Thomas Woods’ How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is an endeavor that aims to draw light to the role of the Catholic Church in history and today. This is something that is not understood or acknowledged by most of contemporary society. Woods notes that historians are the main perpetrators due to their lack of expansive knowledge about the far-reaching effects of the Catholic Church in the setting up of frameworks for science, music, economics, arts, human rights, public school, and so forth. This popular narrative of the Church’s contribution being limited to monks copying manuscripts has guided most of the current understandings of the Church.
In the first chapter of Woods sets the tone by proclaiming that “[t]he Church, in …show more content…
One of the contributions that Woods attributes to the Catholic Church is about science. Woods notes that before Christianity and from the time of the Middle Ages, the popular scientific consensus was that of the eternal nature of the universe (Woods 2005, 109). This understanding advanced the theory that the universe had no beginning and no ending, a belief that was held by the seven great cultures (i.e., Arabic, Babylonian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, and Maya) (Woods 2005, 101). Woods explains that Jaki’s thesis illustrates how “[n]on-Christian cultures […] did not possess the same philosophical tools, and indeed were burdened by conceptual frameworks that hindered the development of science” (101). For Jaki, certain ideas that are fundamental to Christianity have been essential to the emergence of scientific thought because non-Christian cultures did not hold the theoretical tools to allow for major scientific development (100-103). Therefore, “science suffered a “stillbirth” [that] can be accounted for by each of these cultures’ conceptions of the universe and their lack of belief in a transcendent Creator who endowed His creation with consistent physical laws” (Woods 2005, 101). Instead, these …show more content…
Draper advanced the notion of a dark and backward medieval Europe. In History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science, Draper outlines a debate concerning the historical relationship of faith and science (Ecklund and Park 2009). The thesis of Drapers’ book portrays the Catholic Church as a dominating institution, which controlled medieval Europe through a regressive mentality. Draper attests the domination of the Catholic Church as the hinderer of scientific development, until the Age of Enlightenment allowed people to pursue the truth empirically without impediment (Hess and Allen 2008). Draper depicts the development of science as a conflict between two contending powers––human intellect versus the oppressive Catholic Church. Volumes like Draper’s book are responsible for the commonly accepted “factual” myths that have developed surrounding the Catholic Church and the historical relationship of faith and science. Some of these myths outline how the Catholic Church was opposed to human dissection. The myths also perpetuate that the Church inhibited academic freedom, that the Catholic Church, vis-à-vis an edict by a pope, forbade the practice of chemistry. Additionally, the myths also maintain claims by Draper that a Pope from the Middle Ages said fervent prayers and required that all the church bells in the city be run to change the path
In the first chapter of Woods sets the tone by proclaiming that “[t]he Church, in …show more content…
One of the contributions that Woods attributes to the Catholic Church is about science. Woods notes that before Christianity and from the time of the Middle Ages, the popular scientific consensus was that of the eternal nature of the universe (Woods 2005, 109). This understanding advanced the theory that the universe had no beginning and no ending, a belief that was held by the seven great cultures (i.e., Arabic, Babylonian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, and Maya) (Woods 2005, 101). Woods explains that Jaki’s thesis illustrates how “[n]on-Christian cultures […] did not possess the same philosophical tools, and indeed were burdened by conceptual frameworks that hindered the development of science” (101). For Jaki, certain ideas that are fundamental to Christianity have been essential to the emergence of scientific thought because non-Christian cultures did not hold the theoretical tools to allow for major scientific development (100-103). Therefore, “science suffered a “stillbirth” [that] can be accounted for by each of these cultures’ conceptions of the universe and their lack of belief in a transcendent Creator who endowed His creation with consistent physical laws” (Woods 2005, 101). Instead, these …show more content…
Draper advanced the notion of a dark and backward medieval Europe. In History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science, Draper outlines a debate concerning the historical relationship of faith and science (Ecklund and Park 2009). The thesis of Drapers’ book portrays the Catholic Church as a dominating institution, which controlled medieval Europe through a regressive mentality. Draper attests the domination of the Catholic Church as the hinderer of scientific development, until the Age of Enlightenment allowed people to pursue the truth empirically without impediment (Hess and Allen 2008). Draper depicts the development of science as a conflict between two contending powers––human intellect versus the oppressive Catholic Church. Volumes like Draper’s book are responsible for the commonly accepted “factual” myths that have developed surrounding the Catholic Church and the historical relationship of faith and science. Some of these myths outline how the Catholic Church was opposed to human dissection. The myths also perpetuate that the Church inhibited academic freedom, that the Catholic Church, vis-à-vis an edict by a pope, forbade the practice of chemistry. Additionally, the myths also maintain claims by Draper that a Pope from the Middle Ages said fervent prayers and required that all the church bells in the city be run to change the path