Western Culture And Its Influence On Modern Culture

The Bible is the most significant book in the history of civilization. In the context of Jewish history, the Bible’s impact on politics, history, and religion is without comparison. Along with establishing the covenant-based legitimacy of the Jewish people and their history, the Bible’s political impact is exemplified through prophetic politics, the power of kings, and the effects of political authority. Biblical archeology has discovered biblical structures which supports the historical validity of the Bible. The Bible’s effect on history, politics, and religion has shaped the world we live in today.

Within every culture, there is a set of specific norms, values, symbols, and classifications that are followed by each member. While a norm is a typical behavior or action that is standard within a particular setting or culture, a symbol is an object or visual that is representative of a specific meaning. Regarding the health care system in Western culture, an ambulance with its sirens and lights turned on forces other drivers to pull over to the side of the road. In this example, the ambulance symbolizes a medical emergency, and it is a cultural norm to pull over to let the vehicle pass. In addition to norms and symbols, a value is something that holds an explicit importance to members of a society. For example, in Cuban culture, it is crucial

reality. It was as if boats had their rudders removed, and they were permitted to drift freely. Today, we often refer to our Judeo-Christian heritage as based on law and legal precedent. In reality, the Christian part of this tradition did not become part of our Western morality until after the English referred back to the Torah, began to read Hebrew and incorporated the Jewish tradition in the system of laws based on written laws and legal precedents and then became known as the Judeo-Christian tradition. Until then, the governance of a community was based on power – those with it made individualized decisions based on at best their own personal dictates or, at worst, expediency. For their daily lives the people looked to the village priest,

In the third grade, I remember bringing noodles to lunch, and all of my white classmates looking at me strangely. Little did I know, Americans did not bring noodles to lunch, but rather simpler things, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lunchables. Although my introduction to the western culture was nothing as close to the Ibo people’s introduction to the western culture, it is clear that different cultures often have a hard time understanding the customs of another culture. Okonkwo’s response to new western influences spreading through his clan depicts how the introduction of different cultures can lead to disagreement because of contrasting religious values and customs.

This desire to be like others caused the Hebrews to stray away from God’s ideal social structure even though God’s structure was the more perfect one that promoted an efficient allocation of wealth and resources. This straying away from God becomes the main theme of the Bible as we read of many stories that involve God using various means from prophets and punishment to bring His people away from the customs of the world and back to His perfect will for the world. Halteman also stresses the need for a supporting community of faith in order to resist the ways of the secular world.

The societal power of religious congregations lies in its ability to drive a group of individuals to become an entity much greater than the sum of its individual components. The collective force of a group of people who share similar beliefs and ideals is necessary for societal progression because these gatherings reaffirm societal laws and strengthen the bond between its members.

Throughout the history of human civilization, people have been creating, critiquing and altering institutions. For instance, people have been condemning religion for centuries, indeed millennia. Yet the institution of religion still remains a dominant force in modern society. Without question, religious institutions and practices have morphed, dare I say, evolved, over the centuries. But the fundamental concept that human beings exist within an abstract framework of Gods, mythologies, symbols, and so forth, still remains.

For example, many values presented in the bible have been used to build the morale system in many societies. It is fascinating to see how this work alone is reflected among many religions and morality. In the book of Genesis, an ancient Near East literature, presents the creation of the universe from a supernatural being. The book of Genesis has a significant impact in Ancient Near East because this teaches them how creation was made and by who. The Near East are the nations and/or empires that are surrounded geographically in the land where God promised to Israel. The story of the creation explains how there were two parts, the creation of the universe and the creation of mankind. These two stories have influenced the Near East culture to show that God is the creator therefore people should only follow him, and with the creation of Adam and Eve (the first people on earth) it is explained that there are only two genders Male and Female. The Bible’s idea of creation was an action that brought functionality into a nonfunctional world. The message that was given cannot be fully understood without the having the knowledge of the cultural and historical background of the people to who the revelation is given to. After the book of Genesis, Exodus, a hero is chosen by God. Unlike the Greek, Hebrews have been wanderers where their goal is to search for home. Unlike The Odyssey, The Bible is straightforward in telling the story with a beginning, middle and end where Moses took the Jews out Egypt and took them into the promised land. Therefore, this story is primarily for the Jews. The story of Exodus influenced the Near East by showing them faith, but also influenced modern society. “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses” (Exodus

Judaism’s traditional conception of authority has not changed over the past century, instead it has merely altered its views but not its traditions and laws. Researchers and religious teachers often blame “modernity” for what they believe is reform in the Judaism religion. This reform is known as a modern interpretation of Judaism’s changed political and cultural conditions. Although these conditions have changed, their concept of authority has not. Judaism’s origins date back to over four thousand years. It’s beliefs and practices belonged to people known as Israelites. Judaism's relation to the first century C.E can be linked to the covenant God made with Abraham and his people.

