CHRISTIANITY AND WORLD CIVILIZATION: CHRISTIANITY & THE WORLD The 1st of 10 Series Books

By Dr. LI JIN WEI

Christianity constitutes the civilization to which we all in some way belong. Therefore, we can't consider it in the same way as ancient civilizations, which we can only glimpse through the opaque medium of archeology: or in the same way as the civilizations of the non-European world that we strive to understand outside and from afar. This implies a difference in the quality of our judgment, which can be compared to the astronomer's science of a planet and the geographer's knowledge of the earth we live on. For the study of Western civilization, not only do we have a much more abundant reserve of materials than any other, but we also have a more profound and intimate knowledge of it. Western civilization is the atmosphere in which we breathe and the life we live. It is our way of life and that of our ancestors; therefore, we know it not only from documents and monuments but also through our personal experience.
Let us imagine for a moment a study of religion that ignored or left aside the accumulated experience of the Christian past; that he used only the distant and partly incomprehensible testimonies drawn from the study of foreign religious traditions; that he resorted to abstract notions about the nature of religion and the conditions of spiritual knowledge. Such a study would be incomplete, inconsistent, and without truth. This shows us the way forward in considering the problem of the relationship between religion and civilization. It is an intricate and pervasive web of connections that unite social life with spiritual beliefs and values, beliefs and values that are recognized by society as the supreme norms of life and the definitive models of individual and social behaviour; because these relationships can only be concretely studied in their total historical reality. The world's great religions are rivers of sacred traditions flowing through the centuries and the changing historical landscape they rinse and fertilize. Still, ordinarily, we cannot go up to the source, lost in the unexplored regions of a distant past. It is rarely possible to find a civilization in which religious evolution can be traced from one end to the other in the whole light of history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LI JIN WEI
• Release date: Feb 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9781990861123

Book preview

CHRISTIANITY & THE WORLD

The 1st of 10 Series Books

CHRISTIANITY AND WORLD CIVILIZATION

Dr. LI, JIN WEI

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2022  LI, JIN WEI

Copyright registration number:1193286

E-mail:[e-mail]; [e-mail]

Web: http://www.jwc.com

ISBN: 978-1-990861-12-3

All rights reserved.

CONTENT

CHRISTIANITY AND WORLD CIVILIZATION

COPYRIGHT

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 CHRISTIAN AND CIVILIZATION

1. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

2. CIVILIZATION

3. EASTERN CIVILIZATION

4. WESTERN CIVILIZATION

CHAPTER 2 ANCIENT AND MODERN CIVILIZATION

1. ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

2. MODERN CIVILIZATION

CHAPTER 3 BIBLE AND CIVILIZATION

1. PEOPLE’S CIVILIZATION IN THE BIBLE

2. WHICH CIVILIZATION DOES THE BIBLE PROVIDE?

3. WHAT IS THE BIBLE PERSPECTIVE ON ADVANCED CIVILIZATION?

CHAPTER 4 CIVILIZATION AND GOSPEL

1.      THE GOSPEL LIVED WITHIN EACH CIVILIZATION

1.      A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE

CHAPTER 5 CHRISTIANITY AND SCIENCE

1. SCIENCE

2. SCIENCE AND CHRISTIAN FAITH

CHAPTER 6 CHRISTIANITY CIVILIZATION

1.      IS CHRISTIANITY A CIVILIZATION?

2.      CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION

CHAPTER 7 CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE

1. CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION

2. CULTURE, CIVILIZATION AND HUMAN

3. CULTURE, CIVILIZATION, ART AND RELIGION

4. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE

CHAPTER 8 CIVILIZATIONS AND CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

1. EDUCATION

2. The Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations of the New World

3. CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SERIES BOOKS PUBLISH INFORMATION

BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

Christianity constitutes the civilization to which we all in some way belong. Therefore, we can't consider it in the same way as ancient civilizations, which we can only glimpse through the opaque medium of archeology: or in the same way as the civilizations of the non-European world that we strive to understand outside and from afar. This implies a difference in the quality of our judgment, which can be compared to the astronomer's science of a planet and the geographer's knowledge of the earth we live on. For the study of Western civilization, not only do we have a much more abundant reserve of materials than any other, but we also have a more profound and intimate knowledge of it. Western civilization is the atmosphere in which we breathe and the life we live. It is our way of life and that of our ancestors; therefore, we know it not only from documents and monuments but also through our personal experience.

Let us imagine for a moment a study of religion that ignored or left aside the accumulated experience of the Christian past; that he used only the distant and partly incomprehensible testimonies drawn from the study of foreign religious traditions; that he resorted to abstract notions about the nature of religion and the conditions of spiritual knowledge. Such a study would be incomplete, inconsistent, and without truth. This shows us the way forward in considering the problem of the relationship between religion and civilization. It is an intricate and pervasive web of connections that unite social life with spiritual beliefs and values, beliefs and values that are recognized by society as the supreme norms of life and the definitive models of individual and social behaviour; because these relationships can only be concretely studied in their total historical reality. The world's great religions are rivers of sacred traditions flowing through the centuries and the changing historical landscape they rinse and fertilize. Still, ordinarily, we cannot go up to the source, lost in the unexplored regions of a distant past. It is rarely possible to find a civilization in which religious evolution can be traced from one end to the other in the whole light of history.

