We refer to the Middle Ages as ages of faith; a time in which men believed a heavenly Jerusalem above the sky much as they believed an earthly Sion beyond the sea; when the whole of their thought was of a piece with their theology..those were days when a thoughtful soul here or there could realize some unity of mental vision. The fact should be admitted, however we regard it - whether as the stultifying tyranny of dogma or as an enviable single-mindedness; an ideal too easily realized, no doubt, in a plentiful dearth of empirical knowledge, and yet establishing a standard after which perplexed modernity may strive. Jocelyn Gibb
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In the late 1800's, Alfred North Whitehead wrote a book called "Visions of the Imaginative Mind" In it, he was making a case for the importance of imagination. He considered the medieval period as a time of great faith. People during that time believed that there was a heavenly Jerusalem above the sky and that it was located on a land called Sion. They also believed that this land could be reached by crossing a sea called the "abyss." Whitehead said that these ages were times when "a thoughtful soul here or there could realize some unity of mental vision." Whitehead believed that those people had a unified sense of purpose which is what allows for great civilizations to form.

He believed that those people had a vision which they stuck to despite evidence against it. He believed that those people had an ability to create an ideal which other people could strive for. He believed without question that those people should be commended.

Source: Light On C. S. Lewis

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