In considerable depth, the authors
present historical evidence that many basic aspects of life in the modern world
exist only as a result of Jesus and His followers’ actions.
•
The value we place on human life (that
we take as a given in western culture) comes directly from the value that God
places on us, so much so that He came in Human form to rescue us from the power
and consequences of sin. Jesus did this both through His teachings and His
death. It is manifested in the changes over centuries of history in our view of
the value of children, women, and the elderly, and the abolition of slavery. We
take these for granted, but it was not so before Christ.
•
Compassion and mercy for the poor have
roots in the Old Testament, but were not widely practiced in the rest of the
world until the spread of Christianity to the gentiles. The history of charity
over the past 2,000 years traces the gradual broad acceptance of this as a
norm, but it was not so before Christ.
•
Government of, by, and for the people,
and civil liberties, all are closely linked to the worldview of the Founding
Fathers of the U.S. Their views go back further to the Mayflower Compact, and
the faith of the early settlers, but ultimately were all based on the Biblical
view of human worth, as described above.
And the book continues with discussion
of the roots of what we take for granted in science, economics, sexuality,
medicine, morality, and art. The bulk of the text is a detailed review of the
development of modern views on these topics.
The challenge this book addresses is
that many believe Christianity is opposed to modern views on these topics. So,
there is a chapter devoted to the sins of the church, its failures over the
centuries to live up to the standards of Christ. This includes the Crusades,
anti-Semitism, religious wars, and the Inquisition, to name a few. The authors
draw a distinction between Christianity and Christendom, with the latter (the
visible manifestation of those naming Christ) sometimes using the former as a
pretext for sins inconsistent with submission to Christ. The sins of prominent
modern evangelists and preachers demonstrate that we are a fallen people, prone
to violating the third commandment (Exodus 20:7), using God’s name to justify
personal agendas.
For those who prefer to live without
the constraints of Christian morality, rejecting Jesus and His teachings, the
authors point out modern examples of a few who have done so. With Nietzsche at
the philosophical root, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao vie for the title of avowed
atheists who have brutally murdered the most people. The numbers killed in the
Crusades and the Inquisition are a small fraction of these 20th century slaughters.
And what of the future? Cotton Mather
(17th century Puritan) is quoted: “Religion begat prosperity, but the daughter
hath consumed the mother.” The history of ancient Israel would likely be
repeated in modern times, and may be, but for two factors. The Holy Spirit
empowers believers to live in the world but not of the world, if they are
willing. And … Jesus has plans to bring His story to a climax. We do not know
the day or the hour, only the outline of what He will do, because of His love
for us. Regardless, we can see the undeniable fruit of all that He has given us
in the modern world, even more than was apparent two thousand years ago. How
would our view of life change if we recognize Jesus in every one of these aspects of life?
