In Europe during the Middle Ages the only recognized religion was Christianity, in the form of the Catholic religion. The lives of the Medieval people of the Middle Ages were consumed by the church. From birth to death, whether you were a peasant, a serf, a noble, a lord, or a King - life revolved around the church. Various religious institutions became both important, rich and powerful. The lives of many Medieval people were dedicated to the Catholic church and religion. Discuss why the Catholic Church became dominant both religiously and politically during the Middle Ages. Was there corruption in the church? Do you think this was a true form of Christianity?
In your peer reviews this week I would like you to follow a different template. You will write one thing you liked about someone else's post, one thing you wonder about that maybe they didn't describe or fully explain, and one suggestion or idea that would make their post better...it will look like this:
I liked..........
I wonder..........
I have an idea/suggestion..........
Clayton Hughes
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic Church became dominant because the bishops grew very powerful serving as the representative of the largest class of subjects. The kings acknowleged this power by granting the bishops political power.
The idea that the christian God would help christian rulers in battle began to become popular in Western Europe. The rulers thought that if they did what the popes told them that they would be religious. The popes used this to get what they wanted from the rulers. The fact that they have a person of high position in the church with them and telling them what they should do made them feel that God was on their side.
I think that there was corruption in the church at this time. I think the popes use the rulers to force things upon the people, like forcing them to worship that religion and do things for the church. The popes could use this to get money, power, and popularity.
I think this was a false and corrupted form of christianity. A real christian church would never do this and take advantage of power like that.
In the middle ages one of the main concerns was with the afterlife and not so much with the present life of the people. This in itself gave the Church a lot of power. The Church seemed to have power and control over your life. The people of the middle ages did not see it as this way. They saw it as a way to have a good afterlife in Heaven. When Christianity begun it was a very small amount of Jews. Because of the laws of the Bible, Christians would not under any cirumstances worship any other "gods" so they became a threat to the Roman Empire. This caused many lives to be taken. Eventually Christianity took a turn because of a new Emperor by the name of Constantine the Great. He sided with the Christian people and wanted to be recognized as the emperor of the Christian people. At this point the Christian Religion is now referred to as the Catholic Church. Although the Catholic Religion started out as a way of worship and to have a chance of a good afterlife eventually the power obtained through the Catholic religion was used to collect taxes and tithes which in turn created more power and influence.
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of corruption which later occured in the Catholic Church. I will list a few
I.Many priests were illiterate which made it hard for them to perform common religious services.
II. Priests and Nuns were involved in sexual activites although they took vows saying that they would not.
III. Selling Indulgences which is (a certificate saying that your sins are forgiving, and that you may not suffer as much after you died for your sins)
IV. Using the money from pilgrimages for personal use.
*Because of how the Catholic religion made money, and how the religion expanded in numerous places it began to become dominate politically and religously as I mentioned above*
As I was doing research on this topic I ran across a statement that really caught my attention, it was as followed "I believe that the church in the middle ages was using a scare tactic where people had to believe and pay to be forgiven or burn in Hell for all eternity." I agree with this statement 100%. Maybe some of those in the Catholic Religion had good motives, but from what I have researched the statement is very close if not accurate. I don't think that the Catholic Religion during the middle ages was a TRUE form of Christianity. I believe the term christianity was used freely as a way of making money.The dominant values of the WORLD include wealth, power, pleasure, revenge, fame, vanity and status. These things are most important to people who perceive no power or purpose beyond themselves. The dominant values of Christianity is listed in the ten commandments. When you compare the two, you will see that the people of the middle ages leaned more towards the values of the world not of Christ.
I could not find any video's to give further detail on the information I have presented but I will continue to look. If I do find some, I will be sure to upload them for your viewing.
Religiously the Catholic Church became dominant because of the affects that happened between the Pope and either the Lord or a King. By giving religious Catholic ceremonies before battle, if the outcome of the battle was a win, more people would have believed that God was the reason and there for, start to believe. Also during the that time Era a person would have practically given their life the church, due to the fact that the whole town/city revolved around the Catholic Church and its followers.
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic Church also became dominant politically by practically owning the King, and the town. The fact that most people wanted a good after life, cause the great increase in activity of the Church. If the Pope asked for money, food, or some other means of goods, the People or King would have given it to him, just for the thought that if I do this right for the Church then it would pay off for going to heaven.
I definitely think that there was corruption in the church. The Pope uses the high power for selfish needs as he gains more control by tempting the people and the Lord. It was practically the bishops and Popes using the high power in wrong ways, the people, serfs, and king were just pawn’s in there little mind games, but still thinking that if they could do good for the church then they are in the right road to going to heaven.
I definitely know that, that was not the true form of Christianity. The wrong doing by the Popes and Bishops make the Catholic Church seem like a place of evil and dark. The true form of Christianity would never use the high power for wrong doing.
clayton hughes
ReplyDeleteLeon, I like that you said the church and their God would get credit if they won a battle.
I wonder if you could have said something more about how they Catholic church became dominant.
