Catholic Civilization (part I)
Do you have any idea how much the civilization that is simply called “the West” owes to the catholic church? Based on the results of renowned historians [NB such as fr Stanley Jaki (physicist and historian) as presented by Stacey Trasancos (PhD chemist & graduated theologian), Thomas E. Woods Jr (American history professor) and James Hannam (British history professor); see also Vishal Mangalwadi (Indian philosopher)] this discussion starts with why previous civilizations (based on natural religions) fell short, then follows with how the catholic middle ages constructed the foundations of our civilization from the radical newness of the christian faith, and ends with thoughts on inevitable consequences of a general loss of faith. This amply illustrated post mentions all important aspects of 'the West': the Universities and Science, the Monks in Agriculture and Education, Morality, Caritas, (International) Law, Modern Economy and finally Art. At a time when many unfortunately not even recognize the christian roots of Europe anymore, a better awareness is crucial for a better appreciation and preservation of western civilization.
Motto: in order to make a great building one can't simply add to a simple construction; it is necessary to start over on a strong foundation; cf. “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and the rest will be given to you; for without Me you can do nothing.” [Mt 6:33]
Imagine being a founder of an ancient civilization (Aztec, Babylon, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Maya, Mesopotamia or perhaps Persia) and being busy with your daily struggle for existence amidst the elements. The primordial experiences on which you base your worldview are then irregular behavior of the weather and animals within fixed life cycles (birth and aging, solar day, moon month, the four seasons, maybe even the great star year), occasionally interrupted by disruptive events (floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, eclipses, meteorites, diseases and sudden deaths). It is then quite natural to think that the elements are themselves alive (doesn't the earth spontaneously produce plants?) and that everything is subject to immovable laws that perhaps form the only barrier against the chaos beyond. The (fixed) religions of all ancient civilizations [NB the conversion of Emperor Constantine, and with him of the Roman Empire from paganism to catholicism, in the 3rd century AD was an exceptional happening. The only other two realms where such a thing has happened were those of Empress Wu (who converted from Taoism to Buddhism) in the 5th century AD in China and that of an Indian Emperor (who converted from Hinduism to Buddhism) in the 5th century BC. However, the first was plagiarism, politically motivated and not a success while the second story contains many legendary aspects and possibly is even derived from Constantine(?!)] were indeed some form of cyclical pantheism which, at best, is indifferent to us; a very natural view that strongly discourages making detailed observations or having long-term goals to work for (the old achievements, as many as there are, can therefore best be considered to be “lucky accidents”). The Greek view that all perceptions are only apparent and that only through thinking one can arrive at eternal truths is quite illustrative.
The exception to the rule is the One, Transcendental, Sovereign and Good God of the Jews; an extremely radical deviation from 'natural' religion. The Jewish people are also unique: they always were few and persecuted, but survived and have been thriving; now already for about four thousand years! Indeed they must be the people of God, the One who revealed Himself (to Abraham, Moses & the Prophets), as they claim. This revelation results in the idea that man (as the image of God) has the capacities to experiment, that the observations of an ordered, comprehensible world can be trusted and that there is a purpose to work for. The Jews traditionally, however, showed little interest in investigating creation [NB remarkably, secular Jews in particular are extremely successful in modern science].
The Incarnation, Death & Resurrection of the Messiah revealed that the Jewish God is a Trinity deeply involved in His creation; an extremely absurd idea, if false. That also means that Christ is the "Monogenes", the "Only Begotten", not the Universe (as in many of the ancient religions)! The scholastic St Thomas Aquinas, reasoning from the Incarnation of Christ, was able to purify the Greek classics of their cyclic pantheistic influences and thus breathe new life into them. Christian philosophers disagreeing with the 'angelic doctor,' such as Sigrid van Brabant, show that this was no simple feat. Consequently the bishop of Paris found it necessary to officially condemn a list of Aristotle's ideas in 1277 (e.g. that no vacuum could exist). In the following century fr Jean Buridan and his student msgr Nicholas Oresme developed the impetus theory, again based on theological reasoning. The impetus concept constitutes the core of Newton's Laws, which were published in 1687. The general use of geometry / mathematics in art (which is also based on christian ideas, see a later section) certainly helped too.
With fr Jaki we conclude: ”(exact) science was born from christianity."
However, the myth of a church – science conflict still goes around. The only argument generally given is the condemnation of Galileo Galilei in 1633, an important early figure of the scientific revolution. This myth ignores, however, that Galileo was always received honorably (after his conviction he, for example, stayed for some time at a bishop's place), that he was always treated well (he, for example, received a pension from the Vatican until his death), that he had no proof for his claims (the tides do not demonstrate heliocentrism), that his main offense was reinterpreting the Bible (ironically with the idea of avoiding a scandal for the church) and that his most important works were written under house arrest.
Countless other scientific contributions came from the church. The Jesuit order (all priests; founded in 1534) is the main contributor to the experimental science of the 17th century (cf. fr Lana-Terzi is considered the father of aviation). In addition, it provided 5% of the most important mathematicians of all time until 1800, it put together the first scientific cooperation network and disseminated the Jesuit science to remote places like India / China / South America. Even the church buildings helped science since cathedrals were important astronomical observatories that, for example, helped to establish the Gregorian calendar in 1582. It is used universally today.
The cathedral school of Chartres in the 12th century was instrumental in launching science. It was from the cathedral schools (and through the monks, see a later section) that the universities came into existence (such as Bologna in 1088, Oxford in 1096 and Paris in 1160), independent institutes that promote free scientific discussions. They were protected by the Pope from the start, sometimes even through direct intervention; especially noteworthy are the documents from 1231 & 1233 that assured their independence and conferred "universal" degrees. Among the first fruits of the universities were famous scientists such as St Albert the Great (Dominican, order founded in 1214), Robert Grosseteste (bishop) and Roger Bacon (franciscan, order founded in 1205). That all three were church men will (by now) not really surprise you anymore.
This indispensable input to science (christian ideas, their expression in art, contributions from the Jesuits, or from earlier church men from the pope-protected universities) could never have become fertile without another, easily overlooked, requirement: a coherent, stable, thriving, just society.
After the fall of Rome in 476, the church turned to the barbarians to build a christian civilization. Influenced by his beautiful and pious wife Clothilde, Clovis king of the Franks was baptized in 496 and set an important example to his people. In 751 the Pope helped Pepin the Short with the peaceful establishment of the Carolingian dynasty. This culminated in the Carolingian Renaissance under the reign of St Charlemagne (768–814 AD) and that of his son (814–840 AD). Monks were instrumental in the conversion of the pagans and the necessary guidance afterwards to purify all their beliefs and practices. St Boniface, a monk of Irish tradition, was a notable example in 8th century Germany. The Irish had been the only barbarians to convert before the fall of Rome; this was done by St Patrick (alone!), a Roman Englishman who had been enslaved by them for many years. Their early conversion undoubtedly contributed to the influence of Boniface cum suis on the European continent.
By the 14th century 'the Order' had produced no less than 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7,000 archbishops, 15,000 bishops and 1,500 (canonized) saints; and could count 20 emperors, 10 empresses, 47 kings and 50 queens amongst its members. At its peak it had 37,000 monasteries.
Comments
Post a Comment