Catholic Civilization (part II)
Morality
Catholic morality has also left its traces in society. The Romans and Greeks could have nothing but contempt for the weak, the poor & the sick, for sure no compassion; during epidemics even friends were abandoned (because mercy was seen as unjust). Tragically infanticide, suicide and gladiator fights were widely accepted practices; unthinkable in a catholic society. The gladiator fights were stopped "at the command of the christian emperor,” as well as the duels by the pope. Catholic Ireland with all of its problems has had one of the lowest suicide rates and strikingly, that (still) differs between catholic and protestant Swiss cantons. Couldn't the catholic emphasis on the common and/or tangible of experiencing the faith play a role here?
It is also disturbing that the poet Ovid complained about the perverse and sadistic sexual practices of his time, that Emperor Augustus tried to forbid them by law(!?) and that according to the historian Tacitus a faithful wife was a rarity. Without doubt christianity brought equality in marriage and restored its dignity; the Romans even called it "only a religion for women (and slaves)." Also the many important female saints and religious orders display the catholic prestige of 'the tender sex.' Apparently man needs exhortation to turn away from the natural tendency to gratify one's own ego. And a religion that preaches the sanctity of life, charity, chastity, that living a good life is hard, but practice makes perfect and presents the saints to us as examples, then perhaps gives no hard guarantees, but it certainly helps.
Charity
The direct consequence of catholic morality is charity and health care, the unconditional, free care for the sick, the poor and the weak, and the burial of the dead even during epidemics such as the plague. Understandably this has made many into believers; even Voltaire was "perplexed by the heroic self-sacrifice of catholics.” The catholic church “invented charity and has no equal," a direct implementation of Jesus' preaching: "a new commandment I give you: love one another as I have loved you, love your enemies,” “what you have done for the least, you have done for me” & the seven works of mercy [NB to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, be hospitable to strangers, take care of the sick, visit the captives (Matt. 25:35-36) and to bury the dead (Tob. 1:17); in the Holy Year of Mercy in 2016, special attention was given to them]. Caritas was practiced from the beginning, even in times of persecution and by all the great saints (who doesn't know St Mother Teresa?). The Knights of the Order of Malta (officially established in 1113) who are also called the Knights Hospitallers for obvious reasons (worth mentioning is a hospital of 1000 beds that they had started as early as 1080 in Jerusalem).
As early as the 4th century, the church had erected hospitals on a grand scale. After the fall of Rome, the monasteries took over 'hospitality' and care for the sick, and became the centers of medical knowledge. Their popularity was demonstrated by the Northern Rebellion of 1536 in Great Britain after the Dissolution of the monasteries (the patrimonio pauperum). Luther also complained about consequences of the reformation of 1517: “now instead of giving, they rob each other.” Doesn't this again underline the importance of a common and tangible experience of faith? Suggestive for the need for religious motivation is furthermore the significant reduction in the number of hospitals and the number of university students after the French Revolution of 1789. People rather remember that by their cry “Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood” but how does that apply to all the people whose blood coloured the streets red?! (see e.g. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror) The famous chemist Lavoisier, for example, was beheaded with a crucifix in his hand.
Another pillar of civilization is the legal system based on legislation. The western legal system is a derivative of the canonical church laws that arose from the Decretum Gratiani of 1140, the first coherent systematic legal writing. Catholicism used the best of the Roman legal system (as of Greek thought for science) and injected it with basic principles and theological ideas (such as penance by St Anselm in 1100). Thus it gave to the (still half-barbarian) West things such as a rational process, requirement of will before marriage, natural human rights, and the separation between state and church. The latter was part of the reform by Pope Gregory VII in 1075 to stop kings from interfering with church affairs. And the idea of natural human rights was developed before 1300 from the understanding of human dignity, the Ten Commandments and the 'natural' Golden Rule of the Gospel.
A well-known but unfortunate trial (since justice came too late) was that of St Jean d'Arc in 1431. The most known and unfortunate iniquity (and one that the church is often blamed for) was committed by the Spanish Inquisition of the 16th century [NB and that while the Inquisition was actually founded to protect heretics(?!)]. However, this should not be confused with the many witch trials that were mainly held in German states, since the main targets were converted Jews. Besides the descriptions and numbers are exaggerated and the (fruitless) protests from several Popes not mentioned.
