Old Testament Vs. Hellenic Divine Intervention :: essays research papers

mature testament vs. Hellenic Divine Intervention     The Old Testament and Hellenic texts we have studied have numerousexamples of godlike intervention. The range and complexity in human affairs thatthese interventions occur have like, yet varied attributes. Both textsdescribe divine intervention as a focal point of explaining " wherefore things happen(ed) andbeing "chosen" by divinity fudge or gods to satisfy a destiny. Both also see divineintervention as something that can not be understood by humans perfection or the godshave their reasons why people ar "chosen" and why certain gifts, events, andcatastrophes happen and we will never understand the reasoning. Differences inthe texts motif from the reasons they are the same why certain people are chosen,why events happen, etc.     The range and complexity in human affairs of divine intervention asdescribed in the Hellenic texts and the Old Testament are simil ar because of theinterference in human affairs, yet they are different because of why certainpeople are chosen to litigate a destiny. For instance, in the Old Testament, paragon spots Noah and his family to be the only survivors later the flood that wipesout the earth. His destiny was to build the ark and take a parallel of every livingcreature to help repopulate the earth after everything is wiped out. This issimilar to Oedipus at Colonus, in the Hellenic texts, because the gods chooseOedipus to save the city of Colonus from his consume sons. They differ because God,in the Old Testament, chooses rather blindly. He does not choose people for anyreason except that is who He wanted. If He does choose, it is found on goodnessor loyalty to Him. The gods of Hellenic texts, like in Oedipus at Colonus, thegods choose Oedipus because of his wisdom and his family line. The Hellenictexts choose based on prestige, family, and honor. Another example of this isthe story "Joseph" in the Old Testament. Joseph was chosen to be a powerfulruler in Egypt for no reason whatsoever, except because God wanted him to be. InThe Illiad, this would never happen, Achilles is chosen to defeat browbeat becauseof his prestige, honor, and family line. Achilles is not chosen because Zeus yet wanted him to. Not just anybody could have killed Hector, it had to besomeone famous.     In the Old Testament, divine intervention, peculiarly in "Genesis,"plays a very important part. For example, in "The Creation of the Universe,"God wills everything into being. "God said, Let there be light," (Genesis15) "Then God said, Let the earth produce growing things," (Genesis 111)