Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of Western Civilization despite a long standing ignorance or adamant denial of its contributions.
The Bible itself is responsible for much of the language, literature, and fine arts we enjoy today
as its artists and composers were heavily influenced by its writings. Paul Maier, in writing the
forward to the book How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt, says this about
the profound impact Christianity has had on the development of Western Civilization:
world for the better as Christianity has done. Its shortcomings, , are nevertheless heavily
Contrary to the history texts treatment of the subject, Christian influence on values,
beliefs, and practices in Western culture are abundant and well ingrained into the flourishing
society of today (Schmidt 12). In the Old Testament book of Hosea the writer states: “my people
are destroyed for lack of knowledge,” a statement that can well be applied to those today who are
“The liberty and justice that are enjoyed by humans in Western societies and in some
non-Western countries are increasingly seen as the products of a benevolent, secular government
that is the provider of all things. There seems to be no awareness that the liberties and rights that
are currently operative in free societies of the West are to a great degree the result of
Christianity’s influence (248). History is replete with examples of individuals who acted as a law
unto themselves “often curtailing, even obliterating the natural rights and freedoms of the
country’s citizens (249). Christianity’s influence, however, set into motion the belief that man is
accountable to God and that the law is the same regardless of status. More than one thousand
years before the birth of Christ the biblical requirement given by Moses comprised an essential
One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have
(Deuteronomy 19.15)
Thus the accuser, regardless of position in society, could not arbitrarily incarcerate or
execute the accused and was himself subject to the law. The New Testament also mandated two
(Schmidt 249). The criminal and justice systems of many free countries today employ this Judeo-
Christian requirement of having witnesses testify and in British and American jurisprudence,
witnesses are part of “due process of law,’ a legal concept first appearing under King Edward III
in the fourteenth century (Schmidt 249). One startling example of the concept that no man is
above the law is seen in the conflict between the Christian emperor Theodosius the Great and St.
Ambrose. It happened in 300 A.D. when some in Thessalonica rioted and aroused the anger of
the emperor who overreacted by slaughtering approximately seven thousand people, most of
whom were innocent. Bishop Ambrose asked the emperor to repent and when Theodosius
refused, the bishop excommunicated him. After a month Theodosius prostrated himself and
repented in Ambrose’s cathedral. Often mistaken as a struggle for power between church and
state, the evidence in which Ambrose’s letter to the emperor cited sole concern for the emperor’s
spiritual welfare conclude this as being the first instance of applying the principle that no one is
The Magna Carta served as a courageous precedent some five hundred years later to the
American patriots in the creation of the unique government of the United States. The charter,
signed in 1215 at Runnymede by King John granted a number of rights never held before this
historic occasion including that “(1) justice could no longer be sold or denied to freeman who
were under authority of barons; (2) no taxes could be levied without representation; (3) no one
would be imprisoned without a trial; and (4) property could not be taken from the owner without
just compensation (Schmidt 251). The Magna Carta had important Christian ties as demonstrated
by its preamble that began, “John, by the grace of God…,” and stated that the charter was
formulated out of “reverence for God and for the salvation of our soul and those of all our
ancestors and heirs, for the honour of God and the exaltation of Holy Church and the reform of
our realm, on the advice of our reverend [church] fathers” (Schmidt 251). This document also
followed the precedent established in 325 at the Council of Nicaea in which Christian bishops
wrote and adopted a formal code of fundamental beliefs to which all Christians were expected to
adhere. The Magna Carta displayed what its formulators as Christians expected of the king and
Natural law is a concept with a long history dating back to the Greco-Roman
philosophers. Despite some variations among philosophers one point of agreement was
understood as “that process in nature by which human beings, through the use of sound reason,
were able to perceive what was morally right and wrong” (Schmidt253). With the emergence of
Christianity common law was clarified to state that “natural law was not an entity by itself but
part of God’s created order in nature through which he made all rational human beings aware of
what is right and wrong” (Schmidt 253). The Apostle Paul expressed this in the New Testament
book of Romans:
“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they
are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the
law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting
natural laws were never so orderly and well written as by Moses” (Schmidt 253). In his Two
Treatises of Government, physician and political philosopher John Locke (1632-1703) claimed
that government existed only to uphold the natural law and that governmental tyranny violated
the natural rights of man (Schmidt 253). Natural rights were derived from nature and not from
kings or government. The renowned English scholar Sir William Blackstone had immense
influence on the American patriots in the eighteenth century who used his Commentaries of the
Laws of England (1765) while formulating the fledgling government as evidenced by the
Declaration of Independence. The words “the Law of Nature and of Nature’s God” document the
reliability on the Christian understanding of the natural law (Schmidt 254). The Declaration of
Independence goes on to state that “whenever any form of government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government,”
thus reiterating the concept of “inalienable rights” given by nature. The term “self-evident” has
Christian roots going back to theological writings of the eighth century. Schmidt quotes Gary
Amos, author of Defending the Declaration, as saying: “To the medievalists, ‘self-evident’
knowledge was truth known intuitively, as direct revelation from God, without the need for
proofs. The term presumed that man was created in the image of God, and presumed certain
beliefs about man’s rationality which can be traced as far back as Augustine in the early fifth
century” (pp. 254-55). Schmidt believes it is quite plausible that St. Paul’s biblical concept of
“self-evident” (Romans 1.20) knowingly or unknowingly influenced Jefferson when he wrote the
term into the Declaration (Schmidt 255). The last portion of the Declaration includes the phrase
“Supreme Judge,” a term used in Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government, where he refers to
Jephthah calling God “the Judge” in Israel’s fight against the Ammonites (Judges 11.27). If this
is taken from Locke’s work, Amos contends, “then we have a direct link between the Bible and
evidenced by the three branches of America’s government. Schmidt makes note that one
historian has said that Montesquieu’s book, The Spirit of the Laws (1748), “[gave] American
Constitution writers their holy writ” and called Montesquieu “the godfather of the American
Constitution” (256). Montesquieu’s political theory was incorporated into the Constitution
mostly as a result of the role taken by James Madison, known as the principal architect. His
arguments for a separation of powers stemmed from the Christian teaching of the fallen nature of
man. He is quoted as saying, ‘The truth [is] that all men, having power ought to be distrusted, to
a certain degree.” In his Federalist Paper number 51 he notes, “If men were angels, no
government would be necessary” (Schmidt 257). Many history texts have made note that the
three powers are derived from Montesquieu’s theory but have failed to note the influence of
Christianity on his beliefs: “It is not enough for a religion to establish a doctrine; it must also
direct its influence. This the Christian religion performs in the most admirable manner, especially
with respect to the doctrines of which we have been speaking. It makes us hope for a state which
is the object of our belief; not for a state which we have already experienced or known” (Schmidt
257).
