A Christian Guide for Surviving American Culture

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They observed, in some cases before anyone else, the colored bands on Jupiter 's surface, the Andromeda nebula and Saturn's rings. They theorized about the circulation of the blood independently of Harvey , the theoretical possibility of flight, the way the moon affected the tides, and the wave-like nature of light. Protestantism had an important influence on science.

According to the Merton Thesis there was a positive correlation between the rise of Puritanism and Protestant Pietism on the one hand and early experimental science on the other. Firstly, it presents a theory that science changes due to an accumulation of observations and improvement in experimental techniques and methodology ; secondly, it puts forward the argument that the popularity of science in 17th-century England and the religious demography of the Royal Society English scientists of that time were predominantly Puritans or other Protestants can be explained by a correlation between Protestantism and the scientific values.

Merton focused on English Puritanism and German Pietism as having been responsible for the development of the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries. Merton explained that the connection between religious affiliation and interest in science was the result of a significant synergy between the ascetic Protestant values and those of modern science. According of Scientific Elite: The university is generally regarded as an institution that has its origin in the Medieval Christian setting.

Missionary activity for the Catholic Church has always incorporated education of evangelized peoples as part of its social ministry. History shows that in evangelized lands, the first people to operate schools were Roman Catholics.

In some countries, the Church is the main provider of education or significantly supplements government forms of education. Presently, the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system. The Catholic Church founded the West's first universities, which were preceded by the schools attached to monasteries and cathedrals, and generally staffed by monks and friars. Bologna University became the most influential of the early universities, which first specialised in canon law and civil law.

Paris University , specialising in such topics as theology, came to rival Bologna under the supervision of Notre Dame Cathedral. According to the historian Geoffrey Blainey , the universities benefitted from the use of Latin, the common language of the Church, and its internationalist reach, and their role was to "teach, argue and reason within a Christian framework". As the Reformers wanted all members of the church to be able to read the Bible, education on all levels got a strong boost. Compulsory education for both boys and girls was introduced.

For example, the Puritans who established Massachusetts Bay Colony in founded Harvard College only eight years later. About a dozen other colleges followed in the 18th century, including Yale University Pennsylvania also became a centre of learning. Protestantism also initiated translations of the Bible into national languages and hereby supported the development of national literatures. A large number of mainline Protestants have played leadership roles in many aspects of American life, including politics, business, science, the arts, and education.

They founded most of the country's leading institutes of higher education. A Pew Center study about religion and education around the world in , found that Christians ranked as the second most educated religious group around in the world after Jews with an average of 9. The administration of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires split and the demise of the Western Empire by the sixth century was accompanied by a series of violent invasions and precipitated the collapse of cities and civic institutions of learning, along with their links to the learning of classical Greece and Rome.

For the next thousand years, medical knowledge would change very little. And the legacy of this early period was, in the words of Porter, that "Christianity planted the hospital: The Byzantine Empire was one of the first empires to have flourishing medical establishments. Prior to the Byzantine Empire the Roman Empire had hospitals specifically for soldiers and slaves. However, none of these establishments were for the public. The hospitals in Byzantium were originally started by the church to act as a place for the poor to have access to basic amenities. Hospitals were usually separated between men and women.

Although the remains of these hospitals have not been discovered by archaeologists, recordings of hospitals from the Byzantine Empire describe large buildings that had the core feature of an open hearth. The first hospital was erected by Leontius of Antioch between the years to and was a place for strangers and migrants to find refuge.

Around the same time, a deacon named Marathonius was in charge of hospitals and monasteries in Constantinople. His main objective was to improve urban aesthetics, illustrating hospitals as a main part of Byzantine cities. These early hospitals were designed for the poor. In fact, most hospitals throughout the Byzantine Empire were almost exclusively utilized by the poor.

