Answer my point: why didn' those cultures produce the political culture we have today which has given us Constitutional government and human rights ?
The topic of the thread. What was I thinking.
Answer my point: why didn' those cultures produce the political culture we have today which has given us Constitutional government and human rights ?
Mainly because their governments were too strong and intellectually repressive. But also in large measure, because they didn't have the Classical (read: pagan) heritage of Greece and Rome to draw upon. Think about it: the word "renaissance" means "rebirth". Rebirth of what? And what was the "death" that necessitated that rebirth?
Had the classical traditions of Greece and Rome not been rediscovered, there would have been no Renaissance, no Age of Reason, no Constitution. We'd still be mired in the Dark Ages.
Was Christianity ultimately useful in bringing about the specific society we enjoy (cherished precisely because it is not repressive)? Yes. But that Christianity is not sufficient to bring it about is proven by experiment (the Dark Ages). And that Christianity is not necessary for it is also proven by experiment (Athens).