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In the twelfth century, an Aristotelian scholar and philosopher, Ibn Rushd (AKA Averroes), rose to prominence in Moorish Spain. His writings were translated into Latin and widely disseminated in Christian Europe over the next two centuries. The basis for European thinking had been Platonic Dualism, remanufactured as Neoplatonism. Then Aristotelian ideas, a unified reality, and…
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In this writing, I am standing on the cusp of the Renaissance. For the first Christian Millennium in Europe—to oversimplify it—it chose a foundation of a dualistic Neoplatonic philosophy. Despite Paul warning the early church not to be taken by cultural philosophies, it always has. Even now as I write, besides adopting once again a…
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I know I’m a little paranoid, but I am always cognizant that most people aren’t interested in history or philosophy. I keep wanting to make this relevant. Here I will introduce you to a conversation about how the world is breaking out in forest fires, killing people, making life miserable for a million or more,…
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In my last article, where I wrote that Thomas Aquinas inspired the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, I skipped over the Renaissance. I think it was a subliminal error because I love Renaissance history so much; it is very hard for me to summarize. It is like visiting a mysterious old mansion, teaming with stories,…
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I briefly mentioned the Catholic Scholastic movement in the last post, but this new way of thinking is rooted more in Aristotle’s logic than in Plato’s dualistic model. Aristotle studied with Plato in Athens, but he rejected the dualistic model, focusing on reason’s logic as the way we find truth. The Scholastic movement began early…
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Definitions I must start this posting with a definition of terms. All words have connotations set deeply in our culture, memory, and emotions. But those connotations can be a distraction when we use the same word in a fresh way or to correct a misunderstanding. The word “science” means many different things to different people.…
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As I said in the beginning, I would work hard to keep this story simple. I had intended, following the chronological order, to move from Constantine the Great, who died in 337, to Augustine, who was born just twenty-seven years later, in Hippo, which is now in Algeria. However, first I must backtrack a few…
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It is another moment when I interrupt this historical journey for a sidebar. I think it is important to point out a couple of issues as we continue this pilgrimage: how we got to this point in our churches and society at large… the total loss of interest in factual truth. Mike, aren’t you overthinking…
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I remember circa 1984, I was teaching a Sunday School class to a group of college students, most from either the University of Michigan or Eastern Michigan University, on the history of Christianity/Christian missions. I was naive at the time, using just one source for my work, The History of Christian Mission, by Anglican scholar…
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I have barely scratched the surface of the history of how we got to the subjective culture we live in now. However, people get easily bored with history without knowing the point of the study; just ask a high schooler. So, I will come up for air and refocus on the point before I resume…
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J. Michael Jones 