The term dark ages is only used by people ignorant of actual history. No credible historian uses the term. These are just a few of the contributions made to the world that is the legacy of Christianity from the so-called dark ages otherwise known by actual scholars as the Medieval period, or the Middle Ages. ____________ Pre-Medieval foundations: Justin Martyr (100 - 165): Christian martyr killed for his faith, and is the first Christian apologist to suggest that Christianity and the philosophies of the ancient Greeks were compatible. This opened the door for the Christian respect for all human knowledge that has been the lasting legacy of the church for the past 2,000 years. Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430): Christian philosopher and theologian who contributed to Just War Theory. His work, “The City of God,” has influenced the evolution of philosophy and law in the western world and, it is a primary source of information on the historical record of his time. Augustine also confirmed the predominate world-view of Christian thinkers throughout our history when he said, “Often, a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other parts of the world, about the motions and orbits of the stars and even their sizes and distances, … and this knowledge he holds with certainty from reason and experience. It is thus offensive and disgraceful for an unbeliever to hear a Christian talk nonsense about such things, claiming that what he is saying is based in Scripture. We should do all we can to avoid such an embarrassing situation, which people see as ignorance in the Christian and laugh to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant person is laughed at, but rather that people outside the faith believe that we hold such opinions, and thus our teachings are rejected as ignorant and unlearned. If they find a Christian mistaken in a subject that they know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions as based on our teachings, how are they going to believe these teachings in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think these teachings are filled with fallacies about facts which they have learnt from experience and reason. Reckless and presumptuous expounders of Scripture bring about much harm when they are caught in their mischievous false opinions by those not bound by our sacred texts. And even more so when they then try to defend their rash and obviously untrue statements by quoting a shower of words from Scripture and even recite from memory passages which they think will support their case ‘without understanding either what they are saying or what they assert with such assurance.’ (1 Timothy 1:7)” - “The Literal Meaning of Genesis” _____________ The Medieval Era: By necessity, a sharply abbreviated list of Christian thinkers, philosopher, scientists, and inventors of the Middle Ages: John Philoponus (490 – 570) Christian thinker and scientific researcher who compiled the etymological encyclopedia “Etymologia,” which assembled many books from classical antiquity that would have otherwise been lost during the time of turmoil and chaos in the wake of the fall of the Roman empire. His collection contained information on medicine, mathematics, astronomy, atomic theory, geography, agriculture, zoology, mineralogy, physiology, and other topics. Alcuin of York (735 – 804): Christian poet and teacher who was a member of Charlemagne’s court. He was a principle architect of the Carolingian Renaissance. He is believed to be the first to use a question mark and was a major contributor to Carolingian Minuscule, which was used in the translation and transcription of many ancient documents. Carolingian miniscule introduced clear capital letters, lower case letters, spaces between words, and punctuation. His efforts led to a greater level of literacy in the early medieval era. Adelard of Bath (1080 – 1152): Christian natural philosopher who is known for his translation of many important Greek and Arabic scientific works of astrology, astronomy, philosophy, and mathematics. This, and his original works, helped lay the foundation for much progress that was made in later centuries. Robert Grosseteste (1175 – 1253) Christian scientist who contributed to the development of the scientific method, who introduced to the Latin West the notion of controlled experiment. Grosseteste’s work in optics was also relevant and would be continued by Roger Bacon. Roger Bacon (1214 – 1294): Christian philosopher and scientist who contributed in such areas as mechanics and geography, and who made major advances in the study of optics. He advocated for reform of the Julian calendar because of errors in the calculations of the original. He is also credited for being the first European to describe a recipe for gunpowder. Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274): Christian philosopher and theologian. Among many theological concepts that have formed much of the foundation of Christian thought, Aquinas also formed a more fully realized variation of Just War Theory, building on the ideas of Augustine and others who had gone before him. His contributions have helped shape civil law, international law governing war, and laid the foundation for several schools of economic thought. William of Ockham (1287 – 1347): Christian philosopher, theologian, and scientist who developed Occam’s Razor, the methodological principle that bears his name. Occam’s razor is a tool that has influenced the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, and science and contributed to the development of the scientific method. He also produced significant contributions to logic, physics, and theology. Thomas Bradwardine (1290 – 1349): Christian mathematician and physicist. Developed the foundation of “The Law of Falling Bodies” long before Galileo, who is generally credited with it. Albert of Saxony (1320 – 1390): Christian philosopher known for his contributions to logic and physics. He developed the Theory of Impetus, which was the precursor to the modern Theory of Inertia, one of the fundamental principles of classical physics. ____________ The absurdity of referring to the Middle Ages as the “dark ages” cannot be underscored enough. Medieval Christians, built on the foundation laid by the church fathers that lived during the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, and most of the advances that led to the modern technological era in the west began to emerge in the early middle ages (800’s) during the time of the Carolingian Dynasty. It was then that a new style of writing was developed called Carolingian miniscule which included (for the first time) punctuation and spaces between words. This made learning to read easier for the average person and set the stage for widespread literacy. You are reading Carolingian miniscule, right now. Charlemagne also built village schools for ordinary people and the idea of public education was born, and for that reason, you are able to read this. The early middle ages were also a time of advances in architecture that would have a ripple effect all over Europe into the 19th century. During the high middle ages (1000s) populations doubled due to agricultural inventions. Towns began to develop around feudal Manors and Christian monasteries, while economic developments, such as banks, began to emerge. There was an academic revival leading to the construction of universities, with a systematic curriculum that taught grammar, rhetoric, math, geography, astronomy, music, medicine, and theology. Between the year 1000 and 1300, the population of Europe had tripled. However, a global warming trend led to famine and widespread starvation. In the 1330’s the Bubonic plague began to spread in Asia and eventually reached Genoa, Italy. From there it spread all over Europe, killing roughly one-third of the population. Meanwhile, The Hundred Years War (1337 – 1453) between England and France, in which the invention of the hand-held firearm was put to devastating use, led to a seventy-five percent reduction in the population of the city of Toulouse. The impact on the European peasantry was a shortage of labor that led to a rise in wages, and an increase in the standard of living. This era also saw the invention of the clock, the printing press, and numerous improvements in shipbuilding, and navigational devises. So you see, even before the Renaissance, the advances in the west that would lead to the modern era were already accelerating. Even as Ottoman pressure on Constantinople produced a steady stream of Christian Byzantine refugees bound for Italy who brought with them the surviving master works of Greek literature, explorers were already making important discoveries due to the developments that took place during the middle ages. Look again at the dates of the Hundred Years War. I bet you know what else took place by the end of it and the first years of the Renaissance era. Columbus discovered the Bahamas leading to the discovery of the American continents, Magellan circumnavigated the globe, Cortes and Pizarro sailed to S. America, and Vasgo De Gama sailed around the southern tip of Africa. All of this, and indeed, every modern technology that you currently take for granted, was made possible by the foundations of scientific and philosophical thought that were laid by Christian thinkers during what many ignorant fools in this post-modern era refer to as the “dark ages.” This is the legacy of the church. As a Christian, it is my legacy. On behalf of every Christian thinker who lived during that time, many of whom gave their very lives in the preservation of knowledge, you’re welcome. Samantha ______________
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:09:29 +0000
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