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Been thinking, did the Roman Empire ever end or are we, Western Civilization, keeping it in existence? This was thought of because it seemed the Ottoman Empire lasted a very long time, some say longer than the Roman Empire. But with our religion, education system, art, military philosophy, and governments; those are practically replicating what the Romans started and did. So the Roman Empire never ended, it grew.
Italians have yet to perfect a screen door for submarines. So, I think the Decline of the Roman Empire can not be denied. And, it is well documented. Pizza, anyone? One may say the only remnant of the Roman Empire is the Roman Catholic church, but I don't know much about religion, so can't comment. Over extension is one of causes of Roman decline; biting off more than one can chew? And other such bubble gum philosophys, but it stand to be true, in larger historical context. Civilizations do them selves in, internally.This is why I am concerned about western civiliation. While the sky is not falling yet, I see certain similarities to past civilizations, as compared to ours today. The ability to feed the community has failed. If who hit John hit the fan tomorrow, how will we eat after the supermarkets are emptied? That's just one. This country can't grow its own food. Go ahead and identify other problems with western civilization. Or conditions due to the lack of western civilization, or the fall, thereof.So, thoughts on the Roman Empire should be secondary to our existense in this country. But they are illustrative.
Ski, you've just made the crucial link of Western Civilization. You're right in your thinking. Rome was the birthplace of Western Civilization and while her political sovereignty may have fallen a long time ago, her culture lives on in us. This is why we study the history of Rome and learn her lessons. There's a reason why we study this kind of history in such detail and not the history of China, Peru, or Nigeria; while all may have their places in history, studying about Rome is really studying our history.
Phid, see I'm not presenting the thought of link, birthplace, or culture, I'm saying that we actually still ARE the Roman Empire. It continued. Different goals or at least different means to achieve those goals, different name and location, but it's still the Roman Empire. Instead of one emperor leading the world, we have one country leading the world…it may change hands with occasional shifts in the balance of power, but it's still usually one country that has that power. I'd even add Greek civilization to this, especially with education. Did Greek civilization only influence Rome, or did it integrate, therefore they never ended either?
Oh, I see. That kind of gets into the nature of nations, of sovereignty. I'd say we are not the same, particularly since there is no continuation and the aims are not quite the same. We could have began the United States as a “new Roman republic”…perhaps like Hitler did with this “Third Reich”….but we did not. The ideals that America was founded upon were also influenced/based upon developed Christian ideals, which the Roman Empire did not have (Christianity after Constantine is not the same as what I am thinking here).So no, I would say we are different enough in the nature of our government that we are decidedly not a Roman republic disguised as the American nation.
Remind me to go into this concept over at Christian Legacies….it has prophetic connotations and undertones.
Yes it does, doesn't it? I was really implying it in that way though.
Christianity is the greatest of Roman Institutions.....well it was Jewish until Constantine got a hold of it. 🙂
Meant to say WASN'T really implying it…but still. I'd say there was far more Greek influence than Jewish with all those multiple dieties and stuff.
Meant to say WASN'T really implying it...but still. I'd say there was far more Greek influence than Jewish with all those multiple dieties and stuff.
Perhaps since Paul was a Hellenic Jew, and his version of Christianity was exported throughout the empire. Paul is where Aristotelian/Platonic rhetoric meets Jewish mid-rash. A wonderful combination of esoteric tradition and inpenetrable logic. Paul was the intellectual tour-de-force of early Christianity.
I'm currently watching a BBC documentary that I recorded a few days ago: Rome's Lost Empire.I'm quite dazzled about how new technologies are used today to track all these ancient remains; they call it "spatial archaeology", and the main archaeologist in this documentary is from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Worth watching!http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pc063 (4 days left today)http://www.sarahparcak.com/index2.php#/home/
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