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Tell me how if, Christians living in the first 5 or 6 centuries after Christ believed the same things that Christians believed through the Dark Ages, how that can be the reason FOR the Dark Ages? I think something else was involved.

I think that's a good point. I've seen it implied here in this thread before that the so called Dark Ages were somehow the fault of the Catholic Church. I think a little refresher of history may be in order.

The Dark Ages is a term that was once used to describe the early Middle Ages, from approximately A.D. 400 to 900, and referred to a supposed lack of learning during this period. But in reality, the early Middle Ages were not completely "dark."

The advent of the Middle Ages occurred when the Germanic barbarians took over the Roman empire and destroyed their system of civilization and laws. Education and culture were all but eliminated by these barbarians and the existing system of city and state schools were destroyed.

The Church was the primary civilizing force of the early Middle Ages. It provided leadership for the people and saved western Europe from complete ignorance.

Gradually, the Church converted the barbarians to Christianity. Although the Europeans didn't honor a single ruler any longer, they did gradually begin to worship the same God. Church missionaries spread the Christian faith, and they helped civilize the barbarians by introducing Roman ideas of government and justice into their lives.

The popes, bishops, and other leaders of the church took over many functions of government, to fill the void, after the Roman emperors lost power. The church collected taxes and maintained law courts to punish criminals. Church buildings also served as hospitals for the sick, and as inns for travelers.

Just so people don't get the wrong ideas.

One other overlooked fact of the "Dark Ages" is that the Catholic Churches cathedrals and the monastersy became centers of learning. The monks set up most of the schools in Europe.

Titan, do you have a source for your info on the Dark Ages? (If, perchance, you've already answered this question, sorry. I haven't read all the way through the thread yet this evening.)