Friday, March 19, 2021

Preface to Luther's Commentary on Romans

Sep 6, 2011
Michael Streich

Martin Luther's Preface to St Paul's Epistle to the Romans summarizes the core beliefs of the Reformation by explaining justification by faith in Christ.

On May 24, 1738, John Wesley was attending a Bible reading at a home in Aldersgate, London. During the reading of Martin Luther’s Preface to St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, Wesley later related that he felt “his heart strangely warmed…” That reading showed the founder of Methodism that only by God’s grace, given freely through faith in Christ, can salvation be attained. Luther referred to Romans as the “daily bread of the soul,” and that every Christian should know this epistle word for word.

The Law of Man, God’s Law and Good Works

Luther’s exposition of Romans began as a series of lectures. The Preface outlines Luther’s understandings of each chapter and begins with a series of “words” associated with the epistle. Luther points out that it is important to know what Paul, the author of the epistle, actually meant when writing about law, grace, sin, flesh, and righteousness. Luther begins with law, differentiating between the law of man and the law of God.

In discussing the law of God, going back to the Old Testament for example, Luther introduces the conclusion that law, “cannot be satisfied with works.” Grace versus works would comprise the debates between Reformers like Luther and apologists for Catholic doctrine and everyday faith practices. The Catholic Church taught that good works were tied to grace. For Luther, St Paul’s message was very clear: no amount of works could ever repay the debt of mankind’s sinful condition before God. Only God himself could repay it through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Luther identifies the hypocrisy of the law: people keep the law outwardly in order to avoid punishment, but have a spirit tied to sin inwardly. Referring to Romans 5, Luther states that, “the more the law demands what men cannot do, the more they hate the law.” The law, according to Luther, must be fulfilled “from the heart,” and that is only possible through an infusion by God’s Holy Spirit.

Faith, Sin, and Good Works

Luther always emphasized faith. St Paul’s definition of faith, preached by Luther after his “conversion” by reading Romans without the blinders of medieval scholasticism, became a cornerstone belief of the Reformation. In his Preface, Luther notes that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit cannot be given to men apart from faith in Jesus Christ. That faith comes through the Gospel and the various epistles of which Romans was, per Luther, “the very purest.”

Referencing John’s Gospel, Luther writes that faith “makes us to be born anew of God.” In this, Luther reminds the reader that faith results in good works, the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. The other side of the equation is sin. Luther’s exposition demonstrates that pleasure in external works, to fulfill the law for example, or to act righteously without having God’s inner righteousness, is sin. Those people fitting this description may appear righteous outwardly, but – according to Luther, “commit sin in secret.”

All men are sinners by virtue of the “first Adam.” But, as Luther notes, Christ is the second Adam. Referencing Genesis, Luther demonstrates that Christ’s death was the bruising of the serpent’s head, the “Protoevangelion” associated with Genesis 3.15. In order that the law would be fulfilled, Jesus paid the debt through his own death. Luther uses a simple example to help people understand this:

“It is just as if you owed a debt to your landlord and could not pay it. There are two ways in which you could rid yourself of the debt – either he would take nothing from you and would tear up the account; or some good man would pay it for you, and give you the means to satisfy your account. It is this latter way that Christ has made us free from the law.”

Conflict between the Spirit and the Flesh

Flesh refers to “everything that is born of the flesh” (Luther), and not merely “unchastity.” Luther states that the reader must think of this condition as “fleshly,” a state of being. Thus, a “fleshly” man might talk about God and “spiritual matters” outwardly, but lack inward grace. Hence, the works of the flesh include sinful living as well as unbelief.

Luther contrasts this with the spiritual man who, like Jesus, would wash the feet of the disciples. The spiritual man doesn’t work for “temporal profit,” but demonstrates the “spirit” both inwardly and outwardly. The spiritual man puts the love of God before any endeavor or personal thought.

The conflict between the Spirit and the flesh continues in the life of a Christian and, as Luther points out, even St Paul referred to this conflict in his own life. But men that are free from the debts of the law have strength in Christ through faith. According to Luther, “Christ bears with the weak, strengthening their faith.” This is, according to Luther, "pure liberty."

Final Considerations in Luther’s Preface

Luther comments on St Paul’s admonition to obey the civil government as well as his request for a donation to help the poor in Jerusalem. Luther ends his Preface noting that St Paul “wanted to comprise briefly in this one Epistle the whole Christian and evangelical doctrine…” Given the importance of Romans, Luther counsels Christians to read and know the epistle regularly.

