*** Christianity and Western Civilization








Christianity and Western Civilization


Figure 1.-- Here a group of mill boys going to church on Sunday morning in Beaumont Mill Settlement, near Spartanburg, South Carolina. The photo was taken in May 1912. Marx saw Christianity and religion in general as the "opium of the masses". The Communist leasers that followed Marx, however, like Hitler would concoct a political state religion to replace Christianity, primarily because of value based Christian ethical teachings. For Lenin, Stalin, and Mao morality was anything that advanced the class struggle. For Hitler it was anything that advanced racial purity. And all these totalitarian leaders amassed body counts to demonstrate their atheist ethical system. Source: Library of Congress LC-DIG-nclc-02584.

The first major assault on relgion in our modern world was the 18th century Enlightenment. The second assault was 19th century Marxism which has continued in the 20th and 21st century. Marxists believe in the concept of scientific materialism, which precludes any supernatural being or any other concept that controls nature other than scientifically knowable natural laws. Ironically Marx whoset out to construct an economic and social system based on science made fundamental errors and the the totalitarian states of the 20th century heavily based on his philosophy proved not only to be a failure at science, but to be the most cruel murderous regimes in human history. (The NAZIs of course were not Communists, but were stronly influenced by Marxism and NAZI propaganda railed against capitalist plutocrats.) Economically they proced to be destroyers of wealth unlike capitalism which creates wealth and their people condemned to povery in comparison to Western capitalist states. Marx described religion as an expression of material realities and economic injustice. He believed it was used by the ruling class to control the working class. He aserted that religion was used by oppressors to make workers feel better about their economic consitions which maked exploitation easier. This is why he declared religion go be the �opium of the masses�. [Marx] This is why Communists when they seize power conduct atheist campaigns use the full resource of a police state. In the socialist influenced democracies of Western Europe the attacks on religion are more nuanced, but the intelegencia of Westen Europe as well as America tends to despariage religion. A good modern expression of this is Richard Dawkins, author of is an outspoken atheist and a prominent critic of religion is British atheist Richard Dawkins, author of the The God Delusion. Dawkins is one of the more informed athesists. A better example of the popular face of anti-Christian liberalism is commedian Bill Maher. He mocks religious people calling them ignorant and is fond of recounting instances of religious intolerance of which they are many (anti-semitism, supression of the Catars, the Inquisition, religious wars of the 17th century, expulision of the Hugenoughts, etc.). Maur like others in academia and the media focus on Christianity. This is largely because one of their other liberal beliefs is cultural relativity and a reluctance to criticise non-western cultures and religions as well as concern that they may be physically attacked if they criticize Islam. While surrounding themselves with the mantel of erudite scholarship, they normally speak on their own shows or friendly main-stream media where their ideas are not subjected to rigorous questioning. They rarely expose themselves to honest inquiry. One simple fact stands out, the great mass murders of history (Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot) are all athesists who did their best to stamp out religion. There is, however, much more. Religion was at the heart of Wesrtern civilization which is responsible for modern science, capitalism. democracy, protection of human rifgts, women's rights all emerged from Christian Europe and America. Here Christianity was important not only for its own ethical teachings, but because it was tghe vessel through which the classical heritage was presered and passed on. Many of the critics of Christianity while castigating Christians as ignorant Bible thumpers or making gratuitous statements like 'clinging to their Bibles and guns', are themselves blissfully ignorant of the role of Judeo-Christian faiths in creating our modern world.

Judeo-Christian Ethic and Western Civilization

It is not just that Marx was so wrong about economics and Christianity. It is Christianity not Marxism in fact is at at the heart of most of the central tennets of Western Civilization. The relation was not always obvious or direct. Western civilization is responsible for modern science, capitalism, democracy, protection of human rights, women's rights, the rule of law all emerged from Christian Europe and America. One of the great questions of history is why modernity did not emerge from China. For melenia. China not Europe was the richest most inventive society. So we are left with the question of why modernity and all the values we today hold so dear today emerged in Europe and not China. Central to answering that question is Chritianity. Here Christianity was important not only for its ethical teachings, but because of St. Paul's fushion of classical thought with the Judeo-Christin ethic, Christinity became the vessel through which the classical heritage was presered and passed on. Many of the critics of Christianity while castigating Christians as ignorant Bible thumpers or making gratuitous statements like 'clinging to their Bibles and guns', are themselves blissfully ignorant of the role of Judeo-Christian faiths in creating our modern world. A string movement at major universities is to deemphazize Western civilization.

Decline of Religion


Religious Wars (17th-18th Centuries)


The Enligtenment

The first major ideological assault on relgion in our modern world was the 18th century Enlightenment. The Enlightenment along with the Renaisance and Reformation was a key step in the formation of the Western mind. Many of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers were French, but the Enlightenment was a movement which over time affected all of Europe to varying degrees. America was also affected by the Enlightenment, but the American exoerience was different, in part because of the Great Awakening. The Enlightenment is also termed the Age of Reason. Authors define it differently and there were many different aspects, but the Enlightenment at it heart was a basic turn in the Western mindset. The West for more than a milenium had been dominated by religion, often descrined as faith. Even the Reformation had not changed this. In fact the Protestants were often more consumed with faith and theological questions than the Roman church. With the Enlightenment, primacy was given to reason. Intelectuals began to think that objective truth about life and the universe could be achieved through rational thought. The advances achieved in physics, led by Sir Issac Newton in Britain, had a profound impact on European intellectuals. Enlightenment writers begasn to think that the same kind of systematic thinking could be used to understand and improve areas of human activity as well. A whole new system of aesthetics, ethics, government, and logic was developed based on reason.

