The-influence-of-Christianity-on-Western-Civilizat

TheinfluenceofChristianityonWesternCivilizationWesternCivilizationreferstothecivilizationthathasdevelopedinthewesternworld,whiletraditionalwesterncivilizationissaidtohavebeencreatedbythreemainhistoricalfactors:AncientGreece,theRomanEmpire,andChristianity.FortheimportantroleAncientGreeceandRomanEmpireinhumancivilization,theinfluenceofthemonthewesterncivilizationiseasilytobeunderstood.However,inwhichaspects,orhowChristianity,thereligionbasedonthelifeandteachingsofJesusChrist,influencedWesternCivilization?Inthisarticle,IwilldiscusssomeinfluenceofChristianityontheWesternCivilization.ChristianityisthereligionofthefollowersofJesusChrist.ThebeliefsandpracticesofthefirstChristianchurches,establishedintheMiddleEastandaroundtheMediterraneanSea2000yearsago,arerecordedintheNewTestamentoftheBible.Today,Christiansmakeupoveronethirdoftheworld’spopulation.ChristianityisthemajorreligioninEurope,theAmericasandAustralia.ItalsohasfollowersinAfricaandAsia.ChristianityisthecoreofWesternCivilization.Tillnow,peoplestilluseChristianCivilizationtosymbolizewesterncivilization.Christianityhavegreatinfluenceonmanyfields,suchaslanguage,literature,art,music,education,law,ideology,morality,familyunit,socialstructure,andetc.1.TheinfluenceonlanguageChristianity’sinfluenceonlanguageisoftenoverlookedandeventakenforgranted.WithouttheBiblemuchofwhatweenjoytodaywouldbenon-existent.TheEnglishlanguageincorporatesmanywordsandphrasestakenfromtheBiblewhenfirsttranslated.In1380JohnWycliffetranslatedtheScripturesinitsentiretyandfromitappearsmanyofthewordswestillusetodayincludingthewordsadoption,ambitious,cucumber,liberty,andscapegoatamongothers.WilliamTyndaletranslatedthefirstEnglishtranslationfromtheoriginaltexts.ArenownedscholarontheliteratureoftheBible,AlistairMcgrathnotes,“WithoutthekingJamesBible,TherewouldhavebeennoParadiseLost,noPilgrim’sProgress,noHandel’sMessiah,noNegrospirituals,andnoGettysburgAddress”.2.TheinfluenceonliteratureOvertheages,writershavelovedtominetheBible’snarrativeriches,takingaBiblestoryandretellingitinanewform:alongnovel,astageplay,amusical,anopera,orascreenplay.Sometimes,awriterusesaBiblestoryasastartingpointandthenexpandsitwithnewcharactersandeventsnotintheoriginal.ThemostabundantkindofinspirationthattheBiblehasprovidedforWesternliteratureis,ofcourse,themanythemestobefoundinitsstoriesandteachings.OftentheuseofaBiblicalphraseinthetitleofanovelorplaywillindicatethepresenceofsuchatheme.Othertimes,thereisnoexplicitreferenceintheparticularliterarywork,yetthosefamiliarwiththeBiblewillrecognizethesourceofthethemes.EvenworksthatseemtobeindirectoppositiontocertainBiblicalconceptshavenonethelessbeeninfluencedbytheBiblicalmaterial.BiblicalsymbolsandChristianphilosophiesappearveryfrequentlyinliteratureworks.TraditionalEnglishdramahasitsfountainheadintheenactmentofbiblicalnarrative,andusuallythecentralthemealsohasastrongbiblicalconnotation.Modern,evencontemporaryEnglishliteraturestillhasfrequentsymbolicreferencetothebible,forexample,althoughtheauthorneveradmittedit,Hemmingway’sTheOldManandtheSeahasahugenumberof“coincidental”timeframeclasheswiththeBible,whichliteraturecriticsarguethat“undeniablyreflectstheauthor’sphilosophythateveryoneinhimselfisaChrist”.Inaddition,theOldTestamentalsorankstoponeinthemostinfluentialbooksofAll-Time,accordingthemanysources.FromDantetoMiltontoFyodorDostoyevsky,thewordsandthemesfoundintheScriptureshavemadetheirwayintomuchoftheliteraturewestudyandenjoytoday.OthergreatwritersinthehistoryofWesternCivilizationincludeChaucer,WilliamShakespeare,JohnDonne,NathanielHawthorne,HermanMelville,WilliamBlake,T.S.Eliot,andWilliamFaulkner.ItisgenerallyacceptedthattheBiblehavegreatinfluenceonwesternliterature.3.TheinfluenceonartWhilespeakingofart,Christianitymadeitsuniqueinfluence.TheChristianArtwascreativewithitsownimpressivecharacteristics.Thehighestachievementinartisbelievedtobeinconstruction.Withthechurchbecomingthecenterofpeople’slife,buildingchurchesgainedmoreandmoreattentionandsupport.NymphaeumandGothicarchitecturearetwodistinguishedinnovationsinarchitecture.TheartofpaintinginMiddleAgeswasalsobornundertheinfluenceofChristianity.ThethemesofpaintingsatthattimeareallconcernedwithChristianity.Though,finallypaintingsmorerelatedtotherealityappeared,wecan’tdenytheimpactofChristianityonpaintings.4.TheinfluenceonmusicMusicisviewedbythechurchasanotherwayofcarryingGod’smessagetoman,andthusnumerouscomposershavewrittenlargenumberofhymnsthatdefinitelyhavebiblicalreferences,andsomeoperasthathavebiblicalthemes.Theseoperasarestillperformedinaregularbasisinthecontemporarywest,althoughitprobablyislargelyduetotheiraestheticvaluesratherthanreligiousimportance.ArtdepictingbiblicalsceneswasmadepopularespeciallyduringtheRenaissancewithartistssuchasRaphael,Michelangelo,andRembrandt.JohannSebastianBach,oneofthemostfamouscomposers,wasgreatlyinfluencedbytheScriptures.Thecantata,agenreofvocalmusicintheBaroqueperiodandakeypartoftheGermanLutheranservice,wasprimarilyusedinBach’smusic.ManyotherformsofmusicknowntodayhaveChristianrootssuchasthesonata,t