The founding of America’s republic government can best be described as the pinnacle of
our American Christian heritage. Noah Webster defined government in his American Dictionary
of the English Language (1828) as: “Direction; regulation. ‘These precepts will serve for the
government of our conduct.’ Control; restraint. ‘Men are apt to neglect the government of their
temper and passions.’“ Thus Webster defines government in a way that reflects the biblical
concept of governmental authority, that is, beginning with the individual and extending outward
to include all institutions (DeMar, God and Government, pp. 4-5). The Founding Fathers
Believing God’s law to be the sole standard for determining right and wrong John Adams wrote,
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is inadequate to the
government of any other.” The words of Hugo Grotius (1858-1645) reveal the mindset of many
“He knows not how to rule a Kingdom, that cannot manage a Province; nor can he wield
a Province, that cannot order a City; nor he order a City, that knows not how to regulate a
Village; nor he a Family that knows not how to Govern himself; neither can any Govern
himself unless his reason be Lord, Will and Appetite her Vassals; nor can Reason rule
Though the Constitution does not implicitly assume a Christian nation or acknowledgement of
the providence of God in national affairs, an omission greatly regretted by the Christian public at
the time of adoption (Morris 296), fundamentals of Christianity were incorporated into the State
Constitutions of the Revolution which demonstrated the Christian life and character of our civil
Among other things, the influence of Christianity has spread into the concept of freedom
and rights of the individual. Without this freedom there is no real freedom on the economic,
political, or religious level (Schmidt 258). From its inception, Christianity has placed a high
value on the individual in stark contrast to the Greco-Roman culture in which the individual was
always subordinate to the state (Schmidt 259). Malcolm Muggeridge, once a non-Christian but
later a strong defender of Christianity, said, “We must not forget that our human rights are
derived from the Christian faith. In Christian terms every single human being, whoever he or she
may be, sick or well, clever or foolish, beautiful or ugly, every human being is loved by his
Creator, who as the Gospels tell us, counted the hairs of his head.” (Schmidt 260). Individual
freedom has led to many positive effects in the history of Western society. One essential aspect of
this began with individuals such as Tertullian, Lactantius, St. Augustine, and later Martin Luther
who promoted religious freedom. Luther, standing before Emperor Charles V and the Diet of
“Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of
popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the word
of God. I cannot and will not recent anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor
safe. God help me, Amen.” The First Amendment echoes the desire of prominent Christian
forbears in promoting religious liberty and freedom of the individual (Schmidt 263).
Christianity’s influence on education can be seen at its very inception with the teachings
of Jesus who used words, parables, and human-life illustrations and taught others who then
would become teachers themselves (Schmidt 170). Schmidt notes that the earliest Christians
were mostly Jews who came from a long-standing tradition that valued formal education. St.
Paul in his epistles makes references to Christians teaching in Ephesus, Corinth, Rome,
Thessalonica, as well as other places (171). Teaching continued after the death of the apostles
and in the very early church (A.D. 80-110) the Didache, basically an instruction manual for new
converts to Christianity, appeared. Ignatius, a bishop of Antioch in the first decade of the second
century, insisted that children be taught the Scriptures and a skilled trade, a concept carried over
from the Jews (Schmidt 171). Jesus Christ’s command to the disciples and all Christians was to
teach people “all things” that he commanded him. Newcomers, in preparation for baptism and
church membership, were taught orally by the question and answer method. Both men and
women over a period of two to three years were catechized and first were instructed in the
teacher’s home (Schmidt 171). These types of instruction lead to formal catechetical schools
with a strong emphasis on the literary. Justin Martyr, around A.D. 150, established schools in
Ephesus and in Rome. Other schools quickly spread throughout the regions. The school is
Alexandria, Egypt was well noted for its literary qualities (Schmidt 171). Christian doctrine was
the primary focus of these schools though the one in Alexandria also taught mathematics and
medicine and when Origen succeeded Clement he added grammar classes (Schmidt 172).
Although Christians were not the first to engage in formal teaching it appears they were the first
to teach both sexes in the same setting. Schmidt notes W.M. Ramsey as stating that Christianity’s
aim was “universal education, not education confined to the rich, as among Greeks and
Romans…and it [made] no distinction of sex” (172). St. Augustine once said that Christian
women were better informed in divine matters than the pagan male philosophers (Schmidt 172).
Details on the education of children are not known until the fourth to the tenth century when
cathedrals and episcopal schools were maintained by bishops. The schools taught not only
Christian doctrine but also the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and quadrivium (arithmetic,
music, geometry, and astronomy). The espiscopal schools primarily trained priests but also
enrolled others. Children of royalty and the higher social ranks attended the cathedral schools
and others were instructed in monasteries or nunneries, where girls predominated. Although
children were encouraged to enter church vocations most entered secular ones.
At the time of the Reformation, Martin Luther, to his dismay, found widespread
ignorance when he visited the churches in Saxony. He proceeded to write Small Catechism in
1529 noting that the common people had little to no knowledge of Christian teachings and that
many pastors were incompetent to teach. He criticized the bishops for this indiscretion (Schmidt
176). Luther urged a state school system “to include vernacular primary schools for sexes, Latin
secondary schools, and universities.” He also said that parents who failed to teach their children
Education in early America was built on the heels of the Reformation of the sixteenth
century which “stressed reclamation of all of life, with education as an essential transforming
force (DeMar, America’s Christian Heritage, 39). Modeling the Academy of Geneva (founded by
John Calvin in 1559), universities sprang up that would apply the Bible to all of life (DeMar 39).
On of the first colleges to be founded was Harvard in 1636 three years after John Eliot (1604-
1690) first proposed a college for Massachusetts Bay. Harvard’s curriculum emphasized the
study of biblical languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic), logic, divinity (theology), and
communication (public speaking and rhetoric). Latin also linked students to classical studies and
the writings of the church fathers (DeMar 43). The Puritans held to the belief that the collegiate
education proper for a minister should also be the same for educated laymen. There was no great
distinction between secular and theological learning (DeMar 44). The early motto of Harvard
was Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae (“Truth for Christ and the Church”). Harvard’s motto today has
been reduced simply to Veritas (DeMar 45). Other early universities built exclusively on
Christian principles were William and Mary (1693), Yale (1701), Princeton (1746), King’s
College (1754), Brown (1764), Rutgers (1766), and Dartmouth (1769) (p. 42). The education of
colonial children was provided by a curriculum of three books in addition to the Bible: the
Hornbook, the New England Primer, and the Bay Psalm book. The Hornbook, a single
parchment attached to a wooden paddle, contained the alphabet, the Lord’s Prayer, and religious
doctrines written or printed on it. The 1690 first edition of the Primer contained the names of the
Old and New Testament books, the Lord’s Prayer, “An Alphabet of Lessons for Youth,” the
Apostle’s Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Westminster Assembly Shorter Catechism, and
John Cotton’s “Spiritual Milk for American Babes” (DeMar 41). The Primer was the most
commonly used textbook for almost 200 years. Another popular textbook was The McGuffey
Reader (Schippe 9). Noah Webster, educator and compiler of the 1828 An American Dictionary
of the English Language wrote: “Education without the Bible is useless.” (DeMar, America’s
Christian Heritage, 40) Christian faith was integrated into every facet of education in early
America.
