The following article, which appeared in yesterday's USA Today, is adapted from my new book What's So Great About Christianity:
We seem to be witnessing an aggressive attempt by leading atheists to portray religion in general, and Christianity in particular, as the bane of civilization. Finding the idea of God incompatible with science and reason, these atheists also fault Christianity with fostering a breed of fanaticism comparable to Islamic radicalism. The proposed solution: a completely secular society, liberated from Christian symbols and beliefs.
This critique, which comes from best-selling atheist books, academic tracts and a sophisticated network of atheist organizations and media, can be disputed on its own terms. What it misses, however, is the larger story of how Christianity has shaped the core institutions and values of the USA and the West. Christianity is responsible even for secular institutions such as democracy and science. It has fostered in our civilization values such as respect for human dignity, human rights and human equality that even secular people cherish.
Consider science. Although there have been many civilizations in history, modern science developed in only one: Western civilization. And why? Because science is based on an assumption that is, at root, faith-based and theological. That is the assumption that the universe is rational and follows laws that are discoverable through human reason.
Science is based on what James Trefil calls the principle of universality. "It says that the laws of nature we discover here and now in our laboratories are true everywhere in the universe and have been in force for all time." Moreover, the laws that govern the universe seem to be written in the language of mathematics. Physicist Richard Feynman found this to be "a kind of miracle."
Why? Because the universe doesn't have to be this way. There's no particular reason the laws of nature that we find on Earth should also govern a star billions of light years away. There's no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone mathematical ones. So where did Western man get this idea of a lawfully ordered universe? From Christianity.
Christians were the first ones who envisioned the universe as following laws that reflected the rationality of God the creator. These laws were believed to be accessible to man because man is created in the image of God and shares a spark of the divine reason. No wonder, then, that the first universities and observatories were sponsored by the church and run by priests.
No wonder also that the greatest scientists of the West - Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Boyle, Newton, Leibniz, Gassendi, Pascal, Mersenne, Cuvier, Harvey, Dalton, Faraday, Joule, Lyell, Lavoisier, Priestley, Kelvin, Ampere, Steno, Pasteur, Maxwell, Planck, Mendel, and Lemaitre - were Christians. Gassendi, Mersenne and Lamaitre were priests. Several of them viewed their research as demonstrating God's creative genius as manifested in his creation.
If modern science has Christian roots, so do our most basic political institutions and values. Consider Thomas Jefferson's famous assertion in the Declaration of Independence that "all men are created equal." He claimed this was "self-evident," but one only has to look to history and to other cultures to see that it is not evident at all. Everywhere we see dramatic evidence of human inequality. Jefferson's point, however, was that human beings are moral equals. Every life has a worth no greater and no less than any other.
The preciousness and equal worth of every human life is a Christian idea. We are equal because we have been created equal in the eyes of God. This is an idea with momentous consequences. In ancient Greece and Rome, human life had very little value. The Spartans, for example, left weak children to die on the hillside. Greek and Roman culture was built on slavery.
Christianity banned infanticide and the killing of the weak and "dispensable," and even today Christian values are responsible for the moral horror we feel when we hear of such practices. Christianity initially tolerated slavery- a universal institution at the time - but gradually mobilized the moral and political resources to end it. From the beginning, Christianity discouraged the enslavement of fellow Christians. Slavery, the foundation of Greek and Roman civilization, withered and largely disappeared throughout medieval Christendom in the Middle Ages.
The first movements to abolish slavery completely occurred only in the West, and were led by Christians. In the modern era, first the Quakers and then the evangelical Christians demanded that since we are all equal in God's eyes, no man has the right to rule another man without his consent. This religious doctrine not only supplies the moral justification for anti-slavery but also for democracy. Yes, the idea of self-government is also rooted in the Christian assumption of human equality. One reason the atheist philosopher Nietzsche hated democracy is because he understood its religious foundation.
Consider finally modern notions of human rights - the right to freedom of conscience, or to property, or to marry and form a family, or to be treated equally before the law - as enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The universalism of this declaration is based on the particular teachings of Christianity. The premise is that all human lives have equal dignity and worth, but this is not the teaching of all the world's cultures and religions. Even so, it's appropriate that a doctrine Christian in origin should be universal in application. Christianity from the start promulgated its message as one for the whole world.
