French    German    Spain    Italian    Arabic    Chinese Simplified    Russian

Western Civilisation

Until the advent of materialism and 19th c. dogma, Western Civilisation was  superior to anything Islam had developed.  Islam has not aided in the development of the modern world; in fact civilisation has only been created in spite of Islam.  Proof of this resides in the 'modern' world and the unending political-economic and spiritual poverty of Muslim states and regions.  Squatting on richer civilisations is not 'progress'.  Islam is pagan, totalitarian, and irrational.   

Back     Printer Friendly Version  

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Bookmark and Share

The modern cult of science versus reason and faith

The early Church was much more incisive about reality, than the post-modern 'church' is.

by Ferdinand III




...the presence of the Christian church enhanced, rather than damaged, the development of the natural sciences.”



The quote above is entirely accurate. In 'Galileo goes to Jail and Other Myths...', there is a good and detailed record of why this statement is true. There is no doubt that an objective observer, not one immersed in the apocrypha of the poorly named 'Enlightenment', or the post modern claptrap of cultural Marxist relativity, including the nonsense that Moslems invented everything [including fire, at least twice]; recognizes the veracity of the claim. This is not to say that only Western European traditions formed science; or that only Western European efforts are worthy of the name science. The very definition of science is in dispute, it is not metaphysics and hand-waving [evolution, globaloneywarming]; nor is it operational and technological innovation [manufacturing processes, design improvements, new technologies]. But it is entirely correct to say that modern science was formed only in Catholic Western Europe.


Naturalism or naturalist 'science', was long debated by Christians. As this book relates, going back to the 2nd century AD, Christian philosophers, well versed in Aristotle and Plato, were arguing over pagan theories about nature, the cosmos, and observed phenomena. Every educated person knew that the earth was a sphere, that unlike Aristotle's belief it moved, and that there was a cosmological rotation of planets in certain orbits. No one however, either pagan or Christian, knew why. Christians attempted to find out:


[detailed study of naturalism from] Justin Martyr (d. ca. 165) to Saint Augustine (354-430) and beyond, Christian scholars allied themselves with Greek philosophical traditions deemed congenial to Christian thought.”


The Greek philosophers were not blindly accepted as 'experts' by Christians. Unlike Moslems, the Christians threw a healthy and heavy skepticism into pagan claims and beliefs. Today of course, the very term 'scientist' means one has to fall to the knees and scream in adulation. Not so with real science and philosophy. Justin Martyr was a Jewish convert, murdered by the Romans for his beliefs [how very tolerant]. In particular he was killed by the Romans for daring to assert that reason and faith are bound together, and that Christianity espousing this belief was no threat to the Roman state, and in fact would aid man in understanding nature:


Britannica:

In the first part of the First Apology, Justin defends his fellow Christians against the charges of atheism and hostility to the Roman state. He then goes on to express the core of his Christian philosophy: the highest aspiration of both Christianity and Platonic philosophy is a transcendent and unchangeable God; consequently, an intellectual articulation of the Christian faith would demonstrate its harmony with reason. Such a convergence is rooted in the relationship between human reason and the divine mind, both identified by the same term, logos (Greek: “intellect,” “word”), which enables man to understand basic truths regarding the world, time, creation, freedom, the human soul’s affinity with the divine spirit, and the recognition of good and evil.”


In the name of tolerance the pagans killed the man who wrote the above.


In 'Galileo goes to jail and other Myths', there is a nice passage about Tertullian, another Christian who married reason with faith, in the 2nd century AD:


Tertullian presented, and to a very significant degree he built it out of materials and by the use of methods drawn from the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition. He argued, for example, that the precise regularity of the orbital motions of the celestial bodies (a clear reference to the findings of Greek astronomers) bespeaks a "governing power" that rules over them; and if they are ruled over, they surely cannot be gods. He also introduced the "enlightened view of Plato" in support of the claim that the universe must have had a beginning and therefore cannot itself partake of divinity; and in this and other works he "triumphantly parades" his learning (as one of his biographers puts it) by naming a long list of other ancient authorities.


