The Influence of Christianity on Western Civilization

The influence of Christianity on Western Civilization Western Civilization refers to the civilization that has developed in the western world, while traditional western civilization is said to have been created by three main historical factors: Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and Christianity. For the important role Ancient Greece and Roman Empire in human civilization, the influence of them on the western civilization is easily to be understood. However, in which aspects, or how Christianity, the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, influenced Western Civilization? In this article, I will discuss some influence of Christianity on the Western Civilization. Christianity is the religion of the followers of Jesus Christ. The beliefs and practices of the first Christian churches, established in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean Sea 2000 years ago, are recorded in the New Testament of the Bible.Today, Christians make up over one third of the world’s population. Christianity is the major religion in Europe, the Americas and Australia. It also has followers in Africa and Asia. Christianity is the core of W estern Civilization. Till now, people still use Christian Civilization to symbolize western civilization. Christianity have great influence on many fields,such as language, literature, art, music, education, law, ideology, morality, family unit, social structure, and etc. 1.The influence on language Christianity’s influence on language 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. William Tyndale translated the first English translation from the original texts. 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”. 2.The influence on literature Over the ages, writers have loved to mine the Bible’s narrative riches, taking a Bible story and retelling it in a new form: a long novel, a stage play, a musical, an opera, or a screenplay. Sometimes, a writer uses a Bible story as a starting point and then expands it with new characters and events not in the original. The most abundant kind of inspiration that the Bible has provided for Western literature is, of course, the many themes to be found in its stories and teachings. Often the use of a Biblical phrase in the title of a novel or play will indicate the presence of such a theme. Other times, there is no explicit reference in the particular literary work, yet those familiar with the Bible will recognize the source of the themes. Even works that seem to be in direct opposition to certain Biblical concepts have none the less been influenced by the Biblical material. Biblical symbols and Christian philosophies appear very frequently in literature works. Traditional English drama has its fountainhead in the enactment of biblical narrative, and usually the central theme also has a strong biblical connotation. Modern, even contemporary English literature still has frequent symbolic reference to the bible, for example, although the author never admitted it, Hemmingway’s The Old Man and the Sea has a huge number of “coincidental” timeframe clashes with the Bible, which literature critics argue that “undeniably reflects the author’s philosophy that everyone in himself is a Christ”. In addition, the Old Testament also ranks top one in the most influential books of All-Time, according the many sources. 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 .It is generally accepted that the Bible have great influence on western literature. 3.The influence on art While speaking of art, Christianity made its unique influence. The Christian Art was creative with its own impressive characteristics. The highest achievement in art is believed to be in construction. With the church becoming the center of people’s life, building churches gained more and more attention and support. Nymphaeum and Gothic architecture are two distinguished innovations in architecture. The art of painting in Middle Ages was also born under the influence of Christianity. The themes of paintings at that time are all concerned with Christianity. Though, finally paintings more related to the reality appeared, we can’t deny the impact of Christianity on paintings. 4.The influence on music Music is viewed by the church as another way of carrying God’s message to man, and thus numerous composers have written large number of hymns that definitely have biblical references, and some operas that have biblical themes. These operas are still performed in a regular basis in the contemporary west, although it probably is largely due to their aesthetic values rather than religious importance. 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. 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. 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. Biblical stories were dramatized and performed in song as early as ninth century. A well-known church drama in the tenth century was Visitatio sepulchri. There is good reason to believe the opera evolved out of church drama that appeared five hundred years before the Renaissance. The works of Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, and Mendelssohn among others have greatly been influenced by the words of the Bible. 5.The influence on education Contrary to popular opinion, Christians are not anti-education. The world's best universities which like Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale and Princeton and other universities are founded by the Christians for the purpose of Christianity. In fact, the first 126 colleges and universities in the U.S.A. were built for the glory of Jesus and the advancement of the gospel. Education was almost under complete church control for a long period of time, dating back to pre-middle ages. The mandate study of the bible shapes, if not completely indoctrinates the student’s mind. Though this is no longer the case nowadays, there are parents who actively want to teach their children the bible, because for them, it’s the words from God.These words are tightly attached to the Truth, and thus helps to form some authority in their children’s life. 