Jay, I am not familiar with too many civilizations but lately, I read some more from the Hebrew Bible, which is, in my opinion, a wonderful book but unfortunate not fully or correctly understood, and in many cases the conclusion of many of those practicing the religion is completely opposite to the Bible teachings.
Many twist the interpretation of the writings to benefit their own greed and injustice. As an example, the 10 commandments written by the biblical Moses are the basis of our civilization. Joshua of Nazareth was a deeply observant Jew observing the laws by the letter and preaching same. He was crucified as a revolutionary preacher, who called the people to return to the rule of law as defined in the Bible only to be crucified by the Romans at the demand of the then bankers, that had a prosperous banking and forex business in the sacred temple yard.
Nothing new under the sun, as King Solomon said, as the latest LIBOR and FX scandals with unbalanced punishment so was it at Jesus times. Now as then the crooked bankers had the upper hand even that the Sanhedrin or Jewish Supreme Court of the time did not find that Joshua of Nazareth committed any law violation and set him free. Pontus Pilatus only fulfilled the desire of the then bankers knowingly that he engaged in obstruction of justice ordering the crucifixion of an innocent man and therefore he washed his hands as a symbol that the had nothing to do with the ill-conceived judgment.
Then as now - justice is a theoretical concept not for the average citizen, and the laws are actually twisted by those with the money to hire the most influential and crooked attorneys who make sure that fake news will inundate the communication channels.
To get a sense of the wrongs misunderstood in the Hebrew Bible read the story of Jacobs the son of Yitzhak, filled with extortion of his own brother, cheating his own father, running away from home like a coward to his mother uncle, cheating by premeditated swindle his uncle and stealing all his sheep, and much more. Or in the Book of Judges, Part 19 to 21, or the Book of Isaiah, Part 1, and the Book of Jeremiah, Part 19 or the Book of Amos 5:4-19 preaching in Bethel.
Reading the above you will realize how little the human world has changed over 3 millennia, and I would also suggest to learn about the great entertainment of the Roman Citizens at the Coliseum between the spectacles of the gladiator's fights and the rule of the "bestiarii" ( en.wikipedia.org ) ( livescience.com ) that entertained the Romans for the enjoyment of the throngs of spectators with starving animals eating defenseless live humans beings which were brought into the Coliseum arena.
Hot from the Israeli press "Justice Minister: Israel Must Keep Jewish Majority Even at the Expense of Human Rights Minister Ayelet Shaked addressed the proposed nation-state law, contending that Israel as a Jewish state must administer equal civil but not national rights" Revital Hovel Feb 13, 2018 2:57 AM read more haaretz.com
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