Greco-Roman Religion

Compare and Contrast: The Spread of Christianity and Buddhism in the End of the Classical Period.

The ancient Greek and Roman religion was the belief in God. They had similar views, but also some differences. It composed of many meaningful Gods and Goddesses that played the part in the everyday life of the average Roman and the Greek citizen. Before going into their beliefs and many strange legends, we must consider what kind of beings these divinities were.

Christianity and Buddhism have their own specific ways of diffusion. Christianity has spread due to hierarchical diffusion. Dominance of Christianity in the Roman Empire took place in the 4th century through hierarchical diffusion. Constantine encouraged Christianity in 313. Christianity is also spread through relocation diffusion. Due to the Bible having a mandate for Christians to spread the Word of God, Christians have created missionaries to do exactly that. Missionaries are individuals who help to transmit a universalizing religion through relocation diffusion. They carried the teachings of Jesus through the Roman Empire.

In the ancient Roman world, religion played the most important role in everyday life, as well as in matters of the state. The Romans looked to the gods for political stability and for control of the unexplainable and natural phenomenon. The gods were believed to control all aspects of Roman life, and for that reason, a great deal of importance was placed in the appropriate worship of the gods. Women played an extremely influential role in ancient Roman religion. Not only did they participate in religious rituals, but some even held religious positions as Vestal Virgins.

“’Worldwide, more than eight-in-ten people identify with a religious group,’ said a new comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.” (Harper). Within the top five most popular religions, Christianity was found to be at the top with Buddhism ranked number four. There are millions of human beings participating in these religions and humans might wonder how they compare. When a human being explores Buddhism and Christianity, they will find that the importance of a spiritual master, shared values, and the follower strive to be enlighten. Buddhism and Christianity have an abundance of similarities within the religions, the fundamental differences in the view of God, salvation, and reincarnation ultimately outweigh their likeness.

The interesting thing I find most interesting in the assignment reading this week from Moyer Hubbard, in his book, A narrative Introduction Christianity in the Greco-Roman World. The topic of the adultery and divorce was really hit me bad because it was common practice in the Roman world. Hubbard states, “Divorce was widespread in the Roman world of the first century. Also, divorce, was easier and more common during the first century than the century before, despite the legislation enacted by Augustus attempting to curb the divorce rate. By the New Testament era, either spouse could initiate divorce, though in the imperial period this was the prerogative of the husband” (Hubbard 184) Divorce is a lifestyle and not just a mere experience that someone may have had. What also stuck out to me was there is no body there to counsel individuals about marriage benefits and where Christian gets the ideas of marriage counseling from?

One man, million devoted followers. Christianity and Buddhism both share teachings from one single man. Christianity devoted their lives to God, as opposed to Buddhism who devote their life to Buddha. Although both religions come from different origins they are both based off a man who arose. Reviewing Christianity and Buddhism and questioning what are their similarities? Christianity and Buddhism both share improving their wellbeing by faith, both taught to overcome the forces of hatred by the power of love, and both share a spiritual master. Although they share many similarities they both differ by their views on reincarnation, prayer verse meditation, and lastly God.

Romans learned Greek culture, and it became Greco-Roman culture. An ancient culture that developed from blending Greek, Hellenistic, and roman culture.

Considering the early Christian believes such as the old testament that prohibits the making of graven images ,then it would be wise to analyze why the early Christians came up with their art in the first place . The use of images in early Christianity played an important role especially in spreading the religion .Most of the target converts were the Greco-Romans who had the culture of art from the beginning . The influence that Greco-Roman culture had on the converts continued . The converts continued to practice burial cultures such as use of catacombs to bury the dead . Catacombs were common among the average and poor Romans while sarcophagi or marble tombs were used by the wealthy(Guntram 40) . The Christians converts dug their catacombs

Christianity and Buddhism have separate believes and take different paths from one another, but when one looks deep enough they are able to see similarities between the two. Buddhism is one of the most important spiritual tradition in Asia. Over time, it has been able to adapt to different conditions and local ideas while still being able to maintain its core values. Christianity is a monotheistic religion that was derived from Judaism and is based mainly around the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (“A Brief Introduction to Christianity).

The main different between Christianity and Buddhism who they worship. Both religions based their teaching of one person. However, on Christianity is based on the miracles and acts of Jesus. Christianity is a derivative of Judaism. Moreover, it is an Abrahamic religion,

During the period of the New Testament, two religions, Judaism and the Greco-Roman religion, were prevalent in the Mediterranean. The Greco-Roman religion, spread through Hellenization, held the Gentiles of the Roman Empire in cultural unity, while Judaism served as the cultural basis for the Jewish community. Both religions signified the cultural identity of a community in the Mediterranean and remained as separate entities due to ideological and ethnical differences. Separation, however, did not mean these religions were polar opposites in nature. Judaism, although different from the Greco-Roman religion which was prevalent in the world, can be evaluated as a Greco-Roman religion which diverged.

The ancient Greek and Roman worlds made significant contributions to both the religion and ways of thinking. Greek and Roman religion was polytheistic, and they worshiped many gods and goddesses. Members of both groups strongly believed the gods influenced all natural wonders. Each Greek polis, had its own set of important gods and goddesses and their own particular way to honor and worship them. Eventually, most Greeks identified a pantheon of twelve major deities. These gods and goddesses were called Olympian gods by the Greeks, and apparently lived on Mount Olympus in northern Greece, led by Zeus and his wife Hera. While the deities were connected to the political life of the city-state, all citizens were expected to participate in public worship as part of their duty to the state. As for the Romans, who greatly admired the culture of the Greeks, later identified their own deities with powers similar to the Greek gods. Greek religion and later Roman religion, had no specific rules of proper behaviors or principles to follow. Each individual was free to decide regarding their actions, as long as they participated in the official worship ceremonies. The Greco-Roman philosophy was revolutionary in the antiquity of human thought. It relied on logical reasoning, established the first scientific vocabulary, and laid the foundation that showed change from Greek to Roman domination.

Primarily, I will begin by taking a gander at the different similarities amongst Buddhism and Christianity. The two religions depend on the golden rule which concerns singular prosperity and in addition the interests of other individuals. Both Buddha and Jesus Christ educated their supporters about the welfare of every individual. They urged their devotees to do great to others an analogous way they might want others to do unto them. Jesus and Buddha lectured the significance of social values and morals. Both Buddha and Jesus were rejected and exceedingly censured unreasonable self-denial and furthermore accentuated for self-freedom.

Although Christianity and Buddhism are largely incompatible, they are similar in some situations when it comes to their doctrine and beliefs, methods of outreach and practices.