Tertullian and many other Christian writers [some of whom were called Montanists, largely orthodox and ascetic]; had no issues with pagan philosophy and its relevance. Basil of Caesarea (ca. 330-379), carried on some of Tertullian's ideas, and had similar attitudes toward the classical sciences. He sharply attacked philosophers and astronomers who "have wilfully and voluntarily blinded themselves to knowledge of the truth."


But while attacking the errors of Greek science and philosophy-and what he did not find erroneous, he generally judged useless-Basil also revealed a solid mastery of their contents. He argued against Aristotle's fifth element, the quintessence; he recounted the Stoic theory of cyclic cosmological conflagration and regeneration; he applauded those who employ the laws of geometry to refute the possibility of multiple worlds (a clear endorsement of Aristotle's argument for the uniqueness of the cosmos); he derided the Pythagorean notion of music of the planetary spheres; and he proclaimed the vanity of mathematical astronomy...”


Who can possibly argue with the above ? It is common sense and correct. Today sci-fi parading as science vomits out theology about pregnant black holes, dark matter and multi-verses. Maybe these non-scientists can revisit Basil, laws of geometry and even Aristotle.


What the early Christians knew, and what we have forgotten in our age of the cult of science; is that science itself is a metaphysical enterprise. Whatever your world view is, will shape your so-called science. Augustine in the late 4th century knew this. His very influential view, was that the knowledge about our world is not a legitimate end in itself, but a means to other ends. In other words, your philosophy imbues your reason. In this vein the classical sciences must accept a subordinate position as the handmaiden of theology and religion. This philosophy is still used today but in the reverse. The metaphysics of 'science', now controls other 'faiths'.


Augustine's handmaiden science was defended explicitly and at great length, for example, by Roger Bacon in the thirteenth century, whose defense of useful knowledge contributed to his notoriety as one of the founders of experimental science.


Augustine and others like him applied Greco-Roman natural science with a vengeance to biblical interpretation. The sciences are not to be loved, but to be used. This attitude toward scientific knowledge was to flourish throughout the Middle Ages and well into the modern period. Were it not for this outlook, medieval Europeans would surely have had less scientific knowledge, not more.”


This is very true. Without the handmaiden concept, “medieval Europeans would surely have had less scientific knowledge, not more.” When your world is random chaos, when you believe you are evolved algae, when you scream that there is no meaning, no reason to live, and that all is without purpose, your world view and your society do not develop reason, nor science, but a cult of social chaos, relativity, lamentation and death. There is no reason to the current post-modern dogma and cult of 'science', which is anything but scientific.



Article Comments:

Related Articles:

Medieval/Early Modern Christianity


9/24/2023:  Christian Byzantium and Greek Civilisation

5/3/2023:  Byzantium and 'The Franks'. A complex tragedy.

3/27/2023:  Byzantium and the end of glory

11/20/2022:  Christian Monks saving and building Civilisation

11/14/2022:  Saving Civilisation. The Catholic Church in the non-existent 'dark ages'

11/3/2022:  Cathophobia. A real and dangerous mental illness.

8/15/2022:  Matteo Rici and the Catholic Mission to China

4/13/2022:  Slandering Medieval Christianity while applauding Muslim Paganism.

10/27/2021:  The Fall of Rome and the Invasions of the Musulmans

8/30/2021:  Henry More and Richard the Lionheart. Two opposite ends of the Christian spectrum.

8/3/2021:  The Unenlightened Enlightenment: an age of Unreason

5/27/2021:  The myth of the 'Dark Ages'

4/11/2021:  The Age of the Ineffably Uncivilised. The Enlightenment as ‘EnDarkenment’.

3/9/2021:  ‘Reformation Myths’, #3 by Rodney Stark. More science in Medieval Universities than in the modern.