People throughout the ages have changed, especially in traditions and culture. One of the most influential factors of the change is the literature, especially the important core literature. Core books don’t only have the power to make a nation good, they also have the power to make a nation very bad. A perfectly reasonable example is the communist manifesto, a core book of Russia in times past, it literally brought pain, misery, and failure to a nation in such a potent amount that it horrifies any reader. Literature, especially core books contain the power to change individuals, groups, and even nations. Core books are read over and over due to the belief that they are scripture, and this just makes them even more influential. Rome was heavily influenced by it’s renowned “Aeneid” and Greece by “The Odyssey” but both books had negative and positive affects, giving us evidence of the human frailties in core books. A good example of a book that has caused confusion within civilization is “Beowulf”. The pagan and christian views both clash throughout the work giving us an example of one of the problems books can cause in civilizations. The wonderful thing about core books is that they al have a good principle in them, so we can perfect things by searching through them all. Nearly every core book has negative and positive principles, but each one has built civilizations and brought us to the great place we

Sugar had a major influence of the rise of the West; social, cultural, and political factors all contribute to the Rise of the West, and was essential to make this happen.

It is not unusual for an average American to possess a negative view on the Catholic Church. Indeed, historians find it difficult to convince most people that the Catholic Church did not give rise to the cultural and intellectual retrogression experienced during the Middle Ages. Dr. Thomas E. Woods, Jr. wrote a book called “How the Catholic Church built Western Civilization” to demonstrate that the Church’s contributions to Western societies go past the aspects of music, arts and architecture. As the title suggests, the author goes beyond: The Catholic Church built Western civilization. Dr. Thomas Woods completed a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University and a Ph.D. in History at Columbia University. He is also the author of 11 New York Times bestselling books. In this essay, there will be a synopsis of each chapter of Dr. Woods’ book. A detailed discussion of chapter 5 (The Church and Science) will also be included.

​Between the years 58 B.C.E and 50 B.C.E., Gaius Julius Caesar conquered almost the whole of France as well as Belgium, Switzerland and parts of Germany; he also found time to invade Britain twice. Julius Caesar was a Roman statesman and general who played a critical role in the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. He amassed great power through clever political alliances and military victories. Caesar recorded his conquests in great detail which provides valuable historical text to refer to; however it must be kept in mind that it is a clear piece of propaganda. As the saying goes, the winner gets to write history. Nonetheless, Caesar’s writings are a unique firsthand source on his conquests in Gaul and the various Gallic tribes he came up against.

Western Civilization, as it is known today, is a coalescence of various cultures, ideologies, and practices that have been preserved over centuries of human life. Although a countless number of societies have influenced Western Civilization, Hebrew-Christian civilizations and Greco-Roman civilizations have been the two most influential. Both of these civilizations and their traditions have left equally deep and long-lasting marks on Western Civilization that are still seen in today’s society. While Hebrew-Christian religious traditions are at the core foundation of the largest religions of the western world, Greco-Roman political and social traditions are, on the other hand, seen in the fundamentals of Western societal systems and ideologies. In addition, both Hebrew-Christian traditions and Greco-Roman traditions are prominent in western political and governmental structures. Without the influence of Hebrew-Christian or Greco-Roman traditions, Western Civilization would not be what it is today.

Globalization is far reaching in this day and age. Globalization is the worldwide flow of goods, services, money, people, information, and culture. It leads to a greater interdependence and mutual awareness among the people of the world (Tischler, 2011, 2007, p. 430). One non-Western culture that has been impacted by globalization is China. An example of the impact of globalization on China is their economy. Since joining the World Trade Organization, China has transformed from a culture that relied on economic self-sufficiency and shunned the thought of globalization to an economy that is progressively more open to trade and foreign investment.