There are some atheists and even some Christians who admit that theism and Christianity have shaped the core institutions and values of America and the West. But now that we have these values, they say, why do we still need God and Christianity? Oddly enough, the answer is supplied by Nietzsche.
Nietzsche argued that since the Christian God is the foundation of Western values, the death of God must necessarily mean the erosion and ultimate collapse of those values. Remove the base and the whole building will slowly crumble. For a while, Nietzsche conceded, people would out of custom or habit continue to respect human life and treat people with equal dignity, but eventually there would be ferocious assaults on these values, and practices once unthinkable such as the killing of people deemed inferior or undesirable would once again occur. This is precisely what we have seen in our time, and Nietzsche predicted that it will only get worse.
If we cherish the distinctive ideals of Western civilization, and believe as I do that they have enormously benefited our civilization and our world, then whatever our religious convictions, we will not rashly try to hack at the religious roots from which they spring. On the contrary, we will not hesitate to acknowledge, not only privately but also publicly, the central role that Christianity has played and still plays in the things that matter most to us.
What's So Great About Christianity, Regnery, 2007
Reader Comments ( Page 5 of 15)
61. Christianity FAR from claims all men are created equally. What a load of crap from this man. The bible shows hundreds of examples of condoning slavery and that some people are "chosen" while others are not...
To claim the Christian bible as the foundation of "all men created equal" is patently false and the Founding Fathers while believing there was some diety or creator were ADAMANT that this nation was not to be considered as having been founded on the Christian faith.
Chuck at 3:12PM on Oct 23rd 2007
62. This is like trying to speak to a block of blocks. Deal with it yourselves, I am neither trying to pressure you or force anything to you. I am trying to present truth to you.
Believing in God and having a faithful life is simply the encouragement to do what is right. We must not hurt each other, we must deal with adversity together, we must carry ourselves with morality. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this.
Misusing the trust people place in God by abusing positions of power and hurting people, being immoral, oppressing people through adversity IS NOT the will of God.
We are allowed to choose in life. What we choose to think and do is up to us. If we want to be p.o.s.'s so be it, no one will stand in our way. If we want to be proud people ignorant of other views (like the hypocrites with 2 y/o acronyms referring to Christ).
Do you really think you pointing the finger at someone calling them a hypocrite erases you from being a hypocrite? Atheists are judging faith based people upon what they think and feel, which is doing exactly what you are accusing them of.
Do as you will in life. Ignorance is bliss until it actually starts effecting you.
You complain about your neighbor's wood splinter in their eye while you ignore the plank 2x4 in yours.
mincpa at 3:23PM on Oct 23rd 2007
63. mincpa:"Fact is, math and science actually support and show proof of God's existence, if not in the mere fact that such complex organization being "accidental" has the probability of about 0.000000001% on a scientific scale of measurement."
__________________________
I can't believe that I'm even responding to this, but, where do you get your statistic from?
Linda at 3:28PM on Oct 23rd 2007
64. mincpa:
The supposed benefits of something have nothing to do with whether or not it's right or true. Most atheists I know (including myself) aren't that way because we just feel like it, or we just dislike Christianity. We're that way because we honestly don't believe in any Gods. It's also somewhat annoying to come across so many people like you, who seem to think that Christianity is the only religion. It's not. If we just didn't like yours, but we still believed in some amount of Gods, then we'd find a different one.
Let's deconstruct your post:
"Christianity IS what spawned our current society. All the supporting evidenced needed to show this is in your history books dating back from Pre-Grecian times until now where Christianity has taken a major role in almost every major event known to modern man."
Blatantly false. Not only have other religions taken major roles in major events, Christianity didn't exist in pre-Grecian times (unless you mean modern Greece, but I think you don't), so it will not appear in legitimate history books from then.
"You know even Paganist beliefs, which predate "Christianity", has shared ideology and symbolism with Christianity."
One might use that claim to say that Christianity isn't original and ripped them off (so to speak).
"Also, people who consider themselves wise because they stand against Christian ideals and choose to have a "free" mind are actually enslaved by their limited scope of thought and understanding."
Also wrong. There is much more variety in the totality of non-Christian thought than solely Christian thought. Maybe you should open your mind and study other religions more.
"Atheistic views state that God doesn't exist because you say He doesn't exist. How in the world can you go against people who say He does exist because they say He exists? You are taking one side of the coin and trying to debase the other side of the coin say, "bah, the other side doesn't exist"."
