The time between about 500 and 1500 AD is called the ‘Middle Ages.’ The middle of what? In the middle of (between) the fall of Rome and the Renaissance. The early middle ages (ca 500-1000) is also called the ‘Dark Ages’ because society was floundering in Western Europe.
- government was feudal (or futile, p49), poor record-keeping
- no educational system, vast illiteracy, decline in the arts
- Church was intermingled with secular powers (see chapter 4)
The church, in order to spread the essential teachings in an illiterate world, began using icons. These icons were eventually mistaken for idols, leading to a bloody 60+ year conflict between iconodules and iconoclasts (p50). Eastern Empress Irene convened the 7th Church-wide council (2nd Nicene council) in 787 to deal with the issue of icon-use vs. idolatry. They ruled against the iconoclasts, saying that icon-reverence was a good thing but icon-worship was unacceptable.
.
Not all was ‘Dark.’ The Church continued to prosper and spread:
- In 496, the Franks (powerful secular big-dogs), became Christian.
- In 754, the Franks gave all of Central Italy to the church.
- ca 800, a document called the Donation of Constantine, gave the Roman Pope control over all the other western popes. This was allegedly a gift from Constantine to Sylvester for teaching him and baptizing him (remember chapter 3). The donation was shown to be a forgery in the Early Renaissance and Reformation.
- In the 780’s Frankish King Charles (later Charlemagne) began conquering throughout Germany and France with this ‘convert or die’ campaign.
In 799 some Italian nobles tried to assassinate Pope Leo in a power struggle and he fled to Charles for refuge. King Charles declared Leo innocent of the nobles’ charges and in return, Pope Leo declared Charles to be Charlemagne the ‘Holy Roman Emperor.’
.
The power dynamic turned around and the secular powers that had been the lapdog of the Church (p38-39), now held the Church on a leash. The Roman Pope’s office became a corrupt thing with secular nobles as Pope or controlling the Pope (e.g. Marioza, p52).
.
The Eastern and Western churches had long argued over the Nicene Creed. Each accused the other of changing the Creed in a small but significant way (the filioque clause). The Western (Spanish) Christians had actually changed it first, followed by the rest of the Western Church, but the Western Pope accused the Eastern Church of changing it, and in the ensuing chaos, effectively excommunicated the entire Eastern Church (p54).
.
While the West was dealing with the "dark ages", in the East the church faced the birth of Islam (ca 610 AD). Followers of the new prophet, Mohammed, spread like wildfire through the Middle East, Southeast Europe, and North Africa. Why did they spread so rapidly?
- Amazingly enough, the Muslims allowed some religious freedom. This was definitely not equal status, but they didn’t kill folks that wouldn’t convert.
- The Eastern Church had a long-standing theological feud with the North African Coptic churches and many of them simply converted to Islam.
In 1095 Pope Urban II sparked the First Crusade, preaching that the Eastern church needed the West’s help against the infidels, who controlled Jerusalem and the routes to it. Within 9 months, Peter the Hermit had gathered 20,000 peasants and had marched to Constantinople (their jumping-off point). Here they floundered (pillaging Eastern European homes) until they were killed in a Muslim ambush. Western crusaders finally made it to Jerusalem and the streets ran ankle deep in Muslim and Jewish blood.
.
In 1198, the 4th crusade set out with the objective of destroying a Muslim base in Egypt, but they had no transportation. The merchants of Venice agreed to provide ships if the crusaders would dethrone the Eastern Emperor while they were at it. They jumped at it against the Pope’s permission. They attacked Constantinople (Christians killing Christians now) and the Merchants of Venice stranded them there. This was the beginning of the “indulgences” associated with the crusades.
.
This went on for centuries, and gave the Christian church a very bad name. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church eventually split for good. These Crusades are the source of a lot of the distrust between Jew, Muslim, Catholic, and Orthodox now.
.
The bottom line:
Christians must always be kind, but being kind does not mean being silent. Sometimes we must point out religious error (Acts 18:24-28). Three attitudes should rule: 1) compassion, 2) understanding, and 3) desire to lead others to the truth of God’s nature. Did this happen in the Middle Ages?
.
Name some groups that you consider Christian-but-different or even not-Christian. How can these three attitudes rule your conduct toward these groups (1Pet3:15)?
.
Write down the name of a group that you don’t have compassion for or don’t understand. This week, do something to increase your understanding of their beliefs (www.wikipedia.com is a good start) and pray for God to send his Holy Spirit onto you to give you compassion for this group.
Next Week: Chapter 6: God is still working among the corruption
0 comments:
Post a Comment