinity assumed relatively secondary importance”. The city of God outlines his theology of history, whereby Jewish overtones present themselves only in the form of traditional apocalyptic and eschatological perspectives that are explained through a historical approach as opposed to an overtly theological one. These perspectives focus on Israel’s universal religious mission throughout history.
Augustine’s doctrine had a profound influence on the philosophical conceptions of Jewish Judaic doctrines. A classic example is the attacks on SaadiahGaon with regard to the concept of the Holy Trinity as well as of God as the hypostasis of three main attributes (living, being and knowing) (Emunotve-De’ot, ch. 2; cf. De liberoarbitrio, ch. II, 3 no. 7).
In spite of being equivocally opposed to the concept of post-Christian Judaism, in keeping with the foundational tenets of Christian thinking, Augustine strives to “evince Judaism in some of his teachings and writings, for instance, his commentary on Psalms”. Unlike many anti-Jewish diatribes who were violent during his days, he maintained a positive attitude, almost a missionary one, towards the Jewish people; he was convinced that they were destined to joining in the ultimate fullness of all the Divine promises as promised and realized in the church. The anti-Jewish tracts that were circulated during the Middle Ages, which under the name Augustine were later compositions that had wrongly been attributed to him.
St. Augustine underscored the many similarities existing between Judaism and Christianity, as well as some areas of ethical and legal relevance, where there are sharp differences. He also highlighted that neither Jews nor Christians were ready to have the distinctive traits describing each doctrine to be removed through an oversimplification. St. Augustine’s prediction seems to have turned out to be accurate with the coinage of the term “Judeo-Christian tradition”. Tremendous variations have continued to occur, which have continued to influence each other.
References
Fitzgerald, A. &Cavadini, J. (1999) Augustine through the ages: an encyclopedia, Cambridge: Eerdman’s Publishing Co.
Fredriksen, P. (1995) ExcaecatiOccultaJustitia Dei: Augustine on Jews and Judaism, Journal of Early Christian Studies, 3(3), 299-324.
Somos, M. (2010) Saint Augustine of Hippo, step-father of liberalism, History of European Ideas, 36(2), 237-250