Reference:

Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, J. Theodore Mueller Trans. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1976)

Teaching History is Enhanced through Student Tours that Parallel the Classroom Course Content

How To Pick Foreign Student Tours

Selecting the Right Tour Fulfills Educational Goals

Nov 11, 2008
Michael Streich

Teacher group leaders must assess reasons they decide to lead international student tours and decide on itineraries that mesh with published itineraries and school aims.

Teachers agree to lead student foreign tours for many reasons. Foreign tours are educational and enhance classroom instruction. Trips are a fun experience during breaks and present opportunities to see the world for free if you are a teacher group leader or chaperon. Sponsoring companies offer a variety of perks that include cash stipends, reward points that can be redeemed for everything from luggage to laptop computers, and free airline tickets and vacation packages. Whatever the reasons a teacher may have for leading a tour, the first crucial question must be the ultimate destination.

Every Trip to Europe Should Include Paris

An administrator at a high school that sponsors several yearly foreign trips once quipped that every student traveling to Europe should experience Paris. Many student travel companies include Paris as the first or last stop in a European tour. Teachers that lead foreign student tours need to assess how the destination and itinerary will impact the overall motives for the trip:

Enhancing classroom curriculum
Including well known cities like London, Paris, and Rome
Enriching an AP course of study
Offering a tour that touches on a variety of countries

Students are attracted to itineraries that span several countries. Although they no longer receive passport stamps when moving from one European country to another, student travelers enrolling on a European smorgasbord tour that stops in a number of capitals will experience a variety of different cultures. Teachers that select tours reflecting more esoteric goals may experience lower enrollments. Sadly, a tour that includes Budapest, Prague, or Warsaw is simply not as popular as one that includes Paris, Amsterdam, or Barcelona

Soliciting Student Interest

The best way to start is to host a trip meeting that offers three tour alternatives. Students and parents can give input on which destination and itinerary is most appealing. An "In-Depth Italy" tour may result in far higher enrollment numbers than Austria with a Budapest stay-behind extension. Interest in the tour may be motivated by family background and a desire to see the countries represented by immigrant roots. This makes Italy and Ireland very popular when coupled with interesting stay behind excursions.

The teacher may be interested in Scandinavia or North Africa, but these destinations may not translate into trip enrollments. Some destinations, such as Israel or Egypt, are deemed unsafe by parents. After 9/11, Australia destinations were seen as very desirable and parents considered Australia safer than the United States. In the end result, what the teacher or group leader finds appealing may not reflect what students are willing to pay to see.

Other Trip Planning Factors

The value of the US dollar must be considered. Touring the British Isles can be far more costly in terms of out of pocket expenses than Mediterranean Europe. Asian destinations offer a better dollar value than Switzerland or Scandinavia.

Selecting a foreign tour must take in account many factors. If the overall goal is to enroll a high number of participants, a generic tour of Europe is the best alternative. Aligning tours with curricular goals may limit enrollments but result in a group more receptive to fringe destinations. Teachers planning foreign student tours must know their clientele and act accordingly. A good tour itinerary can fill two buses; poor choices result in a handful of enrollments. The key to success is to include or start at major cities such as Paris, and then move on to the cities and sites most travelers have never heard of.

Leading foreign student tours for many years, I affiliated with EF Educational Tours who have many years of experience in many aspects of student exposure to foreign cultures and languages.

Teaching the Full American History Curriculum

Mar 25, 2012
Michael Streich

Creative and innovative approaches in teaching require material chronologically without sacrificing in-depth analysis and critical thinking skills.

For teachers of American History, the task of covering all the material from the period of “discovery of the new world” to contemporary events is daunting and nearly impossible. In most cases, the curriculum is dictated by mandated state standards and courses of study that attempt to touch on key events and concepts detailed in 30 to 35 chapters of text.

The inclination and temptation to spend more time on favorite eras is checked by performance evaluations that gauge how well state requirements are addressed and how standardized test scores validate those requirements. Innovative strategies, however, might satisfy overall state standards as well as allow a greater degree of classroom freedom in terms of teaching key material.

