This Tuesday/Wednesday, we will take a short quiz about our short units on Judaism and Christianity. Here are some of the key people, places, and concepts we covered.
People
- Abraham – a central person in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He made an agreement to believe in God and led the Hebrews to Canaan.
- Moses – he led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt and received the 10 Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai.
- The Babylonians – powerful empire from Mesopotamia that invaded Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. and captured the Hebrews.
- The Romans – powerful empire from Italy that conquered Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E. Rome became a Christian empire in 392 C.E.
- Jesus – believed by Christians to be the son of God, who had 12 followers that began a new religion. He was Jewish, which helps explain why Judaism and Christianity are closely related.
Places
- Canaan – located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea that was promised to Abraham.
- Egypt – country to the southwest of Israel where the ancient Hebrews were held as slaves.
- Israel – the modern day country that occupies the ancient homeland of the Hebrews.
- Mesopotamia – the land between the Tigris and Euphrates River. Abraham was born in Ur, which was in Mesopotamia.
Concepts
- Covenant – the agreement that Abraham and his followers would get a “Promised Land” in exchange for worshiping God.
- Diaspora – the “scattering” of the Jews around the world after Jerusalem was conquered.
- Monotheism - belief that there is only one true god.
- Persecution – the mistreatment and/or killing of a group of people because of their religious beliefs, culture, or race. For example, the Romans fed Christians to the lions.
- Polytheism - belief that there are many gods. The ancient Greeks were a good example of polytheism because they believed in Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Ares, Hermes, and many more gods.