From the Paper
"This research will compare and contrast what it means to have faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The research will set forth the historical and cultural context out of which these three monotheistic faiths emerged and will discuss both convergences and divergences in the belief systems of each religion.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all arose out of the same geographical region, comprising the eastern Mediterranean area and reaching eastward into Asia Minor. Chronologically the first of the three religions, Judaism appears to have been distinguished chiefly by its monotheistic aspect. The monotheistic innovation may not have begun with Judaism. The Amarna period of Egypt, marked by the pharaoh Akhenaten's (also Ikhnaton and Akhenaton, reign 1353-1336 B.C.) establishment of a version of monotheism as sun worship, has been interpreted as a ..."

From the Paper
"This report reviews two books describing personal experiences in Nazi concentration camps during World War II: Night, by Elie Wiesel, and Survival in Auschwitz, by Primo Levi. Both books convey similar horror stories about the Holocaust. The stories of the two men will be compared, and the styles and treatment of the subject will be contrasted.

Wiesel's account of experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald and a few points in between projects a family focus. His youth was undoubtedly a factor in his perspective: he was only twelve when Jews in his Hungarian town of Sighet were initially rounded up for slaughter, and only fourteen when he and his family were shipped to Auschwitz. Wiesel recalls the attitudes of the townspeople when the first stories of mass genocide reached their ears -- overwhelmingly, the stories were met with disbelief and ... "

Abstract
According to Christopher R. Browning's aptly-titled history of the German Reserve Police Battalion 101, "Ordinary Men", the most significant single factor influencing any given policeman's decision to participate in acts of Nazi genocide, was that individual's personal willingness to obey the orders given to him as a soldier and as a German. In other words, how much was that individual willing to be subject to, for want of a better word, peer pressure? The paper shows that this is in direct contrast to the thesis advocated by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen in his book, "Hitler's Willing Executioners". Goldhagen stresses that the actions of the policemen, soldiers and citizens who enforced the larger Reich ideological agenda were performed enthusiastically. The paper explains Goldhagen's belief that this willingness was the result of many years of anti-Semitic propaganda in Germany, extending back in historical time to the earliest days of German Lutheranism's influences on Christianity.

From the Paper
"The actions of the Reserve Police Battalion 101 become, in essence, even more chilling when viewed through Browning's schema of explanation. It is easy to rationalize inhumanity as a symptom of German culture, and to state that all human beings have pure free will to resist the pressures of position, country, and ideology. The idea that one can still retain one's ethical, moral compass (as evidenced by the disgust and horror of the policemen) and act against it when structural pressures persuade one to do otherwise is far more disturbing and a far more bracing slap in the ethical face of one's judgment."

Tags:Jewish, propaganda, structuralism

Abstract
This paper looks at how difficult it was for the Romans to accept the Christian religion and how they gradually tried to suppress it and how Christianity was still able to spread throughout the world. It includes specific historical dates, events, places and people such as Alexander the Great, the Jewish states, persecutions during Jesus' ministry, Herod the Great and Pontius Pilate, and Nero, the emperor of Rome trying to rid the empire of Christianity. The paper concludes by talking about Constantine and how he proclaimed the Edict Toleration.

From the Paper
"The Christian religion was hard for the Romans to accept at first. A historical person had conquered death and promised a blessed afterlife to all who believed in him. The new faith demanded that every believer practice love and justice in new communities made up of Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, rich and poor, educated and ignorant. Christians had no temples or other holy places, no priests, no ordinary sacrifices, no oracles, or any visible gods. They had no initiations; they made no pilgrimages, did not practice divination, would not venerate the emperor, and challenged the final authority of the father (or oldest male) in family life. Christians were accused of being atheists who undermined traditional society."

Tags:bible, christianity, church, constantine, edict, empire, history, jewish, leaders, maccabeenians, nero, persecutions, pharisees, pilate, pontius, religion, religious, roman, sadducees, toleration

Abstract
The paper discusses the book which was written by a participant-observer of the culture surrounding a Jewish Senior Citizen Center in California. The paper shows that the novel depicts life in the Jewish ghetto for the men and women, most of them in their eighties or nineties.

From the Paper
"The Center is located near the beach in an urban California area. At one time it was in the heart of a thriving Jewish community, but the neighborhood has changed drastically, particularly in the last ten years before the research for the book was begun. Because of the age and physical condition of the members, as well as the downward trend in the socioeconomic status of the surrounding area, the Center is constantly threatened with extinction. This is one of the reasons that the author was so anxious to do this particular fieldwork."

Tags:senior, citizen, Jewish, anthropology, aging, culture

Abstract
This paper discusses the spread of Christianity in Ancient Rome. It outlines the origins of Christianity, including the response of the Jews and the impact on Jewish life in Jerusalem. It discusses the preaching of Jesus, and its continuation after his death by Paul. The paper goes on to discuss the response of Roman leaders to its growing popularity.

