Greek vs. Hebrew education?

[NASDAQ]

I saw this article linked somewhere else, and it just . . . doesn't sound anything like, say, Talmudic education. Does anyone else know more about it?

 

Examples:

"Greek education" involves memorisation whereas "Hebrew education" does not. Study of Jewish law has always involved elaborate memorisation, particularly before the codification of the Talmud.

 

"Greek education" focuses on parts and "Hebrew education" on the whole. This is a false dichotomy; Jewish education of course breaks things down into parts and elaborate systems.

 

"Greek education: seeks to "Immerse students in literature written by ancient Greek philosophers" whereas Hebrew education seeks to instill "love of learning" -- Hebrew education of course focuses on the teachings of great rabbis. "Loving learning" is considered to be a virtue, but I would think it may well be in Greek education as well.

 

Greek Education focuses on self-esteem: I don't know for sure but I'm pretty sure self-esteem is not an ancient value.

 

Hebrew education: "Discover a child’s God-given gifts and talents, and develop them to their fullest potential." Hebrew education has always been oriented towards the study of Jewish law. Even now the highest profession is study of Jewish law, which is far and away valued over any practical enterprise.

 

The primary curriculum study of Hebrew education is Jewish law, not creation science or any some-such.

 

I'm not sure where the business about the three types of education in ancient Israel comes from, and have no idea whether it's true or not.

 

Under "curriculum text" the author strangely writes that "God’s Word. Orthodox schools did not study subjects derived from Classical tradition." "Orthodox" is not an ancient term. It came into use during the 19th c. to refer to those types of Judaism that were not Reform. Nor is this an accurate statement about Orthodoxy. _Some_ Orthodox schools do limited secular studies, but only a tiny minority would do none at all.

 

Heroes of Jewish education do not only include biblical figures, but also great rabbis, martyrs, and so on.

 

The summation of the philosophy, "

Love one another.

The last shall be first.

Deny thyself.

Obey God’s Commandments"

is very Christian.

 

Can anyone with more understanding than I have of ancient Greek or Hebrew education shed some light on this for me?\

 

The books recommended at the bottom do not appear to be scholarly.

[JumpyTheFrog]

The title about "Ancient Greek Education (as taught in Public Schools Today)" seems like nonsense to me. How many public schools study the trivium or Homer today? And even though some Greeks may have thought of evolution, I doubt they were atheists.

 

It seems like the authors have just taken their view of a "Christian" approach and attached the name "Hebrew" to it to make it sound old and respectable.

 

Also, they say that the Greeks taught their children to trust the state, while the Hebrews did not. While in the OT the Israelites were supposed to have God as their king, that didn't last very long, did it? They failed and demanded Samuel give them a king like other nations.

 

As far as preparing for eternity, the OT doesn't have a very defined view of an afterlife. Everyone went to "Sheol," both righteous and unrighteous.

 

The stuff about the Greeks being "bad" for classifying objects to study them better is just silly.

 

Having looked at just this one page, this whole idea seems to fall under the whole "Those Greeks were pagans and therefore we can't learn anything from them. They couldn't possibly have learned the truth about anything! If we do anything like them, our kids will start worshipping Zeus!"

 

ETA: It wouldn't surprise me if I found out the author of the linked article was also one of the Christians trying to get others to participate in the Jewish festivals and denouncing Christmas and Easter as sinful pagan holidays.

Edited April 28, 2012 by HoppyTheToad

[Jean in Newcastle]

I read this in the Memoria Press magazine. I think they are basing it on how the Greek language is put together (with it's declensions and conjugations) and how the ancient Hebrew language is put together (more pictoral, "whole picture"). Having said that, I didn't buy into their premise when I read it, either.

 

* I located the article and it was a totally different article. I'm leaving my embarrassing mistake up so that no one reads this and thinks badly of MP. The article I was thinking of is linked down below in another thread.

Edited April 28, 2012 by Jean in Newcastle

[Ellesmere]

I read this in the Memoria Press magazine. I think they are basing it on how the Greek language is put together (with it's declensions and conjugations) and how the ancient Hebrew language is put together (more pictoral, "whole picture"). Having said that, I didn't buy into their premise when I read it, either.

Do you mean the article was printed in the Memoria Press magazine?

 

(That just surprises me since the author of the article in the OP is a little, ah, anti-WTM and was certainly against a lot of the things MP teaches as well.)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Do you mean the article was printed in the Memoria Press magazine?

 

(That just surprises me since the author of the article in the OP is a little, ah, anti-WTM and was certainly against a lot of the things MP teaches as well.)

 

Now, I'm not sure if it was the same article. I did see an article making the same distinction in the Memoria Press magazine but now I'm thinking the format was different. I seem to have thrown out my paper copy. I'm trying to locate it online.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Here it is: http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/2010/WhatHasAthensToDoWithJerusalem.html Sorry - it is definitely a different article. I should have looked for it first, before I posted.

[SunnyDays]

Actually, the author of the article has also written a book about keeping the Biblical feast days, she does appear to be a Christian who holds to those traditions. So Hoppy seems to have called that one.

 

I think someone else linked this article to the boards a while back, as I seem to remember reading it... that's what led me to search her site and found out about the book and such.

 

As to the article, the Greek vs. Hebrew dichotomy doesn't really seem to apply to the worldviews she describes as closely as she suggests. To me, it seems to be a rather selective listing under each category.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Actually, the author of the article has also written a book about keeping the Biblical feast days, she does appear to be a Christian who holds to those traditions. So Hoppy seems to have called that one.

 

 

Yeah, I kind of figured the author would have those beliefs, because she kept referring to her particular flavor of religious Christian schooling as "Hebrew." The articles I've read and people I know who are "scared" of anything the ancient Greeks believed (about anything, not just their religious beliefs) seem to be the type that jump on the "celebrate the biblical feast" bandwagon, or even, occasionally, go so far as to try and "keep the law" (meaning every command in the OT, other than the sacrifices). A family at our former church began doing this, down to the tassels on their clothes.

[8circles]

OP, you hit many of the points that stood out to me when I read that article when I first saw it posted here. At first I was intrigued by the "greek vs hebrew" title but it just struck me as nonsense when I read it. Neither the greek nor the hebrew seemed to be described honestly.

[JumpyTheFrog]

Here's an article that points out what a shallow and/or ignorant understanding of the Greeks the people at Heart of Wisdom must have. One example is thinking there was a single Greek empire that lasted for hundreds of years, where Athens and Sparta and the other cities all had similar educational systems.

 

Other apparent problems include artibuting views to Plato and others that were the exact opposite of what they believed and publicly argued against. Or that homosexuality was widely accepted for hundreds (or thousands) of years in Greece. Or ignoring that the New Testament is written in Greek and can't be divorced from the Greek culture and influences of the time.

[elegantlion]

Here's an article that points out what a shallow and/or ignorant understanding of the Greeks the people at Heart of Wisdom must have. One example is thinking there was a single Greek empire that lasted for hundreds of years, where Athens and Sparta and the other cities all had similar educational systems.

 

Other apparent problems include artibuting views to Plato and others that were the exact opposite of what they believed and publicly argued against. Or that homosexuality was widely accepted for hundreds (or thousands) of years in Greece. Or ignoring that the New Testament is written in Greek and can't be divorced from the Greek culture and influences of the time.

 

the link isn't working.

[mommaduck]

http://www.scriptoriumdaily.com/2007/03/24/the-heart-of-wisdom-isnt-the-false-distinction-between-hebrew-and-greek-thought/ Might be this one?