I recommend studying the concept of atheism before making statements like this. Most atheists don't believe in Gods because there is no evidence.
"The oh-so-self-righteously-wise who say God doesn't exist have no better argument against those who have Faith. In fact the argument is much worse because God's existence actually explains (perhaps without their brand of evidence) a lot more than how atheists try and prove things."
Religions were made to attempt to explain things without proof. Most atheists that I know prefer to wait until they're certain.
"Fact is, math and science actually support and show proof of God's existence, if not in the mere fact that such complex organization being "accidental" has the probability of about 0.000000001% on a scientific scale of measurement."
You believe that? Ok, prove your math. What did you use to come to that percentage? Or are you just making random numbers up?
"Also, is there any reason why you wouldn't acknowledge God? Oh, because of all the horrible things that's happened in human history?"
There's plenty of reason not to acknowledge your God. The main one is because one does not believe in it. The horrible things argument would be mostly used not to believe in your specific God, not in Gods in general.
"Have you any idea the concept of RESPONSIBILITY? Try this on self-righteous one, are not the HUMANS the ones RESPONSIBLE for the millions of acts of atrocity committed BY HUMANS upon HUMANS? So where does the "THIS IS GOD'S FAULT" concept come into play? We are terrorizing and violating EACH OTHER, yet when it comes time to blame it's all God's fault, for either causing it or not stopping it. Um, I've met 5 y/o's who are much more in tune with maturity and responsibility."
I do have an idea of the concept of responsibility. However, some might argue that a truly good, omnipotent, and omniscient God would not allow those things to happen at all. After all, someone that stands to the side and allows evil to happen is performing an evil act by most moral standards.
"If you want I can be your daddy. "
I don't want you to be my daddy.
"The same people who question God are the same people who are lacking purpose and direction in their lives. A majority live the rat race and feel that the crumbs are what life is about. The others who have positions of importance feel abject emptiness when NOT DOING THEIR JOBS. Then they are the same to complain (once they've immersed themselves into their work) for never having free time."
If there are no Gods, then I'd rather find my own way then believe in something false, regardless of how difficult it is. It's definitely not easy, and takes quite a bit of courage and integrity.
"What does atheism give you?"
Again, what atheism or any religion gives someone doesn't have anything to do with whether it is true or not.
"Does atheism give you freedom (as mentioned before), no, it gives you a constant search for the meaning of all things. You will always be considering how/what/when/where/why without ever getting a truly solid answer (I heard your sneer just now)."
I'm not sneering. However, I'd rather have a constant search for meaning (or decide that there's no meaning more than what we make of it) than agree to a false one, or one that hasn't been proven to me.
"Those who don't consider life purpose and worth are either archaic remnants of when we were more animal than man, or are so ingrained with the pursuit of emptiness (yes a play on happiness anti-thetically) with each day looking alot like the hamster wheel."
I'm sorry that you feel that way.
"And I am not scared of anything. Not only am I very capable of talking with anyone on the level, I don't even need to defend my position. It defends itself in logic and truth."
I didn't expect you to respond to this post, but I'm more than happy if you do.
Tem at 3:29PM on Oct 23rd 2007
65. Brian, you are too cool. I really enjoy your posts. One of the few things that keeps me coming to this outrageous blog.
Linda at 3:32PM on Oct 23rd 2007
66. I am kind of insulted that all you religious people insist my life must have some kind of void in it because I don't believe in your idea of god. Yes I feel soo empty inside I better go to church and give them some money...sing some songs and get preached at for a few hours. No thanks...I think my time is better spent elsewhere. How arrogant to think that you have it right...to think it's wrong to gain a better understanding of this universe through science. Nope we should be satisfied with the easy answer that god did it..gimmie a break.
Oh yeah, at this rate no one will have to buy his book. we can all read it here and laugh together...
Mikel at 3:34PM on Oct 23rd 2007
67. The Father of modern science, Sir Isaac Newton, was not only a devout Christian, he was a theologian of no mean reputation. The issue of science versus Christianlity has never been a problem to Christians, it only a problem to those who do not believe in God.
Makendoo at 3:34PM on Oct 23rd 2007
68. Have you any idea the concept of RESPONSIBILITY? Try this on self-righteous one, are not the HUMANS the ones RESPONSIBLE for the millions of acts of atrocity committed BY HUMANS upon HUMANS? So where does the "THIS IS GOD'S FAULT" concept come into play? We are terrorizing and violating EACH OTHER, yet when it comes time to blame it's all God's fault, for either causing it or not stopping it. Um, I've met 5 y/o's who are much more in tune with maturity and responsibility.
