The Course of Empire: Destruction by Thomas Cole, 1836 |
As I have gotten older, I have become more curious about how the world works, and that requires studying the occupants of this world, which is very annoying because when you start talking about human behavior, mathematics is not much help.
I know that Western Civilization is an amalgam of the philosophy of Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and Christianity, and while I understand that Christianity is an essential part of this mix, I have never understood just what it contributed. It seems to be a mix useful advice for dealing with people and a whole bunch of mystical mumbo-jumbo. Perhaps because we are dealing with chaotic systems (people), the mumbo-jumbo is a necessary component. Nobody knows why it works, but it does, so we keep using it.
Who Put the West in Western Civilization? by Robert Royal got me started on this. It's a little long for my wandering brain, but I managed to finish it. Here is one line I liked:
"But just because wrong theory has led to hell does not mean that no theory will lead to paradise."P.S. There is an audio recording of Robert's essay near the bottom of the page, voiced by Amazon Polly, which means it is being read by a robot.
3 comments:
Yes, chaotic. What Christianity contributed was order, discipline. If you buck the teacher you get sent to the Principal. If you buck the police you get sent to jail. But if you buck the preacher you get sent to hell to burn for eternity.
That’s how the wild west was tamed, they imported women and with the women came churches.
Yes, chaotic. What Christianity contributed was order, discipline. If you buck the teacher you get sent to the Principal. If you buck the police you get sent to jail. But if you buck the preacher you get sent to hell to burn for eternity.
That’s how the wild west was tamed, they imported women and with the women came churches.
Sorry, I screwed up there.
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