Title: Where Does the Judeo-Christian Religion’s Powerful Moral Consciousness Come from?

Abstract: Why does the Judeo-Christian religion have such a moral consciousness that is conspicuously more powerful than that of the religions and ‘philosophies’ which had prevailed in the Greco-Roman world? This paper attempts to answer the question from the perspective of comparative religion and civilization, arguing that, although the unique monotheistic faith of the ancient Jews was an extremely important factor, there can be found for it civilizational, demographic and socio-religious explanations. Apart from these, the vehement moral exhortations and social protests of the Israeli prophets also played a key role. Yet, the ultimate cause that determined the monotheistic faith and the powerful moral consciousness of the Judeo-Christian religion is to be found in the natural environment the ancient Israelis were in.

Keywords: Judeo-Christian, Moral Consciousness, ancient Israelis, natural environment

Author: Wei Ruan, Professor, Foreign Studies College, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, China.