The Social and Cultural Setting of the Gospels

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Reflection Excerpt on Chapter Six: The Social and Cultural Setting of the Gospels
* The week's excerpt, "the social and cultural setting of the Gospels," gives the reader insights into how ancient Greco-Roman Jewish cultures compare and contrast with modern Western values (190).
* In the Jewish, Judaism, and Greco-Roman societies, families were patriarchal, with the father occupying the highest authority (191).
* Extended family members were valued, and the culture emphasized the importance of respecting parents, as indicated by the fifth commandment, "honor your father and mother" (191).
* Modern western cultures still value families and expect children to respect their parents and other members of society (191).
* During the New Testament era, families perceived children as gifts from God, with childbearing giving women honor (191).
* Though Judaism culture valued girls, boys were more preferred in most cultures (191).
* Jewish culture believed in the circumcision of boys and naming children eight days after birth (191).
* Jesus Christ, as a Jew, was named eight days after birth and was circumcised, indicating that his parents respected the Jewish culture (191).
* Circumcision is also practiced in the western world (191).
* Marriage was a respected institution that believed in faithfulness between partners (191).
* For instance, Joseph, Jesus's father, wanted to divorce Mary quietly during their engagement when he observed that she was pregnant (191).
* Joseph's divorce decision was based on unfaithfulness, as he suspected Mary was unfaithful to him (192).
* The ancient cultures valued wedding events with the groom and bride inviting friends and families to celebrate with them (192).
* Jesus Christ emphasizes the value of weddings in His teachings, where He told the disciples about the parable of the ten virgins (192).
* The term "virgins" indicates that prostitution was highly condemned in the Jewish, Greco-Roman, and Judaism cultures (192).
* Thus, women were expected to remain virgins until married (192).
* Similarly, in western culture, virginity is considered a great value that a woman can give to their husband (192).
Though the Greco-Romans and Jews highly practiced monogamous marriage, polygamous marriages existed in society (192).
The Greeks also practiced homosexual behavior, specifically between a young boy and an older man (192).
Thus, the ancient Greeks' acceptance of homosexuality in their society can be blamed for the existence of LGBTQ culture in Western countries (192).
However, Jews considered homosexual relationships an abomination and contra...