Christianity’s influence on language, literature, and the arts is often overlooked and even
taken for granted. Without the Bible much of what we enjoy today would be non-existent. The
English language incorporates many words and phrases taken from the Bible when first
translated. In 1380 John Wycliffe translated the Scriptures in its entirety and from it appears
many of the words we still use today including the words adoption, ambitious, cucumber, liberty,
and scapegoat among others (Schippe 12). William Tyndale translated the first English
translation from the original texts. A gifted linguist skilled in eight languages with impeccable
insights into Hebrew and Greek, Tyndale was eager to translate the Bible so even “the boy that
drives the plow” could know the Bible (Schippe 13). Some familiar words and phrases of his
include: “let there be light (Genesis 1.3),” “the powers that be (Romans 13.1),” “a law unto
themselves (Romans 2.14),” and “fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6.12)” (Schippe 13). The
influence of Tyndale on the English language was solidified in the publication of the 1611 King
James Bible which retained about 94 percent of Tyndale’s work (Schippe 12). A renowned
scholar on the literature of the Bible, Alistair McGrath notes, “Without the King James Bible,
there would have been no Paradise Lost, no Pilgrim’s Progress, no Handel’s Messiah, no Negro
spirituals, and no Gettysburg Address” (Schippe 12). Despite the hostility and persecution
towards the Christians in the early centuries under Nero and Domitian and later under the
Catholic Church prior to the Reformation the Scriptures were meticulously copied by the priests
and monks which in later years were translated into the languages of the common people even
under threat of punishment (Schippe 14). Tyndale first worked in secret and when later betrayed
and about to be burnt at the stake he called out, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” Within
a year King Henry allowed English Bibles to be distributed. Two million English Bibles were
distributed throughout a country of just over six million nearly seventy-five years after Tyndale’s
Writers, artists, and musicians over the centuries have been greatly influenced by the
Bible. From Dante to Milton to Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the words and themes found in the
Scriptures have made their way into much of the literature we study and enjoy today. Other great
writers in the history of Western Civilization include Chaucer, William Shakespeare, John
Donne, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, William Blake, T.S. Eliot, and William
Faulkner, to name a few (Schippe 44). Art depicting biblical scenes was made popular especially
during the Renaissance with artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt. Johann
Sebastian Bach, one of the most famous composers, was greatly influenced by the Scriptures.
His Magnificant was written for the Christmas service of 1723 at St. Thomas’s Church in Leipzig
(Schippe 237). The cantata, a genre of vocal music in the Baroque period and a key part of the
German Lutheran service, was primarily used in Bach’s music. A deeply religious man, Bach
signed his cantatas “S.D.G., which stands for Soli Deo Gloria—“to God alone the glory”
(Schippe 237). Many other forms of music known today have Christian roots such as the sonata,
the symphony, and the oratorio. Most forms of music began as psalms, hymns, and spiritual
songs and the outgrowth from there progressed as the monks and churches spread throughout the
ages. Ambrose (340-97) first had members of his congregation sing psalms antiphonally and
allowed all people to participate in the morning and evening church services by setting the words
of his hymns to “an easy metrical form, the iambic diameter (Schippe 316). Biblical stories were
dramatized and performed in song as early as the ninth century. A well-known church drama in
the tenth century was Visitatio sepulchri (The Visit to [Christ’s] Sepulcher). Schmidt notes there
is good reason to believe the opera evolved out of church dramas that appeared five hundred
years before the Renaissance (316-17). The works of Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, and
Mendelssohn among others have greatly been influenced by the words of the Bible; oftentimes
With the publishing of Andrew Dickson White’s A History of the Warfare of Science with
Theology in Christendom in 1896 the idea that Christianity was responsible for the arrival of
science has largely been pushed out of the minds of the people, especially in academic circles
(Schmidt 218-19). However, there is a pronounced difference between the pagan and Christian
religions, that being the Christian presupposition of one God who is a rational being. Schmidt
asks the question, ‘If God is a rational being, then may not human beings, who are made in his
image, also employ rational processes to study and investigate the world in which they live?”
(219). It was Robert Grosseteste (ca. 1168-1253), a Franciscan bishop and first chancellor of
Oxford University, who first proposed the inductive, experimental method and his student, Roger
Bacon (1214-94) who asserted that “all things must be verified by experience.” Nearly three
hundred years later Francis Bacon (1561-1626) gave momentum to the inductive method by
recording his experimental results. Bacon has been called “the practical creator of scientific
induction.” Besides his scientific interests he also devoted time to theology and wrote treatises
on the Psalms and prayer (Schmidt 219). The inductive empirical method guided by rational
procedures stood in stark contrast from the ancient Greek perspective of Aristotle which had a
stranglehold on the world for fifteen hundred years. Even after these empirically minded
individuals introduced their idea the scholastic world for the most part continued to hold to
Aristotelianism which was the real “struggle” between the Catholic Church and science (Schmidt
219-220). One other prominent presupposition of Christianity is that God, who created the world,
is separate and distinct from it unlike Aristotelian philosophy which saw the gods and universe
intertwined. Pantheism regarded the scientific method as sacrilegious and an affront to divine
nature and thus only in Christian thought where God and nature are separate would science be
Schmidt quotes Lynn White, historian of medieval science, as saying “From the thirteenth
century onward into the eighteenth every major scientist, in effect, explained his motivations in
religious terms” (222). William Occam (1280-1349) had a great influence on the development of
modern science. His concept known as “Occam’s Razor” was the scientific principle that states
that what can be done or explained with the fewest assumptions should be used. It is the principle
of parsimony. As was common with almost all medieval natural philosophers, Occam did not
confine himself to scientific matters and wrote two theological treatises, one dealing with the
Lord’s Supper and the other with the body of Christ, both of which had a tremendous impact on
Martin Luther’s thinking (Schmidt 222). Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), while a great artist and
painter was also a scientific genius who analyzed and theorized in the areas of botany, optics,
physics, hydraulics, and aeronautics. However, his greatest benefit to science was in the study of
physiology in which he produced meticulous drawings of the human body (Schmidt 223).
