Read by 6 October 2010

This week we will be looking at Great Men of the Early Middle Ages with a focus upon Charlemagne and the rise of Papal power.

CHARLEMAGNE

1. Charlemagne = Charles the Great
2. Note that like other important leaders we have discussed, Charlemagne had an unusually long reign.
3. Charlemagne was not known as a brilliant military tactician but he is one of the greatest organizational geniuses in political history.
4. Charlemagne was absolutely committed to Christianity and to Christian learning. His reign is sometimes referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance (Carolingian is the name of his family).

THE RISE OF PAPAL POWER

1. It is important to realize that Italy was in state of decline during this period and the prestige and power of the Bishop of Rome was in considerable decline until the Bishops of Rome undertook a series of politically astute moves to build their power.
2. While the Bishop of Constantinople was generally seen as the senior Bishop of the Universal ("catholic" = universal) Christian Church, the Bishop of Rome embarked on a daring power grab by crowing Western European Kings and ultimately the "Holy Roman Emperor".
3. What advantage did politicians gain by being crowned by the "Pope"?
4. What advantage did the papacy gain by becoming the instrument for crowing civil magistrates?

It would be helpful if you could read this article on Gregory the Great prior to class.

Read by 29 September 2010

The "Dark" Ages

This week we are scheduled to look at the Dark Ages, the Vikings, and Monasticism. Obviously we are not going to do that in detail over the course of an hour and fifteen minutes.

What I would like you to think about prior to class is what does it mean for the "Dark" Ages to be dark. How dark were they anyway?

Some things to consider:

1. The people living in what we now call the Dark Ages didn't seem to realize that they were living in a particularly dark or difficult time. Why not?
2. The first time that the term Dark Ages seems to have been used is in 1602. How is that significant?
3. False Comparison #1. The period called the Dark Ages is often called dark in contrast to the periods that came before (particularly classical Rome) and the period of the Renaissance. But things are not so simple. Normally people romanticize aspects of the past that they are fond of. When such people (including us) look back on classical Rome we tend to think about its magnificent buildings and roads. We imagine ourselves near Caesar's palace or in a Senator's villa. But what was life like for the average Roman? Actually, there was so much violence in ancient Rome that wealthy individuals wouldn't not go out at night without body guards. Many people lived in tenement apartments that were fire traps. Outbreaks of disease were common and as many as 30% of the Roman Empire was made up of slaves. Keeping these conditions in mind will help you put the Dark Ages into a more historically accurate context.
4. False Comparison #2. When people speak of the Dark Ages they are often comparing Medieval Germany and France with classical Greece and Rome at their zenith. A better comparison would be to compare Medieval Germany and France to the Germanic tribes who roamed the woods of Europe wearing war paint in the first century A.D. Against this backdrop, Medieval Europe doesn't look so dark after all.

One of the most famous quotations from the Middle Ages may help us put this issue in context. Around 1130 A.D., Bernard of Chartes said: "We are like dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants, and so are able to see more and to see farther than the ancients." This has often been quoted to show that people in the Middle Ages thought of themselves as dwarfs compared to the ancients. There is a bit of truth in this, when the comparison is to the very best of ancient culture. Nevertheless, it is important to balance this out by noting that Bernard also claimed that his generation was "able to see more and farther than the ancients". This is not the saying of someone who is despairing about the collapse of his own culture.

Read Before 22 September 2010

This week we will be looking at the Rise of Islam

Nine years ago a group of Islamic terrorists hijacked jumbo-jets and crashed them into the World Trade center killing thousands of people. After this wicked deed was done, many people wanted to point out that it was the action of a small number of men and that Islam is a "religion of peace". But is it? How can you know? It is important for Christians to ask the related question, "Is Christianity a religion of peace?" A knowledge of the history and beliefs of Islam are important for anyone living in the modern world.

Islam beings with Muhammad whom Muslims believe is Allah's last and most exalted prophet. In 622 AD, Muhammad fled from Mecca to Medina. This flight is reckoned as the first year of Islam. Muslims date their calendar from this year.

It will be most helpful if you familiarize yourself with the following definitions and concepts prior to class:

DEFINITIONS

1. Muslim is an Arabic word that means one who submits to Allah.
2. Allah is Arabic for God.
3. Koran is an Arabic word for recitations. This is because Muslims do not believe that Muhammad wrote the Koran. He simply received it directly from God. The Koran, according to Muslims, consists of Muhammad reciting verbatim the words that Allah gave to him.
4. A Mosque is a Muslim house of prayer.
5. Caliph. Originally Caliphs were senior political leaders but, over time, they became religious and political leaders.

