Monday, January 15, 2018

"Jesus came into Galilee" - The Industrial Revolution vs. the Vatican


Tokyo



The Industrial Revolution vs. the Vatican

One of big questions in the history is why the Industrial Revolution and the modern capitalism occurred only in England of Christian Europe but not in the Islamic world, India, China, etc.

There are many economic, social, and cultural conditions that enabled the Industrial Revolution in England in the middle of the 18th century.  But specifically, the critical one is religious.

Rulers and elites with power governing people with spiritual authority of religion would not allow people to act beyond spiritual and psychological boundaries that were conveniently set for those leaders.  Order of society was important for the rulers.  If people under their power were absorbed in reading holy books they authorized, there was no fear for revolution.  People were tied down in conventional views and thinking as their leaders were.  The strongest frame that restricted people's views and thinking was religion.

England was separated from continental Europe that had been under Vatican's authority.  Although the Vatican tried to stop development of modern science, as seen in the case of Galileo, Christianity was essentially revolutionary.  Christianity was a challenge to the preceding religion Judaism.  It freed people from old spiritual authority.  It encouraged people to change their views so that they could see the Kingdom of God, which was truth.  This spirit and mindset could apply to daily lives of Christians.  It would not suppress people's inclination to discovery and invention.

However, as the Vatican had adopted a dubious and sinful creed that Christ Jesus was God, they had to strongly control churches and believers.  As their fundamental creed was groundless, if put extremely, Vatican leaders had to suppress people's freedom in thinking and reviewing, so that the Vatican could keep their authority and spiritual power.  This atmosphere suffocated people's momentum for discovery and invention, although Europeans ventured into the Age of Great Exploration because of desire for trade with Asia accompanied by the Christian sense of mission to diffuse Christianity in the world. 

As England came to be freed from this spiritual suppression by the Vatican as early as the 16th century, the British were accustomed to freely think, try, and incarnate their ideas in their lives.  So, Shakespeare emerged; Newton emerged, and the Industrial Revolution emerged.  And, Judaists free from the Vatican's creed helped this movement in financing.

So, the Industrial Revolution and the modern capitalism were made possible in England, a domain where the Vatican's control had less influence.           

In this context, other religions in the world did not give people spiritual freedom enough to allow them to venture into an industrial revolution.


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Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.