This may be due to descriptions of hospitals similar to " Gregory Nazianzen who called the hospital a stairway to heaven, implying that it aimed only to ease death for the chronically or terminally ill rather than promote recovery". Many scholars believe that the church founded hospitals in order to receive additional donations.

Whatever the case for these hospitals, they began to diffuse across the empire. Basil of Caesarea developed a place for the sick in which provided refuge for the sick and homeless. Geoffrey Blainey likened the Catholic Church in its activities during the Middle Ages to an early version of a welfare state: It supplied food to the population during famine and distributed food to the poor. This welfare system the church funded through collecting taxes on a large scale and possessing large farmlands and estates.

Mediaeval hospitals had a strongly Christian ethos, and were, in the words of historian of medicine Roy Porter , "religious foundations through and through", and Ecclesiastical regulations were passed to govern medicine, partly to prevent clergymen profiting from medicine. While persecutions continue to limit the spread of Catholic institutions to some Middle Eastern Muslim nations, and such places as the People's Republic of China and North Korea, elsewhere in Asia the church is a major provider of health care services - especially in Catholic Nations like the Philippines.

Today he Roman Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of health care services in the world. Francisco de Vitoria , a disciple of Thomas Aquinas and a Catholic thinker who studied the issue regarding the human rights of colonized natives, is recognized by the United Nations as a father of international law, and now also by historians of economics and democracy as a leading light for the West's democracy and rapid economic development.

The Protestant concept of God and man allows believers to use all their God-given faculties, including the power of reason. That means that they are allowed to explore God's creation and, according to Genesis 2: Thus a cultural climate was created that greatly enhanced the development of the humanities and the sciences. Industry, frugality, calling, discipline, and a strong sense of responsibility are at the heart of their moral code. Therefore, craftsmen, industrialists, and other businessmen were able to reinvest the greater part of their profits in the most efficient machinery and the most modern production methods that were based on progress in the sciences and technology.

As a result, productivity grew, which led to increased profits and enabled employers to pay higher wages. In this way, the economy, the sciences, and technology reinforced each other. The chance to participate in the economic success of technological inventions was a strong incentive to both inventors and investors. This idea is also known as the "Protestant ethic thesis. Harrison argues that Protestantism along with Confucianism, and Judaism have been more successful in promoting progress, culture and society.

Due to the Protestant virtues of education, achievement, work ethic, merit, frugality, and honesty. Some mainline Protestant denominations such as Episcopalians and Presbyterians and congregationalist tend to be considerably wealthier [] and better educated having high proportion of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita than most other religious groups in America , [] and are disproportionately represented in the upper reaches of American business, [] law and politics, especially the Republican Party.

Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Christians, and traditional Protestant communities frame worship around the liturgical year. The liturgical cycle divides the year into a series of seasons, each with their theological emphases, and modes of prayer, which can be signified by different ways of decorating churches, colours of paraments and vestments for clergy, [] scriptural readings, themes for preaching and even different traditions and practices often observed personally or in the home.

Western Christian liturgical calendars are based on the cycle of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, [] and Eastern Christians use analogous calendars based on the cycle of their respective rites. Calendars set aside holy days, such as solemnities which commemorate an event in the life of Jesus or Mary, the saints , periods of fasting such as Lent , and other pious events such as memoria or lesser festivals commemorating saints. Christian groups that do not follow a liturgical tradition often retain certain celebrations, such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost: A few denominations make no use of a liturgical calendar.

Easter eggs are a popular cultural symbol of Easter. Roman Catholic theology enumerates seven sacraments: In Christian belief and practice, a sacrament is a rite , instituted by Christ, that mediates grace , constituting a sacred mystery. The term is derived from the Latin word sacramentum , which was used to translate the Greek word for mystery. Views concerning both what rites are sacramental, and what it means for an act to be a sacrament vary among Christian denominations and traditions.