Socialism and Atheism

The second assault was 19th century Marxism which has continued in the 20th and 21st century. Marxists believe in the concept of scientific materialism, which precludes any supernatural being or any other concept that controls nature other than scientifically knowable natural laws. Ironically Marx who set out to construct an economic and social system based on science made fundamental errors. Economically they proced to be destroyers of wealth unlike capitalism which creates wealth and their people condemned to povery in comparison to Western capitalist states. Marx described religion as an expression of material realities and economic injustice. He believed it was used by the ruling class to control the working class. He aserted that religion was used by oppressors to make workers feel better about their economic consitions which maked exploitation easier. This is why he declared religion go be the �opium of the masses�. [Marx] This is why Communists when they seize power conduct atheist campaigns use the full resource of a police state. Bur\t under Communist rtule, workers became essentially state serfs, subjected to low wages and unsafe wotrking conditions and forced to accept work and living conditions far below their Western European ccounterparts. TYhe reason of course was that unlike capitalism, socialism not only did not createc wealth, but destroyed it. Throuhout the Communist world, factories churned out products that were worth less than the value of the inputs. Notably it was workers who rose up against the Communisdts throughout Eastern Europe until supressed by the Soviet Red Army.

Totalitarian Blood Lust

The opponents of Christianity can point to the church's acts of intolerance such as the Inquistion and buring of heritics. Religios toleration is a relatively recent development in the history of the Church. What Christian critics fail to address is the horredous mass murdwers conducted by the atheist totalitarians of the 20th century. The totalitarian states of the 20th century, heavily based on Marx's philosophy, proved not only to be a failure at science, but to be the most cruel murderous regimes in human history. (The NAZIs of course were not Communists, but were stronly influenced by Marxism and NAZI propaganda railed against capitalist plutocrats.)

Democratic Socialists

In the socialist influenced democracies of Western Europe the attacks on religion are more nuanced, but the intelegencia of Westen Europe as well as America tends to despariage religion. A good modern expression of this is Richard Dawkins, author of is an outspoken atheist and a prominent critic of religion is British atheist Richard Dawkins, author of the The God Delusion. Dawkins is one of the more informed athesists. A better example of the popular face of anti-Christian liberalism is commedian Bill Maher. He mocks religious people calling them ignorant and is fond of recounting instances of religious intolerance of which they are many (anti-semitism, supression of the Cathars, the Inquisition, religious wars of the 17th century, expulision of the Hugenoughts, etc.). Maur like others in academia and the media focus on Christianity. This is largely because one of their other liberal beliefs is cultural relativity and a reluctance to criticise non-western cultures and religions as well as concern that they may be physically attacked if they criticize Islam. While surrounding themselves with the mantel of erudite scholarship, they normally speak on their own shows or friendly main-stream media where their ideas are not subjected to rigorous questioning. They rarely expose themselves to honest inquiry. One simple fact stands out, the great mass murders of history (Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot) are all athesists who did their best to stamp out religion.

Muscular Christianity

Muscular Christianity is a philosophical movement that developed in Britain during the mid-19th century. It was the manly practice of Christianity that added health and fitness to the opractice of Christian morality. It combined Christianity with patriotism, discipline, self-sacrifice, masculinity, and athleticism. We are not entirely sure about the oigins of the movement in Britain. The movement developed during the the Victorian era. It was strongly associated with the idea of building character in English public (elite private boarding) schools. It is not clear to us if the English public schools generated the concept of Musculsr Christianity or assimilated the concept that was developing. It is most commobly associated with Thonas Hughes (1822-96). His semi-autobiographical novel, Tom Brown's School Days (1857) promoted the concept of Muscular Christianity. Another important early author was Charles Kingsley (1819-75). [Trothen] The term was invented by T.C. Sanders in a review of Charles Kingsley's novel Two Years Ago (1857). Sanders described whatv he saw as Muscular Christian, "a man who fears God and can walk a thousand miles in a thousand hours — who breathes God's free air on God's rich earth, and at the same time can hit a woodcock, doctor a horse, and twist a poker around his finger." The initial proponents were English. We are not sure as to the degree the concept spread on the continent to countries ike Germany. We do know that it had a profound impact on American thinking. And we see this impacting America at about the same time that English authors began discussing the concept. No country more enthisiastically adopted the the practice of Musucla Christinity more enthusiastically as America. No one illustrates this better than President Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore was a sickly child we was raised by a father that firmly believed in Muscular Christianity and he became as a father, a prominet adherent to the movement. [Andres, pp. 31–32.] Anothr important proponent was Canadian Ralph Connor (1860-1937). The proponents saw vigor and health important in the active pursuit of Christian ideals. The Young Mens' Christian Association (YMCA) was an embodiement of this approach . It was founded (1844). As one author ecplains, "The YMCA first opened gyms to train stronger Christians." Physical fitness was a secondary goal for the movement, commonly more spparent than Christian teaching. Soon gyms and then swimming pools were an important part of the 'Y" priogram. The Boys' Brigade (1883) and Boy Scouts (1907) followed. All of this began in Britain, but was soon taken up in America, and many other countries..

Sources

Andres, Sean. 101 Things Everyone Should Know about Theodore Roosevelt (Adams Media: 2014). .

Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion.

Eschner, Kat. "The YMCA first opened gyms to train stronger Christians, Smithsionian Magazibe (December 29, 2017).

Marx, Karl. Das Kapital.

Trohen, Tracy. Ed. Sport, Spirituality, and Religion: New Intersections (2019), pp.: 124.







HBC





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Created: 12:06 AM 10/1/2010
Last updated: 10:58 AM 12/12/2022