Andreas Vesalius (1514-64) followed in Da Vinci’s footsteps. In his famous work, De humani
corpis fabrica (Fabric of the Human Body), published in 1543, he corrects over two hundred
errors in Galen’s physiological writings. (Galen was a Greek physician of the second century)
The errors were largely found by dissecting cadavers (Schmidt 223). The branch of genetics
flourished under the work of Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884), an Augustinian monk, who
after studying Darwin’s theory of evolution rejected it (Schmidt 224). In the field of astronomy
great advances were made under devout Christian men Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo.
Pascal (1623-62), Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), Georg Simon Ohm (1787-1854), Andre
Ampere (1775-1836), Michael Faraday (1791-1867), and William Thompson Kelvin (1824-
1907). These men held to a strong Christian faith as evidenced by their writings. Before he died,
Kepler was asked by an attending Lutheran pastor where he placed his faith. Kepler replied,
“Solely and alone in the work of our redeemer Jesus Christ.” Kepler, who only tried “thinking
God’s thoughts after him,” died with the Christian faith planted firmly in his mind and heart. His
saw no contradiction between faith and science. Had it not been for those men who believed in a
rational God who created rational men who sought only to understand the world that God had
created and obeyed the command to have “dominion” (Genesis 1.28) over the earth, science
History books are filled with the rich details of men and women whose lives were
changed by Jesus Christ and impacted the world through ideas found in Scripture in a wide array
altogether. Although at certain times there loomed dark areas in church history by those who
deviated from the faith the overall positive contributions far outweigh the negative. There is no
mistaking the fact that Christianity has changed the world for the better.
CHAPTER 2.
Great Britain has thousands of years of history. The first known inhabitants were the ancient
Celts. Although they did not have a written language much is known about their culture. Celtic
society had several classes which included, aristocrats; common people; and an educated class of
lawyers, poets and priests. Most of the Celts lived in small rural settlements, raising crops and
livestock. Tradition says that in 449 A.D. the first band of people from the great North German
plain crossed the North Sea to Britain. These were the Jutes; the first of many Germanic
invaders. After the Jutes came the Anglo-Saxons. Even though the Celts were no match for the
invaders, they put up a fight. "The legendary King Arthur may have been the leader of the Celtic
people who were driven into Wales. The Anglo-Saxons had a written language; the first known
manuscript in their language is Beowulf. Beowulf is a good illustration of the mixing of long
held Pagan beliefs and traditions with the new Christian faith.
The Anglo-Saxons were a more war-like tribe than the Celts, but their society was still well
developed, "branching out from family to clan and tribe then to their kingdom." The Anglo-
Saxons had great loyalty towards their chosen leaders. "They also liked to hold meetings where
people could openly express what they thought and felt." Besides tremendous loyalty to their
leaders, the Anglo-Saxons also had an Heroic Idea. They admired, "men of outstanding courage
and strength." Beowulf fills this outline of the Heroic Idea quite well because he was extremely
strong and courageous. The Anglo-Saxons felt that, "Loyalty to the leaders and the tribe,… as
well as fierce personal valor were necessary for the survival of all." "The ruler was to be
generous to those who were loyal, therefore the followers in return would remain loyal." An
example of this is illustrated in Beowulf when Hrothgar has a mead hall built , called Herot Hall,
to reward his people. The Anglo-Saxons also had an acceptance of death. Their attitude towards
death was not to fear death but rather that it is going to happen to everyone. This acceptance was
because, "Everyone was aware of the shortness of life and the passing away of all things in the
world." The poet of Beowulf illustrates this lack of fear of death, when Beowulf says, "So shall a
man do when he aims to win lasting praise in battle—he does not worry about his life".(page26
the structure of Beowulf)Besides great loyalty and acceptance of death, the Anglo-Saxons also
"had vigorous minds." "Learning in England was so admired on the continent that it was natural
for European rulers to send to England for teachers." Parts of Anglo-Saxon civilization remains
in our lives today. For example, some of the week day names. "Tuesday comes from Tiw, god of
war; Wensday from Waden, the chief Teutonic god; Thursday from Thor, god of thunder; and
Friday comes from Frigga, goddess of the home. Besides days of the week, "many basic
American traditions in law, conduct, outlook, language, and literature" come from the Anglo-
Saxons.
Since there are some references to Christian beliefs in the Epic Poem Beowulf, the question has
arose, from where did this Christian influence come? The Christian influence came to Britain in
314 a.d. by a bishop of London who attended the church council at Arles in France. Saint
Augustine came in 597 A.D. established a monastery at Canterbury and became the first
Archbishop as well as the most famous. The archbishops of Canterbury were called "Primates"
of England, or the highest ecclesiastical authority. The conversion of the Anglo-Saxon tribes took
place about 600 a.d. and the ruler at the time was Ethelbert. The importance of this is that some
of these Christian beliefs show up in Beowulf. In 664 there was a synod at Whitby Abbey, a
famous monastery for men and women. The importance of this synod is that it united the English
church with Roman Christianity. This church then began to draw the island kingdoms together
There is evidence in the poem Beowulf, of Christian and Pagan beliefs. One example of these
Pagan beliefs is the stance taken about revenge. In Christian teaching, it is better to turn the other
cheek and forgive, rather than seek revenge. In Beowulf, there is a whole different approach to
revenge. If your friend was killed there would be no turning the other cheek, revenge would be
sought after. This can be illustrated by Beowulf’s best known saying, "Better a man should
avenge his friend than mourn much". Another example of Pagan beliefs is how Beowulf finds
such great delight in material rewards, treasures and the like. Again this goes against what I think
a Christian hero to be. When Beowulf fights his last battle against the dragon and is mortally
wounded, his "last thoughts were of the treasure he had won, that will keep his memory alive
among man and his ancestors". I on the other had would be reminiscing over my life reviewing,
how I lived my life and where I was headed to next after I died. Beowulf was not alarmed with
the fact he was dying but concerned with keeping his memory alive.
