They tended to respect the value of labor with one's own hands (much like the monks of the Middle Ages) It should be noted that much of this work ethic came from the Reformation-not the Church. When a cobbler asked Luther what should he do for the glory of God, Luther responded, "Make a better shoe." Up until this time professions were looked down upon and those entering the service of the Church was highly esteemed. Luther and the Reformation changed that perception.
It should be noted that much of this work ethic came from the Reformation-not the Church. When a cobbler asked Luther what should he do for the glory of God, Luther responded, "Make a better shoe." Up until this time professions were looked down upon and those entering the service of the Church was highly esteemed. Luther and the Reformation changed that perception.
Actually this Christian work ethic, that the work with one's own hands was not to be disparaged because God created the the world and everything in it and pronounced it good, went all the way back through Christianity into Judaism. It was radically different from the classical attitude toward physical labor and inventiveness. Although the Greeks and Romans had invented all sorts of labor saving devices, none was widely used until the Catholic monks during centuries predating the Reformation. It was, though, the Reformation, northern Europe, that took these ideas and ran with them. Southern Europe, including Spain, which was more entrenched in the old Roman culture (especially Spain) lingered on longer in the old traditions. I remember stories from the Dominican Republic about American missionaries scandalizing people by rolling up their sleeves and pitching into the manual labor of building a church. They were taken aside and told that the educated men such as the missionaries didn't engage in manual labor, they were to direct it.
I read this first in Lionel Casson's "Godliness & Work" in Science, 81, pp. 36-42, referenced in
this page, ENVIRONMENT AND THE BELIEVER:
4. We see science and technology as liberating. While classical Greeks and Romans recognized the power of wind, water and even steam, they never made connections of harnessing power to save human labor.(3) For the Greek and Roman elite class, human slave or free manual labor was demeaning, merely menial, of lesser value than their own cherished rational and supervisory activities. The Greek and Roman economic systems disdained laborers, even artisans, and never considered labor-saving devices of value, even though, as Casson says, labor upkeep and costs were high and laborers often scarce.(4) Christianity changed this in part through the work and example of the monastery. The simple Christian rhythms of prayer and work extended beyond monastery walls to the lives of nearby people, who, in turn, felt free to relax and celebrate communally even for relatively short periods. The Church's championing of this right to public prayer is expressed in sacred times and places and thus the strict demands of Sundays and feast days where no servile (slave or servant) work be undertaken. A technology that saves (energy and time) becomes a tool or means to liberation, an integral part of the ideal Christian rhythm of prayer and work.4 Technology made the coffee break possible.