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. 6.The influence on law Most of the original laws that America judicial system upheld were taken directly from the Bible. America present-day judicial system has now drifted away from its original intent of protecting the innocent and unjustly accused, while convicting the wicked so they will not harm others. Today, it is being exploited by many lawyers, as well as people who want to use the legal system for personal gain beyond what would be a fair settlement.They are seeking outlandish judgments that in the end all the people will pay for. Through unfair settlements in these kinds of suits, the lawyers are the ones most rewarded.Protection of the innocent, in many cases, has been overruled while criminals are not justly dealt with. Quick punishment for the guilty has been abandoned, as court appeals and delays stretch into costly and lengthy trials that last for years at the public's expense. We need to return to Biblical principles and once again shape our laws accordingly, if we desire to see justice in our land. Since the bible suggests that suicide is guilty, historically many western legal systems regard it as a criminal offense. In fact, the English Law regards such an act as illegal until the passing of the Suicide Act on 1961, while in the united states, various states listed the act as a felony although not very active in enforcing it, and until 1976, 6 states still consider an attempted suicide as a crime. The judicial procedure in the western world also involves a well known feature that the witness must swear an oath by the bible before giving his testimony, which can be viewed as another way of reflecting the importance of the Bible in the west. 7.The influence on ideology Among other things, the influence of Christianity has spread into the concept of freedom and the individual. Without this freedom there is no real freedom on the economic, political, or religious level. 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. 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”. 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 Worms in 1521 declared: The liberty and justice that are enjoyed by human 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. More than one thousand years before the birth of Christ the biblical requirement given by Moses comprised an essential component of the principle that “no man is above the law.” 8.The influence on morality Christianity had contributions to morality. First, let’s answer these two questions: whether the high standards of morality taught in Scripture have served society well? Has Christianity served to make individuals and societies better and to provide a better way of life? Obviously, the answers are positive. In modern times, it was Christians who led the fight in England against slavery. The Roman Games, in which “beasts fought men, men fought men,” reveal the lust for blood. Unwanted babies were left to die on trash heaps. Some of these were taken to be slaves or prostitutes. It was distinctly Christian beliefs that brought these practices to an end. 9.The influence on family unit The Bible is very supportive of the family unit as God created the first family.The family unit in America was the strongest when the national life of the nation upheld laws and principles that protected it. The Lord desires for the family unit to once again thrive with the husband as the head of the family who loves and nurtures his wife and children.Christian homes that are in God’s order will produce happy and loving families. Many cultures throughout history made women mere chattels or property of the man.When Jesus came, He truly liberated women to be restored to their proper place in a marriage. The Biblical model for marriage is a partnership between a husband and wife, where both parties love and respect each other.Cultures and societies without the Bible’s influence usually repress and use the women and even the children. 10.The influence on social structure For one thing, Christianity changed the social structure. From the perspective of social development, the church has become the organization ties and self-authority for social family cohesion, and has also become a source of order and peace. This kind of order formed the core of church for the organization has a far more powerful function than the secular government in ending the anarchy. Christianity faith gradually gathers up the entire western Christian belief in the consensus, thus forming a transcendental conscience in relation to the secular power and their interests. With the growing popularity and expansion of the church, the general consensus in moral or spiritual which is independent of secular kingship has gradually evolved into a highly organized religion authority All in all, Christianity has played an important role in western culture. Jesus Christ was one of the most influential persons in human history, and his preaching of salvation, redemption and immortality not only affected the social structure, the humanistic spirit and the morality but also their literature, philosophy and other aspects. Besides, in order to educate its clergy, the Roman Catholic Church founded many seminaries throughout Europe. These, in turn, grew into today’s universities and colleges. Nearly as monasticism, Christianity has great influence on the western culture.