Mixed in the Epic Poem Beowulf, there are references to Christian beliefs. In the poem, when it
is being explained where Grendal came from, Grendal is referenced as a "hellish enemy". The
Poem also says, God condemned them as kin of Cain. This shows that the person who wrote this
poem had at least some Christian teaching since he referred Grendal to kin of Cain, who is a
person from the Bible. Beowulf illustrates Christian beliefs himself in the poem. He acts like a
savior much like Jesus did. An example of this is when Beowulf comes to save Hrothgar and his
people from the hellish creature Grendal. This illustrates the idea of a Christian hero, although
Beowulf was helping Hrothgar to add to his fame. Another way Beowulf acts like a savior is
when he does battle with the dragon. He is old by the time he goes to save his people from a
posed threat one last time. The outcome of the battle is that Beowulf is killed, but he does save
his people from the dragon. Beowulf died in the way Jesus is said to have died on the cross in
The Anglo-Saxons were a very war like tribe who drive back the Celts to obtain what they
wanted. They had a well developed culture as well though. They had a written language and had
a passion for fine objects like bracelets and brooches. They also had a great influence on English
Literature. Their first known manuscript was Beowulf which had evidence of long standing
Pagan beliefs and new forming Christian religion. Beowulf illustrates these different Pagan and
Christian beliefs throughout the story whether by his attitude towards revenge, by his love for
material possessions or even by the way he plays the savior throughout the book. Beowulf was
not alone in illustrating the Christian belief in the Poem. Grendal shows that the writer of the
poem had knowledge of Christianity. The Anglo-Saxon tribes were basically a brave and
Any attempt to estimate the development attained by Old English literature, as shown by the
work of the two schools of poetry which the names of Caedmon and Cynewulf connote, must, of
necessity, be somewhat superficial, in view of the fragmentary nature of much of the work
passed under review. Caedmon stands for a group of singers whose work we feel to be earlier in
tone and feeling, though not always in age, than that which we know to be Cynewulf’s or can
fairly attribute to him. Both schools of thought are Christian, not even monkish; both writers, if
not in equal measure, are sons of their age and palpably inheritors of a philosophy of life pagan
in many respects. It is safe to say that, in both groups, there is hardly a single poem of any length
and importance in which whole passages are not permeated with the spirit of the untouched
Beowulf, in which turns of speech, ideas, points of view, do not recall an earlier, a fiercer, a more
self-reliant and fatalistic age. God the All-Ruler is fate metamorphosed; the powers of evil are
identical with those once called giants and elves; the Paradise and Hell of the Christian are as
realistic as the Walhalla and the Niflheim of the heathen ancestor. 48 Yet the work of Cynewulf
and his school marks an advance upon the writings of the school of Caedmon. Even the latter is,
at times, subjective and personal in tone to a degree not found in pure folk-epic; but in Cynewulf
the personal note is emphasised and becomes lyrical. Caedmon’s hymn in praise of the Creator is
suitably exalted terms; Cynewulf’s confessions in the concluding portion of Elene or in The
Dream of the Rood, or his vision of the day of judgment in Crist, are lyrical outbursts,
spontaneous utterances of a soul which has become one with its subject and to which self-
revelation is a necessity. This advance shows itself frequently, also, in the descriptions of nature.
For Cynewulf, “earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God”; it is,
perhaps, only in portions of Exodus and in passages of Genesis B that the Divine immanence in
nature is obviously felt by the Caedmonian scop. 49 The greatest distinction between the one
school and the other, is due, however, to the degree in which Cynewulf and his group show their
power of assimilating foreign literary influences. England was ceasing to be insular as the
influence of a literary tongue began to hold sway over her writers. They are scholars deliberately
aiming at learning from others—they borrow freely, adapt, reproduce. Form has become of
importance; at times, of supreme importance; the attempt, architecturally imperfect as it may be,
to construct the trilogy we know as Crist is valuable as a proof of consciousness in art, and the
transformation that the riddles show in the passage from their Latin sources furnishes additional
evidence of the desire to adorn. 50 Yet, it is hard not to regret much that was lost in the
acquisition of the new. The reflection of the spirit of paganism, the development of epic and lyric
as we see them in the fragments that remain, begin to fade and change; at first Christianity is
seen to be but thin veneer over the old heathen virtues, and the gradual assimilation of the
Christian spirit was not accomplished without harm to the national poetry, or without resentment
on the part of the people. “They have taken away our ancient worship, and no one knows how
this new worship is to be performed,” said the hostile common folk to the monks, when the latter
were praying at Tynemouth for the safety of their brethren carried out to sea. “We are not going
to pray for them. May God spare none of them,” they jibed, when they saw that Cuthbert’s
prayers appeared to be ineffectual. It was many a year before the hostility to the new faith was
overcome and the foreign elements blended with the native Teutonic spirit. The process of
blending can be seen perfectly at work in such lines as The Charm for Barren Land, where pagan
feeling and nominal Christianity are inextricably mixed. There, earth spells are mingled with
addresses to the Mother of Heaven. But, in due season, the fusion was accomplished, and, in
part, this was due to the wisdom with which the apostles of Christianity retained and disguised in
Christian dress many of the festivals, observances and customs of pre-Christian days. That so
much of what remains of Old English literature is of a religious nature does not seem strange,
when it is remembered through whose hands it has come down to us. Only what appealed to the
new creed or could be modified by it would be retained or adapted, when the Teutonic spirit
CHAPTER 3
Christianity and renaissance
religion. With a traditional renaissance charm, this classic 15th century motif portrays Christ in
his risen form, inspiring hope of redemption for all mankind. His hands rest on a heart that throbs
compassion for the sufferings of humanity as his arms lift in offering of redemptive wisdom.
Constructed from cultured marble, this stunning wall hanging Renaissance Cross measures 15"
Dissent and concern over the condition of the church are evidence of the strength, not the
weakness, of religion. Christianity during the Renaissance presents a contradiction: Although the
institution of the Roman Catholic Church was in decay, there was extraordinary religious fervor
in every part of Europe. Preachers, such as the highly popular Girolamo Savonarola of Florence,
called on sinners to repent and enjoyed great success in Italy. A mystical religious movement that
drew, in part, from the teachings of German mystic Meister Eckhart flourished in the portion of
western Germany known as the Rhineland. Its members sought direct revelations from God
without the church as an intermediary. In the Low Countries of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the
Netherlands a movement known as the devotio moderna emphasized individual and practical
faith, a contrast with the more communal and metaphysical faith of the Catholic Church.
These teachings spread through schools and gained public attention through The Imitation of
Christ (approximately 1424), a highly influential work usually attributed to Thomas à Kempis, a
German monk and writer. Eager laymen built churches and chapels, and new devotional
exercises—such as the stations of the cross and prayers using the rosary—became popular. With
the introduction of the printing press in Europe during the 15th century, religious books were
The increase in popular devotion posed a threat to traditional religion, especially when the
prestige of church officials was low and they seemed incapable of, or uninterested in, close
supervision of the faithful. Popular heretical movements emerged and challenged papal authority.
These movements proposed, in varying degrees, to do away with the church as an institution. In
the 14th century, British philosopher and reformer John Wycliffe and his counterpart in Bohemia,
Jan Hus, formalized these attacks on church authority in their teachings and writings.
