Book 2, Part 1, The Fathers: Chapter 1, The Religious Development of the Jews Summary and Analysis

The Christian religion involved philosophical beliefs that originated with Plato, Neoplatonists, the Stoics, moral concepts, the Jewish history, and theories, such as that of salvation. The Jewish components in Christianity involved a sacred history, the existence of small section of mankind, new concept of righteousness, the law, the Messiah, and the Kingdom of Heaven.

The early history of Israel was included in the Old Testament along with legendary elements. The first person mentioned in the Old Testament was Ahab, King of Israel. After the Assyrian conquer, the kingdom of Judah retained religion and tradition. When the Babylonians and Medes invaded Nineveh in 606 BC, the Assyrian power ceased to dominate. In 538 BC, the Babylonian kingdom fell to Cyrus, who allowed the Jewish...