3/5/2021:  ‘Reformation Myths’, #2 by Rodney Stark

3/4/2021:  ‘Reformation Myths’, by Rodney Stark

11/14/2020:  Medieval Medicine and science. No, Moslems did not invent medicine. Christians did.

8/15/2020:  Belloc and the eternal threat of the Muhammandan death cult

6/1/2016:  Constantine, Clovis and Christianity

5/3/2016:  Middle Ages: Wonders in art, architecture, technology and yes science and math

5/3/2016:  From steel manufacturing to stained glass, the ages of the Middle Ages were full of energy.

4/20/2016:  Morris Bishop and Medieval Europe; remove Islam and society begins to flourish

3/8/2016:  'The Reformation' is more accurately called 'The Deformation'

2/13/2016:  The Incorrupted bodies of Saints - a long list of miracles that 'science' cannot explain

1/7/2016:  The modern cult of science versus reason and faith

1/3/2016:  Aquinas, Aristotle and Mad Muhammad

12/25/2015:  The birth of Christ is NOT based on the pagan festival of the Invincible Sun

12/3/2015:  Faith and science are handmaidens not opponents

10/31/2015:  In praise of the Monks, the creators of modern Europe

10/24/2015:  From Augustine to Anselm, logic and faith working together

10/17/2015:  Medieval Ontology, logic and Anselm

9/26/2015:  Medieval Faith married to reason created the modern world.

9/19/2015:  Machiavelli, another product of the insane, the illiterate, the savage

9/19/2015:  The Greatest Queen in European history - Queen Isabella.

8/30/2015:  Feudalism, pilloried and slandered without context

8/22/2015:  Frederick II, the Atheist monster of the 13th century

7/29/2015:  Parthia and the destruction of Byzantium

6/29/2015:  Pierre Duhem, the Galileo myth, and historical revisionism.

6/25/2015:  Pope Sylvester II, another Great Pope, unlike the current version.

6/23/2015:  Pope Gregory the Great and saving civilisation

6/22/2015:  Pope Gregory the Great - an inspiration to civilization.

5/22/2015:  Godefroid and Medieval astronomy. Quite modern indeed.

5/11/2015:  Saving Civilization - the 'Faith'.

5/6/2015:  Belloc and the civilizational influence of the Catholic Church

4/10/2015:  Another Moslem-Enlightenment lie; 'Christians never bathed'.....

4/6/2015:  Pierre Duham and the importance of Middle Age Science.

4/2/2015:  Modern science arose only in Christian Europe.

3/9/2015:  Philoponus, the Astrolabe and Galileo

2/6/2015:  Only in Christian Europe were schools and the university system created.

2/4/2015:  Christian genius in Mathematics. Moslems invented precious little, Christianity a treasure trove.

2/2/2015:  Christians discovered and confirmed Heliocentricity. No other culture came close to that.

1/31/2015:  The myth and nonsense of the 'Enlightenment'. Pure Atheist and Marxist propaganda.

1/24/2015:  Pointed Arches, Ribbed Vaults, Flying Buttresses and Christian Genius

11/23/2014:  Aristotle and the Church – a complex relationship.

11/21/2014:  From Epicurus to Galileo, atomism and materialism.

11/16/2014:  St. Thomas Aquinas, reason, faith and Aristotle.

8/26/2014:  Brunelleschi's amazing Dome of the early 15th century

8/24/2014:  Byzantium: A Christian and cultural Colossus

8/21/2014:  Byzantium and its legacy of legal processes

8/21/2014:  Byzantium: The forgotten influence on Western Civilization

8/19/2014:  Anglo Saxon art the lie of a 'dark age'

8/18/2014:  The Lindisfarne Gospels and civilized art

7/29/2014:  Anselm of Canterbury and the Scholastic method

7/21/2014:  Lies about Medieval Medicine

7/15/2014:  Post modern ignorance of the Medieval World 900-1300

7/9/2014:  Only a complex and wealthy society can build a Trebuchet

7/8/2014:  Medieval bathing - a legacy from Rome - and quite common

7/7/2014:  Medieval literature puts a lie to myth of a dark age

6/29/2014:  Flat earthers are more likely to be Evolutionists and Cult of Warm devotees than Christian...