Teaching American History using a Thematic Approach

Thematic treatments can still be chronological in order to be effective. For example, a semester theme focusing on expansion can analyze and correlate the following chronological events:

Colonial expansion up to the Mississippi
Beginning of the Westward Movement
Manifest Destiny
Expansionism in Foreign Affairs – 19th Century
Imperialism
Global expansion through the World Wars
Cold War military and economic expansion

Other thematic approaches might cover the following areas:

The Move toward Democratic Ideals and Civil Rights
Using Court Cases to Teach U.S. History
American Innovations, Industrialism, and the Urban Nation

Mini Sections that Focus on Mico Historical Events

Another creative and chronological focus develops key or watershed movements in American History as a core focus from which ancillary topics are extrapolated. In this approach, the core focus becomes the center of study as well as the primary learning outcome.

If the core focus is “British tax policies after 1763 directly caused the American Independence Movement,” ancillary proofs can be taken from several actual events, determined by their ultimate impact on the core focus:

The Stamp Act
The Quartering Act
The Declaratory Act
The Boston Tea Party and subsequent Coercive Acts
Lexington and Concord

Rather than spending an inordinate amount of time on the 1763 Proclamation Line, the Townshend Acts, the Boston Massacre, and the Sons of Liberty, more pivotal events tell the story quickly without sacrificing content.

Begin American History at 1800

In North Carolina, the Revolutionary War and the birth of the nation is part of the sophomore-level civics course, enabling teachers of juniors to begin studies in the 19th century and thereby have a better opportunity to meet state standards that require covering up to and including the 21st Century.

Inevitably, however, significant problems exist:

Juniors have difficulty recalling curricula details from one semester to the next if interrupted by long summer breaks
Transfer students from out-of-state districts may have never been taught the earlier material
Even the best attempts of honest coverage results in “snap-shot” lesson plans that conform to a detailed history text.

Teaching American History from Selected Documents

This approach has many advantages. Using selected documents still maintains a chronological approach and it introduces students to primary source documents. Original source documents take studying and analysis to a higher level of critical thinking.

The singular negative in this approach rests with a teacher or instructor not fluent enough in the discipline to provide background information when needed or to make necessary connections between those documents that highlight similar themes. These point to a teacher enslaved by a publisher’s wrap-around-teacher edition of the text and the endless power point presentations that offer slightly more than a generic treatment of the material.

Worst Case Scenario

The worst case is usually walking into an American History class in March and finding that the American Civil War has just ended. Students in such classes never hear about World War I and never reach Vietnam under President Johnson. Such situations are found more in non-public schools where state standards are either not applied or vastly tweaked to satisfy the interests of individual teachers.

The Call for History Accountability

Since 2000, American elections have become more volatile and divisive within society. During the 2008 presidential election, young voters were enticed by Barack Obama’s message of change and voted in great numbers. Voting, however, correlates to knowledge of American History that is at the very least passable.

Unless educators develop innovative ways to teach the full gamut of American History in a meaningful way, employing strategies to ensure realistic student outcomes, standardization and “bubble-sheet” exams will continue to demonstrate that many American high school graduates know very little about their own history.

Michael Streich - Former Adjunct Instructor, History & Global Studies

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Universities and Students in the High Middle Ages

Oct 17, 2010 Michael Streich

Oxford University One of the First Universities - doctor bob photo image

The first universities appeared in Bologna, Paris and Oxford, offering studies in rhetoric, civil law, cannon law and medicine to male students.

In the early 14th-Century, Alvarius Pelagius, a Franciscan, described some of the university students of that age. Pelagius commented that, “They attend classes but make no effort to learn anything…The expense money which they have from their parents or churches they spend in taverns…” From various accounts, some students were as distracted from university studies as contemporary students are today

Unlike the proliferation of colleges and universities in contemporary Europe and America, the High Middle Ages had few such institutions and the fields of study were limited to rhetoric, canon law, civil law, and medicine.

The First Universities of the Late Twelfth Century

Although some historians credit Bologna in Italy as the first university, others note that the University of Paris, followed by Oxford in England, was founded around the same time. Closely associated with the Catholic Church, masters or instructors received their certificates to lecture from ecclesiastical sources. This changed in the early Thirteenth Century when universities received charters and direct support either from kings or other powerful nobles.

