Mrs. Wilhelmus
AP English 8th period
31 July 2013
The "Middle Ages" chapter of Sophie's World elaborates on how famous thinkers such as Aristotle and Plato were "Christianized" so that their thoughts could be wider spread and shared throughout the world rather than being viewed as a threat on the Christian faith. Although some of the ideas expressed by Plato and Aristotle were beyond any of their time, they could not be accepted amongst a majority of the world during that time because so many people believed that their religion was threatened by them. St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine correlated the clever philosophies of Plato and Aristotle to the Bible's teachings so that Christians everywhere could recognize the brilliance of these two people.
During this era, Christianity was the primary source of philosophy and wisdom. People explained events in the world through Christ in order to fulfill their curious minds. Therefore, whenever other ideas contrasted the teachings of the Bible even slightly, followers of Christ felt threatened and therefore did not accept the ideas, no matter how brilliant. By "Christianizing" the teachings of Plato and Aristotle, St. Augustine and Aquinas allowed the world to be exposed to a deeper level of thinking in areas they had never discovered.
Aquinas explained the similarities between Aristotle's philosophical ideas and Christianity. For example, Aristotle taught that there was a single being or force that controlled every being on planet Earth. Whether or not this was God or not is unsure. However, by simply displaying the similarities, Christians were able to see that Aristotle was not threatening the Christian belief, but quite possibly strengthening it.
By "Christianizing" Aristotle and Plato's ideas, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas exposed a whole new genre of thinking to a large portion of the world that is still apparent today. Without the correlation of the teachings of the Bible to the teachings of these thinkers, most people would most likely not know who they are and miss out on genius ideas that could cause change.
During this era, Christianity was the primary source of philosophy and wisdom. People explained events in the world through Christ in order to fulfill their curious minds. Therefore, whenever other ideas contrasted the teachings of the Bible even slightly, followers of Christ felt threatened and therefore did not accept the ideas, no matter how brilliant. By "Christianizing" the teachings of Plato and Aristotle, St. Augustine and Aquinas allowed the world to be exposed to a deeper level of thinking in areas they had never discovered.
Aquinas explained the similarities between Aristotle's philosophical ideas and Christianity. For example, Aristotle taught that there was a single being or force that controlled every being on planet Earth. Whether or not this was God or not is unsure. However, by simply displaying the similarities, Christians were able to see that Aristotle was not threatening the Christian belief, but quite possibly strengthening it.
By "Christianizing" Aristotle and Plato's ideas, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas exposed a whole new genre of thinking to a large portion of the world that is still apparent today. Without the correlation of the teachings of the Bible to the teachings of these thinkers, most people would most likely not know who they are and miss out on genius ideas that could cause change.
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