Heretics remained a small minority, however, and a variety of reformers who hoped to change
the existing church were far more characteristic of the Renaissance. Theologians such as Jean de
Gerson, who was particularly influential at the University of Paris in the early 15th century,
supported conciliar theory, which aimed at reforming the Roman Catholic Church by placing
supreme authority in a general council rather than in the papacy. Mystics preferred to deepen the
religious life of individuals, while many humanists hoped to reform Christian society by relying
The Renaissance also encouraged practical reformers. As papal legate (official representative of
the pope) to Germany in the mid-15th century, Nicholas of Cusa pursued a vigorous reform
campaign directed particularly at monks who had violated their monastic vows. The monasteries
in Paris also underwent significant reform in the early decades of the 16th century. Most
successful of all was the work of Cardinal Ximenes, the leading church figure of Spain in the
early 16th century. He set standards for qualifications, training, and discipline for the Spanish
clergy. Such reforms were by no means universal, and the visible condition of the church
continued to bring widespread demands for reform. The religious history of the Renaissance
reveals both weakness and vigor. People of this era expressed discontent with the actual state of
Renaissance Humanism:
Humanism is the term generally applied to the predominant social philosophy and intellectual
and literary currents of the period from 1400 to 1650. The return to favor of the pagan classics
stimulated the philosophy of secularism, the appreciation of worldly pleasures, and above all
intensified the assertion of personal independence and individual expression. Zeal for the classics
was a result as well as a cause of the growing secular view of life. Expansion of trade, growth of
prosperity and luxury, and widening social contacts generated interest in worldly pleasures, in
spite of formal allegiance to ascetic Christian doctrine. Men thus affected -- the humanists --
welcomed classical writers who revealed similar social values and secular attitudes.
Historians are pretty much agreed on the general outlines of those mental attitudes and scholarly
interests which are assembled under the rubric of humanism. The most fundamental point of
agreement is that the humanist mentality stood at a point midway between medieval
supernaturalism and the modern scientific and critical attitude. Medievalists see humanism as the
terminal product of the Middle Ages. Modern historians are perhaps more apt to view humanism
Perhaps the most we can assume is that the man of the Renaissance lived, as it were, between
two worlds. The world of the medieval Christian matrix, in which the significance of every
phenomenon was ultimately determined through uniform points of view, no longer existed for
him. On the other hand, he had not yet found in a system of scientific concepts and social
principles stability and security for his life. In other words, Renaissance man may indeed have
As the grip of medieval supernaturalism began to diminish, secular and human interests became
more prominent. The facts of individual experience in the here and now became more interesting
than the shadowy afterlife. Reliance upon faith and God weakened. Fortuna (chance) gradually
replaced Providence as the universal frame of reference. The present world became an end in
itself instead of simply preparation of a world to come. Indeed, as the age of Renaissance
humanism wore on, the distinction between this world (the City of Man) and the next (the City of
Beauty was believed to afford at least some glimpse of a transcendental existence. This goes far
to explain the humanist cult of beauty and makes plain that humanism was, above everything
else, fundamentally an aesthetic movement. Human experience, man himself, tended to become
the practical measure of all things. The ideal life was no longer a monastic escape from society,
scientific. In the later Middle Ages urban intellectuals were well on the road to the recovery of an
aesthetic and secular view of life even before the full tide of the classical revival was felt. It was
only natural, then, that pagan literature, with its emotional and intellectual affinity to the new
world view, should accelerate the existing drift toward secularism and stimulate the cult of
Almost everywhere, humanism began as a rather pious, timid, and conservative drift away from
medieval Christianity and ended in bold independence of medieval tradition. Desiderius Erasmus
(1466-1536), one of the greatest humanists, occupied a position midway between extreme piety
humanism. Robust secularism and intellectual independence reached its height in Niccolo
1485) may be regarded as the German Petrarch. In England, John Colet (c.1467-1519) and Sir
Thomas More (1478-1535) were early or conservative humanists, Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
represented later or agnostic and skeptical humanism. In France, pious classicists like Lefèvre
d'Étaples (1453-1536) were succeeded by frank, urbane, and devout skeptics like Michel
Montaigne (1533-1592) and bold anti-clerical satirists like François Rabelais (c.1495-1533).
literature which evinced a more accurate and acceptable body of facts and ideas than most
medieval scientific works. However, we should not exaggerate the humanist contribution in this
field. Everything of value, for instance, in Galen (c.130-201) had long been incorporated into
medieval medicine. The scientific treatises of Aristotle, Euclid, and Ptolemy were translated into
Latin and known to scholars before the Renaissance. Moreover, Islamic scholars had already
introduced most Attic and Hellenistic science into western Europe, often with vast improvements
on the original.
Humanism embodied the mystical and aesthetic temper of a pre-scientific age. It did not free the
mind from subservience to ancient authority. If the humanists revered Aristotle less than the
Schoolmen did, they worshipped Neoplatonism, the Cabala, and Cicero more. They shifted
authorities rather then dismissed them. Even Aristotle, the greatest of Scholastic authorities, did
not lack humanist admirers. The great libraries assembled by wealthy patrons of literature like
Cosimo de' Medici, Pope Nicholas V, and the Duke of Urbino, devoted much space to the Church
Fathers and the Scholastic philosophers. The humanists did, however, read their authorities for
The intellectuals of antiquity, in contrast to the Christians, were relatively unconcerned about the
supernatural world and the eternal destiny of the soul. They were primarily interested in a happy,
adequate, and efficient life here on earth. Hellenic philosophy was designed to teach man how to
live successfully rather than how to die with the assurance of ultimate salvation. This pagan
attitude had been lost for about one thousand years, when Europe followed the warning of
Augustine against becoming too engrossed in earthly affairs, lest assurance of successful entry
into the New Jerusalem be jeopardized. Humanism directly and indirectly revived the pagan
scale of virtues.
When men like Petrarch and his fellow humanists read pagan literature, they were infected with
the secular outlook of the Greeks and Romans. Even rather pious humanists became enamored of
what Augustine branded the City of Man. Petrarch, a devout Christian, worshipped the pagan
eclecticism of Cicero. Erasmus suggested that such titles as St. Socrates and St. Cicero were not
inappropriate or sacrilegious, and openly preferred the pagans to the Schoolmen. "Whatever is
pious and conduces to good manners ought not to be called profane," he wrote.
The first place must indeed be given to the authority of the Scriptures; but, nevertheless, I
sometimes find some things said or written by the ancients, nay, even by the heathens, nay, by the
poets themselves, so chastely, so holily, and so divinely, that I cannot persuade myself but that,
when they wrote them, they were divinely inspired, and perhaps the spirit of Christ diffuses itself
farther than we imagine; and that there are more saints than we have in our catalogue. To
confess freely among friends, I can't read Cicero on Old Age, on Friendship, his Offices, or his
Tusculan Questions, without kissing the book, without veneration towards the divine soul. And,
on the contrary, when I read some of our modern authors, treating of Politics, Economics, and
Ethics, good God! how cold they are in comparison with these! Nay, how do they seem to be
insensible of what they write themselves! So that I had rather lose Scotus and twenty more such
as he (fancy twenty subtle doctors!) than one Cicero or Plutarch. Not that I am wholly against
them either; but, because, by the reading of the one, I find myself become better, whereas I rise
from the other, I know not how coldly affected to virtue, but most violently inclined to cavil and
contention.
