How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

My mother asked me to read this book, in return for her having read The Chalice and the Blade. I really wish I could have had an opportunity to discuss it with her.
It was interesting to see how involved the Church was in the fundamental pillars of civilization, but I don't agree with some of his statements, such as that pagan societies had no science. Overall I found his tone rather smug, which was irritating; he was quick to dismiss achievements of societies other than the Catholic as simply precursors of the "real" achievements of the Catholic Church.
In all, it would have been a fun debate, with me defending pagan achievements and Mom defending Catholic ones, until we reached some kind of middle ground.

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is an apologetics treatise about how the Catholic Church contributed to the development of science, philosophy, art, and culture. For someone who has not read a lot of books on the subject - who wishes to be disabused of the belief that the Catholic Church shunned science and tried to halt the progression of culture - this book is an excellent introduction. It covers a wide variety of topics in a superficial survey of how the Church changed and promoted civilization. On the other hand, if you're like myself and are well-read on the subject, this book lacks depth. Although there was a wide variety of information discussed, there was very little that it discussed in greater detail than I show more already knew. Therefore, I would highly recommend this text to someone who'd like an introduction to the topic - it's well-written, well-researched, and interesting. But if you're looking for depth and detail, this may be worth just a quick read.

This audiobook was well-narrated by Barrett Whitener. No complaints there! show less

Despite the author’s impressive academic credits, this book is perhaps more of an apologetics text than a strictly scholarly treatise. While it certainly seems well-researched as far as it goes, the chapter on science in particular is oddly unsatisfactory in several ways. It would have been helpful, for example, to supplement the admittedly impressive and informative catalogue of Catholic scientists through the ages with some information of what proportion of active scientists they accounted for in any one era and how many non-Catholics were engaging in scientific research at the same time. Unfortunately, the book is completely silent on this point.

There are also some puzzling omissions of individual figures, most notably Gregor show more Mendel and Giordano Bruno. Both omissions seem odd. In the case of Mendel, even if his religious doctrine really was questionable, it was still the church that provided him with the time and opportunity to engage in his scientific research. As for Bruno, most people will recognise the name as that of a heretic burned at the stake even if they know nothing else about him – and as Woods was so anxious to set the record straight about the true nature of the Galileo case, it seems unclear why he chose not to do the same with Bruno, the more so as the heresy for which he was condemned was theological rather than scientific in nature.

Points such as these – coupled with the author’s rather indiscriminate disparagement of pretty much all forms of modern art – diminish what would otherwise have been a stronger book. Nevertheless, it remains an interesting read and an easy one, and can be recommended (though militant non-Catholics will likely loathe it) as a starting-point for engaging with this subject in more detail. For which endeavour the 132-item bibliography provided by the author should certainly prove useful. show less

Although Christians are always referred to as "Catholics," (e.g., "Catholics" did good things while "non-Christians" did bad), this book is a treasure trove of scientific history. It brings together recent historical evidence into a single narrative. Very good for homeschooling.

No institution has done more to shape Western civilization than the two-thousand-year-old Catholic Church—and in ways that many of us have forgotten or never known. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is essential reading for recovering this lost truth.

They don't wanna say it be like it do, but it is.

Great view of history