Good Life/Good Human Being Dialogue

During our examination of Greek Civilization, we have wrestled with the questions, “What is a good human being? What is the good life?” Greek culture was intensely interested in these questions. From Homer to Alexander, Arête—excellence—was central to Greek thought and debate. The western world has been deeply influenced by those Greek thinkers. This week, you have spent time reading and studying about these thinkers. This has allowed you to reach the first two categories of historical analysis—the Descriptive and the Interpretative. As the faith-integration model states, as Christians, we must move to the third level of analysis as well--the Evaluative. We must evaluate our historical findings with Christian Truth.

Using the lectures, historical readings and the Gospel of Matthew, compare and contrast the Christian concept of virtue and human excellence with the Greek concept. How does Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Matthew define the good life and a good human being?

Your initial response (250-300 words)