6/27/2014:  Atheists are so desperate, that quacks such as Bruno are now 'scientists'

6/26/2014:  The myth of Bruno, the 'scientist' fighting against superstition and darkness.....

6/12/2014:  Medieval Christianity and the genesis of plurality and debate

6/9/2014:  Melisende and the importance of Queen's and women in Medieval history

6/5/2014:  A supposed Dark Age gave us the Magna Carta and the Provisions of Oxford

6/3/2014:  Medieval Chess reflects much about Medieval society

6/2/2014:  Skis and skates - another Medieval Christian creation

5/31/2014:  Could you create an illuminated manuscript ?

5/30/2014:  Overview of Medieval Manuscripts - where are the Moslem manuscripts and works of art ?

5/30/2014:  The labour and brilliance of Medieval Manuscripts

5/28/2014:  Book printing and binding - another Medieval innovation of the first order

5/23/2014:  Moerbeeke, translations and the medieval genius to adapt and learn

5/21/2014:  Guns, canons, explosives - another Medieval Christian invention

5/14/2014:  The most important Medieval invention – modern capitalism

5/13/2014:  51 out of the 52 most important 16th and 17th century scientists were Christian

5/13/2014:  A list of scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries

5/11/2014:  The bicycle, the engineering and science of the Middle Ages developed this mode of transport

5/9/2014:  Carracks, another Medieval European-only invention

5/3/2014:  Accounting, another Medieval Invention, generated by Capitalism

5/3/2014:  Buttons and Medieval Capitalism

5/1/2014:  Blast Furnaces were developed independently in Medieval Europe

4/26/2014:  Chiara Frugoni and Medieval Inventions

4/25/2014:  Partial list of Medieval inventions

4/21/2014:  Medieval inventions around modern grooming and shaving

4/21/2014:  Medieval invention: Artesian wells and understanding water hydrology

4/19/2014:  Technological genius; the Medieval invention of the Wind Mill

4/16/2014:  Eye-Glasses, another Medieval invention based on math and science

4/16/2014:  The chimney - another important Medieval European invention

4/14/2014:  Horses and Iron industrialization

4/12/2014:  The mighty Wheelbarrow - another Medieval invention

4/12/2014:  The modern clock - another Medieval Invention

4/8/2014:  The High Middles and the beginnings of modern science

4/7/2014:  The Middle Ages and Public Schools, funded by the Church

4/4/2014:  A very brief summary of Medieval Christian genius 1100 – 1300

3/29/2014:  The real flat earthers - modern Atheists and Secularists

3/27/2014:  The Galileo myth and the Humanist invention of conflict

3/19/2014:  Why does the earth rotate ? Science has made precious little progress since 1350

3/19/2014:  A brief list of some Medieval inventions

3/12/2014:  Christian scientists and thinkers in the Middle Ages

3/10/2014:  God's Philosophers by James Hannam - the true record of Medieval Science

3/6/2014:  St. Thomas Aquinas on the Meccan Moon Cult

2/25/2014:  The Inquisition and its myths

2/14/2014:  The magnificence of the Middle Ages - nothing like it in Islamic history

2/3/2014:  Without Christianity there is no modern world

10/20/2012:  Medieval innovations in transport and war - some examples.

9/23/2010:  Anti-Semiticism is a Muslim import.

7/10/2010:  Medieval Civilization: Venetian rise and decline.

6/10/2010:  Imperial Spain – lessons in despotism, poverty and ignorance.

4/26/2010:  Slandering Christian Europe: 'The Dark Ages'

3/23/2010:  Creating the modern world. The blessings of medieval Europe.