Socrates vs. Jesus

645 Words3 Pages
Two Important people in history I would like to compare are Jesus Christ and Socrates. Jesus opened a path of faith to a religion that billions follow, and Socrates created a philosophy that used in the courtrooms by lawyers today, and a base for Western thought today. Both men were moral, wise, and were killed for the beliefs they held. Neither of these men earned any money for their teachings, freely taught to anyone that was willing to listen to what they had to say. The most noticeable comparison between Christ and Socrates was that the charges against them, were for the “evil” influence they had on the townspeople, and for their beliefs on religion. Jesus was considered a heretic, because he preached monotheism, that he himself was divine, whereas the Romans were polytheistic. As the Roman Government didn’t like the fact Jesus questioned the oppressiveness and discrimination of the Roman law against people that were considered inferior, as he felt we were all equal. Socrates was charged with corrupting the youth, as he went around to see how little most people knew by asking them questions, and the fact he worshipped the gods of Sparta, rather than the gods of Athens. Both Socrates and Jesus generally drew large crowds when they preached their views. Another area of comparison is on the treatment of evil people. According to Plato, Socrates makes the case that it is wrong to pay injustice with injustice, and that being nice and just was a reward in and of itself. Jesus believed that we should treat others like we would want to be treated and to love our enemies. Socrates was a martyr in that he didn’t want to escape the punishment awaiting him, because he believed that Civil Disobedience would be a much more effective way for his legend to live on. Jesus as well, knew death was awaiting him, but felt he would serve humanity for his followers, by
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