The leading intellectual trait of the era as the recovery, to a certain degree, of the secular and
humane philosophy of Greece and Rome. Another humanist trend which cannot be ignored was
the rebirth of individualism, which, developed by Greece and Rome to a remarkable degree, had
been suppressed by the rise of a caste system in the later Roman Empire, by the Church and by
feudalism in the Middle Ages. The Church asserted that rampant individualism was identical
with arrogance, rebellion, and sin. Medieval Christianity restricted individual expression,
fostered self-abnegation and self-annihilation, and demanded implicit faith and unquestioning
In other ways medieval civilization suppressed the ego. In the feudal regime the isolated
individual had little standing. He acquired status and protection mainly as a member of a definite
group, whether lordly or servile. The manorial system revolved around the community rather
than the individual. When the cities through off the yoke of feudalism, they promised collective
and corporate liberty rather than individual freedom. In commercial relations group life was
paramount, both in the town guilds and the peasant villages on manorial estates. Everything was
regulated by law and custom. The individual who attempted to challenge authority and tradition,
The period from the 14th century to the 17th worked in favor of the general emancipation of the
individual. The city-states of northern Italy had come into contact with the diverse customs of the
East, and gradually permitted expression in matters of taste and dress. The writings of Dante, and
particularly the doctrines of Petrarch and humanists like Machiavelli, emphasized the virtues of
intellectual freedom and individual expression. In the essays of Montaigne the individualistic
view of life received perhaps the most persuasive and eloquent statement in the history of
literature and philosophy.Individualism and the instinct of curiosity were vigorously cultivated.
Honest doubt began to replace unreasoning faith. The skeptical viewpoint proposed by Abelard
reached high development and wide acceptance among the humanists. Finally, the spirit of
individualism to a certain degree incited the Protestant revolt, which, in theory at least, embodied
a thorough application of the principle of individualism in religion.It need not be supposed that
the emancipation of the ego was wholly beneficial to the human race. Yet, that aspect of
humanism which combated the sovereignty of tyrant, feudal lord, class, corporation, and
tradition, has, for better or worse, had a tremendous influence upon the subsequent history of
Europe. Indeed, it was during the humanist era that the freedom of individual expression and
opposition to authority was first brought to the surface and became an integral part of the western
intellectual tradition.
CHAPTER 4
CHRISTIANITY AND ROMANTICISM.
GOETHE'S Faust is such an odd, spectacular mix of theology and Romanticism. Few would
consider it a Christian work, yet its mysticism wells in part from Christian sources. Looking at its
welter of philosophy, science, and myth, one wonders if there could be a Christian Romantic, and
what it would be: how could one explore the self and celebrate it, while at the same time
suspecting it, finding its nature tending toward evil? Romanticism is often considered the
opposite of Christianity in the same way it is thought of as the opposite of Classicism: order
versus disorder, discipline versus freedom, exaltation of the self versus obedience to the law of
God. These issues are explored in detail in Harold P. Simonson's Radical Discontinuities:
American Romanticism and Christian Consciousness, which traces the two ideals, Jonathan
Edwards' Christ versus Ralph Waldo Emerson's romantic mysticism, throughout American
literature. Simonson concludes that the two are opposites, "radical discontinuities" (Simonson 9).
But in fact there is an overlap between the two areas. Some writers who are well-known as
Romantics also firmly believe in salvation through Christ, such as the German romantic Novalis
and the nineteenth-century Scottish fantasy writer George MacDonald whom he influenced, and
whose novel Lilith is the subject of this essay. Neither Emersonian nor Edwardsian in thought
one neither with Goethe nor with Schiller, MacDonald steers a course midway between these
Granted that there is a "radical discontinuity" of content between pure Christianity and pure
Romanticism, and that one cannot place both the imagination and Christ on the highest rung of
the ladder of values, still, the writer is free to appropriate forms and ideas to his or her own use.
Romantic Christianity takes the conventions of Romantic literature and applies them to Christian
thought. It is true that the Romantic tools and themes-sentient nature, rebelliousness, Gothicism,
etc.-tend to retain their Romantic essence and sometimes produce a Christianity that fits too
loosely for conservative thinkers because it seems to honor the imagination too generously. The
Christian elements in Faust may be seen as overwhelmed by the Romantic. There are right and
wrong, but it is man's nature to choose the wrong. As God tells the Devil in Faust, "Es irrt der
Mensch, solang er strebt" (Goethe 86). One makes mistakes as long as he strives, and indeed the
only unpardonable sin in Faust is to stop striving. However, George MacDonald in Lilith uses all
the Romantic trappings to communicate ideas that are consistent with a liberal but traditional
Christianity and antithetical to many of the most common Romantic assumptions. The apparent
conflict between contents and package adds an additional element of interest to this intriguing
tale.
A brief general definition of Romanticism shows all the stereotypical characteristics that are easy
to find in MacDonald's famous story. Romantic literature stresses emotion over intellect,
involves a turning in upon the self, and tends to focus on the genius, the hero, the exceptional
individual in conflict. The literature emphasizes imagination as the entry to transcendence and to
the spiritual world. Its setting is exotic, supernatural, and/or remote. It is often death-obsessed;
when the work is occasioned by loss, the Romantic writer attempts to transcend the loss by
reclaiming the beloved through the power of the imagination. For the Romantic the word may be
a magic talisman, apotropaic, used by the hero to gain control over others or over nature. In
general, when we think of the Romantic, we tend to envision the self-portrait of the artist as hero,
as someone who, again like Goethe's Faust, defies all laws to find forbidden knowledge and
power and to enrich his understanding of his world. God sometimes becomes another element for
the seeker to explore, contact with the divine having been reduced to just another "peak
experience."
Many Romantics were particularly attracted to the form of the medieval Romance. This story of
a knight who goes forth, bearing his lady's token, to defend his country, overcoming supernatural
opponents and fulfilling his quest in the shifting, unpredictable landscape he must traverse
between real and unreal makes an ideal vehicle for the cosmic search for self. For the Romantic
writer, the hero of this genre undertakes a quest that has no bounds, but allows the inspired
and/or tormented soul to search throughout the world and beyond for his true being. The Scottish
writer's fantasy Lilith is subtitled "a Romance." It uses elements of both Romantic literature and
the form of the Romance to express MacDonald's own lifelong search for a remedy for death,
ROMANTIC Christianity, in Lilith and elsewhere, tends toward the positive; it desires to console
and be consoled rather than threaten. Its "fortunate fall" theology often extends to the conclusion
that sin is a learning experience. Its protagonists are saved, as Goethe's Faustus is saved, not
because they have lived the good and lawful life-indeed Faustus has done the opposite-but rather
because his errors are those of a generous soul: one makes mistakes as long as he keeps striving.