But the history of Christianity is an extraordinary exception to this rule. We know the historical framework in which it first arose; we have letters from the Churches' founders to the first Christian communities in Europe, and we can trace the new religion's entry into the West in great detail. After that, and especially during the last sixteen centuries, the quantity of documents available for study is so considerable that a single intelligence can't grasp them in their entirety. Consequently, the study of Western religion and civilization is complex and challenging for a reason contrary to that which makes the study of ancient or prehistoric Eastern religions difficult: we know too much rather than too little,

But while this specialization has succeeded in increasing our knowledge in almost all aspects of history, it has had a deleterious influence on the study that occupies us, as it has led to the separating and dividing elements that we must bring together. On the one hand, the scientific historian has concentrated his research on the criticism of sources and documents; while on the other, the student of Christianity has devoted himself to the history of dogmas and ecclesiastical institutions. The result is that we have many different and very advanced kinds of studies: constitutional history, political history, and economic history on the one hand; ecclesiastical history, history of dogmas, and history of the liturgy on the other. But the vital subject of reciprocity of influence between religion and civilization and the fecundating power of the latter.

Meanwhile, new social forces have emerged outside the academic world that uses history or a particular version of history for social ends to transform human life and actions. And the appearance of these new political ideologies of history has shown that the progress of scientific specialization has in no way diminished man's need for a historical faith, for an interpretation of contemporary civilization in terms of social evolution and goals. Spiritual, whether these ends are defined in religious or secular formulas. This conflict of ideologies: the Marxist doctrine of historical materialism and the attempt of the new totalitarian states to create historical myths as the psychological basis of social unity.

CHAPTER 1 CHRISTIAN AND CIVILIZATION

1. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY

A simple definition of Christianity would be that it is the set of groups that follow Jesus of Nazareth, who unites them all. The life of Jesus and the birth of Christianity revolve around the Greco-Roman world. The excellent communication routes of the Roman Empire facilitated its diffusion. The great Roman organization marked the bases of the later organization of the Church.

The primary source to know the life of Christ is the Gospels. There have been various hypotheses in which it is affirmed that the Jesus of the Gospels and the Christ of faith are not the same. We only know that he was a Jew, the Son of Joseph and Mary and was born in Nazareth in the year 6 or 7 BC, lived in Lower Galilee and spoke Aramaic. After receiving baptism, he preached throughout Galilee and Judea. His message is one of liberation and reconciliation with himself and with God. His life ends, as we know, with death on the cross and with the resurrection.

The first Christian community was formed only by Jews. The first Christians in Palestine were called Nazarenes because they were followers of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles narrate the birth of the Christian religion fifty years after the advent of Jesus. The people who had followed Jesus took the leadership of the new religion. The Acts of the Apostles feature two key figures: Peter and Paul. The latter was a tireless traveller who founded many communities throughout the Mediterranean. 

The Council of Jerusalem declares Christianity a universal religion addressed to all peoples and based on the person of Jesus. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem favoured the universality of Christianity. 

In the second century, each community had its episcopos, and the communities were called dioceses. In the first century, the corpus of Christian literature was established: letters, gospels and the Apocalypse. The Didache represents the first catechism of the Church and dates from the years 70-90. He speaks of baptism and the Eucharist to come to Christ. Unlike Judaism, Christians begin to meet on Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection. As they did not have a temple, Christians met in houses. The efforts of Christians are aimed at overcoming sins.

A relevant document from the first period is The Acts of the Martyrs, a testimony of faith in times of persecution. It shows that Christians were victims of the emperor in power in the Roman Empire. A question arises: if Rome was tolerant of all religions, how is it that Christianity was not? It seems that the Christians refused to accept the emperor's divinity.

The first doctrinal syntheses appear in the second century and are The Apologies and the Dialogue with Trypho, where he speaks of the universal character of salvation. Constantine chose the God of the Christians as the protector of his Empire, and Christianity went from being a sect on the margins of Roman civilization to an institution prepared to assimilate the whole society. This event occurs in the year 313.

During the reign of Theodosius I, Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion and was enriched by his generosity. State and Church are the two mainstays of the human and the divine.

In the year 325, the Council of Nicaea is celebrated where Mariano, a priest of the community of Alexandria, questions the consubstantiality of the divine word. He separates the father from the Son from him. Neither Jesus is a man nor is God like the father.

In the first Christian communities, a certain rigorism prevailed. The Christian Church was the only public religion of the Roman Empire in the middle of the 5th century, and the Bishop of Rome increased