Nov. 1st, 1755, Atheism Got a Boost



In the mid 1700's, Portugal was booming. It was on a major trade route and the economic circumstances of the time put it in the driver's seat. The Catholic Church glopped onto the economic prosperity and claimed authority in the Europe's theology which implied the world's theology. Good was being rewarded, evil punished. Then, on Oct. 31, 1755, an earthquake hit Lisbon that remains one of the longest and most damaging in known history. The death toll was 60,000 people. The next day, November 1, the world was baffled at how God's favorite city could be punished. There is a claim by some historians this event marked the beginning of secularism, including atheism, in the west. It is even claimed the earthquake steered the founding fathers in what became the U.S. away from being a "Christian nation." The link says the event changed "the Christian narrative" in all of Europe.

A universal claim coming from behind pulpits everywhere today, when a huge disaster happens is, "don't blame God for this terrible event." A former preacher wrote that one of the unpleasant things he found being a preacher was to cobble together a sermon after a disaster with the narrative, "Take God off the hook for this." That was after sermons that claimed God was all powerful.  

In the years following 1755, Jesuit priests, which do not always follow in lockstep the Pope and the Vatican, began to preach earthquakes are no caused by God but are caused by natural events under the ground. Science began to push into the domain of the established church. I suppose we could put this in the category of the Pope's problem with Galileo's audacious observation that the sun did not travel over the earth. Galileo was put under house arrest. 

Like countries across Europe, religion is declining in Portugal today. Only about one in five adults attends church regularly. Youth are less religious than senior citizens. The City of Lisbon was rebuilt after 1755 but religion has never been quite the same.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ancient God, Bel (Baal), the Main Character in an Ancient Play

Image
In a British museum is a preserved stone tablet from Babylon. It dates to about 2,000 BCE. Someone labored patiently to inscribe an entire passion play featuring the god Bel. I reiterate this is a stone tablet, not a recopied papyrus. The play begins with the god Bel arrested by soldiers and taken off the stage. He reappears at a trial in the Hall of Judgement. Bel is innocent but is sentenced to death. In the next scene Bel is accosted by a mob. He is despised and rejected. The actor playing Bel is then taken by guard to a hilltop in a sacred grove. Two criminals are taken with him. One of these is released. The the audience then leaves the theater and follows the actor Bel and his guards to the top of a hill where the death scene is enacted by hanging from a tree. The audience returns to the theater for the dramatic final scenes. The dead Bel is stripped and prepared for burial. On a theatrical hill to the side of the stage is a tomb where the body is placed. A stone is rolle...
Read more

What Was the "Argument" in the Election

Image
I hate to add my blog to the piles of blogs and pundits analyzing and pondering the meaning of the just passed election. But that's what I feel like doing today. I've always like Senator Ted Cruz's summary of politics. He once said, "First, win the argument. Then, win the election." I think there is a way of applying that to anti abortion Catholics and Protestants. The link talks of Catholics who now feel they have no political home because Republicans let them down with Trump but they remain against abortion rights. Taking Cruz's win-the-argument thesis, I'd call the past election about an argument between two groups. One group's argument was, "Trump's a jerk." The other's argument was, "Abortion is wrong." The group, "Trump's a jerk," won the argument and then the election.  While one can argue the election, or any election, it about more complex issues, I believe in the end elections hinge on very simple ar...
Read more

Time to Forget the Christian Nation Thing

Image
While women are forbidden from being priests/preachers in some branches of Christianity thank goodness they are not forbidden from writing and lecturing about Christianity. A great article about the "Christian nation" notion shows us the U.S. is not a Christian nation and hopefully never will be. It is written by a woman with nerve and was published on a very Christian site, Christian Post.  Among the pilgrims were a few that wanted to establish a utopian Christian society. Some of their brethren stayed behind in Europe hoping the push aside worldly forces there and bring sinners to God. Today, whether it is the anti abortion, anti gay/trans, anti immigration or the put prayer back in schools branch there are those who want a version of what some pilgrims wanted, a utopian Christian society. The pilgrims were disappointed. Today's Christian utopians will be also. Here is why. The children of pilgrims did not believe the same things as their parents. Parents were roundly d...
Read more