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195:2.1 The [[Romans]] bodily took over [[Greek]] [[culture]], putting [[representative]] [[government]] in the place of government by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition#Ancient_Athens lot]. And presently this [[change]] [[favored]] [[Christianity]] in that [[Rome]] brought into the whole [[Western world]] a new [[tolerance]] for [[strange]] [[languages]], peoples, and even [[religions]].

195:2.1 The [[Romans]] bodily took over [[Greek]] [[culture]], putting [[representative]] [[government]] in the place of government by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition#Ancient_Athens lot]. And presently this [[change]] [[favored]] [[Christianity]] in that [[Rome]] brought into the whole [[Western world]] a new [[tolerance]] for [[strange]] [[languages]], peoples, and even [[religions]].

195:2.2 Much of the early [[persecution]] of [[Christians]] in [[Rome]] was due solely to their unfortunate use of the term " kingdom " in their [[preaching]]. The [[Romans]] were [[tolerant]] of any and all [[religions]] but very resentful of anything that savored of [[political]] [[rivalry]]. And so, when these early [[persecutions]], due so largely to misunderstanding, died out, the field for [[religious]] [[propaganda]] was wide open. The [[Roman]] was interested in [[political]] [[administration]]; he cared little for either [[art]] or [[religion]], but he was unusually [[tolerant]] of both.

195:2.2 Much of the early [[persecution]] of [[Christians]] in [[Rome]] was due solely to their unfortunate use of the term " kingdom " in their [[preaching]]. The [[Romans]] were [[tolerant]] of any and all [[religions]] but very resentful of anything that savored of [[political]] [[rivalry]]. And so, when these early [[persecutions]], due so largely to misunderstanding, died out, the field for [[religious]] [[propaganda]] was wide open. The [[Roman]] was interested in [[political]] [[administration]]; he cared little for either [[art]] or [[religion]], but he was unusually [[tolerant]] of both.

195:2.3 [[Oriental]] [[law]] was stern and [[arbitrary]]; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_law Greek law] was [[fluid]] and [[artistic]]; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_law Roman law] was [[dignified]] and [[respect]]-breeding. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_education Roman education] bred an unheard-of and stolid [[loyalty]]. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome early Romans] were [[politically]] [[devoted]] and [[sublimely]] [[consecrated]] [[individuals]]. They were [[honest]], [[zealous]], and [[dedicated]] to their [[ideals]], but without a [[religion]] [[worthy]] of the name. Small [[wonder]] that their [[Greek]] [[teachers]] were able to persuade them to [[accept]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Christianity Paul's Christianity].

195:2.3 [[Oriental]] [[law]] was stern and [[arbitrary]]; [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_law Greek law] was [[fluid]] and [[artistic]]; [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_law Roman law] was [[dignified]] and [[respect]]-breeding. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_education Roman education] bred an unheard-of and stolid [[loyalty]]. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome early Romans] were [[politically]] [[devoted]] and [[sublimely]] [[consecrated]] [[individuals]]. They were [[honest]], [[zealous]], and [[dedicated]] to their [[ideals]], but without a [[religion]] [[worthy]] of the name. Small [[wonder]] that their [[Greek]] [[teachers]] were able to persuade them to [[accept]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Christianity Paul's Christianity].

195:2.4 And these [[Romans]] were a great people. They could [[govern]] the [[Occident]] because they did govern themselves. Such unparalleled [[honesty]], [[devotion]], and stalwart [[self-control]] was [[ideal]] [[soil]] for the [[reception]] and [[growth]] of [[Christianity]].

195:2.4 And these [[Romans]] were a great people. They could [[govern]] the [[Occident]] because they did govern themselves. Such unparalleled [[honesty]], [[devotion]], and stalwart [[self-control]] was [[ideal]] [[soil]] for the [[reception]] and [[growth]] of [[Christianity]].

195:2.5 It was easy for these [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeco-Roman Greco-Romans] to become just as [[spiritually]] [[devoted]] to an [[institutional]] [[church]] as they were [[politically]] [[devoted]] to the [[state]]. The [[Romans]] fought the [[church]] only when they [[feared]] it as a [[competitor]] of the [[state]]. [[Rome]], having little [[national]] [[philosophy]] or [[native]] [[culture]], took over [[Greek]] [[culture]] for its own and boldly [[adopted]] [[Christ]] as its [[moral]] [[philosophy]]. [[Christianity]] became the [[moral]] [[culture]] of [[Rome]] but hardly its [[religion]] in the sense of being the [[individual]] [[experience]] in [[spiritual]] [[growth]] of those who [[embraced]] the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_religious_movement new religion] in such a wholesale [[manner]]. True, indeed, many [[individuals]] did penetrate beneath the [[surface]] of all this [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion state religion] and found for the nourishment of their [[souls]] the real [[values]] of the hidden [[meanings]] held within the latent [[truths]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenization Hellenized] and [[paganized]] [[Christianity]].