The most conventional functional definition of a sacrament is that it is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, that conveys an inward, spiritual grace through Christ. The two most widely accepted sacraments are Baptism and the Eucharist or Holy Communion , however, the majority of Christians also recognize five additional sacraments: Confirmation Chrismation in the Orthodox tradition , Holy orders ordination , Penance or Confession , Anointing of the Sick , and Matrimony see Christian views on marriage.

Most other denominations and traditions typically affirm only Baptism and Eucharist as sacraments, while some Protestant groups, such as the Quakers, reject sacramental theology. Today, most Christian denominations are neutral about religious male circumcision , neither requiring it nor forbidding it. The practice is customary among the Coptic , Ethiopian , and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, and also some other African churches.

Worship can be varied for special events like baptisms or weddings in the service or significant feast days. In the early church , Christians and those yet to complete initiation would separate for the Eucharistic part of the worship. In many churches today, adults and children will separate for all or some of the service to receive age-appropriate teaching.

Such children's worship is often called Sunday school or Sabbath school Sunday schools are often held before rather than during services. In mainstream Nicene Christianity , there is no restriction on kinds of animals that can be eaten. Slaughtering animals for food is often done without the trinitarian formula , [] [] although the Armenian Apostolic Church , among other Orthodox Christians , have rituals that "display obvious links with shechitah , Jewish kosher slaughter. Some Christian denominations condone the moderate drinking of alcohol moderationism , such as Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, and the Orthodox, [] although others, such as Adventists, Baptists , Methodists, and Pentecostals either abstain from or prohibit the consumption of alcohol abstentionism and prohibitionism.

Christian cooking combines the food of many cultures in which Christian have lived. A special Christmas family meal is traditionally an important part of the holiday's celebration, and the food that is served varies greatly from country to country. Some regions, such as Sicily , have special meals for Christmas Eve, when 12 kinds of fish are served. In the United Kingdom and countries influenced by its traditions, a standard Christmas meal includes turkey, goose or other large bird, gravy, potatoes, vegetables, sometimes bread and cider.

Special desserts are also prepared, such as Christmas pudding , mince pies , fruit cake and Yule log. The Bible has many rituals of purification relating to menstruation , childbirth, sexual relations , nocturnal emission , unusual bodily fluids , skin disease , death, and animal sacrifices. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church prescribes several kinds of hand washing for example after leaving the latrine, lavatory or bathhouse, or before prayer, or after eating a meal.

Christianity has always placed a strong emphasis on hygiene , [] Despite the denunciation of the mixed bathing style of Roman pools by early Christian clergy, as well as the pagan custom of women naked bathing in front of men, this did not stop the Church from urging its followers to go to public baths for bathing, [] which contributed to hygiene and good health according to the Church Father , Clement of Alexandria. The Church also built public bathing facilities that were separate for both sexes near monasteries and pilgrimage sites; also, the popes situated baths within church basilicas and monasteries since the early Middle Ages.

Contrary to popular belief [] bathing and sanitation were not lost in Europe with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The Romans used scented oils mostly from Egypt , among other alternatives. By the midth century, the English urbanised middle classes had formed an ideology of cleanliness that ranked alongside typical Victorian concepts, such as Christianity, respectability and social progress. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Part of a series on Christian culture Christian culture. Christian symbolism Early art Church architecture Icons.

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American Catholic literature Bible fiction Christian drama Christian poetry Christian novel Christian science fiction Spiritual autobiography. Jesus in Christianity Virgin birth Crucifixion Resurrection. Iconoclasm , Religious image , Christian icons , and Christian symbolism. Christian literature and Christian poetry. Christian philosophy and Scholasticism. Medieval science , Medieval technology , and Christianity and science. Christian influences in Islam and Byzantine science. Catholic Church and science. List of Catholic scientists and List of Roman Catholic cleric-scientists.