Here's the problem. Your Charlton Heston looking "God", created two planes of existence. One in which he lives, where angels and you believers sing praises of his greatness to him for eternity. Then, he created earth, put 2 people on it, and told them "do whatever you want, just don't touch this ONE TREE". One of his angels got tired of singing, and decided to try to take over. God, being all powerful, quelled his uprising, and created another plane of existence that would torture the bad angel for eternity. However, he didn't put a lock on this plane, and the "insurgent" went to plane of existence #2, and to get revenge on God, he talked Eve into touching the one thing God said was forbidden. Then God, in his infinite wisdom, punishes the people who were duped by the insurgent angel, casting his "favored creations" into the prison he built for the angel who he was punishing, only they can't get out, but the angel who got out to wreak havoc can come and go as he pleases.......
please feel free to dispute this story at any time...
Then things got bad. Some guy tried to build a tower high enough so he could challenge God, so he made everybody speak different languages so they couldn't finish building this tower. Then things got worse, and these people kept having gay sex, which really made him mad, so he nuked two cities. Then things got REALLY bad, so he drowned the world, except for one family who had to build a boat big enough to house all the world's creatures (still trying to figure out how species made it from one continent to another to get on board). After all this, I guess he changed his mind on alot of things, because he sent his Son to earth to tell people that alot of the old testament stuff was wrong, and God isn't about wrath and vengeance, but love and peace. Then God had him murdered to save us.
Fast forward 2,000 years - War's everywhere, gay sex rampant, we've done better than a really tall tower, and can access the space beyond our world, preists in his name accost children, and where is this God, who thousands of years ago would come down and wipe out the "evildoers" on a regular basis....
If the God you say exists truly exists, he's as much RESPONSIBLE for evil as anyone or anything else.
Ken at 3:37PM on Oct 23rd 2007
69. Makendoo, my only issue with science versus christianity is that your christianity is interfering with progress and evidence-based science.
Linda at 3:39PM on Oct 23rd 2007
70. Makendoo:
"The Father of modern science, Sir Isaac Newton, was not only a devout Christian, he was a theologian of no mean reputation. The issue of science versus Christianlity has never been a problem to Christians, it only a problem to those who do not believe in God."
I wish more Christians didn't think there was a problem with science.
How do you explain people like Galileo, though, who were threatened with (I think) excommunication?
Tem at 3:40PM on Oct 23rd 2007
71. I remember learning in high school that the Pope didn't let people invent useful things. Christianity had to be split in two for technology and science to advance - the Protestants were much freer than Catholics.
This is a stupid argument, giving credit to Christianity for everything in the world. It's true that Christianity was vital to modern day society, but that doesn't mean we should all praise Christianity for it. I'm happy Christianity gave us so much, but I'm not one to go around saying, "Thank God for Christianity." It just so happened that Christianity did that for us. That's all. What more do you want from it?
Now Christianity is being detrimental to many of our advancements. America is falling behind so many other countries even with its military might and incredible wealth. I don't mean to point the finger exclusively at Christians, but I feel that their protesting evolution and stem cell research is the reason why we're losing some very good minds to other countries who offer them the freedom to pursue research without the religious right breathing down their necks. What now, D'Souza? What now?
I thank Christianity for giving us so much to the world, but I'm not going to kiss the ground before its feet for it.
Justine at 4:15PM on Oct 23rd 2007
72. Belief in God is exactly that, it is something a person chooses to believe or not believe. Faith and belief in God is a response to what God has done and it is up each individual to respond or reject this faith. If God Himself presented proof of His existence those who now do not believe would still find reasons to deny His existence. The empirical evidence of the existence and power of God are all around us. It is not God's responsibility to prove His existence to man, it is man's duty and responsibility to respond to the proof's that God has already provided. The explanation as to why people reject the evidence for God;s existence is very simple, THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT TO BELIEVE. Without God all of man's existential, mystic and metaphysical ponderings and philosophical speculations will always end in confusion. The Bible sums up very succinctly the position of you who do not believe in God; "The man without the Spirit DOES NOT ACCEPT THE THINGS THAT COME FROM THE SPIRIT OF GOD, for they are foolishness to him and HE CANNOT UNDERSTAND THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY UNDERSTOOD." In another place Scripture tells us. "Those who come to God must first believe that HE IS". "The heavens declare the glory of God." Though it may appear chaotic, deep space telescopes have demonstrated that the entire universe is a very structured body, it has order and structure because it is the product of an ordered and structured intelligence. The existence of ALL KINDS OF LAWS, physical, mathematics, moral or otherwise, must also presuppose that there is a SOURCE for those laws. It is not a great leap of faith to observe creation and deduce that it is the work of a Creator; on the contrary, what is seen is the most compelling evidence that there is someone unseen that has the real power. The most colossal and preposterous leap of faith requires me to believe that all of this structure, physical organization, moral and mental processes are nothing more than happenstance. According to those who do not believe, without the help and hands of a designer and builder, sometime in the far distant future raw iron ore might evolve into an aircraft carrier complete with flight deck and a command center.
