Church History Chapter 8 Notes

Sacred or Secular?
Mrs. Caruso’s class

Vocabulary:
 Heliocentric:
o Belief that the earth and other planets revolve around the
Sun.
 Geocentric:
o Belief that the sun revolves around the earth
 Scholasticism:
o A method of intellectual inquiry dominant in western
Christian civilization from the middle ages into the 17th
century, and into the 20th century among Catholic scholars
 Enlightenment:
o The 17th and 18th century movement in Europe during
which reason and science held a privileged position as
sources of truth.
 Rationalism:
o A theory that nothing is true unless founded on
scientifically demonstrable proofs based solely on reason
and the 5 senses: condemned by the 1st Vatican
Council
 Deism:
o Belief that God created the world and then left it to run
according to natural laws
 Infallible:
o Incapable of error in defining doctrines involving faith or
morals
 Baroque:
o A style of art, architecture, and spirituality that emphasizes
feelings and sentimentality

Galileo and the Catholic Church

• Heliocentric belief caused much controversy
• A number of people denounced his idea as heresy.
• Went to Rome and appeared before the court of the Inquisition.
• Court raised 3 questions:
o Galileo offered no proof
o Contradicted statements in the Bible
o Could present a danger to the faith of the common people
• Left the Inquisition promising not to speak of his theory, but he
broke this promise.
• Time of Galileo marks another transition time for the Church.
 • Church had to meet the challenges posed by new ideas and new
perspectives.
• Worldview that emerged had intellectual, moral, and political
implications.
• Issues the Church faced in the 17th and 18th Centuries:
o Challenges posed by a developing modern science.
o Science made the point that the Bible is not to be read
literally.
o Scientists would go from doing their work in the name of
the Church to seeing religion as an obstacle

New Age Science

• Rene Descartes:
o “I think, therefore I am.”
o Believed reason was the key source of human truth.
o Descartes and others after him posed challenges for the
Church
• Enlightenment:
o Kant- “Have the courage to use your own understanding!”
o Struck at the heart of the Church even more than the
Reformation.
o Did not reject Christianity, they found Christianity to be in
agreement with reason
• Rationalism:
o Stood against any religious tradition based on mystery or
revealed truth
• Deism:
o God was neither positive or negative force.
o Held that:
• God exists
• God created the world
• Once created, God left the world alone
• The world operates by definite natural laws
• Humans can discover these laws through reason
• Reason should be used to scrutinize all truth claims
• Reason should guide all human endeavors.

Catholic Response:
• Catholics responded on 3 levels:
• Entrenchment of Scholasticism:
o Held onto scholasticism as their principal method of
seeking truth
• Popular Devotions:
o Offered very personal images of God, Mary, and the saints.
 o Devotions to the Sacred Heart became popular.
• Moral and Spiritual Authority of the Pope:
o 1st Vatican council in 1870 declared the pope infallible
when making official definitive statements about faith and
morals

A changing World:
• Common people suffered and often looked to the Church for
comfort and meaning.
• Men and women gave their lives helping people in need.
• Christian message flourished even in the midst of the great
changes taking place worldwide.

Varieties of Spiritual Life:

• St. Vincent de Paul:
o Had an experience that made him realize what a gift his
priesthood was and that he should use it to serve the poor.
o Trained and organized priests, used contacts among the
wealthy to fund charitable projects, convinced women to
work among the poor and destitute.
• St. Louise de Marillac:
o Founded the Daughters of Charity.
o Did not live in convents or dress as nuns, lived among the
poor and served their needs.
• St. Francis de Sales:
o Patron saint of writers and the press
o Writings suggested that people should not concentrate on
practices of self mortification but love.
o People should develop good habits in their everyday lives
that make them aware of God.
• St. John Baptist de la Salle:
o Patron saint of teachers.
o Founded the other Christian Brothers