With the exception of Greece and Rome, no other ancient society has so directly affected the course of modern life as did the tiny nation of Israel. It is virtually impossible for a person in the United States, Europe, or any other part of the
Dead Sea ScroMs, the manual of discipline, on display at the Special Museum, House of the Book in Jerusalem. Corbis-Bettmann. Reproduced by permission
Western world to go a day without experiencing the effects of Israel, Greece, and Rome. People seldom think about ancient Greece or Rome in their everyday lives, however, but events in ancient Israel are commemorated every weekend and on many holidays throughout the year. Names from the Old and New Testaments, too, are a part of day-to-day life: everyone knows a David or a Deborah, a Mark or a Mary.
People continue to disagree over the meaning of the Bible. At one time, some scholars had come to believe that Abraham, Moses, David, and even Jesus did not really live, but rather were legendary figures like the Greek heroes in the Iliad. Over the years, however, considerable archaeological evidence has surfaced regarding the Bible, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient biblical texts found in Palestine in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Historians have come to treat Biblical figures as historical. Certainly there is plenty of outside evidence for events and people from the time of David onward.
As for the truth of the Bible, however, that continues to be an area of disagreement. As noted earlier, Muslims hold much of the Bible sacred and respect biblical figures ranging from Abraham to Jesus. However, they have their own holy book, the Koran (core-AN). Likewise Jews have a number of sacred texts in addition to the Old Testament, including the Talmud, which provides additional information on the law and other subjects covered in the Old Testament. Catholics and Protestants, as well as other major branches of Christianity such as the Greek and Russian Orthodox (ORE-tho-dox) churches, all believe that Jesus was the son of God, but they disagree about other aspects of Christianity.
And of course, Christians disagree with other groups in Western society. The latter part of the twentieth century in the United States, for instance, saw the rise of religious and political groups sometimes described as “Christian fundamentalists” (fun-duh-MEN-tul-ists), who called for a return to biblical traditions in American society at large. Fundamentalists have been sharply opposed by others who favor a nonreligious basis for government and public morality. But all sides can agree on at least one fact: the traditions of a small group of people, who existed only briefly as a nation more than 2,500 years ago, continue to influence the world.
World History