List of Jesuit scientists. Merton Thesis and Quakers in science. Christian school , Catholic school , Cathedral school , Catholic university , and Medieval university. Procession of pasos during the Holy Week. Sacraments of the Catholic Church , Anglican sacraments , and Lutheran sacraments. Ablution in Christianity and Lavabo. Christianity portal Culture portal. Retrieved 29 April Crisis in Western Education reprint ed. National Review Book Service. Retrieved 16 September Journey, Wisdom, and Mission.

The Age of Enlightenment: The University as a European Institution", in: A History of the University in Europe. Mending Bodies, Saving Souls: A History of Hospitals. Presses universitaires de Rennes in Rennes. Retrieved 17 June The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

Jeremy Waldron , God, Locke, and Equality: The Story of Domestic Sanitation. The History of the International Salvation Army p. The Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 8, World Christianities C. Many of the scientists who contributed to these developments were Christians The Role of Science in Religion. Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal.

Many prominent Catholic physicians and psychologists have made significant contributions to hypnosis in medicine, dentistry, and psychology. Virtually every major European composer contributed to the development of church music. Monteverdi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, and Verdi are all examples of composers to have made significant contributions in this sphere. The Catholic church was without question one of the most important patrons of musical developments, and a crucial stimulus to the development of the western musical tradition. An Introduction and Commentary. Typical Christian philosophers include St.

The benefits derived from Christian philosophy are twofold Catholic thinkers contributed extensively to philosophy during the Nineteenth Century. Besides pioneering the revivals of Augustinianism and Thomism, they also helped to initiate such philosophical movements as Romanticism, Traditionalism, Semi-Rationalism, Spiritualism, Ontologism, and Integralism Philosophy in the Middle Ages: The Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Traditions.

Christians has also contributed greatly to the abolition of slavery, or at least to the mitigation of the rigour of servitude. Islamic Science and Engineering. The Legend of the Middle Ages. Retrieved 11 February Mathews, The early churches of Constantinople: Henck, "Constantius ho Philoktistes? A Brief History, Volume I: Retrieved 10 August Retrieved 9 December The Wall Street Journal.

Top 10 of Everything A Reader's Guide , eds. Blackwell Publishing, , p. Desmond Henry, in Paul Edwards ed. David Luscombe, Medieval Thought Oxford University Press, , dates medieval philosophy from the conversion of Constantine in to the Protestant Reformation in the s. Christopher Hughes, in A. Gracia, in Nicholas Bunnin and E.

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Blackwell, , p. Thomas in the seventeenth century. Gracia in Nicholas Bunnin and E. Schmitt and Quentin Skinner eds. From Alpha to Omega. Essays in Honour of Robert John Russell". Science and Religion, B. Johns Hopkins University Press. Graham Burnett book review of J. Heilbron's work, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories.

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The New York Times. When Science and Christianity Meet. University of Chicago Press. Dawn of Modern Science: From the Ancient Greeks to the Renaissance.

The Savior of Science, Wm. Because he remained faithful to his Lutheranism throughout his life, he experienced constant suspicion from Catholics. Treloar, "Biography of Kepler shows man of rare integrity. Astronomer saw science and spirituality as one. A review of James A. Archived from the original on 24 September Archived from the original on 15 January Retrieved 16 October Archived from the original on Report on the Dumbarton Oaks Symposium of ".

Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University. Introduction to a Shared History p. Almaz Libraries of Ancient Merv Dr. Its History, Structure, and Functions , p. Poverty and charity in Middle Eastern contexts. The Cambridge Companion to Galileo. Historical essays on the encounter between Christianity and science. University of California Press. The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. New York, New York: Protestants turn up among the American-reared laureates in slightly greater proportion to their numbers in the general population.

From the Sixth through the Eighth Century", Columbia: Retrieved 16 July The Early History of Harvard University". Archived from the original on 22 July Retrieved 29 August The original Trustees of Princeton University "were acting in behalf of the evangelical or New Light wing of the Presbyterian Church, but the College had no legal or constitutional identification with that denomination.

