Christianity and Medieval Philosophy

Introduction to Medieval Philosophy

Christianity Today

• Christianity ( 基督教 ) has become a very big and diverse religion today. It is the #1 biggest religion.

• There are around 2.2 Billion Christians in the world today, which is about 35% of the world.

• There are 3 main groups: Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox

• There are about 38,000 different kinds of Christian• Most Christians live in South America and Europe

Christianity Today

• Christianity is very similar to Judaism ( 犹太教 ) and Islam ( 伊斯兰教 ), but also very different.

• Talk for a moment. What is similar and what is different about these 3 religions? What do you know about them?

Christianity Today

• Judaism, Christianity and Islam all say there is one God and that God is from the Bible ( 圣经 )

• They all believe that this God created the world

• “In the beginning, God created the sky and the earth.”

Christianity Today

• They also believe that the world started with two people, husband and wife

• They believe that there was a flood ( 洪水 ) in all of the world

• They all believe that one family survived the Flood and that all people come from a man named Abraham

Christianity Today

• The big difference between these 3 religions is their idea about Jesus ( 耶稣 )

• All 3 religions think that Jesus was a good man and a good teacher

• But, Christianity also believes that he is God• Judaism and Islam do not agree

Christianity Today

• This is the most popular idea in the West• Jesus in the West is like Buddha ( 佛 ) in the

East• Everyone knows about it him and everyone

thinks he was very wise and a great teacher• But, only some people think he is God

Jesus

• The story of Jesus comes mostly from 4 books: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These books are named after their authors.

• Christians call these books “Gospels”– Gospel means “good news”

• So, talk about Jesus. What do you know about his life? What have you heard, read or learned about his ideas?

Jesus

• The story of Jesus begins around 0 CE. In the past people have written dates in the West as “BC” and “AD”– BC = Before Christ (another name for Jesus)– AD = Anno Domini. It is a Latin word that means

“Year of the Lord” (Lord is an English word that means God)

• The story begins with a birth in Bethlehem• His parents are named Mary and Joseph

Bethlehem, Israel“While they were there in Bethlehem, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in an animal bed, because there was no room in the hotel.”

Jesus - Birth

• The Birth story is very strange.• First, Mary was a Virgin ( 处女 ). – A messenger from God told Mary “Mary, you have

nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.”

– It was God’s baby. Not Joseph’s. Later, Jesus will be called the “son of God”

Jesus - BirthSecond, there was a Star that led people from all over the world to visit Jesus when he was born.

Jesus - BirthNativity: Star, People, Stable ( 农舍 ), Jesus baby, Angels ( 天使 )

Jesus – Teaching

• 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

• 3 “ 知道自己在属灵境界中有需求的人受到祝福， 因为天国属于他们； 4 悲伤的人受到祝福， 因为上帝会来抚慰他们； 5 温和的人受到祝福， 因为他们将承受上帝许诺的土地 6 渴望正义的人受到祝福， 因为上帝会满足他们的要求； 7 仁慈的人受到祝福， 因为上帝会施予他们怜恤； 8 心灵纯洁的人受到祝福， 因为他们将与上帝同在； 9 追求和平的人受到祝福， 因为他们必将成为上帝之子；

Jesus – Teaching

• He taught that everything is opposite.– Weak is strong.– Poor is rich– Humble is great– Foolish is wise

Jesus – Teaching

• He taught the Golden Rule:• “In everything, do to others what you want done to

you.”• Finally, Jesus taught about a Kingdom ( 王国 )– He taught that there is a secret Kingdom where God is

king.– The poor are rich, the humble are great– The good have good and the evil receive evil– The soul is greater than the body– Faith ( 信仰 ) leads to knowledge– Love is most important

Jesus – Parables

• Jesus told stories called ParablesJesus told stories called Parables• Parables are religious allegories (Parables are religious allegories ( 寓言寓言 ))• They usually started with a questionThey usually started with a question– Someone would ask “Teacher, what is wisdom?”Someone would ask “Teacher, what is wisdom?”– Jesus would answer “Long long ago there lived a Jesus would answer “Long long ago there lived a

man who…”man who…”

Jesus – Parables

• Good Samaritan– Poor man dying on the road– Priests ( 牧师 ) – Religious leaders– Government leader– Foreigner

Jesus – Miracles

• Jesus did miracles ( 奇迹 )• He healed sick people, stopped storms, fed

thousands with a piece of bread, gave sight to blind, and brought dead people back to life

