The Catholic Faith Made European Civilization and May Yet Save It

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	• Europe and the Faith Hilaire Belloc T A N Books & Publishers, 1992 - 191 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Deep Roots of Rome

This is a look at European history from 20,000 feet. Belloc describes four major transitional periods:
1. From pagan to Christian Rome during the Empire.
2. From Empire to Dark Ages.
3. From Dark Ages to Middle Ages.
4. From Middle Ages to Reformation.
Among the important themes Belloc highlights:
1. Roman tradition and influence runs deeply and continuously through European history. By so demonstrating, he debunks the myth of the "master race"--a popular theme among his intellectual contemporaries. Pity so few listened to him.
2. It was the Catholic Church that held Europe together through the centuries, the glue of our civilization. In his own words, "Europe is the church, and the Church is Europe."

I found his analysis of Empire to Dark Ages particularly helpful. Belloc makes good sense out of the period's confusingly intertwined barbarian and Roman influences and its complex political and military dynamics. Bottom line: the Roman Empire was never conquered from without; in reality, it changed gradually but profoundly from within, all the while retaining its vital social and spiritual roots.

Belloc's review of the Reformation, especially Britain's leading role in destroying the Unity of Faith, makes for sad, surprising and sobering reading even today. (For a much fuller and yet more moving treatment, read Belloc's "How the Reformation Happened.")

For Belloc, the European ideal came during the Middle Ages, when people were unified in faith and hungered for truth more than riches. By his day, Europe had reached new lows of disunity, sophistry, and capitalist greed. Belloc was one of the few prominent thinkers to see these evils early on and predict their awful consequences. Although his subject was history, I think Belloc was writing with an eye to the future, in the hope that we might understand the errors of our past and correct them before too late.

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Europe is the Faith and the Faith is Europe

The identity "Europe is the faith and the faith is Europe" encapsulates this narrative, which reveals the combined threads comprising the tapestry of European national and eccelesiastical history.

I greatly enjoyed this book and it really helped me make sense out of Roman Catholicism, European cultural diversity and subsidiarity, and where things went wrong with the Reformation.

I highly recommend it to readers, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and atheist or pagan all alike, who desire a more full understanding of our ancestral faith, culture and origins. However I think Americans will benefit from reading this most of all since it explains a lot of things one would never know about European culture growing up here in the States.

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Western Civilization is the Faith

Throughout Hilaire Belloc's wonderful essay, he returns to his thesis: The Faith is Europe. And Europe is the Faith. Writing in early twentieth century England, with Europe the center of civilized consciousness, his thesis certainly rang true. Nearly a century later, his work and its theme still have profound relevance. For it is likely only a return to the Faith that can now save us.

Reading Belloc is a joy, whether you agree with him, or not. His writing reflects a scientist's precision, a philospher's discernment, a kindly friend's good humor, and an artist's awesome talent.

There is perhaps not a better overview of the history of European and Western Civilization extant than Belloc's "Europe and the Faith". Its truths are timeless. And its presentation is savory. But a certain caution is required. Reading Belloc can be addictive. However, as addictions go, "Old Thunder" is a good one. Read Belloc, and be prepared for a wondrous ride. For the Faith is Europe; and Europe is the Faith.

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The Catholic Faith Made European Civilization and May Yet Save It

Hilaire Belloc's EUROPE AND THE FAITH is a concise historical account of how the Catholic Church authorities and teachers helped save European Civilization through two "Dark Ages" and perserved Ancient Greek and Roman Civilization. Belloc briefly explains how Catholics enhanced that civilization and kept Europe relatively stabilized.

Belloc explains how the Europeans still benefit from Catholic institutions and thinking. He gives readers an insight why the Ancient Romans, for all of their faults, were important to European civilization. The Romans taught "Europeans" civil engineering, law, letters, administration, etc. One should note that the Catholic Church preserved such achievements once the Catholic authorities were recognized and acquired some political control.

