Aristotle And Greco-Roman Beliefs

The Greco-Roman’s beliefs were somewhat similar to the values and ethics that are evident in a Christian man. They both strived for a pursuit of goodness in the world and people around them, however their motives differed greatly. Each man seeks the best in others and aims to always seek the truth, no matter what. However, the Greco-Romans were motivated by the notion that they will be treated well if they act and follow the law as they should. Furthermore, they view the relationship between ethics and politics, to be the measurement of perfection. They work to change themselves and define happiness in terms of wealth and good health. The Greco-Romans believed that if they claimed many things, they deserved many things. However, unlike the
Aristotle believed that even kings and rulers must obey the law, however, many rulers during that time felt they were above the law and did not convey that sense of equality that Christian theology represents. However, they presented a similar article to the Ten Commandments, being The Twelve Tables, but rulers still believed themselves to be above everyone else, until the Magna Carta was introduced to check and balance the power of the ruler or king of Rome.
Whereas, Christians are motivated to be like Christ through goodness and righteousness. As Christians work towards the righteousness of Christ they attain perfection. Unlike, Greco-Romans, Christians allow Christ to change their hearts and the greatest happiness they can receive is in serving god’s will. They believed in modesty and humbleness, and that good things come to those who aren’t looking for it. Christians weren’t to be limited by race or equality, in their religion they believed they could live life to its fullest potential, trying to gain eternal
This system had a large impact on the western society, which focuses on governing law. Furthermore, religion, government, and the infrastructure were affected by this system. Judeo-Christians have contributed moral and ethical values to their civilizations by utilizing the Ten Commandments. These ten “laws” were introduced for any citizen to be able to determine whether their actions were right or wrong. Moses proclaimed that the commandments were given to them by god, therefore, everyone would feel obligated to abide by them, like scripture. This is similar to how the Pharaoh’s got their people to worship them for so long, from divinity through the gods. As stated by St. Augustine in On Christian Doctrine, “God’s providence allowed former developments in order to educate humans and help them turn away from destructive polytheism. In this way it was a preparation for the Gospel, which is the central teaching of Christ’s message to the world.” Christianity helped to develop western society by welcoming all genders and races into their religion, which brought equality to their community. This also provided an equality and fairness between classes, which before Christianity was not there. For the first time, a person’s baggage and background did not matter in a religion and society, and it brought people together and created a strong democracy for Rome