The following was written by COS Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) intern Blake Schaper. Learn more about the ELP here.
When thinking of great world powers, the last to come to mind would be Israel. Its history has been wrought with subjugation, desolation, and pain - much unlike the conquest, sophistication, and excellence we see in the Greek and Roman civilizations. It did not revolutionize new advancements in art, mathematics, or science. However, we must thank Israel for the liberties we enjoy in the United States and for Western Civilization itself. The reason is simple: at the core of every great civilization is a worldview, and the core of a worldview is a knowledge of God. Israel has had one of the greatest influences on Western Civilization and America, as we have inherited its ideas about God, truth, and man. From Israel's ideas of man’s purpose to their beliefs about creation, we, as informed Americans, can learn much from the spiritual legacy of Israel.
Looking at the Hebrew Bible and comparing it to other religious texts, we can see some major distinctions. The Babylonians’ Enuma Elish and the Greek Hesiod's Theogony both tell a story of creation that is violent and base. Gods fight other gods for control of the universe. The world starts without much planning beforehand, and disorder emerges before everything settles down. The gods themselves are not unlike many humans. Being greedy, corrupt, capricious, and bloodthirsty, they are not worthy of emulation.
The Hebrews tell a different story. They tell of how God spoke the universe into existence. They say that the universe was created in an orderly process – from light and the heavens, to plants and the stars, to, finally, animals and mankind. We see that the universe was based from the start on a system of order. Instead of pain, suffering, and misery, there is a system of shalom, of peace. We see the Orchestrator of all this as One who is wise, powerful, and, most of all, good. Due to their differing worldview on God and creation, the Hebrews saw humanity much differently than the pagan societies around them. The Babylonians and Greeks believed that man was created by the gods to be their servants. They were made to farm and make food for the gods, who then, in turn, can be unfettered by responsibility. Man’s lot is suffering and toil, with no higher purpose or responsibility guiding their actions. On the other hand, the Hebrews believe man has a higher purpose. They say God breathed His Spirit into man and made him in His own image. This means that each person is not just a lump of clay but one who reflects the Most High in their personality and intellect. Additionally, though God calls man to work, it is not as a slave but as a co-ruler. According to the Hebrews, God gave man the responsibility of naming all the animals and maintaining creation on behalf of God. From the start, we see a nobility being gifted to each and every person.
How does the worldview of the Hebrews influence our country today? Our answer can be found in the Declaration itself: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights…” Our country is based on the liberty and equality of man. This, in turn, is based on this idea of a Creator who will dispense ultimate justice and who created man in His own image. When the Founders were thinking of this Creator, they were calling upon the Hebrew God Yahweh, not the Babylonian Marduk or the Greek Zeus. After reading how creation was made orderly and how God Himself is good, the Founding Fathers were given an idea of a higher natural order for government that man should strive for. By reading how man was made in God’s likeness and how he was given the power to be co-regent of creation, they reasoned that each person has inherent human dignity that must be respected by governments and certain rights that should be upheld. We, too, when striving to become better self-governing individuals, are upholding the ideas of freedom and virtue rooted in the Hebrews’ theology.
