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7353
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The Pharisees undermined slavery, by giving slaves responsibility and status in law courts [Johnson,P]
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Full Idea:
It is no accident that slavery among Jews disappeared with the rise of the Pharisees, as they insisted that all were equal before God in a court. Masters were no longer responsible for actions of slaves, so a slave had status, and slavery could not work.
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From:
Paul Johnson (The History of the Jews [1987], Pt II)
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A reaction:
As in seventeenth century England, the rise of social freedom comes from religious sources, not social sources. A slave has status in the transcendent world of souls, despite being a nobody in the physical world.
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7340
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Mosaic law was the first to embody the rule of law, and equality before the law [Johnson,P]
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Full Idea:
Mosaic law meant that God ruled through his laws, and since all were equally subject to the law, the system was the first to embody the double merits of the rule of law and equality before the law.
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From:
Paul Johnson (The History of the Jews [1987], Pt I)
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A reaction:
If this is correct, it seems to be a hugely important step, combined with Idea 1659, that revenge should be the action of a the state, not of the individual. They are the few simple and essential keys to civilization.
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7338
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Man's life is sacred, because it is made in God's image [Johnson,P]
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Full Idea:
In Mosaic theology, man is made in God's image, and so his life is not just valuable, it is sacred.
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From:
Paul Johnson (The History of the Jews [1987], Pt I)
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A reaction:
The obvious question is what exactly is meant by "in God's image". Physically, spiritually, intellectually, morally? I am guessing that the original idea was intellectual, because we are the only rational animal. The others seem unlikely, or arrogant.
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