Belloc's explaination of the "Fall of the Roman Empire" is interesting. The Roman Empire did not collapse via barbarian invasions. The fact is that those men whose armies defeated other Roman armies considered themselves Romans. These men may have had Gothic or Germanic names but considered themselves Roman. These were men who were recruited by the Romans, and these men considered themselves Roman. For example, Alaric whose soldiers looted the city of Rome c. 410 AD, was a Roman commanded whose troops stopped an invasion of Germans. When Alaric and men were not paid, he looted the Rome to satisfy what was owed. Roman commanders whether they had Latin, Gothic, or Germanic names, would have never considered attacking the "empire." They would and did fight for control within the Roman Empire. Belloc makes this very clear.

One should note that when Atilla the Hun (c.450-454 AD)and his forces were defeated at the Battle of Chalons in 451, there were Latins, Goths, etc., who fought against the Huns whom they considered as outside invaders. Again, these men who fought against the Huns considered themselves Romans.

During the first "Dark Ages," (c.500-800), the Ancient Roman Empire did not collapse nor was invaded so much as local rulers of the Roman Empire carved areas of control for themselves due to lack of a strong central government in Rome. The men of this era known as "The Dark Ages" kept Roman Law, the Latin language, Roman administration, etc. The Catholic monks and authorities kept these united to a limited degree because these men were or became Catholic. The earliest Catholic monks preserved old Roman learning which is why European Civilization survived.

Belloc briefly describes the situaiton on the British Isles whereby the Irish adhered to the Faith which they helped to extend to England. The other impact of the Catholic Church in England in the sixth and seventh centuries came from the European continent and from the Papacy in Rome. The latter influence dominated the Anglo-Saxons for centuries.

Belloc gives brief mention of the importance of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages (c1000-1350). The Crusades galvanized Catholic Europeans against the force of Islam. The Moslems were culturally advanced, and they were successful in expanding the religion of Islam. Belloc contends that the Crusades were a continuation of previous clashes between Europeans and Moslems which is accurate. The Crusades put the Europeans on the offensive and protected the Europeans.

Belloc gives a short explanation of Medieval Universities and the rich use of reason in Scholatic philosophy. Brief mention if given to the work of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)whom Belloc gives high praise. This may have been the acme of Catholic thought. Contrary to popular notions, Medieval teachers and students were intellectually active. One should know that the Popes and other Catholic authorities were unusually tolerant of these men.

Belloc's explanation of the Reformation is solid. He is clear that the Catholic authorities made a bad impression on the faithful. Belloc cites the sterility of fifteenth century teachers and students who were often referred to as Nominalists because of their concern over "names" rather than ideas and important issues. Such intellectual sterility and corruption was bound to cause a protest. The Catholic authorites had faced such challenges before, but during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, they remained immune until the time was too late. Belloc also mentions that the religious enthusiasm and the desire of men to loot the Catholic Church were the reasons for the Reformation.

Belloc's explanation of the English Reformation is useful. The English monarchs, beginning with Henry VIII (1509-1547), had no idea of breaking with the Faith. However, once they did, the English nobility and middle class took advantage of the monarchs' weaknesses and manipulated them to their economic advantage at the expense of most Englishment.

Belloc diagnoses the results of this. One thing that Belloc makes clear is that there was/is no Protestant creed. In fact, the Protestant "Reformers" hated each other as much if not more than they hated Catholics. This is the reason the Protestant crowned heads made theology to avoid internal dissention. This lack of a creed has resulted in loss of values, economic averace, skepticism, and loss of coherent thought. In effect, many Europeans have lost direction and their civilization.

Belloc's book is highly recommended. His book should be on the shelf of every serious Catholic. Belloc should have given more emphasis to the Catholic Counter-Reformation and especially St. Ignatius (1491-1556) and the Jesuits as an example of Catholic renewal. Yet, this book is well worth reading and is thoughtful.

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When a man although flattered by the voice of another yet says within himself "I am a mean fellow " he has hold of reality. When a man though maligned of the world says to himself of himself "My purpose was just " he has hold of reality.

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