Thomas E. Woods, Jr. Reminds Us "How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization": A Book Review

     

     Thomas E. Woods, Jr. reminds us of the achievements of the Catholic Church in his book “How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization.” It is a book that also responds to popular misconceptions with the truth about the world’s oldest institution, the Catholic Church. His work is not biased; he thoughtfully quotes non-Christians throughout his book. For instance, the agnostic historian Will Durant acknowledges that the Church was not the cause of cultural retrogression of the "Dark Ages":

“The basic cause of cultural retrogression was not Christianity but barbarism; not religion but war. The human inundations ruined or impoverished cities, monasteries, libraries, schools, and made impossible the life of the scholar or the scientist. Perhaps the destruction would have been worse had not the Church maintained some measure of order in a crumbling civilization.”[1]

      Furthermore, Thomas E. Woods, Jr. makes it impossible to believe that the Middle Ages were dark because he reminds us of the luminous Catholic minds that arose during this time like Saint Albert (c. 1200-1280). This Dominican friar of the Middles Ages was a precursor of modern science. This man of Catholic faith contributed to the scientific frame of mind because he refused to accept scientific authority on faith.[2] Also, those who believe that the Church was against the advancement of learning will be surprised to learn that the present-day university system was developed by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages.

     Another popular belief that Thomas E. Woods, Jr. identifies is the European abuse of the native people during the conquest. He reveals to us something that is often overlooked by even the most educated men and women of today: For the first time in history there was philosophical reflection “among Catholic theologians in sixteenth-century Spain” provoked by the misbehavior of the Europeans.[3] Significant sectors of the Spanish people were actually troubled by the mistreatment of New World natives in the sixteenth century, especially philosophers and theologians.[4] As a result, this philosophical reflection is what led to the development of modern international law.

     “How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization” not only refutes popular misconceptions, but it also informs us of a love that was unknown in the ancient world. The Catholic Church transformed the way people lived with one another because “the Catholic Church invented charity as we know it in the west,” states Thomas E. Woods, Jr. [5] For instance, the invention of the hospital is also a development of the Catholic Church. “By the fourth century, the Church began to sponsor the establishment of hospitals on a large scale.”[6]

     In sum, the central message of this book is that Western Civilization needs to remember how the Church was involved in its development. Our present-day civilization is not flourishing as it had in the past because it has removed itself from its roots. Thomas E. Woods, Jr. ends his book by quoting Simone Weil, a French Philosopher; he knows the consequence of disregarding the contributions of the Church to civilization. This French philosopher states,

“I am not a Catholic, but I consider the Christian idea, which has its roots in Greek thought and in the course of the centuries has nourished all our European civilization, as something that one cannot renounce without becoming degraded.”[7]

      Sources:

1. Woods, T. E. (2005). How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 9.
2. Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, 95.
3. Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, 136.
4. Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, 136.
5. Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, 172.
6. Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, 178.
7. Woods, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, 227.