Analysis Of Dawson's 'Christianity And European Culture'

In his selected work of Christianity and European Culture, Dawson seeks to prove the validity of Christian civilization and present its place as the true savior of modern society. Throughout the work, Dawson explores the connection between secularization and the current state of tenuous world affairs. By presenting his claims that Christian culture is the only path to Western salvation, explaining the true meaning of Christianity as a culture of love, nurturing the idea of hope Christianity affords in a world of turmoil, defining the true value of Christian moral law and its foundation in the West, proving the need for a culture of true charity to save civilization, and explaining the modern dilemma and path to re-Christianization, Dawson ultimately
To prove this point, Dawson points to the fall of the Roman Empire and the transformation of Europe. He writes, “The remaking of an old culture by birth of a new hope was not the conscious aim of the Christians themselves. They tended to believe… that the empire was irremediably pagan and that some world catastrophe was imminent. Nevertheless they lived in a spiritual atmosphere of hope…this atmosphere gradually spread until the climate of the world was changed. (50)” In a uniquely optimistic expression, Dawson reveals that despite the grave tension and state of affairs in a post-atomic world, if one believes in the afterlife and adopts the Christian conception of the spiritual soul, there is nothing to fear on Earth, rather one should focus on the good of the afterlife: hope. Thus, by exploring the history of Christianity as a religion of life in contrast to paganism and secularisms culture of death, Dawson proves the impossibility of a utopia on Earth and the importance of orienting society towards the goal of ultimate happiness in the