The Impact of Christianity Response on Philosophy

Christianity had a huge impact upon the way that philosophers thought and taught. All ideas were connected, and supported, Christian teachings. The three main philosophers of this time were St. Augustine, Hypatia, and St. Aquinas. These three had philosophical ideas that are still used throughout the world. The three basic concepts that philosophers of this time dealt with were related to God, faith, and the concept of universals. The rise of Christianity influenced the philosophers of this time in a way that could be considered one-sided and biased.

The rise of Christianity throughout the world influenced the philosophers of the time. The framework of philosophy was centered on the Christian beliefs, and any thought processes that did not were cause for trials, on the grounds of heretic behavior. The philosophers of this time period did not consider any new revelations, but instead, they converted the teachings of other philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, and added in Christian concepts and ideas. The Christian based philosophy was biased and one-sided, with everything being linked to God and the eternal soul.

Some good came out of this time period, though. The philosophies that were spoken during this era are still important aspects in today's religious teachings, and the basic ideas are still taught within present Christian society. Without the ideas presented, Christianity may not have been able to grow in popularity as it did. The ideas that Christian teachers believe were also explained during this period, which gave this religious even more credibility with the people.

St. Augustine was the most influential prophet, and his concepts are still the core of Christian beliefs. He considered the teachings of Plato and Plotinus to be the groundwork for his philosophy ideas, and they gave him the important religious principles before St. Augustine ever read about them in the scriptures. St. Augustine was prone to skepticism, thinking that nothing could be known, but the teachings of these two philosophers allowed him to move forward, overcome his skepticism, and begin to apply his own ideas and concepts of philosophy. Augustine is given the credit for bringing a creditable philosophical view to Christianity, which allowed the religion to gain mass amounts of followers, and to keep them as faithful followers.

Hypatia, who was another philosopher of this time period, devised improvements to Ptolemy's astronomical studies by finding and fixing errors. This in effect caused predictions to be more accurate, even in the future. Before Hypatia, astrological predictions become less accurate as time passed, but with her changes to the original formulas and explanations, she was able to improve the accuracy of these predictions. Using mathematics and astronomy formulas, she was able to check the philosophies of such people as Plato and Aristotle when it related to creation and the universe.

St. Thomas Aquinas was probably the most important Christian philosopher because his ideas were adopted by the Pope as the correct Catholic philosophy. His philosophy was based upon the teachings of Aristotle, but mixed in with Christian principles. This combination of two time periods made for an overall philosophy that included all important aspects of thought. His explanation of the creation of the world by God, out of nothing, also brought acceptance to the Christian followers of this time. He also made the distinction between philosophy and theology, and gave definitions of both, along with reasons why they were actually separate areas of learning and study.

The three main philosophical issues during the Christian era were pondered by all during this time period. The three issues were proving the existence of God through rational ideas, the understanding between faith and reason, and lastly solving the issue of universals. These three issues were the backbone of philosophers in this time period, and all thoughts linked to Christian ideas and beliefs.

The rise of Christianity influenced philosophy in both positive and negative ways. The famous philosophies from people like Plato were expanded upon to include Christian beliefs, which in effect made all of the philosophers of the time one-sided, in a way that benefited Christianity. However, the positive side of this period in time is that core elements of the Christian religion were made, and they are still followed today.