Essay Sample on Western Civilization

Introduction

One of the significant concepts learned in the past semester is early Christianity and World Religion. Since Christianity is one of the significant historical aspects that draw a lot of attention in modern society, understanding its development is among the milestones in understanding its divisions and infrastructure and its epitomes and how it was like in the ancient period (Perry et al., 2015). The origin of Christianity is deeply rooted In Judaism, especially in the first century. The complexity o Judaism is based on an intertestamental approach, which had a broad affiliation to both the old and the New Testament. Judaism was mostly based on the transition and interactions between Moses's laws and the influence of Jesus Christ, which is majorly explained in the New Testament (Perry et al., 2015). Therefore, the various sects that existed in this period each played a critical role, especially in Christianity's development.

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Moral Transformation

The moral transformation of Jesus Christ also played a crucial role in this era. Initially, the society has been deeply rooted in the Mosaic laws and heavily imposed by most sects that existed in the Judaism period. For instance, the Pharisees' role is heavily felt as their roles were to create a wider gap between the tendencies of people to break the laws of God (Perry et al., 2015). The coming of Jesus Christ had significant effects, especially in causing imbalances in the Judaism structure and doctrines. In many cases, Jesus seemed to collide with the Pharisees people who were heavily rooted in the laws of Moses. His moral transformation was used to set an example for the new dawn of Christianity in this era. With that, it led to the development of Christianity in Jewish society and across the globe (Perry et al., 2015). Saint Paul was among the key historical figures in the Bible. His influence on Christianity was impeccable. His role is widely known in the diversification of Christianity from a Jewish sect into a world religion. Saint Paul rose to become one of the greatest campaigners, and his influence led to the spread of Christianity to the rest of the world.

Christianity's Spread

Christianity's spread and triumph are linked to the highest number of Christians recorded in the contemporary world today. The space of Christianity in Jewish society was not so welcoming due to the controversies about Jesus Christ's concepts and Moses's laws (Perry et al., 2015). Christianity's appeal was mainly propelled by the disciples who had encountered Jesus on several occasions first hand. Their testimonies and great miracles perfume during and after the ascension of Jesus were appealing and led to the acceptance of Christianity Widely during this period (Perry et al., 2015). The characteristic of Christianity in Rome is also characteristic in explaining some of the concepts existing in modern Christianity. Christianity and Greek philosophy had a lot of opposing interactions, especially in ideologies. Many Greek philosophers had contradicting beliefs, and this is evident in the book of Acts. Saint Paul, who was initially a philosopher, states that the Gospel is foolishness to the Greeks (Perry et al., 2015). In that case, Christianity and Philosophy during this period were affecting each other basing on ideologies and explanation of concepts of this new faith.

The relevance of this concept to early Christianity is relevant due to its impacts on contemporary society. There is a lot of division and opposing ideologies within the same infrastructure of Christianity. With that, there has been a lot of confusion since churches are using similar bibles but preaching different concepts (Perry et al., 2015). Understanding the early forms of Christianity and the church's development helps in creating an understanding of what led to the divisions of the church in Rome and how these divisions will affect Christianity in the future (Perry et al., 2015). A lot of churches have come up with different doctrines, some who believe in God but does not recognize Jesus, others do not regard Sunday as the Sabbath, and many other diversities in Christianity that has brought a lot of confusion, and this had made this aspect to be unique in this semester's reading.

Individualism and Secularism of Western Civilization

Before the 17th century, the church played a critical role, especially in managing both political and spiritual matters. With that in play, religious leaders rose to become powerful influences in the community, and this role was mainly familiar in the Roman Catholic Church. As the church continued to enhance its dominance, there were many challenges associated with such rulership. For instance, many religious wars were linked to political reasons at some point or the other. However, towards the end of the 16th century, the great religious upheaval saw a decline in spiritual leadership and led to secularism.

Among the significant reasons that contributed to secularism was the development of education. In the later 16th and early 17th century, there were many developments in science and philosophy. The rise in the number of literate individuals in society brought many challenges to religious leadership (Perry et al., 2015). Previously, leadership was based on doctrinal guidance, something the scientists and philosophers felt was inappropriate. In their developments, scientists believed that human problems could be solved when they engage in provable solution-finding strategies, affecting religious leadership.

More so, external influence firm other regions increased significantly in the early 17th century (Ager, 2015). With that, people interacted and shared ideas about better leadership ways, which accelerated the adoption of secularism in civic duties. People felt that religion caused so many wars since there were constant conflicts between various religious groups, something that psychologically affected individuals, and they needed change (Ager, 2015). Additionally, there was a rapid civilization, which was accompanied by unique forms of urbanizations. With that, the challenges posed to the leadership required civic interventions—these challenges rendered such leadership incompetent, which led to the quest to find a new administration system.

Enlightenment Period

The enlightenment period that was graced by a significant number of great philosophers and psychologists saw many contradictions about the authenticity of Christianity (Ager, 2015). According to many philosophers, Christianity was regarded as an illusion that prevented individuals from attaining their sociological revolution and growth. According to philosophers and psychologists, they argued that Christianity lacked facts and hence cannot be regarded as an existing entity in society (Ager, 2015). With that, the enlightening was meant to prove that focusing on social concepts would yield better results than believing in God. In that, atheism was developed during this period where people became atheists due to a lack of proof about God (Ager, 2015). However, contemporary society has seen people become atheists as a choice and are not focused on provable evidence about God's existence, and this popularized secularism.

Before the existence of classical liberalism, ancient society was defined based on people's cumulative association (Ager, 2015). In that case, communities were composed of extended families, and equality based on humanity did not exist. In that case, the natural hierarchy was observed where others were automatically born to rule while others were taken to serve (Ager, 2015). According to these aspects, society's general needs were essential more than an individual's ambition, and failure to meet the community's expectations could lead to legal execution or exile. However, towards the end of the 16th century, there were many civilization activities, and this era saw the championing of individualism (Ager, 2015). With individuality, people were granted the liberty to make their own choices.

Even though liberalism identified aspects such as societal and family affiliations, it focused more on individuals' identity as self (Ager, 2015). In ancient times, the roles individuals played in society were primarily designed by leadership, whether political or religious. During the enlightenment process, there were many improvements as philosophers developed theories explaining the balance and equity among all human ecosystem participants (Ager, 2015). More so, foreign visitors' influence against the primitive and unjust structures of leadership existing in the society led to individualism as the liberty granted individuals the ability to do as they pleased.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the 17th century saw many changes in both leadership and individual perception of society. Religious leadership was dominant over the ancient centuries but was rendered useful due to the negative influence of civilization against it. Secularism was meant to disconnect religious activities from civic duties. Even though spiritual leadership was done away with this century, it still had significant respect in the 17th century. However, subsequent years saw Christianity face a considerable amount of resistance due to the increase in the number of philosophers who had different opinions regarding God's relevance and existence. Individualism in the 17th century was also crucial in liberating individuals from the collective responsibilities stipulated by society. Individualism allows for economic, social, and physical development, something crucial in modern society.

References

Ager, J. (2015). Faith, secularism, and humanitarian engagement: Finding the place of religion in the support of displaced communities. Springer.

Perry, M., Chase, M., Jacob, J., Jacob, M., & Daly, J. W. (2015). Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society, Volume I: To 1789. Nelson Education.