If you were asked to list the single most significant influence on the creation of Western civilization What would Christianity be one of them? In today’s culture the positive influence of Christianity in the development of civilization is often undervalued or even disregarded. 1 The result is a population that is shockingly and perhaps even dangerously unaware of its own cultural history.
Through this piece and the others to come, my aim is to change this perception by demonstrating the how important Christianity is to the development of the West. This subject is extremely complicated and can only be addressed in a limited manner in this article. However, in a brief collection of articles, I hope to inspire you to explore this fascinating field of study.
Ideas Matter
We start with the idea that concepts are important and people are influenced by their opinions and beliefs, which are the result of the principal assumptions that constitute the basis of their intellectual worldview. In the words of W. Andrew Hoffecker, “One’s worldview gives coherence to how one thinks and lives, provides moral parameters, and directly motivates behavior.” 2. Different people from different culture see and respond in the universe around their own way. For instance, Americans view cheating on an exam as a blatant violation of the law (even in the case of frequent cheating) However, for Chinese, refusing to do this to a friend could be seen as morally wrong. The next section on monotheism is the most important of these essential assumptions that form the basis of any worldview: the culture’s perception of the nature of God.
Monotheism
The notion the existence of only one God “may well have been the single most important innovation in history.” 3. The importance of monotheism is primarily due to its status as the sole reliable basis for absolute fact. Only a single Creator God is able to establish these facts. Monotheism also permitted the creation of the law of God in which God has supreme authority over His creation and imposes unchangeable laws that are applicable to everyone regardless of. 4 With no concept about God and His laws the individual cultures or people sit on the throne of God, and they distribute justice in the way they think best. Man-made laws are as flexible as human minds and might not apply to the power that is ruling.
For instance, God commanded people to not kill one another. This may seem “self-evident” to most yet in many cultures that are not Western, female infanticide is an accepted method. Only absolute truths that are based on an objective base (a one creator God) will help us decide if it’s proper or unjust to murder female infants.
As we’ll discover in the coming years Absolutes are essential to Western civilization. In this respect, Judaism’s monotheistic view of the world was crucial first step.
Equality, the Sanctity of Human Life, and Individualism
The most closely related concepts to the legality are the notion of equality and the inherent sanctity of every individual’s life. If all human beings are created to be in the image of God however, they fall short of His glory and the fact that Christ offered an incomprehensible sacrifice to offer salvation to every human being All people are spiritually equal before the God’s eyes. God. 5 When this idea was first introduced in the Bible, it was a radical and significant shift in the way that people view their priorities of our culture. The same biblical argument applies to the value and value of human existence. 6 Modern Western society may take the notion that the sacred nature of life and all human beings are equal, however this was not the case. be that way, and it hasn’t always been that way. If you look at it in terms of culture without any monotheistic Christian worldview, these notions are in contradiction to the Christian worldview (people clearly don’t identical, and life is inexpensive).
The global spread of these ideas led to a world-first individualism that defied traditional culture all over the world and had significant cultural consequences. Everyone was important.
Interpersonal relationships
After establishing the importance of each person’s individuality, Christianity also influenced civilization’s conception of the individual’s relationship to other people. In the field of sociology is a concept commonly known as “chains of interdependence.” 7 Usually, it refers to interpersonal relationships in societies where everyone is in a sense dependent on the other. The term refers to the consequences of changing these interdependencies on the culture around them. Christianity and, in particular, Reformation Christianity, has had an extensive and long-lasting impact on this subject.
The concept of Christ as God and Savior, both God as well as the personal Savior and with whom one could be in the possibility of an intimate relationship led to a drastic shift in the focus of culture from social bonds with friends to the connection between the person and God. The implications of this notion could be significant. 8
Conclusion
Anyone who is a serious and objective observer of the social evolution will recognize the fact that “religion has played a leading role in directing the course of history.” 9 Christianity was socially crucial in the evolution of West in that it provided the structures of thought that without the institutions that defined the West could not had been able to be realized. These institutions include the rule of law, the rule of law, capitalism, democracy and education, as well as the family. The subsequent posts in the series discuss the role of Christianity in the development of each. While not exhaustive we hope that the concepts that are discussed strengthen the notion the idea that Christianity was the most significant driver in the evolution of Western civilization.