Analytical History & Evolutionary Economics Chen Ping April 2, 2005 The Myth of Christian
PBS Empires Series: 《 From Jesus to Christ 》 Why Christian Became a Western Religion
Why Christian Became Spread From Greek Gods to Christian What is more appealing to people? Power (Zeus), fear (Death, demon), or altruism?
Complex Role of Religion How a failed hero became a ruling God (Comparing 关羽 with Jesus)? Bifurcation of conflicting forces: suppress or adapt? Interaction between religion and government: balance of power or conspiracy? Role in mixed economy: community base division of labor
Stages of Christian Movement Jesus, a Jewish fraction devoted to moral justice and life after death Paul relaxed entry barrier (dietary law and male circumcision) to attract more followers > separating Christian from Jewish Combine warship with dinner together to develop community base Spread from rural to urban area, from low to high class Spiritual movement against Roman power: from illegal to state religion Puzzling facts: grass-root movement without strong leader and military power, political failure led to spiritual success
Three Pillars of Western Civilization Greek-Roman culture Christian tradition German feudal system Western culture cannot be characterized simply by individualism, freedom, or democracy. It is a mixed economy with market, state, and NGO sector which includes church, universities, and other non-government non-profit organizations The rise of city state, religious movements, and feudal system was driven both by individualism and public concern. Human history strongly indicates that the human nature is social animal rather than solitary animal with infinite greed
Rethinking Economic Doctrine 得人心者得天下 Altruism vs. individualism Division of labor and social coordination Conflicting forces and conflicting ideas Coexistence or exclusion of conflicting ideas?