According to Professor Ambrosio, how does the idea of the hero in Greek and Roman culture become integrated into the idea of the saint in the process of conversion and totalization? Address this question by comparing and contrasting at least two of the following: Saul of Tarsus, Augustine of Hippo, Mohammed.
According to the lectures by Professor Ambrosio, the idea of the Roman culture and the hero in Greek become incorporated into the idea of Christianity through the process of totalization and conversion. The process began with Saul when he started searching the meaning of life. The process of totalization and conversion was an important period for the saint and the metaphorical hero. During this time, there was a deterioration in the Roman Empire which had ruled for many years and therefore was a shift towards Christianity. According to Ambrosio, the new Holy Roman Empire would force people to be converted. As a result, women were suppressed and excluded from any important process in the society (Tamara, 2018). The period of conversion was defined as when a person’s identity transformed into another while totalization was demonstrated by the wholeness of being close to God as well as the steps towards eliminating other people.
There were two key individuals in the movement, for instance, Augustine of Hippo and Saul of Tarsus. The concept of the saint was often specifically concerning the love between a person and God. In this regard, the saint did not recognize praise for his actions and believed that love was the meaning of life. On the other hand, the hero, who also wanted to help others, recognized praises for his actions.
Today, if Saul did lead the conversion and totalization process then Christianity would not have been the widely spread religion across the globe. The original name of Paul was Saul and was born in Tarsus, a place in Southern Turkey. He came from a Jewish background that could be traced back to the lineage of Benjamin. In contrast, Augustine Hippo was an Algerian bishop of Hippo Regius. Augustine of Hippo was a Latin philosopher and a theologian and despite his African origin, he was described as the greatest thinkers of their time. The ideas of both heroes, Saul and Augustin of Hippo, in the Roman and Greek culture was integrated into the Christianity during the period of conversion and totalization (Tamara, 2018).
There are similarities and differences in the three religious characters of Mohammed, Saul of Tarsus, and Augustine of Hippo. The comparisons not only exist in their personal conversions to their particular faith but also exists in their attempts to convert the worldview of Christianity. The transformation of the worldview was challenging because it involved integrating one or more components of different cultures that existed prior and have struggled to understand the meaning of life. Augustine of Hippo and Saul of Tarsus had almost the same end result because they both strived to establish a world based on Christianity as the dominating religion and a way of life. Conversely, Mohammed strived to establish a world based on corrected and complete version of Christianity, for instance, Islamism; the worship of Allah (Tamara, 2018).
References
Tamara, K. (2018). How does the idea of the hero in Greek and Roman culture become integrated into the idea of the Christian saint in the process of conversion and... | eNotes. eNotes. Retrieved 16 March 2018, from https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/according-professor-ambrosio-how-does-idea-hero-466694
