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Originally Posted by FlorenceArt
I totally fail to see the connexion between the reformation and a humanitarian improvement. The reformation itself triggered a very long period of civil wars and massacres in Europe, and both sides seem to have been equally intolerant and bloodthirsty to me. As for the long-term effects, seen from the 21st century, I don't see more tolerance or humanity on the reformed side than on the catholic one.
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don't you see the western world as being better off post reformation than pre? and as for the rest of your observations, doesn't that violence bear a great deal of similarity to another part of the world at the moment?
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Perhaps we are talking about different periods when we refer to "the early church"? When I hear that term, I think of the first few centuries of the church when it used Latin simply because that was the language of the Empire.
I entirely agree with you that by, say, medieval times, the church really had very little to do with the lives of the everyday people; it was a state organ of power, pure and simple. People led such wretched lives that one of its primary purposes was to preach the message "we know your life is awful here, but obey your lord and master and you'll store up brownie points in heaven and live really nice lives in heaven".
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the "early church" was not the all encompassing entity it became in the medieval times when the language of the common man was NOT Latin. the "early church" was an extremely small entity that did speak the common language and did not run roughshod over the governments and peoples of the western world. so yes, that is what I meant I suppose
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Originally Posted by astra
I am signing off from this silly topic.
Have fun!
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