CONCEPTS

1. What is God like? Muslims view Allah (God) as being absolutely sovereign. Furthermore, Muslims view Allah as being perfectly just. Allah is often described as being "wholly other". That is, Allah is so holy and exalted that no human language can speak meaningfully of him.
2. There are Five Pillars of Islam: (1) Profession of the unity of Allah and that Muhammad is his prophet; (2) Prayer; (3) Alms giving; (4) Fasting; and (5) Pilgrimage.
3. Islam is a works based religion. Life on earth is viewed as a period of testing. A persons good and bad deeds will be weighed in the balance on the day of judgment. The good will go to heaven and the bad will be sent to hell.

QUESTIONS

1. What is attractive about Islam? That is, why would anyone want to become a Muslim?
2. How did early Islam spread? Is this significant?
3. What does one have to do to become a Muslim?
4. Is Islam compatible with Christianity?

Read Before 15 September 2010

Due to the teacher being a bit windy last week - we will be finishing last week's class this week focusing on two topics: (1) Justinian; and (2) Eastern Orthodoxy.

• JUSTINIAN (Reigned 527-565)

1. Justinian is also commonly called Justinian the Great. He is remembered for his massive project of rebuilding Constantinople and for collecting and systematizing Roman Law. Justinian is the last Emperor whose first language was Latin. Although Justinian worked hard to bring Western parts of the Empire back under his control, from the death of Justinian onward there is a growing separation between East and West.
2. The building project that Justinian is most famous for is the astonishing Church he had built called Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom"). Please take a moment to look at some photographs here.

A question to think about: Since Justinian was a committed Christian, why was he so concerned to collect and refine Roman law which had developed almost exclusively among non-Christians?

• EASTERN ORTHODOXY

1. Orthodox means either "right thinking" or "right worship". Clearly both ideas are clearly related since all good theology should lead to doxology (praise of God).
2. There are about 300 million Orthodox Christians in the world.
3. Orthodoxy places great emphasis on preserving the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. Many Orthodox believe that their worship can be traced back to the Apostolic times. How likely do you think that this is? What other periods would likely have been very influential in shaping Orthodoxy and why?

In order to understand what is distinctive about other branches of Christianity we need to understand what is distinctive about our own churches. What 4 or 5 beliefs or practices do you think are most distinctive of the church that you belong to?

Read Before 8 September 2010: Byzantium

The Byzantine Empire lasted for more than 1,000 years. It kept classical culture alive and was critical to both the Renaissance and Reformation. Yet, the Byzantine Empire has largely been "Lost to the West" (but hopefully not to you!). How could this happen? We will look at this question in class because it helps us understand the difference between the history which has happened and history as the stories that we continue to tell one another. For some reason Americans have stopped telling those stories which trace their roots back into the Byzantine Empire. Reclaiming those stories will help us understand the flow of Western history, as well as the world we currently live inhabit, in a richer way.

1. We will be focusing our class time on (1) Constantine; (2) Justinian (3) the Eastern Orthodox Church; and (4) thinking about history.
2. Constantine: You looked at Constantine last year so this will (at least for some of you) be a review. Constantine is a particularly important figure for two reasons: (1) In 330 A.D., Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to the Eastern part of the Roman Empire and named it after himself; and (2) Constantine provided official support for Christianity as Christianity grew to become the most prominent religion within the Empire. As we will discuss in class, this had a profound impact on the Church and it continues to impact the Church right up until the present day.
3. Justinian: Justinian enjoyed an unusually long reign as emperor from 527 to 565 A.D. This is an easy point to overlook, but achieving great significance as a ruler usually involves reigning for a long period of time. King David and King Solomon each ruled for 40 years. Augustus Caesar ruled for 41 years. Even the exceptions, such as Alexander the Great, tend to prove this rule. While Alexander reshaped the ancient world with astonishing speed - his early death left no structures or institutions in place to carry on his vision. What did Justinian do with his extensive time in power? He built the Byzantine Empire to the greatest position of glory that it would ever have. Not only did Justinian sponsor an astonishingly lavish set of building projects in Constantinople, he brought the symbolically important city of Rome back into the Empire, and had Roman laws compiled into a code known as the Body of Civil Law. This body of law, often known as the "Justinian Code" has had a massive influence on the legal systems of both Eastern and Western Europe.
4. The Eastern Orthodox Church: The Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian body in the world after the Roman Catholic Church. In fact there are more than twice as many Orthodox in the United States than there are Presbyterians. Yet, most Protestants know very little about Orthodoxy. We are going to look at the roots of Eastern Orthodoxy focusing on how the Eastern and Western Churches split and at some of the distinctive features of Orthodoxy down to our own day.