Greece and Rome are supposed to be two pillars of Western civilization. The West is founded on Greek philosophy of Athens and spiritual aspiration of Jerusalem. According to Greek philosophy, one can find truth in reason, and according to Jewish beliefs the truth is found in revelation. People associate Athens with philosophy and science and Jerusalem is a place where people strive for holiness and catharsis (Sauer-Thompson, 2004).
Tertullian, the third-century Church father asked the question ‘What Jerusalem and Athens have in common?’ (Batnitzky, 2007). Alvin C. Dueck in his book Between Jerusalem and Athens makes a distinction between the ethos of Athens and Jerusalem. According to him, these two cities have different cultures, the culture of Athens is more developed than the culture of Jerusalem. It has cosmopolitan nature, and culture of Jews and Christians is provincial and tribal. The epistemology in Jerusalem is not talked much about, but ‘mercy’ and ‘justice’ are words that are of a great importance to Christians (Dueck, 1995).
By asking the question about the connection of Athens with Jerusalem, Tertullian imposes the thought that when one denies the connection between these cities, it means that such a connection really exists, but a person does not realize it. Tertullian’s question also presupposes that Greek tradition has influenced Christians and this influence one can see in the doctrine of the “Trinity” of God, it is the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Tertullian introduced this term, and because of the fact that he was the follower of Stoic philosophy (McGrath, 2008), it would be appropriate to say that Greek culture and tradition have influenced Jerusalem. Without Athens modern world would not have known about this doctrine (McGrath, 2008). John Reynolds expresses an opinion that “Athens and Jerusalem are not two cities, but two districts in one city: the city of God” (2009). If Jerusalem and Athens coexist, they will definitely create a cultural explosion. Athens as the city of reason can not deal with many important things without faith. Greek people were familiar with this fact and that is why Christianity was flourishing in Greece. At the same time science as the integral part of Athens can be useful for people, but it does not embrace such concepts as the concept of truth, kindness or beauty. Science itself is limited, and that is why it can not accept the existence of virtue (Reynolds, 2009).
Jerusalem and Athens are strongly connected with each other. Both these cities have influenced the architecture of the western civilization. British government is based on Greek democratic principles and Christian laws. Western Europe was protected from invaders by Eastern Christendom. Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire, was a place for studying both biblical and pagan texts. Constantinople valued the “inner wisdom” of Christians and the “outer wisdom” of Greeks and Romans. One can enjoy the confluence of these two cultures in the architecture and art of the United States, Ethiopia, Romania, and Britain. One of the wonderful examples of …