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From: za56@sdcc3.ucsd.EDU (Brian McNeill)
Newsgroups: talk.religion
Subject: Re: More Non-History
Message-ID: <3560@sdcc3.ucsd.EDU>
Date: Thu, 4-Sep-86 15:34:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcc3.3560
Posted: Thu Sep  4 15:34:54 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 9-Sep-86 05:30:51 EDT
References: <15499@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: za56@sdcc3.UUCP (Brian McNeill)
Followup-To: talk.religion
Distribution: na
Organization: U.C. San Diego, Academic Computer Center
Lines: 54

In article <15499@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> gsmith@brahms.UUCP (Gene Ward Smith) writes:
>
>     Plot synopsis: Brian "Easter Bunny" McNeill takes on Stuart "2001"
>Gathman. Kismet, probably. In any case, Brian seems to be a recent graduate
>of the Oleg Kiselev School of Historical Analysis. We find:
>
>[Mine deleted]
>
>    While there were book burning incidents, on the whole the Church is
>credited much more for *saving* the literature of the ancient world than
>destroying it.

That depends on what you define as "destroying" literature. Many of
the great early works were destroyed, and/or changed beyond
recognition by the medieval scholars (case in point is Beowulf,
where the fundamental nature of the story was changed due to its
"Christianizing")

>It is false that all non-Christian documents were destroyed,
>many remain. It is false that the Crusades destroyed most non-Christians
>(that is not even what they attempted to do). 

I didn't say "most".  But the Crusades (and later the Inquisition)
did end up killing a whole lot of non-Xians (I know that wasn't what
they attempted to do.  It came about as a side-affect to their
purpose).  The Inquisition, on the other hand, burned a hell of a
lot of people for being "heretics", said state being defined as an
impious attitude towards "their" God.

>[Deleted]
>And the Middle Ages were not one of the worst times for slavery by any means.
>

That depends on what you define as slavery.  I define slavery as a
lack of freedom (total).  Which is approximately what the serfs and
"freemen" of the time had.  In the middle ages, a serf had no
choices in life.  He worked land he didn't own, ate little off the
land he worked, was subject to High and Low justice (High justice
being life and death) by his lord (ie, his lord could kill him out
of hand if he wanted to), etc.  Seems pretty close to slavery to me.


>
>ucbvax!brahms!gsmith    Gene Ward Smith/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
>ucbvax!weyl!gsmith                  Institute of Pi Research

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