Yet the Roman Empire is gone, distance memories in ruins. Christianity still stands. And still the most printed book in Europe is the Bible. I’m quite certain the average European knows more about stories in the Bible than Roman history.
You don’t have to be Christian to be influenced by it culturally.
I find this conversation quite silly now. @superking trying to claim their Roman past is like china trying to claim all the territories that belongs to them.
Go to any museum in Europe. Your great artists painted art based on Christianity. Europeans literature were also based on Christianity. Music as well. Every city has beautiful churches.
European scientists were influenced by Christianity. I would point to it as a major reason Europe advanced over China. While Chinese intellectuals focused on Confucian principles and Buddhist ideas that the world is an illusion held back science. Scientists in Europe believed in a rational world from a rational god. To study nature was to study gods miracle to them.
The fall of Roman is considered a major historical catastrophe. But in a way, it was also a good thing. Europeans had a fresh start to allowed for political, military, scientific, economic rivalries. While China had a single power rule, Europeans competed and tried new things that would likely not have been accepted as empires try to keep a status quo.
Considering my Bible studies classes were almost half a century ago I might be a little rusty with this. Didn’t almost all of the stuff in the Bible happen during Roman times? The Jesus parts certainly did. And the 200 years following. Which is pretty much the basis of the New Testament part of the bible. The Old Testament was Abraham getting his side chick pregnant and creating the Abrahamic religions. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Because that was the dominant religion. That’s all that means. How do you know it wasn’t the result of a uniquely European mindset that would have resulted in beautiful art no matter what religion it was? It probably would have in fact.
For that matter, how do we know it wasn’t Europeans that shaped the dominant Christian narrative over time? It’s easy to see that norms changed radically over time when Christianity was still dominant (including many things that we would outright reject as immoral today), though the tenets of Christianity remained the same.
In a lot of ways science arose out of an explicit rejection of Christianity through the Enlightenment. Many scientists were Christian, and there were positive developments like hospitals, but it was almost outright impossible to get to any position of power without claiming to be Christian, and perhaps worse. The deck was totally stacked. In some ways that you mention, Christian ideas may have played a role, but it’s not a very strong argument when you look at the entire picture.
I don’t think it’s so cut and dry. I think it’s impossible to argue that Christianity did not a role in the development of Western culture, but it’s very hard to say how much of a role and how positive of a role. They’re intertwined.
Anyway, does it matter? No one today is going to believe in something because it might provide a sense of community. They will be swayed by their arguments, or they might come to believe after engaging in community life. I think the issue is more that people aren’t convinced by the arguments and/or don’t feel they need that type of sense of community in this day and age. There are a lot of reasons for that. In other words, you may be putting the cart before the horse.
We don’t know. We do know what did happen and a lot of these were funded by the church.
I’m more focused on what impacted the culture of Europe the most. And to me, it’s hard to argue for anything else living in Europe when it’s been so intertwined from wars, the arts, politics, and day to day lives. You don’t need to be Christian to have been influenced and adapted Christian ideas and values the same way I’m not Confucian but grew up and still hold these values like respecting my parents etc.
As I’ve mentioned, from the day Europeans can mass produce information till now, the Bible is the most printed book. Will this always be, perhaps not.
Whether it’s positive is a whole other discussion.
I also don’t think it’s a persuasive thing. But my original comment based on what i was told by people who have seen Europe/Italy change is that the church used to provide a lot of sense of community. I’ve obviously never lived it. I’m not trying to convert anyone because they will get a sense of community.
I’m sure there are other reasons like how people migrate now that impacts the lack of community. People used to live in the same place their entire lives, that is no longer the norm.
But in a way I get it. When there’s not a lot of new wealth creation, wealth becomes generational. Land lords and business owners pass it down to their families in Europe. Much of the rich people I come across do absolutely nothing but run some business their family built or collect rent on land owned for generations.
One thing holding back wealth creation is that nothing new comes from these assets. Families fight and bicker over these businesses and land/properties that are passed down. So they don’t actually sell it or do something new with it. I’ve seen so many properties go to waste in Italy because the owners just hoard and refuse to sell it and do nothing with it. Or like 5 brothers own the property and they can’t agree on what to do so it just sits there and rot.
European culture, art flourished during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. The exact moment they started to walk away from the church and embrace humanism and the artistic ideals of classical Greece. European culture, economy, quality of living all stagnated for centuries when it was most influenced by the Church.
If you want to credit anything, credit the ideas, philosophy, art of Ancient Greece and Rome. The same would go for the United States.