From the Paper
"Between the first and second centuries, Christianity gradually became the prevailing religion of Rome. The burden of how to respond to this new religion was placed upon the Roman government. Many kings or emperors of the Romans responded to Christianity in a different fashion. Over this large amount of time Christianity fought its way into the hearts and souls of the Roman people. "

Tags:Christ, Jew, Herod, Messiah, Temple, conversion

Abstract
This essay explores the sectarian nature of Judaism, as developing from the Hellenization of Judea around 333 BCE and extending up until the time of Jesus. The socio-religious and political nature of the country is examined in detail, with thorough reference to Greco-Roman and Jewish primary sources. How the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes came to be separate and equally influential Jewish sects is discussed, as well as the eventual downfall of sectarianism and the historical basis of why we now talk of a singular 'Judaism'.

From the Paper
"Judaea was a site of great social and political turmoil at the turn of the era and it's national religion, Judaism, reflected this unrest. Jewish sectarianism as a historical fact cannot be denied, but is it reasonable and accurate to describe Jewish membership as solely sectarian during this time? An examination of both the development of Judaea's social and political environment, and the plurality of Jewish philosophies that existed in this milieu, will aid in an assessment of Jewish religious life under Roman rule at the turn of the era."

Tags:essenes, greco, hasmonean, hellenisation, hellenism, hellenization, judaisms, maccabean, pharisees, roman, sadducees

Abstract
This paper provides a detailed account of how Judaism interacted with the Greco-Roman socio-religious milieu after Alexander the Great's conquest of Judea in the third BCE. It discusses Hellenism and its effect on Judaism, more specifically, the creation of Jewish sectarianism in the form of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. It explores the nature of these separate sects and the ways in which Jewish lore and culture were affected and interpreted anew through such changes. The Maccabean revolt is mentioned, as are several other primary-sourced events that can be seen to have directly affected the theocratic nature of Judea. It also examines how the admission that, although Hellenization affected Judaism and changed it beyond all hope for original reclamation, without sectarianism and the Hellenization of Judaism, Jewish culture would not be in existence today.

From the Paper
"Another cultural influence to affect Judaism as a result of its encounter with Hellenism is reflected in the material culture of the time. Three of the four apocrypha books of Maccabees mention, in negative terms, the erection of a gymnasium in Jerusalem , a Greek center for exercise, conversation and discussion. The erection of such a building was viewed differently throughout the Jewish community, but many felt that it indeed threatened Judaism; the idea of embracing Greek culture to such an extent entailed for them the idea of abandoning the holy covenant. The adoption of Hellenistic values was therefore seen as a having a destructive and threatening effect on Judaism by even the Jews themselves during these times."

Tags:essenes, greco, judea, pharisees, sadducees, sectarianism

Abstract
This paper examines the historical background of the conflict in the Middle East between Palestine and Israel, and notes that while this conflict is promoted in the media as being a relatively ?new? phenomenon that it is actually another stage in an ongoing conflict between these two peoples. Factors that are addressed as contributing to this conflict are those of religion and politics. There is a strong slant towards the Palestinians being unjustly vilified in the media. There is a brief mention of Osama bin Laden and his involvement in the conflict.

From the Paper
"The recent hostilities between the Palestinian and the Israeli people is a negative note in what had seemed to be progress in ending the ongoing conflict between these separate people. Prior to the events of violence that were started once more in the spring of last year, the Palestinian and the Israeli people were apparently working towards a position of peace in the Middle East. However, this was not to be. The existing social tensions between the Palestinian and the Israeli people was too deeply rooted within their histories and cultures to provide a simple solution, which the negotiations that were prevalent at the time were attempting to achieve. "

Tags:accord, arab, arafat, bin, jerusalem, jew, laden, muslim, nations, osama, oslo, united

Abstract
This paper examines the history of anti-Semitism in Europe during the 19th century. The paper explores the similarities between the anti-Semitic prejudices that engulfed France and Russia in the late nineteenth century and then shows how in France, anti-Semitism was largely a right-wing Catholic movement, peppered with socialist support in the aftermath capitalistic change. The paper also provides a broad definition of anti-Semitism in general.

From the Paper
"Anti-Semitism is not an "identical phenomenon" similar to all countries, but rather based on individual national histories. The anti-Semitic prejudices that emerged in France and Russia in the late nineteenth century were both preceded by defeat in war, economic instability, and political change; circumstances exploited by the Judeo-phobic press and literature. However, while French anti-Semitism was derived from traditional religious dogmatism, and encouraged by the potent political force of anti-Republican Catholicism, the Russian experience was based on an ideological imperialism that was promoted by the government, and common to all "true" Russians."

Tags:france, history, jew, judaism, russia