Thursday, September 1, 2011
Medieval Christians
What questions could you raise about Christianity from the Medieval period? What still remains in Christianity from that time period? What has changed? Does it comfort you or irritate you that Christianity is such an old religion? Regarding depth of history, compare Catholicism to Protestantism and especially stand-alone churches. Perhaps compare a Christian way of life to a Buddhist path?
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Christianity during the medieval period seems to have presented humanity with a complex way of viewing the world and human nature. So different from the world view today, Christianity permeated every ounce of the medieval period and the way humanity viewed their purpose on the earth. Some aspects of this unique Christianity raise questions from my contemporary viewpoint. Some of these aspects include the idea of the world as a symbol of God (not so much that I do not believe that this is true), but the idea that one could go to hell for misreading these signs. It seems completely crazy to believe that misreading a sign could unleash satan, and I find great offense in the power that was placed in the hands of the elite and leaders of the Church for deciphering these symbols. The common man of the day was not only forced to work through unimaginable strife to reach heaven, but then had to have blind faith in the interpretations of scriptures and signs by the teaching authorities – who were also many times corrupt in their own right - to get to heaven.
ReplyDeleteWhile many aspects of medieval Christianity have passed away with time, there are some that still affect the Christian view of the world. The idea that human beings are”…important creatures, because their lives are intimately bound up with God’s plan for the universe and with the drama of Christ’s passion” continues to influence humanity’s thoughts (Palmer, 120). Christianity’s immense respect for life comes from this principle – each life is scared because it is part of God’s plan for creation. Also, Christians continue to believe that humanity is completely dependent on God for salvation, just like their medieval counterparts. The idea that such old thoughts continue to influence Christian perceptions of the world (and the antiquity of the Church itself) does not bother me. I believe that the Church has stood the test of time in some ways through its various stages and has worked to correct its errors in the past. This can be evidenced by the changes in some of the views held during the medieval time – the many corruptions within the Church offices during that time have been eliminated through various councils and the Church has withdrawn its influence in many of the political arenas where it once held immense sway. Because these ideas continue to persist, there must be some basic truth within them (just like the basic truths that can be seen in the other world religions) and as a Christian Catholic, I believe that they do.
Catholicism is very different from other Protestant Churches. Most of these dissimilarities lie in the different interpretations of the scriptures, the unique traditions within the Catholic Church, and the idea of the Pope as supreme head. Maybe due to its antiquity, the Catholic Church has developed a complex structure to accommodate the needs of its followers – much of its offices may be remnants of the Dark Ages and medieval period where it stood as the only consistent bulkhead between chaos and order. This structure is not seen in other Protestant denominations maybe because they were developed during a time when the Church and state were separating (the Church no longer needed to serve as this bulkhead) and maybe they had learned from the mistakes within Catholicism that had occurred because of this assumption of power. Buddhism is far different from Catholicism in many aspects (the worshipping of no god, the idea of reincarnation, and the idea of a guru) but very similar in others. Like Buddhism, Catholicism calls for their religious to take vows of poverty. Catholicism also believes in a type of karma – our acts determine our placement in the afterlife. Buddhism also states that all life is a reflection of Buddha – Christians believe all life is a reflection of God. As one can see, the various sects of religion differ, but many times contain similarities, especially in the common truths that stand throughout humanity.
Comparing medieval christianity to modern christianity there seems to be one major difference, and that is the availability and understanding of information. With the Bible available for anyone to read, no longer do Christians need to rely solely on church for their spiritual needs. This has allowed the constant refinement of what the God ultimately demands from his followers. Now instead of one pastors interpretation, educated members of the church are able to comprehend and refute church leaders if their message is contradictory to other parts of the bible. This has helped from preventing situations similar during the crusades.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, medieval and modern Christianity seem to mirror catholicism and the protestant church. On one hand with Catholicism, there seems to be consistency throughout the beliefs and one major human authority (the pope). On the other hand the protestant church has further divided up into many different churches based on significant issues or splits within one church. It seems as though the pope in catholicism is able to determine the position of catholicism as a whole while the protestant church members on a whole take sides in a belief and form a different church based on this. Although in general protestants will agree on the major points of Christianity they differ on interpretations of different parts of the Bible.
Some ideas that raised questions for me about Medieval Christians was the idea of Christian Arianism. I have never heard of this idea before or the idea of Arius. What remains the same about Christianity today is the idea of Heaven and Hell. Although, going to Hell during Medieval times was a bit different because one could go to hell my misinterpreting a sign. It definitely does not irritate me that Christianity is such an old religion, I would more agree with it makes me feel comfort. I know it has been around for a long time, and many people follow this religion. Catholicism differs greatly from Protestantism, they are two completely different religions with different views and beliefs. Catholics believe in saying "what goes around comes around". Christianity also differs from a Buddhist path because Christians do have a leader (God) to where the Buddhist just have a belief system.