Students formed themselves into guilds, paying masters for the lectures. Although students tended to come from well-off families, each university had its share of poor students. In addition to paying teachers, students paid for their own room and board. In one account, Richard of Chichester, later a bishop, shared the one gown required to be worn during a lecture with two rooming companions.

By the mid to late Thirteenth Century, wealthy benefactors established “colleges” that housed poor students such as the Sorbonne, founded in 1258 by Robert de Sorbon. Other benefactors, notably in England, established preparatory schools for students whose knowledge of Latin was poor.

Student Behavior in Medieval Universities and What They Studied

Despite a tendency toward rowdiness that frequently ended with student groups physically fighting local townspeople, students were immune from punishment. Universities were also good places for criminals and other social undesirables to blend in and avoid detection and capture. Students were always in need of money, writing letters to parents pleading for more funds. They drank, frequented brothels and partied.

Some professors lamented that students avoided studying theology, the “queen of the sciences,” and a discipline requiring the most rigorous study. Rather, students pursued law and medicine, two fields that tended to be far more lucrative.

The learning format was lecture and debate and students were required to master Latin. Students and faculties were male; high-born women or women in religious communities were educated in their homes or in convents. For the female in the Middle Ages, life as a nun was one of the few ways to receive an education and even this was limited and frowned upon. An excellent example is the life of Hildegard of Bingen.

The Twenty-First Century University Inherits Medieval Traditions

Despite technology, many university classes still feature the lecture format. Some fields of contemporary study, such as law, utilize the Socratic Method in lectures. Graduation attire, including regalia, can be traced to the traditions begun in the Middle Ages.

Although religious studies were considered the top tier of university studies in early universities, religion and theology has become de-emphasized and many universities no longer offer religion programs beyond a Bachelors Degree. In America, Harvard University is a perfect example. Founded in 1636 as a seminary, it is usually equated today with its other programs, notably the law school.

Continued Growth of the University System in the Middle Ages and Beyond

From the end of the Thirteenth Century and into the next, greater numbers of colleges and universities were founded. Recovered texts from the Roman period, such as Justinian’s Corpus Juris Civilis, expanded the field of learning, particularly legal studies. Increased contact with the ever diminished Byzantines resulted in scholars fleeing Muslim incursions and bringing their books with them.

By the Renaissance, university studies underwent more significant changes. Ultimately, the birth of the university system in the Twelfth Century began a process that substantially impacted Western Civilization, effecting law, medicine, and a pathway toward an openness that would eventually break with the old order of thinking, leading Europe into the early modern period.

Sources:

Morris Bishop, The Middle Ages (American Heritage Press, 1970)
Maurice Keen, The Pelican History of Medieval Europe (Penguin Books, 1987)
Brian Tierney and Sidney Painter, Western Europe in the Middle Ages 300-1475, 5th Edition (McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992)
Brian Tierney, The Middle Ages: Volume 1, Sources of Medieval History, 5th Edition (McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1992)

Monday, March 15, 2021

When Americans saw Immigrant Laborers as Anarchists and Socialists

The 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike

Michael Streich

The 1912 textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts represented a significant advance for workers involved in the long term war between labor and management. Despite violence and bloodshed, workers achieved demands in what IWW leader Big Bill Haywood described as “the greatest strike ever carried out in this country.” Although ultimately successful, the strike revealed widespread distrust of immigrants as well as growing fears of Socialism.

The Strike Begins

On January 12, 1912, thousands of textile workers representing dozens of nationalities walk off their jobs at the Lawrence complex of mills. Their grievances focused on wage cuts imposed by the company owners in response to a recently passed state law lowering workweek hours. Mill owners reduced wages proportionately and argued that this was necessary in order to remain industry competitive and satisfy investor expectations.

In a letter to employees, American Woolen Company President, William M. Wood cited “stockholders’ interests” and “trade conditions” as primary factors in rejecting demands for higher wages. Additionally, Wood reminded the workers that the company had previously increased wages four times, “without your asking.”

Striking workers, however, saw things differently. The striker’s “Proclamation” referred to the “slave pens of Lawrence” and contrasted the worker class with the “robber class.” The documents details, “Wrongs and injustice of years and years of wage slavery,” and outlines brutalities committed against the strikers by police and National Guard units sent in to quell the strike.

