About this title: The rise of Christianity in medieval Europe is also the story of the ending of a tradition of rationality and inquiry often identified with the ancient Greeks, according to Charles Freeman, who sees the ancient world as an age of reason, and of the search for truth and virtue. Freeman views the gradual spread of Christianity in the fourth and fifth centuries, and its eventual acquisition of unprecedented power and authority, as the beginning of the Dark Ages. He charts the centuries-long changes in Europe's political and social life that followed the fall of the Roman republic, explaining how ...
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Description: Collectible-Good in Good jacket. 4th Printing October 2004; Shelf Wear, Underlining Inside Pages; DJ Shelf Wear; Tight Spine; Shelf Wear; Good Condition. read more
Edition: First American Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Knopf
Date Published: 2003-10-12
ISBN-13:9781400040858ISBN:140004085X
Description: Like New. 2002 stated first American edition hardback no marks and is in great condition with dj All of our products are cleaned with an disinfectant for your protection before shipping. read more
Description: Good. 140004085X Good condition. May have some markings & or shelfwear. All pages intact. Used items may not include extras such as infotrac, CD or other web access codes. read more
Edition: First Edition, First Printing; First Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781400040858ISBN:140004085X
Description: Very Good+ in Very Good dust jacket. 140004085x. 1st edition. 1st printing. Tight, straight binding. Dust jacket lightly rubbed, otherwise excellent condition. CLEAN TEXT! ALL OUR DUSTJACKETS ON BOOKS $49.95+ PROTECTED BY CLEAR BRODART COVERS. Our Promise to You: ALL OUR DUST JACKETS COME WITH CLEAR BRODART PROTECTIVE COVERS. (Please read listing to determine if this book comes with a dust jacket. ) Your order will be CAREFULLY PACKAGED IN A BOX for safe transition. We strive for 100% customer ... read more
"A meticulously constructed discussion of how the rise of orthodox Christianity as a means of imposing social control in the crumbling Roman Empire led to the suppression of the classical tradition of rational and empirical inquiry, supplanting reason with faith. The result was a centuries long retreat from scientific discovery in Western culture, the effects of which we still feel today in the inability of many segments of the population to process scientific knowledge in favor of revealed belief. Freeman is scrupulously fair to the philosophers whose works he discusses, detailing both their strengths and weaknesses. Yet is it clear that the Christian philosophers like Augustine and Jerome come across as those whose works were significantly impacted by their personal instabilities while the pagan philosophers of the earlier period(such as Aristotle and Epicurus) are notably less emotionally disturbed. Those unfamiliar with the history of the early church may well be surprised at the degree to which imperial politics shaped Christian doctrine in ways that had nothing to do with either the life and work of Jesus or with anything resembling historical fact. This is a work of fine scholarship, judicious and detailed, as well as copiously notated. It is clear, however, that Freeman feels that the triumph of faith was a tragedy for the development of western culture. It represents, he concludes, the complete abdication of the power to think for oneself in favor of letting external authority dictate what is known and not known. I highly recommend this book to anyone whose inquiry into the development of western culture is sincere and independent."
"This is a thorough and fascinating history that is admittedly offered in the service of a particular argument. Charles Freeman has some ideas and his effort is here expended to prosecute (and defend) these ideas; as such, the book may not convince every reader, but it is certainly a welcome provocation for inquiring minds. Happily, he confidently delves into the abstruse theological debates of Christian antiquity - God, as it turns out, is in the details. There is dense scholarship here, which is a good thing."
"Finally finished this. I'll have to blog a longer review, but the short answer is that I found it completely fascinating, and made me even more interested in reading about the history of the early Christian church.
Tertullian, Origen, Jerome, St. Paul, St. Augustine... what a fun bunch of fellows. It's bizarre that the personal biases (authoritarianism, hostility towards sex/procreation, profound distrust of human knowledge) of one man (St. Paul) had such a huge effect on the development of Western thought. It wasn't until Thomas Aquinas "rehabilitated" Aristotle in ~1200 that the church began to shake off the utter primacy of Faith over Reason."
"I have this book downloaded on my e-reader. It was a very worthwhile book that, in a scholarly way, provides details around the 'temporary' loss of Greek thinking after the fall of the Roman empire. Although the Romans greatly respected the Greeks and tried to emulate them in various ways, intellectual development was not one of them. The book describes the rise of the idea of an Emperor and how the Roman empire was held together. When Constantine made Christianity the official state religion there followed a gradual evolution of Christian thinking. One of the motives for ferreting out 'heretics' from the 'true religion' that became Roman Catholicism was that there were very real and tangible benefits to being the 'approved' religion. Naturally there followed a great deal of heavy handed politics to see which faction would predominate among the many versions of Christianity that existed at the time.
With the decline of the Roman Empire, there followed a gradual solidifying of the Church's position. It basically adopted the Roman governance structure with the Pope and his regional bishops taking over the role of the Emperor and his Governors. Much of the trappings of the Pope derive from the vestments of the Emperors of Rome.
Along with the dominance of Christianity came a marked restriction in thinking that has since been dubbed the dark ages. We have to be grateful that during this time, the Muslim world retained and advanced Greek thinking in the sciences, in philosophy and in medicine. It is indeed ironic that today the Muslim world has reversed roles with medieval Christian society with a stifling emphasis on orthodoxy.
The book is more detailed in early Church history than I needed, but it is useful as a reference book for that purpose as well."
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