• The Gospels talk about 36 different Miracles of Jesus

Jesus – Miracles

• Feed the 5,000• Turn water to wine• Healed man who couldn’t walk at a healing

pool• Resurrected ( 复活 ) a little girl

Jesus – Son of God

• Finally, Jesus told people that he was the Son of God

Jesus – Death

• All of this teaching created trouble for Jesus• He was telling everyone that government and

religion were false or at least very weak• He was teaching that the rich and powerful

were the most evil• He was teaching that he was God or at least

the son of God

Jesus – Death So, the government killed him

Jesus – Death

• This is not the end of the story• Jesus died • Then, after 3 days, Jesus came back to life• He taught for 40 more days and then left to

heaven ( 天堂 )

Jesus – Death “ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, some women went to the tomb ( 墓 ). But, they found the stone pushed away and they did not find the body of Jesus.”

Christianity

• So, great story. Maybe a little interesting?• But, what does it mean for philosophy?• Why are we studying Christianity?

Christianity

• In the Middle Ages, Religion was Philosophy and Philosophy was Religion

• Why?• Christianity became part of the government

Christianity

• Jesus died around 33 CE• Then, what?• Jesus’ followers started “Christianity”• They told stories about Jesus, talked about

his teachings, and worked together to follow his teachings

• They gave money to the poor, freed slaves, healed sicknesses, fed people, and so on

Christianity

• They joined together in small groups called “churches” ( 教会 )

• They became very popular, very fast• Two of the most famous Christians were Peter

and Paul– They were the first people to lead the Christians

and to start churches– They also wrote and many of their letters are in

the Bible

Christianity

• So, there was a good beginning• But, then there were problems• Two main problems:– 1. What do we believe?– 2. Opposition

Christianity

• 1. What do we believe?– In the beginning of Christianity, there was no Bible

and there were no teachers– Many people argued about what Jesus was saying– There were many fights and many different ideas– It was difficult find unity ( 统一 )

Christianity

• 2. Opposition– The government killed Jesus– And, when Christianity became more popular, the

government also killed Christian people– Christianity started in Rome– In Rome, the Emperor( 皇帝 ) was like God– So, Christians did not agree with this. They said

Jesus was God.– This made the government angry.– The government made it illegal ( 非法 ) to be a

Christian

Christianity

• So, from about 30 CE to about 300 CE, the Christian religion grew but it was very difficult

• But, then, something crazy happened. • The Roman Emperor, Constantine, joined the

Christian religion in 313 CE. He wrote the Edict of Milan that made Christianity legal.

• He said that Rome will become Christian

ChristianityChi – Rho. Constantine made all of the warriors put this symbol on their shirts.

Christianity

• Then, in 325 CE, there was a meeting called the Council of Nicaea

• This group of government leaders met to talk about Christianity

• They chose a list of books to be the Bible and they wrote a creed ( 信条 ) of ideas about the Christian religion

Christianity

• The Bible is the same today. It has 66 books and 2 main parts. – There are 39 books in the first part called “Old

Testament.” These are all very old and written by Jewish people

– There are 27 books in the second part called “New Testament.” These were all written after the death of Jesus. They are all written by Christians.

Christianity

• The creed was a list of beliefs that everyone must agree with. – “We believe in one God, the Father, creator of all

things. And in one Jesus, the Son of God. He made all things. He lived on Earth and died for us. He came to life again and then left to Heaven. He will return again and judge the living and dead.”

Christianity

• Christianity is now legal in 325 CE• It is the religion of the Roman government• It has a list of beliefs that everyone agrees

with • It has a group of books, the Bible• This is where Medieval Philosophy begins. This

is the world of the Medieval thinkers

Medieval Philosophy

• After Ancient Philosophy there is a gap in time.

• Then, Medieval Philosophy begins at about 400 CE

• The first philosopher is a guy named Augustine

• Medieval Philosophy ends around the 1500’s• It ends with a lot of Math and Science and

these ideas start the Renaissance (文艺复兴 )

Medieval Philosophy

• It is important to know that they did not only talk about Christianity

• They also talked about Math and Science • They also started schools like Oxford and

University of Paris• But, they are most famous for their Theology

Medieval Philosophy

• Theology = Study of God• There was Theology before the Middle Ages,

but it was not connected to Religion in the same way– Greek Mythology– Greek Philosophers

Medieval Philosophy

• Greek Mythology asked questions about God or about the gods, but they were mostly questions about killing animals and winning wars

• Greek Philosophy, however, talked a lot about God– Plato– Aristotle

Plato and Theology

• Plato did not begin with a God• In his early books, he wrote that the Greek

stories and myths were true and that they controlled different things like the Sun, Water, Wine and War

• But, later in life, Plato wrote about one God• He wrote that this God created the world by

“bringing order to the chaos” ( 混乱 )

Neo-PlatonismThe One gives light to everything. Then there is an order: Forms, Soul, Body.We will talk more about all this soon.