Socialist Connections

The striker’s Proclamation bears evidence of a strong socialist influence associated with the strike. Joseph J. Ettor, an activist with the International Workers of the World, arrived in Lawrence to help organize the strike. 29 years old, Ettor had been actively involved in several previous strikes and was seen by critics as a “pronounced socialist.”

Walter Pratt, an officer with the National Guard, wrote in March 1912 that Ettor “had become the idol of the workers of all the races, who believed every word of his incendiary speeches.” [1] Ettor and the other strike leader, Arturo Giovanitti, were arrested, charged with the murder of one of the female workers.

Ettor’s arrest brought Bill Haywood to Lawrence as well as other prominent socialist sympathizers like Margret Sanger and Mother Jones. Strikers, for their part, waved the American flag and tied their cause to freedom and equality, demanding social justice in the form of living wages.

As Bill Haywood later reflected, what made the Lawrence strike so unique was the fact that it involved so many different nationalities, many from countries like Russia, Poland, Lithuania, and Turkey. These non-mainstream immigrants were often viewed with suspicion by an American middle class that tended to view labor unrest as revolution.

The Workers Win

Lasting over six weeks, striker demands were eventually met by the mill owners in the form of higher wages and shorter working hours. All strikers were deemed immune from punitive or retaliatory measures. The victory was complete and Haywood would later recount that, “we sang the Internationale in as many tongues as were represented on the strike committee.”

Referring to the significance of the strike as well as the role of the IWW, Mary O’Sullivan penned in April 1912 that, “This is the first time in the history of our labor struggles that the foreigners have stood to the man to better their conditions as underpaid workers.” [2] Unlike the American Federation of Labor, the IWW succeeded in galvanizing unskilled foreign workers, achieving noteworthy results.

[1] Walter M. Pratt, “The Lawrence Revolution,” New England Magazine, March 1912.

[2] Mary K. O’Sullivan, “The Labor War at Lawrence,” April 1912

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Kidnapping the Pope: The Avignon Captivity

Michael Streich

The Avignon papacy, sometimes called the “Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” lasted from 1309 to 1377. This period reflected a growing loss of power for the papacy and resulted in direct challenges to papal authority, ending the claims asserted by Pope Innocent III at the height of the medieval period. By the end of the 14^th Century, church and states emerged as clearly defined entities that operated within their own spheres.

Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV

The issues that separated Boniface and Philip involved the prerogative power of the pope over secular matters that involved the church and her agents as well as taxation of the clergy and church lands. These disputes arose simultaneous to a growing national identity as political, social, and cultural events in Europe were transforming societies into early modern nation states.

Kings and princes resisted papal claims that were rooted in earlier centuries and began to assert a higher degree of independence, often at the expense of papal political authority and immense ecclesiastical wealth. In 1302, Boniface VIII promulgated his decree Unam Sanctam. The decree subjected temporal power to spiritual authority and ended with the summary that:

“…we declare state, define, and pronounce that it is altogether necessary for every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”

Philip responded by convening his own assembly, condemning the pope on numerous false charges including heresy and depravity. His envoys made a prisoner of the pope at Anagni. Although freed shortly thereafter, Boniface VIII soon died. His successor, Benedict XI, did not live long and the next pope, Clement V, located the papal court to Avignon.

The Avignon Papacy

Clement V had been archbishop of Bordeaux, an area in France under the control of Edward I of England. Avignon was in Burgundy on the Rhone River, a region claimed by the Holy Roman Empire. The French domains of Philip lay on the other side of the river. Despite this, the Avignon papacy was heavily under the influence of the French monarch.

The emasculation of papal authority and the attempts of some Avignon popes like John XXII to counter secular attacks produced a number of books and scholarly works that attempted to define the proper role between church and state. The great poet Dante, for example, in his work On Monarchy, stated that neither power should interfere with the other.

William of Occam, a Franciscan writer, asserted that both the empire and the papacy had been founded by God and that neither was superior to the other. Several writers suggested that official church councils were the supreme authority, an idea that led, in the 15^th Century, to the Conciliarist movement, eventually declaring that the pope himself was subject to the decisions of councils.

Return to Rome and Schism

In 1377, Pope Gregory XI moved the papal court back to Rome. This action was prompted, in part, by the efforts of St. Catherine of Siena. In Rome, however, Gregory shortly died and the cardinals elected an Italian as the next pope, Urban VI. Four months after the election, Urban, who had managed to alienate most of the cardinals, saw his election declared invalid.

