What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?
There is a great essay by Matthew Arnold called “Hebraism and Hellenism,” the point of which is that the greatest good in hebraism (Jerusalem) is obedience, while in hellenism it is understanding. I’d suggest that this is the reason that Paul’s writings spend considerable time describing Hebrew concepts (historical, e.g. covenants,the cross, and the resurrection) in Greek categories, since he was an apostle to Greeks. In contrast, Jewish writers to the diaspora tend to emphasize obedience, e.g., James and Peter.
I’d also suggest that the victory of hellenism in the western world is one reason there are so many splinters in Christianity. The quest for detailed analytical and systematic understanding of the ultimately holistic processes of God’s plan leads to splits over the details.
Interesting. Will take a look at both Leo Strauss and Matthew Arnold.