The video explains that Jewish people were a tribe, like many other tribes and actually used to worship multiple gods as well as pay sacrifices to them until they developed the idea of a single god and laid the foundation for monotheistic religions like Christianity and Islam. We also learn in the video that arguably the first most important figure in Judaism was Abraham who had an encounter with God at the age of 99 and how God promised him children and wealth as well as prosperity for the Jewish people if they obey him and this may be how the term “chosen people of god’ was born. We also learn that Jews were part of the Roman Empire and Herod ruled over them and didn’t treat them well. The conditions at the time were ripe for Messiah as told in Jewish tradition and helped Jesus gain prominence because his life fitted many of the claims in the prophecy. Jesus attracted the wrath of noble Roman class because he preached against accumulation of wealth and power and feeling threatened, they crucified him.
There are several interesting facts mentioned in the video. The first interest fact I noticed was that Jewish described their God in masculine terms which may also explains why Abrahamic faith have usually been male-dominated when it comes to religious institutions. Another interesting fact was that many concepts in Christianity such as son of god and Messiah actually came from other ancient traditions and even Augustus was called son of god. It was also interesting to note that despite Jesus being the central figure in Christianity, it was not Jesus of Nazareth who helped spread Christianity but instead Paul first and then Emperor Constantine. The video also helped me understand why Judaism which came before Christianity and from which Christianity derived has so few followers yet Christianity has evolved into a major religion with over billion followers. First of all, Christianity opened invitation to everyone irrespective of their ethnic background and second Christianity was less strict than Judaism in terms of religious obligations.
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"Christianity from Judaism to Constantine".
The video also teaches several important things about the development of ancient cultures. First of all, many ancient cultures developed around agricultural industry which was probably the first real industrial revolution. Another thing we learn is that religion was central to most cultures even if the beliefs might have been different. The video also taught me that freedom of religion is a relatively new concept in human history and was largely absent in ancient cultures. The religion of the ruling class would usually be the official religion of the state and the followers of other religions would have restrictions regarding worship and would often face religious persecution. The video also shows that even in ancient times, cultures did influence each other due to trade and military invasions among other things.
Another thing I learnt in the video about ancient cultures is that they were similar to modern cultures in that people at the lower end of the economic hierarchy tend to be attracted more to religion because religion offers them hope. The video also teaches us that cultures and religions do not stay static but continue to evolve over time. Even Judaism evolved over time and got divided into different sects one or more of which formed the early followers of Christianity.
