Hellenization and Its Affects on the Birth and Spread of Christianity Report

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

What is Hellenization?

Hellenization is a term that is commonly used in describing the spread of the culture of the ancient Greeks as well as, to a smaller degree, the Greek language in particular. This issue includes the indication of the rate at which the culture spread was the highest among all the foreign nations conquered by Greece or within its sphere of influence.

It is worth noting that Alexander the Great is the historical figure who can be largely linked to the spread of Hellenization. His contribution to the development and promotion of the Greek culture and language is done through his conquests of the new lands and other cultures, thus enabling the spread of Hellenization within the period of his life, which was the fourth century BC (Eraman 34). The whole concept of this is what has been referred to as Hellenism, a study of ancient Greece, in modern days.

In what ways do you think it might have affected the birth and spread of Christianity?

As it is evident from most of the scholarly articles studying and examining Greek philosophy, Hellenism was a cultural force that significantly affected many lands and countries within the Mediterranean region.

Furthermore, basing on the fact that Christianity arose, developed and received a wide spread in the countries along the Mediterranean area, there are a lot of reasons to believe that Hellenism contributed much to its growth and consequent spread. In his book, Brief Introduction to the New Testament, Bart Ehrman (45) argues that the majority of the early Christians insisted on borrowing some ideas from the Greek cultural world as well as church terms are derived from the Greek language.

The factors that made the early Christians address to the Greek culture and language may be explained in the following way. In order to help the first missionaries communicate and spread the gospel to those who surround them, they decided to use the language that would be understood by a wide majority of people who may be viewed as a future congregation of a new developing religion. Moreover, to attract more church members, the early Christians used to implement some views and ideas of Greek culture to their propagation.

Thus, they made the alien religion become closer and more understandable to the people with the Greek influenced vision of life. As such, Hellenistic ideologies gradually infiltrated into the Christian setting. As a matter of fact, Bart Erman argues that the outstanding and well-known Greek philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, as well as some others, greatly influenced on as well as remarkably contributed to the development of the ideologies that are represented in the New Testament (78).

Works Cited

Ehrman, Bart. A Brief Introduction to the New Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2009. Print.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2018, November 6). Hellenization and Its Affects on the Birth and Spread of Christianity. https://ivypanda.com/essays/hellenization-and-its-affects-on-the-birth-and-spread-of-christianity/

Work Cited

"Hellenization and Its Affects on the Birth and Spread of Christianity." IvyPanda, 6 Nov. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/hellenization-and-its-affects-on-the-birth-and-spread-of-christianity/.

References

IvyPanda. (2018) 'Hellenization and Its Affects on the Birth and Spread of Christianity'. 6 November.

References

IvyPanda. 2018. "Hellenization and Its Affects on the Birth and Spread of Christianity." November 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/hellenization-and-its-affects-on-the-birth-and-spread-of-christianity/.

1. IvyPanda. "Hellenization and Its Affects on the Birth and Spread of Christianity." November 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/hellenization-and-its-affects-on-the-birth-and-spread-of-christianity/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Hellenization and Its Affects on the Birth and Spread of Christianity." November 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/hellenization-and-its-affects-on-the-birth-and-spread-of-christianity/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1