How the Doctrine of Incarnation Shaped Western Culture

In recent years numerous scholars in disciplines not traditionally associated with theology have promoted an interesting thesis. They maintain that one particular Christian doctrine, the Incarnation, had an inordinate influence on the shape of Western culture. The doctrine, they say, was so radical that it mandated an epistemological break with pagan society’s perception of the universe and forced Christians to form a new culture. As medieval society worked out the consequences of the doctrine, it gave birth to those attitudes, institutions, and actions that define modern Western culture. The claims are well argued, but it is a historically untested thesis. How the Doctrine of Incarnation Shaped Western Culture is a response to the situation. It investigates whether the presence of the doctrine had the definitive effect on Western culture that so many scholars claim it did. It searches early Christian and medieval sources for evidence and concludes that the doctrine had a dominant effect on the developing culture. No other idea was as omnipresent or pervasive in Western society during its formative stage as the Incarnation doctrine. The doctrine was influential in the establishment of every major facet of Western culture. Its paradox, irrationality, and juxtaposition of opposites created a tension that cried out for resolution, and society responded accordingly. The ideas within the doctrine acted as catalysts for cultural change. As a result, the West developed its most characteristic traits and forged a path that was uniquely its own.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter One: Reason for Study Part One: The First Millennium Chapter Two: Formulation of the Doctrine of the Incarnation Chapter Three: Early Reflections on the Doctrine and Its Impact Chapter Four: The West Establishes Itself Part Two: The High Middle Ages Chapter Five: Intellectual Stirrings: Eucharistic Debates and Anselm Chapter Six: Peter Damian: New Ideas and Attitudes Chapter Seven: The Doctrine in Women’s Thoughts and Actions Chapter Eight: Individualism, Political Discourse, and Science Chapter Nine: Reconciling the Doctrine as Catalyst with Historiography Concluding Remarks

About the Author :
Patricia Ranft is professor emerita of history at Central Michigan University.

Review :
Patricia Ranft's masterful monograph, How the Doctrine of the Incarnation Shaped Western Culture, both integrates and provides a useful overview of this plethora of material. Ranft, a historical theologian, offers the reader a comprehensive history of how the doctrine developed from the beginning of the second century to the late medieval period. . . .The scope of Raft's monograph is breathtaking. . . .Her monograph is very readable and her prose is clear. She has provided both the academic and the educated lay person a fascinating volume dealing with the tangible implications of a fundamental Christian doctrine. Wonderfully provocative while also well supported, Patricia Ranft provides a rich historical reflection on how the Christian understanding of incarnation helped shape Western society. Everything—from fine arts to science, from politics to personhood— is affected in ways most of us never imaged or take for granted. All who want to better understand why the West developed in many of the ways it did need to read and wrestle with Ranft’s work. This may not be the end of the discussion, but it is a great place to start one. Provocative and magisterial, this study argues that the doctrine of the Incarnation was foundational for Western culture. Professor Ranft’s analysis of women’s engagement with the concept is particularly rich and does much to demonstrate the intellectual vitality of the pre-Enlightenment West.