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From: zonker@ihlpf.UUCP (Tom Harris)
Newsgroups: net.religion,talk.religion
Subject: Re: More Non-History
Message-ID: <688@ihlpf.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 2-Sep-86 14:14:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlpf.688
Posted: Tue Sep  2 14:14:20 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Sep-86 04:34:32 EDT
References: <15499@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 43
Xref: linus net.religion:10683 talk.religion:42

>The reason why one of the few
>documents from the 1st millenium is the Bible is because the church
>took over and instituted a "purge" wherein all non-Xian documents
>were destroyed, as well as most non-Xian's (hear about the
>Crusades?)  Guess why the Church was all-powerful during the middle
>ages?  Because of the above purge. Why?  Because the people had no
>exposure to anything non-Xian (fortunately, this changed).  Note
>that the middle ages were one of the most stagnant in all ways
>non-Xian (no technology, little non-Xian artwork, slavery rampant,
>power concentrated COMPLETELY in the hands of the Church and nobles,
>etc)
This is simply not true.  The church actually did much to preserve what
ancient documentation survived the 1st Millenium.  The first Millenium was
a violent time with Barbarians wandering all over the place in
Europe and sacking and burning everthing in sight.  It's no wonder little
survives almost every city in Europe is sacked during that period.
The Mongols come out of China and decapitate everyone they can get
their hands on.  On top of that there is the Moslem expansion that
burns every city in the East.  That no archives of the 1 century C.E. exist
intact is hardly surprising.  The fact of the matter is we have
few documents from before the C.E. as well.  Only a fraction of
the works attributed to Homer exist (the Illiad and the Odessesy
there were many more).  Most of the Athenian dramas perished with
the Museum (we have a best of set, but only from three of scores
of authors) etc..  As for being completely non-Xian Gallileo is
condemed for contradicting Aristole who lived three centuries
before whats-his-face.

The first couple of centuries C.E. are in the "calm before the
storm".  Much of what is written during this time doesn't have time
to be copied and distributed in a widespread fashion (like more
ancient tomes) and is particularly vulnerable.  This does not mean
that there aren't things to condem the church about during the
middle ages.  They screened all scientific advancement and chrushed
anything that didn't fit their accepted tenants (most of which were
pagan, but that's beside the point), they limited literacy, they
started the Inquisition, they started the Crusades, they smelled
worse than the Romans, etc..

I am a HASA member too, but butchering history is for X-tains and
their ilk not me.

					Tom H.