18 Sep 08
Originally posted by aging blitzerIf it was not for Christianity in general and protestantism in particular, I doubt whether anyone would have thought about throwing off the shackles of feudalism and begun to entertain enlightenment philosophy.
Oh, much the same as Christianity then
Martin Luther and the idea of salvation as a personal and individual choice that was a gift as a result of grace, and not something anyone could earn by works, was a very powerful liberating idea that led to an avalanche of discoveries that included the idea that if as sinners we had all fallen short of God's glory and because salvation was a gift none could boast of God's favor, therefore we were all equally undeserving of any merit so that when you underscore that idea of Christ not being a respecter of persons you have the foundation that firmly established the reformation.
Once people were freed in their own conscience not to require any external authorization for their belief systems, you have a watershed moment in European history that sets the intellect free, and once freed of the box of proscribed thinking every major philosophy that then organically grows out of that moment of being free to choose can be linked back to that core Christian belief of love for God and love for your fellow man as yourself.
When this core belief is embraced there is no way that in good conscience you can deny anyone else freedom and you can go through any major movement that has helped liberate any particular group of people and you will find some aspect of the consequences of subscribing to this core belief.