Vane, like Dr. Faustus, continues to strive, until, unlike Faustus, he receives two forms of
MacDonald was accused of being a universalist, and fired from his ministry- or, to be precise, his
salary was so greatly diminished that he and his family could no longer live on it, and he was
Modernism is the movement in visual arts, music, literature and drama, which rejected old
Victorian standards of how those things should be done. There was a time of "high modernism"
from around 1910 - 1930, where some major people of literature helped to redefine poetry and
fiction. 'Woolf, Joyce, Eliot, Pound, Stevens, Proust, Mallarme, Kafka, and Rilke are considered
the founders of twentieth-century modernism.' The Modernist Movement actually started to show
itself around the mid-nineteenth century in France. Modernism's idea was that of re-examining
all aspects of life to see what was "holding back" progress and then replacing it with ways to get
the same end result. The Modern Movement said that 'the new realities of the twentieth century
were permanent and imminent and that people should… accept that… new was also good and
The beginning of the Modernist Movement in the 1890's to 1910 began a line of new thinking of
that which said we should 'push aside previous norms entirely, and instead of merely revising
past knowledge in light of new techniques, it would be necessary to make more thorough
changes'. The "avant-garde" was what Modernism was first called and remained as a name for
movements which attempt to overthrow some kind of tradition or the status quo. But the Modern
Movement was not just defined by its avant-garde, but also by a trend with previous artistic
norms. It also argued that to keep that standards of previous accomplishments, it was required to
advance technique and theory. The time between 1910 and 1930 is what is considered the
'explosion of Modernism', when a growing unease with social order began to take place (seen in
the Russian Revolution of 1905). In 1913 a Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky, composed Rite of
1
Spring which depicted human sacrifice and painters like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse,
There is also a form of Modernism that got into the Catholic Church in the mid-nineteenth
century too. 'Modernism' was used by Pope Pius X to describe doctrinal ideas by a group of
theologians, that said the 'Christian church and its dogma are human institutions that have
In Pius X's encyclical Lamentabili Sane (July 3rd, 1907), he said "the fact that many Catholic
writers also go beyond the limits determined by the Fathers and the Church herself is extremely
regrettable". He also described this form of Modernism not as herasy, but as a mixture of all
herasies (Pascendi Dominici gregis, 39).
The church seemed to be reacting to cultural themes of the Renaissance humanism and
Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. This Modernist crisis in the Roman Catholic Church
mainly took place in France and British Catholic circles, and a little bit in Italy, but no where
else.
By the 1920's, Post-modern culture had started to arise - ironically, by the time Modernism was
starting to be accepted, it was changing. A cultural movement that started in Zürich, Switzerland
during World War 1, known as Dada or Dadaism featured aspects of Postmodernism. The Dada
movement was mainly focussed on the visual arts, literature (mainly poetry), theatre and graphic
design. Dadaism is similar in thought to a philosophical position known as Nihilism, which holds
the view that the world, and mainly human life and existence, is pointless and without any
meaning or value.
Modernism, according to Dr. Mary Klages, says that: 'From a literary perspective, the main
characteristics of modernism include:
5. A tendency toward reflexivity, or self-consciousness, about the production of the work of art,
so that each piece calls attention to its own status as a production, as something constructed and
consumed in particular ways.
6. A rejection of elaborate formal aesthetics in favor of minimalist designs (as in the poetry of
William Carlos Williams) and a rejection, in large part, of formal aesthetic theories, in favor of
spontaneity and discovery in creation.
7. A rejection of the distinction between "high" and "low" or popular culture, both in choice of
materials used to produce art and in methods of displaying, distributing, and consuming art.'
And that Postmodernism follows a lot of these same ideas of Modernism by rejecting genre
boundaries betweens "art" and other forms of art. Post-modern art and thought tends to lean
towards fragmentation and discontinuity - mainly in narrative structures and knowledge. This
meaning, that, Modernism presents a broken view of human thinking or consciousness -
subjectivity, and makes it as something to be mourned over. Whereas Postmodernism says the
opposite: that it should not be mourned, but instead celebrated.
So let me recap: Modernism is the aesthetic movement in all the different art forms, such as;
music, visual arts and literature, that rejected the old Victorian ideas of how art and many other
areas of life should be done. Postmodernism then came from that with similar ideas, but
significant differences influenced by such other movements as Dadaism and Nihilism which
celebrated the idea that life is pointless, and that knowledge and a narrative for life is not
universal but is based only on individual viewpoint; there is no absolute knowledge or truth.
Therefore, it would seem people living with the Post-modern point of view would like things that
are radical and against that which is considered 'traditional' or 'the standard'. So if we as
Christians can get Jesus across to Post-modern people in a radical way - i.e. moving away from
the traditional images that the Catholic Church and Church of England have portrayed to people
for centuries, then they may well accept the Gospel message. Engaging in a conversation about
Christianity usually brings up the following questions or statements: 'church is boring, though'
and 'what about the Crusades?' The best way I have found to handle these is by explaining that
not all churches are like that of the Anglican or Catholic Church, and that there some other
churches, like Pentecostal churches, that are a lot more lively and free in their worship. Also,
with the Crusades in mind, and possibly other such events (like the Spanish Inquisition) it is
good to explain that not everything called "Christian" actually is; sometimes things can be more
political with a religious mask. This would make an excellent link to bring God into the picture
and to talk about how He is an all loving God - not one to cause pointless genocides, but that He
loves each and every one of us, no matter what. Introduce Jesus; He was a radical of the day,
stirring up people, changing the way people thought - changing or bringing about new ways to
do things that the people of the day had been doing for years with their own traditions and ways
and means. And for that, He was killed by His own people, but God had an over-arching plan:
the Jews thought that they were ending Jesus' teachings, but God's plan encompassed everything
and that through His death, people could come to know God again personally. At this point
questions may arise as to 'why' and a brief explanation of the fall of man away from God in
The Post-modern culture may find it hard to grasp the idea of an absolute truth and narrative to
the whole of life, instead of it just being all about them. But with a good explanation and
introduction to who God really is and what He is like, then they may just accept Him.
So to conclude: relate to Post-modern people on the level that to follow Jesus goes against
everything society and the world says to do and how to live, but that being a Christian is
something new and different - breaking the boundaries of what people accept and expect. But at
the same time, show that there is absolute truth in the world and that life does have meaning and
purpose - and that can be found in God.
THE INFLUENCE
OF
CHRISTIANITY
ON
ENGLISHLITERATURE