[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fEeAtK8gBITAXr03Oi5UPbD7JkBiZqomqAgvVmcgOJS4":3,"$fv75mRfyJsXAuxa2rR-z6SQdL_fVyNLSYdfX5QGrBLHw":23},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},44864,"Rodney Stark","R",59,null,"rodney-stark",[12,16,20],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},634,"religious",6,{"tag_id":17,"tag_name":18,"tag_count":19},254,"christian",5,{"tag_id":21,"tag_name":22,"tag_count":19},1085,"christianity",{"quotes":24,"pagination":88},[25,33,39,45,52,58,64,70,76,82],{"id":26,"quote_text":27,"author_id":5,"source_id":28,"has_image":29,"author":30,"source":31,"quote_tag":32,"commentary":9},3911715,"The Christian image of God is that of a rational being who believes in human progress.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":34,"quote_text":35,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":36,"source":37,"quote_tag":38,"commentary":9},3394218,"No doubt it was “unenlightened” of the crusaders to have been typical medieval warriors, but it seems even more unenlightened to anachronistically impose the Geneva Conventions on the crusaders while pretending that their Islamic opponents were innocent victims.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":40,"quote_text":41,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":42,"source":43,"quote_tag":44,"commentary":9},3394213,"An additional indication of economic growth in ancient Greece comes from the major increases in the average size of Greek houses: in the eighth century BC it was 53 square meters; by the sixth century BC it had grown to 122 square meters; and by the fifth century BC it was 325 square meters.54.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":46,"quote_text":47,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":48,"source":49,"quote_tag":50,"commentary":51},3394190,"While the other world religions emphasized mystery and intuition, Christianity alone embraced reason and logic as the primary guide to religious truth.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nRodney Stark, a renowned sociologist of religion, wrote this quote in the context of his work on the history of Christianity. Published in his book \"The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success\" (2005), this statement highlights his argument that Christianity's emphasis on reason and logic played a pivotal role in the development of Western civilization. Stark's work aimed to challenge the prevailing views on the origins of modernity and capitalism, which often attribute these developments to secular or Enlightenment-era thinkers.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nWhile the quote appears to be a straightforward statement of fact, it conceals a deeper insight into the nature of intellectual inquiry. Stark is pointing to a fundamental tension between the rational and the intuitive, suggesting that Christianity's emphasis on reason allowed it to navigate this tension in a way that other world religions did not. This tension is not just a historical curiosity but a recurring challenge for thinkers and problem-solvers today.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset in your own work, recognize that the tension between reason and intuition is not a binary opposition but a dialectical relationship. By embracing both aspects of your thinking, you can develop a more nuanced and effective approach to problem-solving, one that balances the rigor of logical analysis with the creativity of intuitive leaps.",{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":55,"source":56,"quote_tag":57,"commentary":9},3394181,"The Crusades were not unprovoked. They were not the first round of European colonialism. They were not conducted for land, loot, or converts. The crusaders were not barbarians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. They sincerely believed that they served in God’s battalions.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":59,"quote_text":60,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":61,"source":62,"quote_tag":63,"commentary":9},3394172,"It needs to be emphasized that the Church vigorously advocated and defended democracy in northern Italy. Not only did the Church unequivocally assert moral equality, but it also ventured into the political arena, with bishops and cardinals playing a leading role on behalf of expanding the franchise.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":65,"quote_text":66,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":67,"source":68,"quote_tag":69,"commentary":9},3394160,"Evolution has primarily been an attack on religion by militant atheists who wrap themselves in the mantle of science in an effort to refute all religious claims concerning a creator – an effort that has also often attempted to suppress all scientific criticisms of Darwin’s work.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":71,"quote_text":72,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":73,"source":74,"quote_tag":75,"commentary":9},3394157,"So much, then, for the “mystery” of how Muslim culture was somehow lost or left behind. The notion that in the medieval era Islamic culture was advanced well beyond Europe is as much an illusion as recent ones about an “Arab Spring.” The Islamic world was backward then, and so it remains.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":77,"quote_text":78,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":79,"source":80,"quote_tag":81,"commentary":9},3394139,"The European Middle Ages collected innovations from all over the world, especially from China, and built them into a new unity which formed the basis of our modern civilization.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":83,"quote_text":84,"author_id":5,"source_id":15,"has_image":29,"author":85,"source":86,"quote_tag":87,"commentary":9},3394127,"It is well known that the Chinese had gunpowder by the thirteenth century and even cast a few cannons. But when Western voyagers reached China in the sixteenth century the Chinese lacked both artillery and firearms, whereas the Europeans had an abundance of both.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":89,"totalPages":15,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":90},1,10]