Its doors were to be open to all students, 'any different sentiments in religion notwithstanding. Duke University has historical, formal, on-going, and symbolic ties with Methodism, but is an independent and non-sectarian institution Duke would not be the institution it is today without its ties to the Methodist Church. However, the Methodist Church does not own or direct the University. Duke is and has developed as a private non-profit corporation which is owned and governed by an autonomous and self-perpetuating Board of Trustees.

Retrieved 13 December Retrieved 28 December The Birth of the Hospital in the Byzantine Empire. Retrieved 31 March The Geopolitics of Catholic Church". Catholic Education Resource Center.

History of Economic Analysis. Robert Middlekauff , The Glorious Cause: Auflage , Stuttgart Germany , col. Auflage, Band IV, col. Graf von Klinckowstroem, Technik. Geschichtlich , in Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart , 3. Auflage, Band VI, col. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Retrieved 21 August American Political Science Review. Retrieved 18 July Handbook of the Christian Year. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Circumcision is not prescribed in other forms of Christianity Some Christian churches in South Africa oppose the practice, viewing it as a pagan ritual, while others, including the Nomiya church in Kenya, require circumcision for membership and participants in focus group discussions in Zambia and Malawi mentioned similar beliefs that Christians should practice circumcision since Jesus was circumcised and the Bible teaches the practice.

Before Christianity, they could not eat certain things from certain animals uumajuit , but after eating they can now do anything they want to. Contemporary Issues and Options. The eating of animals is not forbidden. The Scriptures do not forbid the eating and partaking of animals.

A survival guide for our ‘post-Christian’ nation

This does not mean that all animals are to be eaten Mark 7: It is clear in the Scriptures that we are not supposed to eat animals that are alive or with blood Gen. Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend. Retrieved 2 May In the meantime, Peter in Joppa has a middday vision in which he sees a sheet containing animals of every description lowered from the sky. He hears a voice from heaven telling him to "kill and eat.

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But then he hears a voice that tells him, "What God has cleansed, you must not call common [unclean]" that is, you do not need to refrain from eating nonkosher foods; The same sequence of events happens three times. Christ came for the Gentiles as well as the Jews the real meaning of that vision in Acts In Corinthians Paul urges the believers to consider not eating meat when with people who assume that meat must be offered to idols before consumption: But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block for the weak.

As Americans on the right and left untether themselves from the standards of organized religion, they often redraw their allegiances more broadly, rallying around identities of race or nationalism while setting aside tempering ideals such as charity and forgiveness. Think of the alt-right, the small, far-right movement that seeks a whites-only state, suspicious of Christianity because of its acceptance of many groups, or violent protesters on the left, more interested in tearing down their opponents than seeking opportunities for reconciliation.

Such attitudes lead to a more partisan politics and more vicious public life. On an individual level, becoming increasingly unmoored from traditions and norms leads more frequently to negative outcomes than positive ones. His strategies for doing so would also benefit society at large. Benedict of Nursia , who founded the Western tradition of monasticism after leaving a fallen Rome in the 6th century. Meet the neighbors; create anchors of place; foster structures of personal discipline.

Any of these would benefit believers and nonbelievers alike as anomie and loneliness become both more common and more deadly. Other strategies for ostensibly Christian survival are similarly relevant to a broader audience. Addressing our attitudes toward work, Dreher proposes deprioritizing headlong professional advancement in favor of a more balanced, integrated life in which faith and community take precedence. Shifting work from the center of our existence would allow more space for family, community and our own mental health, and would leave us less susceptible to the ravages of an unfeeling market.

The book also makes a fascinating case for rethinking our political life. His alternative is one we could all embrace: Do what can prudently be done within the existing order, but direct more attention to creating parallel structures that will better serve society. Turn off the TV and log off Twitter, and instead join the volunteer fire department. Rather than depending on major parties to defend your values, consider the power of ordinary change.

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