Monday, 19 November 2018

Christianity is the foundation of Western Civilization... NOT

I'm sick and tired of hearing this piece of ignorance:

Western Civilization was built on the foundation of Christianity.

Oh, yeah? Which part, exactly?

Let's take a look, shall we?


  • The State: the concept of equal citizens under one law, legislation, the military apparatus, appointment of government officials, the monetary system, the judicial system - basically ALL functions of a modern nation and its government, administration, politics, and division of responsibilities is Ancient Greek and Roman, and was neither imported into Europe by Jews or Christians nor invented on the basis of the Bible.
  • Culture: the arts and their manifestation, fashion, celebrity status, even the porn industry are based on Ancient Greek and Roman models. Court musicians, art exhibits, the theater, public poetry recitals, philosophical debates - these are all pagan, and have existed before and out of the Christian realm, and were neither imported into Europe by Jews or Christians nor invented on the basis of the Bible.
  • Morality: the core concepts of cooperation, rules, and common decency in a society are far older than any form of Christianity and have existed long before the Bible. The particular tenets: don't kill, don't steal, respect your neighbor, do your job to get paid, carry yourself in public in accordance with what is deemed appropriate, don't lie - these are all universal and the basis for all modern societies that have evolved before Judeo-Christianity and independently from it. And they have all existed in Europe before and independently from any Christian tradition or norm, as evidenced by Ancient Greek and Roman law, law in the pre-Christian Byzantine Empire, the pagan Bulgarian Khanate, and others. 
               - As for the very details of morality: WHICH rules, WHAT EXACTLY is considered common decency, etc., only a few can be attributed to Christianity and found in the Bible, and most of THESE, while in the Bible, have existed throughout Europe before Christianity.

  • Economy: No modern concepts or instruments of economy, labor, and the market are Judeo-Christian. 
So, which part of Western Civilization is Christian, again? The fact that people who were Christian, or claimed to be Christian, did things in non-Christian ways, doesn't make a civilization or society Christian. Christianity didn't give us any of the foundations of modern, or even of Medieval society and civilization. Christianity merely did what Christianity always does: it showed up and appropriated them.

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