The Cardinals elected a new pope, Clement VII, a Frenchman, who promptly moved the papacy back to Avignon. Christendom now had two popes, both elected legally by the College of Cardinals. Until the Council of Constance, the church would eventually be led by three different popes at the same time.

Sources:

Brian Tierney, The Middle Ages: Sources of Medieval History, Vol. 1, 5^th Ed. (McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1992)

Brian Tierney and Sidney Painter, Western Europe in the Middle Ages 300-1475, 5^th Ed. (McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1992)

Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, 3^rd Ed. (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1970)

[First published in Suite101; copyright owned by Michael Streich. Written permission required for any republishing]

Friday, March 5, 2021

Egypt and Mesopotamia Compared

Similarities and Differences in Near East Ancient Civilizations

Sep 23, 2009 Michael Streich

Nile River at Dusk - Embalu

Although both Egypt and Mesopotamia developed at the same time, environment and natural forces affected differences in political systems, religion, and social stability.

The rise of civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia occurred about the same time and both civilizations grew along mighty rivers. There were many similarities but many differences as well. In each case, it was the river valley and geography that dictated outcomes affecting agricultural prosperity, religious formation, and government structures.

The Role of Geography on Egypt and Mesopotamia

Both regions experienced an influx of previous nomadic peoples during the latter Neolithic period in what became the Agricultural Revolution. In Egypt, the Nile River overflowed its banks annually, depositing rich natural fertilizing elements that enabled Egyptians to grow wheat and barley, often providing a surplus. While the yearly rise of the Nile in Egypt was predictable, this was not the case in Mesopotamia.

Both the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers frequently caused destructive floods, inundating villages and cities, killing people and livestock. Unlike Egypt, which was protected from outside invasion by natural barriers, Mesopotamia was a vast open region. As civilizations rose and fell, new empires were born making the Ancient Near East an unending battleground.

Political Institutions In Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East

For most of its long history, Egyptian government was led by the Pharaoh, a semi-divine king who was assisted by a vizier and an army of bureaucrats. Powerful dynasties ensured the continuance of prosperity, interrupted only during brief periods of civil strife and the beginning of outside invasions at the end of the Middle Kingdom.

Mesopotamia, however, began as a series of antonymous city-states, self governing and competing for power. Not until 2370 B.C.E. was the Middle East united for the first time under Sargon the Great as he established the first Semitic dynasty that could be called an empire. With the fall of Akkad, one powerful group after another conquered the region, beginning with the Amorites, and continuing with the Hittites, Kassites, and Assyrians. Not until Cyrus the Great established the Persian Empire was long term political unity achieved.

Religious Differences between Egypt and Mesopotamia

Earliest religious awareness was closely associated with nature and environment. Because Egypt was the “gift of the Nile” and generally prosperous and harmonious, Egyptian gods tended to reflect a positive religion with an emphasis on a positive afterlife. This would only change late in the New Kingdom as the fortunes of Egypt changed. The most popular god, Osiris, was also the law giver as well as the custodian of the world of the dead.

In contrast, Mesopotamian religion was bleak and gloomy. Ancient Mesopotamian prayers demonstrate the lack of relationships with gods and goddesses who viewed humans with suspicion and frequently sent calamities to remind everyone of their humanity. Such was the message found in the Gilgamesh Epic.

A notable exception was the Hebrews, whose concept of early monotheism separated them from their neighbors. The Hebrew god could be vengeful and destructive, but he also established a series of “covenants” with his chosen people providing redemption and the promise of a coming Messiah who would establish a kingdom built on justice. Hebrew prophets expanded on these themes, conveying both the anger and the love of the Hebrew deity.

Similarities Tied to Civilization and Culture

Both Egypt and Mesopotamia developed systems of writing that began as pictograms and were primarily used for record-keeping. In both civilizations, a system of schools emerged, training young boys as scribes, an integral part of the ancient social class structure.

Both civilizations actively engaged in trade, building commercially prosperous societies dominated by the wealthy aristocracies and promoting a growing merchant and artisan class. All of these similarities, it can be argued, were the characteristics of cultural development, identified as a necessary element of civilization.

Sources:

Michael Grant, The Ancient Mediterranean (New York: History Book Club by arrangement with Penguin, 2002)
Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt (New York: Barnes and Noble by arrangement with Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1997)