Western Civilization Notes – David Underhill

 

Pages 232 – 237 – 23 Feb 2004

      The New Contours of Fourth-Century Christianity (232)

  • Christianity evolved quite a bit since Galerius

      Doctrinal Quarrels (232)

  • Caused turmoil but better defined the dogma and discipline
  • Two Factions
    • Arians – rejected the idea Christ could be equal with God
    • Athanasian – though Christ and God were made of the same substance and were both fully God
      • Became the Doctrine of the Trinity, which exists today
  • Catholicism evolved as a certain set of dogmas was defined
    • No other early religion was so closely defined
  • Constantine wanted Christianity to unify his country and was worried at the divisions it caused
    • Called the Councils of Nicea (325CE) – first general church council
      • Constantine presided and was Christ’s rep on Earth (title continued by future emperors)
    • Two major reasons for this: 1) Religious arguments often appealed to emperor; 2) no emperors in the west, and since the emperor could control religion, it became more emperor controlled in the East and more open in the West

      Growth of Ecclesiastical Organization (234)

  • Climaxed with the papacy; arose from the Bishop of Rome who was the most powerful Bishop
    • More important because Paul was the original Bishop of Rome
    • After the Roman capital moved to Constantinople, emperors had little influence in the West, including Rome
  • Made the church more influential and allowed it to help provide some government functions after Rome collapsed
    • Also helped preserve order
  • Made the simple faith more complex, however

      The Spread of Monasticism (235)

  • Monks were originally laymen who lived alone and practiced extreme self-denial
  • Became common in 4th century because: 1) alternative to martyrdom; 2) avoid the church’s shift to worldly values
  • Extreme self-denial died down around Saint Basil’s time (330-379CE)
    • Basil practiced self-denial extremes until he started a moderate style of life and established a communal
    • His monks were prohibited from prolonged fasts, etc
    • Urged them to submit to poverty, humility, and hours of silent meditation each day
  • Saint Benedict (480CE) drafted rules that led to great increases in monasticism
    • His regs had obligations of poverty, chastity, obedience, labor, and religious devotion
    • Allowed wine, gave meat to the sick
    • Abbot’s authority absolute; disobedience à flogging
    • “Try to be loved rather than feared”
    • Thought one should keep busy and do manual labor
      • Led to hard-working monks that gladly did useful manual labor and did valuable farming

      Changing Attitudes Toward Women and Marriage (236)

  • Women given equal opportunity and importance in salvation
  • In everyday life, men were superior
    • Women were expected to stay at home
    • Only men were leaders or priests
  • Originally priests could be married, but later none could get married after being ordained

 

Pages 238 – 246: 23 Feb 2004

      The Germanic Invasions and the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West (239)

      Germanic-Roman Relations (239)

  • Romans thought them barbarians because they were illiterate and did not live in cities
  • Practiced settled agriculture though they preferred hunting and grazing
  • Adept at making iron tools, weapons, and lavish jewelry
  • Germans similar to Romans
    • Similar skin color and language
    • Often Rome allied with some tribes while warring with others
    • Germans used to fill the ranks of depleted Roman armies
    • Germans allowed to settle across the Danube in infertile land
    • Many converted to Christianity in the 4th century
  • German push into the empire was to find better land, not to destroy it
    • First breakthrough by the Visigoths in 378CE – quickly bought off and made allies by emporer Theodisius
  • Theodisius splits the kingdom between his two sons upon his death
    • Alaric leads Visigoths to sack Rome (410CE) and then into Gaul
    • Tribes under the Vandals occupy Spain (406CE) and then into fertile North Africa
      • Took control of the central Mediterrannean and sacked Rome by sea in 455CE
    • Western emporer Augustulus deposed by band of Germans and Huns in 476CE (end of Western Roman Empire)

      The Scuccess and Impact of German Invasions (240)

  • Areas ruled by Germans
    • Anglo-Saxon German tribes crossed the English Channel in the 5th century to rule Britain
    • Franks carved out a kingdom led by Clovis in modern day France
    • Visigoths ruled southern Gaul and Spain
    • Vandals ruled northern Africa
  • All of these groups but the Franks would dissolve within a century
  • Results of the German invasion
    • Germans tried to preserve political machinery but it fell apart (due to lack of literacy and wealth)
    • Cities were already decaying; rate of decay only increased by German takeover
    • Roman influence continued
      • Theodoric conquered Italy but said often “An able Goth wishes to be like a Roman; but only a poor Roman would want to be like a Goth.”

 

      The Shaping of Western Christian Thought (242)

  • The fall of Roman civilization reassured Christians that the world was just a testing place for God

      The First Three Great Fathers of the Western Latin Church (242)

  • St. Jerome ( 340-420CE) – translated the Bible into Latin from Greek and Hebrew; used during the Middle Ages and beyond; the only widely read work of the time – greatly influenced Latin style and thought
    • Also avidly supported monasticism
    • Primarily a scholar
  • St. Ambrose (340-397CE) – active in the world’s concerns
    • Wrote a book on ethics (On the Duties of Ministers; similar to Cicero’s On Duties) … Major Points:
      • Human conduct should be out of reverence for God
      • God helps some humans but not others
    • Taught St. Augustine
  • St. Augustine (354-430CE) – greatest of the Latin Fathers; profound influence on Middle Age theology and later Protestantism
    • Wrote over 100 treatises while Bishop of Hippo, North Africa
    • His theology revolved around principles of profound sinfulness of humanity and divine omnipotence
    • God alone chooses who is saved from the beginning (predestination)
      • All should try good since nobody knows who is chosen
    • Charity was his most important form of goodness
    • In his treatise On the City of God he says there are two kinds of societies – those who live for man and love themselves and those who live according to God (the former being damned)
    • The true wisdom of mortals is piety