Rise and Fall of Christianity in Western Philosophy

Author: Cao Xing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The author challenges the prevailing academic view of the "Two Cultures Theory" with the concept of the "Three-Culture Theory." He argues that Christianity is not merely a synthesis of the cultural genes of ancient Greek philosophy and Hebrew Judaism but also contains elements of the ancient Romans' "martial spirit" and "conquest." Based on this, the book not only deciphers the mystery of how Christianity became the foundation of all culture in the Middle Ages but also unravels the enigma of the US-Iraq War.
Regarding the Middle Ages, Christianity held an absolute dominant position in the entire Western civilization system. On one hand, it provided spiritual support for Westerners, while on the other hand, it significantly hindered the development of philosophy and science, making philosophy and science into the "servants" of Christian theology and plunging philosophy into a low point of being bound by theology. How did the West eventually break free from this low point? Why did the modern Western "anti-theistic" movement evolve from the Renaissance to pantheism and deism, and then to outright atheism? In other words, why did the path of Western civilization's development follow a trajectory from ancient Greek theology to ancient Greek philosophy, then to Christian theology, and finally to a coexistence of Christian theology and Western philosophy? Reflecting on this series of questions is the primary mission of this book.