How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilisation by Thomas Woods

It was the Catholic Church which decided which books made up the bible. The first complete list, canon, of the bible comes from The Council of Rome in 385.

I think poster # 130 “truth” he summerised everything i was about to say. Look to that post for truth.

Fact is the Dark Ages were only a mere shadow to the great and illuminated classical pre-christian ages.

So, basically, the writer is arguing that “the Dark Ages were not really dark” because it was a period of recovery. However, the entire idea of the term “Dark Ages” is to point out the greatly deteriorated state of civilization in western and southern Europe from the previous high level under the Roman Empire.

“10. Universities Are Born”

There were schools and education in the classical world. Education in Europe almost entirely disappeared for many centuries when the Western Empire fell. Also, the “first European university” was founded in 1088, which is after 1000, and nearly “high middle ages”.

“9. Scientific Foundations Laid”

That was much, much earlier. There was very little scientific advancement or technological development until the high middle ages, when the ancient scientific foundations were RECOVERED.

“8. Carolingian Renaissance”

Yes, “rebirth”. A RECOVERY from the DARK AGES was slowly beginning.

“7. Byzantine Golden Age”

There was extremely little technological or cultural development in the Eastern Roman Empire, which might in part be explained by Christianity. The religion brought stability, but also intellectual stagnation and a loss of societal dynamism. There may have been other factors, however: consider that even though the Eastern Empire remained intact while the West collapsed, the “Latins” were surpassing the “Roman Empire” in technology by the high middle ages.

“6. Religious Unity”

Yes, though one might argue that it merely had an “equalizing” effect: while the spread of christianity probably accelerated the spread of civilization in northern and eastern Europe, it also had a negative effect in the development of civilization. Almost all significant scholars of the period were theologians, unlike in the classical world, where they were philosophers, scientists, playwrights, historians, physicians, poets etc. The christians quite literally wrote prayers on top of the “pagan writings”, and possibly even burned down the Great Library of Alexandria.

“5. Algebra Arrived”

“Algebra” was known in the classical world. The level of technology and science the ancients had was only regained in the late middle ages, or even later in some fields. Think of the Antikythera mechanism, which resembles 18th century devices, made during the period of the late Roman Republic. So, were the ancients 1800 years “ahead of their time”, or was post-classical Europe 1800 years behind?

“4. Art and Architecture”

The art and architecture of the classical world were not only simply superior technologically and aesthetically to the art of the early middle ages, but the art was also amazingly realistic compared to it, completely contrary to what the writer somehow claims. During late antiquity, there was a total shift from realistic depiction (sculptures, reliefs, frescoes etc.) to very crude paintings; from amazingly advanced masonry and engineering (think of the aqueducts, the bridges, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Maison Carrée etc.) into small wood and brick buildings.

“3. Fantastic Weather”

Minor changes in global average temperature are completely irrelevant to the point the writer is trying to make.

“2. Law Becomes Fair”

Laws in the Dark Ages, where they existed and were enforced, were generally harsher and hardly “more fair” than those in Rome. There was a highly advanced legal system in Rome. You may have heard of the term “Roman Law”…

“1. Agricultural Boom”

No, agricultural RECOVERY. Agricultural production collapsed with the fall of the Western Empire, which also led to a great decrease in population.

The bottom line is that there was a severe decline, even “collapse”, in civilization in western and southern Europe, and then a slow recovery. It took approximately one thousand years to fully recover.

“10. Universities Are Born”

There were schools and education in the classical world. Education in Europe almost entirely disappeared for many centuries when the Western Empire fell. Also, the “first European university” was founded in 1088, which is after 1000, and nearly “high middle ages”.

“9. Scientific Foundations Laid”

That was much, much earlier. There was very little scientific advancement or technological development until the high middle ages, when the ancient scientific foundations were RECOVERED.

“8. Carolingian Renaissance”

Yes, “rebirth”. A RECOVERY from the DARK AGES was slowly beginning.

“7. Byzantine Golden Age”

There was extremely little technological or cultural development in the Eastern Roman Empire, which might in part be explained by Christianity. The religion brought stability, but also intellectual stagnation and a loss of societal dynamism. There may have been other factors, however: consider that even though the Eastern Empire remained intact while the West collapsed, the “Latins” were surpassing the “Roman Empire” in technology by the high middle ages.

“6. Religious Unity”

Yes, though one might argue that it merely had an “equalizing” effect: while the spread of christianity probably accelerated the spread of civilization in northern and eastern Europe, it also had a negative effect in the development of civilization. Almost all significant scholars of the period were theologians, unlike in the classical world, where they were philosophers, scientists, playwrights, historians, physicians, poets etc. The christians quite literally wrote prayers on top of the “pagan writings”, and possibly even burned down the Great Library of Alexandria.

“5. Algebra Arrived”

“Algebra” was known in the classical world. The level of technology and science the ancients had was only regained in the late middle ages, or even later in some fields. Think of the Antikythera mechanism, which resembles 18th century devices, made during the period of the late Roman Republic. So, were the ancients 1800 years “ahead of their time”, or was post-classical Europe 1800 years behind?

“4. Art and Architecture”

The art and architecture of the classical world were not only simply superior technologically and aesthetically to the art of the early middle ages, but the art was also amazingly realistic compared to it, completely contrary to what the writer somehow claims. During late antiquity, there was a total shift from realistic depiction (sculptures, reliefs, frescoes etc.) to very crude paintings; from amazingly advanced masonry and engineering (think of the aqueducts, the bridges, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Maison Carrée etc.) into small wood and brick buildings.

“3. Fantastic Weather”

Minor changes in global average temperature are completely irrelevant to the point the writer is trying to make.

“2. Law Becomes Fair”

Laws in the Dark Ages, where they existed and were enforced, were generally harsher and hardly “more fair” than those in Rome. There was a highly advanced legal system in Rome. You may have heard of the term “Roman Law”…

“1. Agricultural Boom”

No, agricultural RECOVERY. Agricultural production collapsed with the fall of the Western Empire, which also led to a great decrease in population.

The bottom line is that there was a severe decline, even “collapse”, in civilization in western and southern Europe, and then a slow recovery. It took approximately one thousand years to fully recover.