I think you should put space between your paragraphs(i couln't find anything).
I think that the Roman Catholic Church was very corrupt. The Popes could definitely take advantage of other people since the majority of the people back then were illiterate. Popes could easily teach the people the wrong way of Christianity or have people give them money that they would use for shellfish purposes.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think this wasn't a very good form of Christianity. The popes and nuns could easily manipulate the people of their kingdom into believing what they wanted them to believe. A true form of Christianity wouldn't teach people something they couldn't read, they wouldn't use the kingdom to benefit their own needs. That's why I think the Roman Catholic Church wasn't a very true form on Christianity.
In response to Alandria's post
ReplyDeleteI liked that you put in so much effort into finding out all you could about the Roman Catholic Church.
I wonder if you could tell us why you think it was so corrupt.
I suggest that you try to shorten your comments just a little it's obvious you want to inform us on the topic but see if you can do it in a shorter posts.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE MIDDLE AGES
ReplyDeleteThe Roman Catholic Church was very important in middle ages, because of the huge influence it had among the people. From 590 to 1517, the Roman Church dominated the western world. The Roman Catholic Church controlled religion, philosophy, morals, politics, art and education.
The People were very ignorant! They did not know very much so as there supreme leader the Pope, Which is the Highest ruler in the Roman Catholic Church they would listen to his advice and always did what he would say to do in order to get into heaven as they believed, So pretty much through the people being so greatly influenced he had so much power over them that they would ask him for political advice which got the Church to become dominant both religiously and politically during the Middle Ages.
Was the Medieval Church Corrupt?
Yes! Indeed after researching the Middle Ages Roman Catholic Church I strongly do believe that the Roman Catholic Church was very corrupt. I believe it was so corrupted, because of how the Roman Church abused their power against such ignorant people. The way the Pope made them believe that with work, offering (as in money), through the church, &etc. They could receive salvation for doing those things. I even belive that the dark ages were so dark because the people were so ignorant maybe even the Popes were evil.
I do not believe that what they called “Christianity” was Christianity at all, they would worship idols & did do many other things Christians would not do.
During the Middle Ages, the Church was politically and religiously powerful for these main reasons:
ReplyDelete§ The Church owned vast areas of farmland. People who grew crops on this land had to give a portion of everything they grew to the Church. This was a lot of crops for many poor people to lose. Yet, the Church benefitted and made a lot of money out of this cruel action. (Political)
§ The Church was Roman Catholic. This meant that the King, although having the greatest authority basically over everything, could not tell anyone from the Church what to do; therefore it was led by the Pope. (Religious)
§ I thought the most prevailing reason of all was the fact that the Church controlled people’s beliefs due to most people being illiterate and also ignorant. The Church told them that when they died, their souls either went to Heaven or Hell. They said Hell was a place full of pain and sorrow. And as you can imagine, the people were logically afraid to go there. It was said, that after you die, your soul goes first to a place called Purgatory, where it would stay until any sins had burnt away. However, they also said that your stay there would be shortened if you attended Church, went on a pilgrimage, and bought a special pardon. Of course the people wanted to spend the shortest time there; eventually causing them and especially rich people to try to buy their way to Heaven. Once again, the outcome of this tricky situation ended up making the Church awfully rich. (Political and Religious)
§ To conclude my research, my personal opinion is this... I thought the Church was very dishonest towards society during the Middle Ages. Not only that, I’m also definitely sure this wasn’t a true form of Christianity because today we can easily prove it by reading the 10 Holy Commandments of the Bible. Bottom line, the Church brain-washed the people in so many ways by making them do things that in the end always benefitted THEM, but not the people… indeed making the Church corrupt.
In reply to Micheal's response:
ReplyDeleteMaybe you didn't read my entire post because of its length, but I did include why I felt the church was corrupt! Read towards the bottom of the post.
Religiously the Catholics became dominate was because before they went to war or into a battle they would have religious ceremonies and if it was a success more people would likely follow. Politiclly the peasants and just simple people were practically owned by the church and that was a huge percent of the people.
ReplyDeleteYes there was corruption in the church because the church would manipulate the people and if they didn't do this or that for the church you would go to hell, so they thought they had to.
No this was a corrupted and manipulative form of Christianity.
In Response to Claytons Comment:
ReplyDeleteClayton, I liked how you put in detail how the pope used his high power for the wrong reason.
I wonder if you could have included how the Catholic Church memorized people to worship their religion, instead of a different one.
I think yours comments could have been improved with more detail about the people going into the Catholic Church.
In response to Ivonne's comment:
ReplyDeleteIvonne, I liked how you focused more on trying to present as much information as possible in order to give the reader a better view rather then trying to have a short post and finish quickly. I think a lot of our peers didn't focus on research I think they were more focused on getting into the blog and getting out of the blog. I LOVED how you posted wether the factor you were discussing was either religious or political by putting it in parenthesis at the end of each section! GREAT JOB
I wonder if you could have elaborated more on how/why you felt the church was dishonest towards society during the middle ages.