ReplyDeleteChristianity differs today than from when it did during the medieval period because humanity was more of a complex way of viewing the world and humans. The question that I would raise would be how it was justice that people could go to hell for reading signs “incorrectly”. I do not understand how the power lied in the hands of the elite and other leaders of the Church for interpreting the symbols. I’m glad that the belief in reading a sign wrong is no longer in effect, in today’s Christianity. The things that remain today from medieval Christianity are the ideas that individuals are sacred because God has a plan for everyone, also that heaven and hell still exist. It comforts me to know that Christianity has been around for as long as it has. It is nice to know that there are so many followers to keep the religion going through out the many years. Catholicism differs from Protestantism; there are several different protestant churches. Each protestant church has a slight different view on different topics of the Bible compared to Catholicism. Lastly a Christian way of life that compares to the Buddhists way of life is the belief that Christians believe in only one God and Buddhist believe in multiple.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that Christianity in the Medieval period was different than Christianity today. What I found most interesting was the way the people perceived Christianity during that time. They believed that there were signs everywhere that were meant to guide them on their journey. As Christianity developed it began to change. The cartoon on page 117 of the Palmer book illustrates a little boy knocking down a building with his wagon, and his mom replies, “They don’t make things like they used to.” I believe this illustration portrays the modern day Christianity. It is not what it used to be.
ReplyDeleteIt comforts me that Christianity is such an old religion because the beliefs are what people follow and even though they may change over time, the central message remains the same. I believe that the Christian way of life is similar to the Buddhist path because they both have a specific set of guidelines to follow and they both believe in the afterlife. Christians and Buddhists strive to do good things in this life so they can be rewarded in the afterlife.
I found it interesting, though not surprising, that there was virtually no atheism during medieval times. There was no real science to draw from--most everything had been assigned spiritual, mystical or supernatural meanings and origins. Whatever wasn't understood or couldn't be explained was given the name of God. Atheism would be born in the Age of Reason, but before then, even if a person began to question, to doubt, who could he tell without fear of persecution? The Church was firmly in control, the basis of which seemed to be fear: of punishment, of damnation. They presided over most available information--the monks and priests were educators, the art and literature were religious in nature--which gave them control over the thinking and behavior of the masses. "If you misread the signs, you'll go to hell!" Well, probably not--but if the people believed it, they would behave accordingly.
ReplyDeleteChristianity has changed since the Medieval Church. The original beliefs have stayed the same for the most part, but the ways of worship changed drastically. As the Protestant sector grows, worship develops in different directions. At the current time, there are orthodox churches that have stayed consistent in their practices and new-age Protestantism that follows a completely contemporary worship style and everything in between. Despite these differences that have developed, it benefits Christianity that it is an ancient religion. The more a religion develops, the more “proof” and reassurance comes with it. The longs standing traditions and growing number of believers help people within the belief system understand that their religion might be the “right” one. Persistence is a strength rather than something that works against the church. As long as a religion can adapt to contemporary times, it can be successful. Christianity may not be in unison in their adaptations but each sect has allowed their congregation to adhere to current ideas and still practice and believe in an ancient ideal. A few differences in the positions of the churches are that many protestant churches no longer use the Mass as a form of worship and some have different positions on the use of birth control. Regardless of these changes, every Christian denomination believes that Jesus Christ is the Savior. This fundamental principle provides unity and allows for growth and strength.
ReplyDeletefrom Megan Grieshop
ReplyDeleteOne could definitely raise questions about religion back then. There were many ideas that were immediately accepted as the truth simply due to the fact that the church interpreted it that way. There were few people who had access to knowledge including the Bible and so there were fewer opinions on its interpretation. The church also had some very critical ideas of punishment for very minor offences that could be criticized. However, since then Christianity has developed along with the rest of the world and it's ideas more realistic. However, the idea of heaven and hells existence remains the same and the same basic principle that we are all made in God's image therefore humans are special. It is a comfort to me that Christianity is such an old religion as it means it has had time to grow and advance with time. Christianity differs from Buddhism in many ways starting with the idea of a God and heaven in Christianity. Where Buddhism has no god and believes in reincarnation, striving to reach nirvana. However, both have a similar moral basis to respect the lives of those around you and do what is defined by each religion as the right thing. Both also serve to bring meaning to life and offer an explanation of what happens when we die.