195:2.5 It was easy for these [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeco-Roman Greco-Romans] to become just as [[spiritually]] [[devoted]] to an [[institutional]] [[church]] as they were [[politically]] [[devoted]] to the [[state]]. The [[Romans]] fought the [[church]] only when they [[feared]] it as a [[competitor]] of the [[state]]. [[Rome]], having little [[national]] [[philosophy]] or [[native]] [[culture]], took over [[Greek]] [[culture]] for its own and boldly [[adopted]] [[Christ]] as its [[moral]] [[philosophy]]. [[Christianity]] became the [[moral]] [[culture]] of [[Rome]] but hardly its [[religion]] in the sense of being the [[individual]] [[experience]] in [[spiritual]] [[growth]] of those who [[embraced]] the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_religious_movement new religion] in such a wholesale [[manner]]. True, indeed, many [[individuals]] did penetrate beneath the [[surface]] of all this [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion state religion] and found for the nourishment of their [[souls]] the real [[values]] of the hidden [[meanings]] held within the latent [[truths]] of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenization Hellenized] and [[paganized]] [[Christianity]].

195:2.6 The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism Stoic] and his sturdy [[appeal]] to " [[nature]] and [[conscience]] " had only the better [[prepared]] all [[Rome]] to [[receive]] [[Christ]], at least in an [[intellectual]] sense. The [[Roman]] was by [[nature]] and [[training]] a lawyer; he [[revered]] even the [[laws]] of [[nature]]. And now, in [[Christianity]], he [[discerned]] in the laws of nature the [[laws]] of [[God]]. A people that could produce [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero Cicero] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vergil Vergil] were ripe for [[Paul, the Apostle|Paul]]'s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenization Hellenized] [[Christianity]].

195:2.6 The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism Stoic] and his sturdy [[appeal]] to " [[nature]] and [[conscience]] " had only the better [[prepared]] all [[Rome]] to [[receive]] [[Christ]], at least in an [[intellectual]] sense. The [[Roman]] was by [[nature]] and [[training]] a lawyer; he [[revered]] even the [[laws]] of [[nature]]. And now, in [[Christianity]], he [[discerned]] in the laws of nature the [[laws]] of [[God]]. A people that could produce [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero Cicero] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vergil Vergil] were ripe for [[Paul, the Apostle|Paul]]'s [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenization Hellenized] [[Christianity]].

195:2.7 And so did these [[Roman|Romanized]] [[Greeks]] force both [[Jews]] and [[Christians]] to philosophize their religion, to [[co-ordinate]] its [[ideas]] and [[Systems theory|systematize]] its [[ideals]], to adapt [[religious]] [[practices]] to the existing current of life. And all this was enormously helped by [[translation]] of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_scriptures Hebrew scriptures] into [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language Greek] and by the later recording of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint New Testament in the Greek tongue].

195:2.7 And so did these [[Roman|Romanized]] [[Greeks]] force both [[Jews]] and [[Christians]] to philosophize their religion, to [[co-ordinate]] its [[ideas]] and [[Systems theory|systematize]] its [[ideals]], to adapt [[religious]] [[practices]] to the existing current of life. And all this was enormously helped by [[translation]] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_scriptures Hebrew scriptures] into [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language Greek] and by the later recording of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint New Testament in the Greek tongue].

195:2.8 The [[Greeks]], in [[contrast]] with the [[Jews]] and many other peoples, had long provisionally [[believed]] in [[immortality]], some sort of [[survival]] after [[death]], and since this was the very [[heart]] of [[Jesus]]' teaching, it was certain that [[Christianity]] would make a strong [[appeal]] to them.

195:2.8 The [[Greeks]], in [[contrast]] with the [[Jews]] and many other peoples, had long provisionally [[believed]] in [[immortality]], some sort of [[survival]] after [[death]], and since this was the very [[heart]] of [[Jesus]]' teaching, it was certain that [[Christianity]] would make a strong [[appeal]] to them.

195:2.9 A [[succession]] of [[Greek]]-cultural and [[Roman]]-[[political]] [[victories]] had [[consolidated]] the [[Mediterranean]] lands into one [[empire]], with one [[language]] and one [[culture]], and had made the [[Western world]] ready for [[Monotheism|one God]]. [[Judaism]] provided this [[God]], but Judaism was not [[acceptable]] as a [[religion]] to these [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeco-Roman Romanized Greeks]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philo_of_Alexandria Philo] helped some to [[mitigate]] their objections, but [[Christianity]] [[revealed]] to them an even better [[concept]] of one [[God]], and they [[embraced]] it readily.

195:2.9 A [[succession]] of [[Greek]]-cultural and [[Roman]]-[[political]] [[victories]] had [[consolidated]] the [[Mediterranean]] lands into one [[empire]], with one [[language]] and one [[culture]], and had made the [[Western world]] ready for [[Monotheism|one God]]. [[Judaism]] provided this [[God]], but Judaism was not [[acceptable]] as a [[religion]] to these [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeco-Roman Romanized Greeks]. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philo_of_Alexandria Philo] helped some to [[mitigate]] their objections, but [[Christianity]] [[revealed]] to them an even better [[concept]] of one [[God]], and they [[embraced]] it readily.

<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_195 Go to Paper 195]</center>

<center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_195 Go to Paper 195]</center>

<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>

<center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>

[[Category: Paper 195 - After Pentecost]]

[[Category: Paper 195 - After Pentecost]]

[[Category: Christianity]]

[[Category: Christianity]]