Aristotle and Prime Mover

• Aristotle said:– Everything that moves, is moved (pushed) by

something else– When one moving thing hits another moving

thing, they will both move– If this continues, there will be no order.– So, there must be something that MOVES, but is

not MOVED– This is the Unmoved Mover. It is unchanged and

so it creates order in the Motion.

Medieval Philosophy

• Medieval Philosophy is different from all of this because it assumes that the Bible and the Creed are Truth

• So, there is a boundary ( 边界 ). Truth is in the middle.

Medieval Philosophy

• What do these guys talk about?– The Personality of God– The Creation of the world– Christian Morality– Atonement– Human Freedom– Truth– Relationship between Soul and Body– Problem of Evil

Personality of God

• There are 66 books in the Bible. That is thousands and thousands of pages.

• All of the books talk about the personality of God

• Many of the ideas appear to be opposite– Justice and Mercy– Love and Anger– How can God be both? Which one is correct?

Personality of God

• Some Personality traits are:– God knows everything– God is perfect– God is Good– God is Stronger than everything– God made everything

Creation of the World

• “In the beginning, God created the sky and earth…from the nothing.”

• What does this mean?• What is a human being?• Why is a human different than another

animal?• Is a human good or bad?

Creation of the World

• The Bible says that “God created people to be like himself.”

• What does that mean?• Am I God? Am I a god? Is God in me?• If this is true, is God like me?– Does God do wrong?– Does God hate? Is God greedy? Jealous? Angry?

Christian Morality

• The Bible is mostly stories about people. These people did right and wrong things.– What is right? What is wrong?

• If God is perfect and humans are not, how do humans “act like God” ?

• What is The Good? What is the right life?

Atonement

• Atonement means to fix the wrong. To make correct, right.

• This is HUGE!• We will talk about this more next week, but I

will give you an introduction now.

Atonement

• When Jesus died, it was not only Death• Remember, Jesus is God (this is what the

Christians think)• So, God died that day• What does that mean? God died?• This is the same question that the Medieval

philosophers asked.

Atonement

• Here is the story:– In the beginning, God created everything– Everything was perfect. Why? Because God is

perfect– Then Sin!• Sin = doing wrong/bad things• The first people did not listen to God. They ate a fruit

that God told them not to eat.

Atonement

• So, now there is Sin in the world.• It was perfect, but Sin broke it• Every person after Adam and Eve (the first

people) was born into this Sin• This is why people do bad things• Because people do bad things, God cannot be

close to them.

AtonementSo, there was a separation between man and God.

Atonement

• BUT, Jesus died• Why did Jesus die?• Not because the government wanted him to

die• The Bible explains “God so loved the world

that he gave his only Son to die and any person that believes in Jesus and his ideas will live True Life.”

AtonementSo, Jesus fixed the problem. Jesus made a bridge for people to find God.

Atonement

• When Jesus died, God killed everything “Human” about Jesus

• Jesus lived as a Human Being• Then, Jesus died as a Human Being• The “Human” died, but the “Soul” of Jesus

lived• So, God killed the “Human” part of all people

Atonement

• The “Human” part is the part that sinned. It is the part that always wants to do the bad things.

• BUT, the “Soul” is alive. The Soul wants the good things. It wants to know God.

• So, “Sin” died when Jesus died

Atonement

• This is the basic idea. Medieval Philosophers argued about how it works.

Human Freedom

• If God knows everything, then does God know what I am doing now… and what I did yesterday…and what I will do tomorrow?

• Does God know Past, Present and Future?• If the answer is “Yes” then am I really free?• Can I do something different than what God

knows?• Do I have to do the thing that God knows I’m

going to do?

Problem of Evil

• Why is there “Evil” in the world?• Why do people do bad things?• Why are there storms that kill thousands of

people?• The Bible says that God is GOOD. Why is there

“bad” in the world that God created to be good?

• Can God stop the bad? Did God create the bad? Why?

Homework

• Read Augustine’s “Confessions”– The book is long but it is a story about Augustine’s

life. A biography. It is actually the first biography in Western history.

– I want you to read at least some of it. – I recommend you to find it in Chinese, because

the English is a little difficult.