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Example research essay topic: Similarities And Differences God And Man - 1,519 words

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Tucker 1 Comparison and Contrast of the gods in Homers epics with the God of the Hebrews There are many similarities and differences between the Greek gods and the Hebrew God. These similarities and differences are revealed in the character and functionality of the gods. The revelation of similarities and differences can also be seen in mans relationship to his god or gods. Homer was instrumental in documenting the oral traditions of the Greek gods in his poetry. Moses, the Hebrew leader, is attributed with documenting what he witnessed from God in the Torah. The Greek and Hebrew belief systems were established for the purposes of explaining the world we live in, the phenomenon in nature, and the existence and purpose of man.

The Greeks were polytheistic and had more gods than they could probably keep up with. In contrast the Hebrews had only one God. Regardless, the Greeks and Hebrews shared the same desire and that was to find answers to questions about existence and the purpose of life. The character and functionality of the Greek gods vary from god to god. Zeus was the chief of the Greek gods and considered the most powerful.

This may be a bit misleading because even though he held the highest rank, the lesser gods did not always submit to his authority. The lesser gods did things at times that they knew would go against the wishes of Zeus. It is apparent that all the gods did things for their own pleasure and men were the pawns in the games they played. This can be seen in Homers The Iliad. Zeus loved Sarpedon and wanted to intervene to save him from injury or death. Queen Hera advised Zeus that it would be unwise to intervene because the other gods would see it as favoritism.

Petroclus killed Sarpedon. The god Apollo avenges the death of Sarpedon by stripping away Petroclus armor rendering him Tucker 2 defenseless, and thus he is killed by Hector. It is apparent that the Greeks felt that the gods ordered their destiny. According to Alexander Murray, man himself, and everything around him, was upheld by Devine power; that his career was marked out for him by a rigid fate which even the gods could not alter, should they wish it on occasion. He was indeed free to act, but the consequences of all his actions were settled beforehand (2). In the case of Petroclus, it was his destiny to die in that particular battle and thus the gods ensured that it happened according to fate.

The Greek gods were not always considered fair in their dealings with man. There arose doubts to the absolute justice of the gods, and even the sanctity of their lives. There seemed to be two sets of standards, one for the gods and one for man. The deities were not eternal in their existence. There are stories about their birth. They were the offspring from other gods.

The gods were immortal; however, there is a story of the death of Zeus that came from the Isle of Crete. The gods maintained and preserved the existing order and system of things according to their divine wisdom. The Greeks never arrived at the idea of one absolute eternal God. This is a distinction the Hebrews held fast to. The Hebrew god is most commonly referred to as God; however, he has been also called Elohim, and Yahweh. In the English rendering he is called Jehovah.

There appears to be no documentation that states that the Hebrews were ever polytheistic and evolved into worshipping one supreme god. The Pentateuch or Torah is composed of the first five books of the bible. These books reveal the character and function of the Hebrew god. Genesis, the first book of the bible states: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (1. 1). This beginning is the creation of the universe, man, and all living creatures.

It is not the beginning of God. We have no oral account or written history as to Gods beginning. We are only told that he has existed for eternity. A definition found in the Westminster Shorter Catechism declares: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. (316). The Greek gods had claims to wisdom and power; however, they were not usually referred to as being holy, just, or good. They were holy, just, and good when they chose to be.

Murray emphasizes that the gods were conceived to possess the form of human beings, and to be, like men, subject to love and pain, but always characterized by the highest qualities and grandest form that could be imagined. (4). These characteristics did not make the Greek gods infallible but rather fallible due to the element of human emotion. The Hebrew God is a spirit and could not be seen by man lest he die. The Hebrews were forbidden to craft statues of God.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (Ex 20: 4). Based on this it is hard to say how they envisioned the appearance of God. Interestingly God states that he created man in his image in Genesis 1: 26. It is obvious that the Greeks never actually saw their gods but they did create them in works of art and as a result adopted in their minds the created image as being an actual likeness. The Hebrews had no frame of reference to consider nor were they allowed to consider such. The Hebrew God had no other gods to contend with.

It is documented in the bible that there are angels, but angels are not on the same level as God. Angels are the servants to God and man and do not have any power equivalent to Gods power. Satan, who was a fallen angel represents evil and is anti-God. Some of the Greek gods may have acted evil on occasion but there were none that purposed evil continually against Zeus. God and the Greek gods were considered omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Only a god could possess these characteristics.

The greatest contrast between The Greek gods and the Hebrew God is the relationship between god and man. The Greeks did not have a close intimate relationship with their gods, as did the Hebrews. One might contend that the reason the Hebrews were more intimate with God is because they were persecuted and looked to God for comfort. The story of their captivity, slavery, and final exodus reveals some very trying times for the Hebrews.

During the time of Homer, which was around the eight century B. C. , the Greeks were living somewhat prosperously. There began a rise of aristocracies throughout Greece and it was during this period that the Olympiads began. This is not to imply that the Greeks did not need a god to rely on throughout their daily lives. It only shows that they were living in an era of economic prosperity and they were not slaves as were the Hebrews. History reveals that people in general turn to god whenever they are experiencing difficulty in life.

The death of a loved one, severe illness, persecution, slavery, and poverty seem to make people a bit more religious to their god. Thus people living in prosperity may not need God for comfort like those who are under some sort of trial in life. The Hebrews witnessed the miracles from God that convinced the Egyptians to free them from slavery. They also wandered forty years in the wilderness prior to entering the Promised Land.

During the Exodus they witnessed many more miracles such as the parting of the Red Sea, Manna from heaven, and water from a rock. These experiences would make one a believer in the power and person of God. Moses apparently saw these things happen and recorded them first hand. Homer records what he has heard from the oral traditions. Oral traditions can be very powerful and very believable. The development of the oral traditions on the other hand can over time evolve into something more realistic even though they may have originated from imagination.

The Greeks eventually abandoned their gods and adopted beliefs in gods from other cultures. As to the origin of these oral traditions, Murray, has this to say: the youth of a nation, like that of an individual, is the period at which the activity of imagination and fancy is greatest in proportion as knowledge is least when they seek to fathom or measure the cause of the phenomena of nature they have no standard to employ at hand, except themselves. (77). The Hebrews use God as a standard to employ since Moses and his followers witnessed the events firsthand. This may be why the Hebrews believe in their God to this day and the Greeks abandoned theirs.

The Greeks eventually realized that their traditions were created by the imaginations of...


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