Revolution by Christianity
Judaism is vague in its recognition of the nature of God and Heaven.
However, Christianity clearly states that there are God and Heaven in the spiritual world. And Christ Jesus made the distinction clear between the spirit and the mind of a living man. If a man dies, his spirit survives, though it is not known whether it is destined to Heaven or the hell.
In the ancient world, people were living without clear distinction between the spiritual world and the nature or environments surrounding them. To some people, Heaven and the hell were mere extension of this world as ancient Egyptians thought. Even Judaists thought that a man should resurrect in a manner as he was in this world. But Christ Jesus made it clear that only the spirit of a man enters Heaven.
This teaching of Christ Jesus was so revolutionary. Ancient Romans living with a paradigm of vague gods, the heaven, and the hell must have been shocked to hear the teaching of Christ Jesus: God is spirit and men have also spirits that could enter Heaven after their death.
Christianity was so revolutionary when it emerged in the ancient world. Even Greek myths turned to fairy stories. Through Christianity people learnt that the spiritual world and Heaven are different from this world. And, God put the nature under the spiritual world. God gives birth of every man in the nature with his or her spirit; therefore God is Father of all.
The core of Christianity is this paradigm shift in the ancient world. Accordingly, Islam created centuries after Christianity was from the beginning based on this notion that God and Heaven are in the spiritual world above the natural world where human being are living. There is no vague view on the spiritual world in Islam. In this context, Islam is based on teaching of Christ Jesus. Islam was not an extension of any other ancient religion in which gods and spirits belong to this world or the world like this world.
Today everybody thinks that this world is essentially different from the spiritual world. God, if they believe Him, exists in the sphere above this material world, This universe follows laws of science. Essentially spiritual entities have nothing to do with this material world. This modern notion is originated in Christianity.
As for Buddhism, the boundary between the world of living men and that of the dead is ambiguous, though it has its own image of the spiritual world. And, Buddhism does not admit that there is only one creator of the material world and the spiritual world. Buddhists believe existence of the paradise and the hell. And they know their souls go and live there after their death. The world after death is not a foreign idea to Buddhists. But they do not think that their souls were given by God, the Creator of the universe.
The Bible contains various episodes and scenes where Christ Jesus is depicted, in addition various moral teachings. But if these parts are taken away, the Bible only presents a view on the human world and the spiritual world where God lives. The reason why Christianity was accepted by Romans must lie in this view.
There is a clear boundary and distinction between this world and the spiritual world, though there are some paths linking them. This common view of today was first clearly presented by Christ Jesus and ancient people learnt it though His words or the Bible.
This is one of secrets of diffusion and deployment of Christianity in the Roaman Empire and later Europe and world.
So, we should realize that Christianity was revolutionary from the beginning.
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Jam 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.