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To: Lady Heron

True enough. But even capitalism could not flourish until the combination of the Reformation, the Black Death and the Enlightenment had caused society to divorce itself from the superstition and iron rule of the Church, when men no longer sought sustenance from Lord or Bishop and instead became masters of their own domains.

Nothing like praying for salvation from the Plague, for example, (and not getting it) to cause one to lose faith in the Church, the Monarch and the systems they created, to get people's attention. Nothing like a landless peasant now demanding to be paid for his labor, since there was an acute shortage after the Black Death swept threough, with the assurance that he just might have his demands met! Self-help became the order of the day because there was no other help to be had.

Once the Church and Monarch had lost authority in such a way (reflexive superstition and unquestioned authority) it was only a matter of time before other Chrich teachings/conventional wisdom was tossed out on it's colective ear: the world was not flat, Jerusalem was not the center of the world, man could discern the fabric of nature, salvation did not require a priest, Aristotle was dead wrong, etc, etc.

Released (so to speak) from the bonds of superstition and Christian duty, to his fellow man and monarch, the first Capitalists went at it with a passion.


18 posted on 03/28/2006 9:06:05 AM PST by Wombat101 (Islam: Turning everything it touches to Shi'ite since 632 AD...)
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To: Wombat101
Nothing like praying for salvation from the Plague, for example, (and not getting it) to cause one to lose faith in the Church

Sorry, but there was no falling away from Christianity at that time, just away from the Catholic Church.

Nothing like actually reading the Bible in your own language to figure out if the Church is following the Bible or not and even that movement was slow not overnight.

Besides I guess you just might want to read up on the spread of Christianity during the time period the Greeks were persecuting and killing Christians. Hint the faith grew and spread not losing their faith.

About the time of the French Revolution began the 'enlightened' anti-Christian thinking and all the killing that has ever gone with those enlightened type of humanistic governments from national socialism to communism and its lesser cousin socialism.

Released (so to speak) from the bonds of superstition and Christian duty, to his fellow man and monarch, the first Capitalists went at it with a passion.

Released to follow Christianity in its purist form gave the West freedom which we then slowly spread. If you do not believe that the freedoms we enjoy today in America are due to Christianity you just might want to go and read what the founders wrote about where they got the inspiration for our freedoms and how they were sure that keeping those freedoms in the future were tied to us keeping a strong Christian society. They spell out all their reasoning in writings.

History is tied to religion. The future is tied to it also(sadly that is a scary thought since there is a great falling away from the only religion that has brought freedom).

19 posted on 03/28/2006 12:53:03 PM PST by Lady Heron
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