International Law
Fr Francisco de Vitoria is considered the founder of International Law for the defense of the Indians. This came from the same reasoning as natural human rights and was a response to the serious misconduct in the Spanish colonies. As Chesterton puts it: "if man were not created equal, then he has certainly evolved unequally." Slavery and slave trade took place despite the influence of the Church (during the Middle Ages they had practically disappeared). The self-purifying conscience of 16th century Spain was unique, no other civilization ever had objected to the taking of slaves. It was a Dominican monk in the Dominican Republic who started the protests with a series of sermons in 1511. Already the following year, the laws of Burgos were formulated that regulate self-government and human dignity of the natives. Bishop Las Casas was an active advocate for them for 50 years. Clear rules for a just war were also formulated; although rudiments can already be found by Cicero, Machiavelli sharply rejected them.
Economics
It will surprise many that the founders of modern Economics were the late scholastics of the 16th century who defended economic freedom and the free market. It is also noticeable that (again) Buridan & Oresme developed the theory of money in the 14th century and astonishing above all that the subjective theory of value came from a 13th century Franciscan. Furthermore, Marx's theory of the value of work (the basis of communism) possibly derived from the divine blessing of work as claimed by Calvin. Throwing away this baby with the bathwater so may have had serious consequences.
Art
Art can be considered as the highest form of expression of a civilization; to create in the image of the Creator who made His own Image in the Incarnation. This has been amazingly prolific in christianity (catholicism). Wisdom 11:21 (God has ordered all things according to measure, number and weight) has further inspired the medieval man to use geometry and mathematics in architecture, but also in painting and sculpture. As the pinnacle of this, Michelangelo's Pietà from 1498 can be mentioned as well as the Sistine Chapel which he completed in 1512 under the patronage of the Pope (like so much of the art of that time). Furthermore, every aspect of the Gothic [NB a derogatory 'renaissance' designation] cathedral was designed to refer to God: its geometry, number symbolism, vertical lines reaching up to the sky and the abundance of Light pouring down on us. The pinnacle of cathedral design is without doubt the Sagrada Famılia that was started in 1882 and whose completion is scheduled for the centenary of Antonio Gaudí's death in 2026.
What exactly constitutes 'the West' is like a jigsaw puzzle: many elements of civilization that are interlinked and show an underlying principle: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Word made Flesh; or as He put it: “You recognize the tree by its fruits.” Tens of millions of martyrs still witness to this truth with their lives.
Cutting down the tree will also take away the fruit, or "one cannot reject the christian idea without being impoverished" (an agnostic philosopher). The history of societies under the helm of declared atheists shows this most clearly (e.g. Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, French Revolution). Blogger Vox Day investigated that the majority of them committed democide (killing a significant part of their own population), with a total of 148 million dead in the last century alone (Hitler, by the way, was a heathen, not an atheist). That western civilization is intimately connected with christian exhortations and inspiration is also hinted by certain secularized art such as a literature of bleak storylines, dissonant music, ugly architecture and a signed urinal as the “most influential piece of modern art.” Sadly art was not always safe either in christian hands given the Byzantine iconoclasts of the 8th & 9th centuries and the iconoclastic fury during the reformation [NB I see a connection here to the word of Jesus "you are Peter"]. It is also striking that the 'renaissance' (rebirth of the classics after the christian Middle Ages) actually exhibited a stagnation in fields other than art. A sharp decline in religiosity is also apparent in the recent denial of the christian roots of Europe during the drafting of a constitution for it, just as in the lack of fertility in Europe.
Unfortunately, this whole list of misery seems necessary to underline the importance of religion for civilization. Without the Kingdom of Heavens, what is there to live for but mere amusement? Certainly, christians are not automatically better people and many unbelievers are also committed to others / a better world and are able to find in it their purpose in life. But how can you motivate people to let the weak and suffering be a concern to them, or what foundation is there for justice and truth? And without appeal to God's Ten Commandments, what fundamental reasons are there for not stealing, lying, committing adultery or even aborting (Down) babies? But then how could you ever trust anyone? I'm afraid that atheists societies inescapably turn into police states / anarchies. In other words: “without Faith in revealed Truth, you miss the Light of Grace to guide you.”
Showing that society needs Christ doesn't yet let you become a christian unless you are convinced that it is personally good for you. Well, imagine that God is your Father who created you as you are, out of Love, has a plan and purpose for your life, sent his Son to show His Love, to open Heaven to us, to be near us, always there to help and willing to forgive all your mistakes; how would that change your life?
What else is there to say? History & logical reasoning indicate that civilization and a meaningful life need Christ, protector against chaos and hopelessness. However, the story also shows that one's convictions determine how the world is viewed, not the other way around! As Nietzsche said: “faith comes before science.” And that's why at the end of the day this will not convince anyone, in other words, it was a fun but pointless exercise. Salud!?
[NB this is of course a bit of a provocation, anyone is free to accept or not what is offered. Always important is to assume each other's goodwill; it's also good to realise that it is difficult to change fixed convictions, especially if that has consequences for our own lives...]
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