Makendoo at 4:15PM on Oct 23rd 2007
73. Dinesh says "Christianity is responsible even for secular institutions such as democracy and science. It has fostered in our civilization values such as respect for human dignity, human rights and human equality that even secular people cherish."
Uh, Democracy was derived from the greeks who were pagans and spread througout Europe by the Romaans. The rest is the basis for democracy. Christianity, in the early days sighted women as the servant of their man and had very little rights (if any).
The evolution of Christianity coinsides with the evolution of man. Christians in the 15th and 16th century forced their religion and took all resources from natives in the West. This is not a way of a graceful religion.
As a Christian I can easily use this argument to deter me from God, but in truth these are humans that incur these santions, slavery, nobility and glory that have destroyed many relations among many generations. People of all kinds will do anything to remain in "power" even if it means to defy God.
So you say that Atheist should thank God. They will do what they think is right for them even though I thank God on a daily basis. I am not here to change people and there ways, I am here to set the best example as a human being and try to spread positive thinking. I do it in the name of God and Jesus Christ, but I don't do it by forcing it in them.
David McCool at 4:26PM on Oct 23rd 2007
74. Belief in God is exactly that, it is something a person either believes or does not believe. The hue and cry is for proof that God exists; if God Himself descended and presented proof of His existence those who now do not believe would still find reasons to deny His existence. The explanation for their unbelief is very simple, it is not based on science or evidence, they do not believe in God because THEY DO NOT WANT TO BELIEVE. It is not God's responsibility prove His existence to man, it is man's duty and responsibility to respond to the proof's that God has sos abundantly provided. All man's existential, mystic and metaphysical ponderings and philosophical speculations will always end confusion. The Bible sums up very succinctly the position of those who do not believe in God; . "The man without the Spirit DOES NOT ACCEPT THE THINGS THAT COME FROM THE SPIRIT OF GOD, for they are foolishness to him and HE CANNOT UNDERSTAND THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SPIRITUALLY UNDERSTOOD." In another place Scripture tells us. "Those who come to God must first believe that HE IS( He exists)".
"The heavens declare the glory of God"; the entire universe, though it may appear chaotic, is a very structured place because it was created by one who has a structured mind; the existence of ALL KINDS OF LAWS, physical, mathematics, moral or otherwise, must also presuppose that there is an intelligent SOURCE for those laws. It is not a great leap of faith to observe creation and deduce that it is the work of a Creator; on the contrary, the empirical evidence leads the objective observer to the inevitable conclusion that there is indeed a God, and he is extraordinarily powerful. The most colossal and preposterous leap of faith requires me to believe that all of this structure, natural laws, physical organization, moral and mental processes are nothing more than happenstance. According to those who do not believe, sometime in the far distant future raw iron ore will evolve into an aircraft carrier complete with planes and a flight deck, and all without the help and hands of an intelligent designer and builder, it will happen by "chance".
Makendoo at 4:31PM on Oct 23rd 2007
75. mincpa:"Fact is, math and science actually support and show proof of God's existence, if not in the mere fact that such complex organization being "accidental" has the probability of about 0.000000001% on a scientific scale of measurement."
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I just saw a leaf settle on the ground outside. Let's calculate the odds against that particular leaf, a maple leaf from the looks of it, to have settled at that EXACT spot, with no maples in my yard. That exact spot, to the nanometer.
Why, the odds against it are so high, it practically can't happen!
Yet, there it sits.
Statistics are funny things, so easily misused.
Brian at 4:45PM on Oct 23rd 2007