How did the Judeo-Christian view of reason and faith and the duties of the individual and community contribute to the development of democratic thought?

Answer 1

Judaism is egalitarian and values all individuals, both men and women. The wealthy have no privileges; and the poor are valued, treated well and their opinions listened to. (Compare this to those societies in which only mature, land-owning males had any legal status.)

Judaism applied laws, and rules of moral behavior, to all its members equally. The laws of Moses form much of Western legal background.

Some of the concepts that Judaism introduced were:

• The rights of every individual, including the elderly, the unwell, the poor etc. Infants are to be protected and cared for, whether or not they turned out to be the gender you were hoping for. Compare this to societies in which unhealthy babies, or females, were killed. Aristotle, who was among the greatest of the Greeks, and Seneca, the famous Roman, both write that killing one's young babies is perfectly acceptable.
• Women's rights also were carefully maintained in Judaism. Israelite women could own property, could initiate court cases, could have their own servants, and could own fields and businesses; and the Torah specifies marital rights for women (Exodus 21:10).
• The concept that all people are equal.
• The requirement of all societies to have just legal systems.
• Limitations on punishments for crimes. For example, a robber repays double to his victim, or works it off. Cutting off the hands of a robber is a punishable crime. Debtors are not imprisoned or harmed. They are made to sell property and/or work to repay what they owe. Compare this to the Roman practice by which anyone could accuse a man of owing them money and the debtor could be killed.
• Workers' rights, including the obligation to pay them on time.
• A weekly day of rest for everyone.
• Illiteracy among Israelites, in every generation, was rare. Universal education in the Western world is taken for granted today, yet this is a recent development. In Judaism, however, it goes back 3300 years. Judaism has always maintained that education is the highest goal of man in his pursuit of Godliness. This tradition has now been passed on to Western culture.
• Western jurisprudence in general is based in part upon Judaic Torah observance. A quick look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and the laws that follow (Exodus ch.21-23) gives a very good summary of most modern law.
• It is the responsibility of the community to support the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger passing through.