Foundations of Western Civilization: Pt. #1
“In the Beginning”
The Contribution of the Hebrews
Sources of the Western Tradition, V.1 Chapter 2, pp. 27-44
Western Civilizations pp.89-93(15th Ed.)[pp. 106-109, 14th Ed.]
1. Small and politically insignificant it is the greatest irony that the
Hebrews make such central cultural contributions to the history of
Western Civilization
a. The contribution is nothing less than the West’s shared religious
tradition
b. The intellectual history of the West and our moral and ethical
framework are an inheritance of the Hebrew tradition – root
stem and branch
c. The political history of the West draws on the religious history
of the Jewish state as time and again states claim to be the new
Israel – divine claim on their view of providence
d. Leave it to Dr. Dryer to extol on where Western Lit. would be
without the Bible
2. As you read the Sources book and analyze the assigned excerpts from
Genesis, discuss how the documents show the main contributions of
Hebrew religion to Western culture. (That goes in the “Significance”
portion of your response)
a. Identify two or three important themes
b. Choose direct passages of text that illustrate those themes and
put theme and example together in your response