Dictionaries define "Judaism" as The monotheistic religion of the Jews, since the founding principle of Judaism was the unique belief in One ethical God. This was the teaching which was spread by Abraham, and has continued since then. From Judaism, belief in One God has spread through the Western world. It was unlike idolatry, which had tended to go hand in hand with cruel, licentious and excessive behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the idols were adopted as an excuse to imitate those types of behavior.
Quote:
"I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation ... fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations" (John Adams, 2nd President of the United States).
"Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights, but we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both Divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and of collective conscience, and social responsibility" (Paul Johnson, Christian historian, author of A History of the Jews and A History of Christianity).
Dictionaries define "Judaism" as The monotheistic religion of the Jews, since the founding principle of Judaism was the unique belief in One ethical God. This was the teaching which was spread by Abraham, and has continued since then. From Judaism, belief in One God has spread through the Western world. It was unlike idolatry, which had tended to go hand in hand with cruel, licentious and excessive behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the idols were adopted as an excuse to imitate those types of behavior.
Quote:
"I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation ... fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations" (John Adams, 2nd President of the United States).
"Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights, but we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both Divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and of collective conscience, and social responsibility" (Paul Johnson, Christian historian, author of A History of the Jews and A History of Christianity).
At the time of Abraham the Hebrew, the world was full of pagan cults; they were polytheistic, worshiping multiple deities and lacking moral character; with their rites accompanied by things such as human sacrifice, "sacred" prostitution, and animal worship. Abraham was the first to advance the idea of ethical monotheism: the worship of One God, and the appropriate ethical code of conduct.
Link: How Abraham founded Judaism
It is important to note that all of the above existed in Judaism thousands of years earlier than in other nations. Here's just one example: Infanticide was practiced in classical European nations until Judaism and its daughter-religions put a stop to it.
The Torah and the words of the prophets. These were (and are) the ethical, moral, legal and historical teachings which the Israelites based their judgments upon.
Ancient Greece stands out among most other ancient civilizations by a remarkable heritage of unique ideas, thoughts, and customs. Democracy first appeared among the Greeks, with the city-state of Athens providing a rough example for later generations to imitate. Philosophy -- or, the love of wisdom -- is another unique discovery (or, as it may be put, invention) of the Greeks, whereby rationally is systematically utilized in order to guide or improve human lifestyles and social arrangements.
The claim that the ancient Romans were not artistic is not easily defensible, if it is defensible at all. For, in respect to architecture, a number of visual arts (such as sculpture), and literature (poetry and prose alike), among other areas, the Romans were quite distinctively and admirably artistic by comparison with other ancient (and later) peoples and cultures.
Through conquest Through trade or gifts (as with Solomon; see 1 Kings ch.9) Through God's direct benevolence. Israel was famously and unnaturally fertile while the Israelites lived there (see for example Joshua 23:14, which mentions the fulfillment of [among other things] the fertility predicted in Leviticus 26:4-5).
Europeans brought new diseases to native peoples via river travel. (apex)
No. It was normal for the ancients to have many gods, and the Israelites were not different in that respect. If there is anything unique about the Hebrew people it is the Bible, but that was written among the people of Judah, long after the destruction of Israel.
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Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, and several other peoples are credited with having ancient umbrellas among their ruins and artifacts.
he was a young boy as a pharoahBY Jayda Gear
According to Judaism, the answer is yes. The Hebrew Bible records a number of miracles that God wrought for the Israelites. Many of these had millions of witnesses (Exodus 20:14), sometimes including other nations as well (such as when the sun stopped for Joshua, which is recorded among widely-scattered ancient peoples).
The Torah and the words of the prophets. These were (and are) the ethical, moral, legal and historical teachings which the Israelites based their judgments upon.
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One another! Tattoos were VERY popular among ancient peoples. Preserved ancient bodies, thousands of years old, found in peat, ice and dried mummies ALL show signs of tattoos!
No, chess had not been invented in the ancient period of history. It seems to have been developed in Persia and among the Arab peoples during the medieval period, spreading across Europe after the First Crusade.
All ancient peoples, Semitic and non-Semitic, believed in some form of continued life after death. This has been shown all over the world, in ancient writings, burial-practices, art, etc. No one in the ancient world was completely secular. Rather, you might ask what the precise afterlife-beliefs were, among specific branches of the Semitic peoples (or others). Included among the Semites were the Assyrians, Elamites, Arameans, Lyddians, Arabs, Israelite Hebrews, Moabites, Ammonites, Edumeans and others.
King David