The contribution of Christianity to western civilization

Christianity is born in Palestine and is spread mainly in Western Asia in early years. But it is in Europe that Christianity takes root and grows strong. Christianity makes a substantial contribution to almost every aspect of Western civilization. This thesis will present its major impact on politics， people's value， culture and art.

First， Christianity makes a lot of contribution to political unification. After the fall of Roman Empire， Western Roman Empire shatters into hundreds of kingdoms mixed with Germanic tribes. During this period of anarchy， Christianity plays a role of government. At first， when Western Roman Empire was invaded by Germanic tribes， “the church and its surrounding areas take the lead”as Popes led people to protect Rome bravely， such as Leo?， Pelagius ?. Then the church directly takes part in government administration. For example， Gregory I took charge of Rome and its surrounding areas and made it into an administrative unit that eventually came to be known as the Papal State. Besides， he pursued a policy of extending papal authority over the Christian church in the west as successfully initiating the efforts of missionaries to convert England to Christianity. In this way， Christianity helps to mix different European nations and form the “Idea of Europe”， because they have the same history， the same living environment and the same belief.

Second， Christianity has a huge influence on people's value. It presents the ethical concepts—love， humility and charity—that would form the basis for the value system of medieval Western civilization. In Christianity， God's command is simple—to love God and love one another： “Love the soul with your mind and with all your strength. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself.”Likewise， Christianity encourages people to learn to be humble as much as possible no matter what they are， that can be shown from the word “humility” whose root is “humus”， meaning “soil”. On the basis of thought in love and equality， churches are responsible for welfare work. For example， there is a special position of reliever in every church， who takes charge of different charities. In additional， the first hospital， asylum for organ and the blind are built by church as well. All these things make Christianity an essential part of people's everyday life.

Third， Christianity plays an important role in the development of western culture. On one hand， it serves to preserve Greco-Roman culture. For example， missionaries not only transcribe many religious classics， but also teach language， art and science when preaching sermons. On the other hand， Christianity fosters to establish the first university. In order to train more clergies， churches begin to build some monastic school， which mainly teach language， literature， rhetoric， philosophy. Then arithmetic， physics， chemistry， music are added. These schools provide a large number of qualified people for western development， such as Bruno and Servet. The University of Paris just derives from a monastic school， which is also the mold of Oxford. These universities provide many thinkers and scientists， like Bacon， Copernicus and Galileo， who become founders of science and technology in Middle Ages.

Fourth， Christianity is conducive to the development of arts. In literature， many literary writers' famous works draw materials from the Bible， such as Dante's Divine Comedy， Milton's Paradise Lost. Some romantic poets are also deeply influenced by Christian thought， such as Byron' Cain， Shelley' Church History in Plain Language. In painting， the most famous works are all about the theme of religion， such as Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper， Raphael's School of Athens. In sculpture， there is Donatello's David. In music， many popular types of music as mass， passion， requiem， hymn， anthem all come from church. In architecture， all of the most beautiful architectures are churches in Middle Ages. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries， hundreds of new cathedrals， churches， abbeys are built， most of which are in the basilica shape with barrel vaults. Then the Gothic cathedral becomes the greatest triumph in the High Middle Ages， which has ribbed vaults， pointed arches and flying buttress.

In conclusion， the impact of Christianity on the development of western civilization is crucial. Compared with other factors as Greek philosophy， Roman law， the Renaissance， the Reformation and the Enlightenment Movement， the influence of Christianity is not only wider and deeper but more lasting.

Reference：

[1]James B.Wiggins，Robert S.Ellwood，Christianity，New Jersey：Prentice Hall，65- 110.

[2]尘洁.马太福音羊皮书[M].陕西：陕西师范大学出版社，2004. 75.

[3]金铃.中世纪基督教文化与“欧洲观念”的形成[J].北京科技大学学报，2006，（2）：132.

作者简介：崔静，任教于云南艺术学院，助教。云南大学英语语言文学硕士学位，主要研究方向是英美文学和大学英语教育。