I have an idea that you can add video's and graphics to make your work even more interesting! It was very well written but video's and some pictures would have been icing on the cake! =)
Trey5Trippy
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic Church became religiously dominant, one because the Pope during that time Era had most control overall. Second, People thought that if doing right for the Pope/Bishop and the Catholic Church, then they would have a good after life. Third, during that time Era everyone in the City/Town would have revolved around the Church.
Politically the Catholic Church was dominant, for the same reason it was religiously. The Pope would have over taken the King or Lord and its entire People. The Pope made the Catholic Church dominant by maybe taking money, land, or food from the King or people. The Pope wouldn’t literally take the goods, instead he would tell the king or people that if they gave it to him, he would be helping God, and there religion. Therefor generally taking control of them.
There was much corruption in the Church, due to the fact that the Pope/Bishop was using his power for wrong, and temping the people to give his/her goods. Also taking control, or trying to, against the King.
This was definitely not the true form of Christianity. I don’t think god would have wanted a good representative like the Pope or Bishop to use his Power for the wrong doing.
Try5trippy said:
ReplyDeleteAaron
I liked how you agree with me on how it wasn't a true form of Christianity
I wonder if you could've included how it was corrupted and manipulated.
I think you should have included more info.
In my opinion, the Catholic church was very corrupt. They took advantage of people who werent educated enough to know any better. They used their position to manipulate people in to believing anything that they tell them to, and made them pay taxes just to go to church. This wasnt a very good for of Christianity.
ReplyDeleteAlandria
ReplyDeleteI like how you have the same opinion of how they abused their position as me.
I wonder if you could have made it a little smaller and easier to read.
I think next time you should keep it a little shorter.
Teresa, I really did like how you put effort in your response. You had very good points, and I agree with your view on how the Church was nowhere near being Christian because they worshiped idols and got involved in many other things that real Christians would not have done.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you could have shared more details on how you thought the Church was not a true form of Christianity.
I have an idea that your response could have been better if you would have included a short video to support your response.
Raven Wooten
ReplyDeleteThe Roman Catholic Church was so famous and powerful religiously and politically simply because of the element of fear. The people believed highly in God, Heaven, and especially Hell. Every church service they were told of all the evils of Hell and all the suffering the would endure if they didn't go to Heaven. And the people were made to believe that the only way to get to Heaven was through the Roman Catholic Church and if the Church let them persay. And yes the control of the Church was overly corrupted. They took the verse about giving 10% way out of contact. If the people couldn't pay it in gold the wold pay it in goods like seed and animals. Which was bad for the peasants because that was what they usually needed to plant for the following year to feed their families. And all of the seed and grain was stored in big buildings called Tieth Barns. (tieths being the 10% givin to the church.) and the sad thing was was that all the seed that have given to the familes to help feed themselves usuallly went to waste. Either by being eatin by rats or being poisoned by the rats urine and poop.(Gross I know) But at last IF YOU DID'PAY YOUR TAXES yo were surley to be condemed to Hell. Another reason why the Church was so famous was because of it's wealth. Everything you did you were paying the church for it. Marrige, Burial, and EVEN Baptism! And if you didn't pay you'd get sent to Hell because you weren't being faithful to the church. Really not even the King had power or wealth over the church he was there just for show almost.
So no this was absolutely NOT the true for of Christianty. It was cruel and corropted and everywhere you looked you were getting sent to Hell for something. Which in the Christian religion the way to be Baptized is to to pay the church, it's to accept Jesus into your heart. And there in the bible it states that this is pretty much all you have to do to get to Heaven. Of course there are some other things you need to follow but it isn't set by the church it's set buy God. And the 10% thing isn't really I have to activity. Yes you should want to give what you have to God beause it's his anyways, but you don't have to. You aren't risking your salvation by not giving the church all your food.
Raven Wotten: Peer Comment
ReplyDeleteTeresa
I like how your information is strait to the point and easy to understand. I also like how in some places youd give a brief description of what something was if it might have been unfamiliar to the person reading it. I wonder though exactly why though was the Pope and church held so high in the community besides religion. Also I would suggest that instead writing out the question and then answering it you describe what the question is in the answer that way your post flows better.
The Roman Catholic Church had a lot of power. The Church gained all its power through Christianity. The Church persuaded people to worship it because they believed they would have a good afterlife if they did. They also made people pay a tithe to worship and that is another way how they got so much power.
ReplyDeleteThe Roman Catholic Church was very corrupted. Here are the main reasons why it was corrupted: Priests couldn't read or write so they couldn't teach well, Priests and Nuns broke their vow to Chastity, They sold certificates to the People stating that their sins are forgiven and The Church used money from the Pilgrimage for their own selfish deeds.
I don't think that is the true form of Christianity because God would frown upon that. People can't just be forgiven for their sins, they got to repent and actually mean it. Many people today would frown upon this including me, but I did find this interesting because of how crazy it is.
My Peer Comment To Alandria:
I liked how you organized your information. I liked how you also gave the reasons for corruption in the Church I completely agree with all that you are saying.