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- “Good people will do good things and bad people will do bad things, but for good people to do bad things—that takes religion.” Atheist author: Steven Weinberg, Facing Up.
In his book, What’s So Great About Christianity?, Dinesh D’Souza takes the opposite position—that it often takes Christianity for bad people to do good! Unlike most atheists, D’Souza believes in the moral existence of good and bad.
THE PROBLEM:
The greatness of Christianity is lost on many people. One can grow up attending public schools, watch tons of TV, get a prestigious university degree and frequent many bookstores and libraries only to come away with precious little awareness of the Christian legacy that is so foundational in our culture. It’s not just that the greatness of Christianity is being ignored, but that the case for its greatness is being actively silenced in the public square.
Christianity’s greatness was not lost on our nation’s Founders. They wrote respectfully about Christ and our legacy of faith. They saw God’s will, not politicians or lawmakers, as the founding force for human liberty and rights. Today, however, a small army of anti-Christian teachers, thinkers and authors have taken up a missionary zeal against the legacy we call Christian. They either treat Christianity like the crazy old aunt in the attic, or they blame it (often out of context) for nearly all the alleged crimes of history and ills of humanity.
In What’s So Great About Christianity?, D’Souza systematically addresses this new wave of atheist attacks on religion, but not with a barrage of Bible quotes or with juicy counter attacks. Instead, he uses philosophy, reason, science and history. The reader will gain a good grip on the presumptions that distinguish theist and atheist worldviews. If you dare to engage secularists today in defense of your faith, D’Souza’s book is worth the wrestle.
THE LEGACY:
Without question, Christianity is foundational for Western civilization. It cannot claim perfection in practice but it can claim greatness, and not just in its ideal form. The historical success of Christianity is profound and below are a few of its successes, according to D’Souza (my synopsis):
- 1. Christianity nourished our abiding value for marriage & the family.
- 2. Christianity created the framework for modern science.
- 3. Christianity elevated the ordinary man (unlike ancient Rome ).
- 4. Christianity fostered individual equality, challenging slavery.
- 5. Christianity helped lay foundations for respecting the rule of law.
- 6. Christianity nurtured a strong (Protestant) work ethic.
- 7. Christianity influenced our notion of limited government.
- 8. Christianity advocated that human life is sacred (as is marriage).
- 9. Christianity cultivated a culture of compassion for the suffering.
- 10. Christianity exalted heterosexual monogamous love.
To help the reader grasp the global greatness of Christianity, D’Souza contemplates what would likely happen if we lost it. Here’s a short list (my paraphrase):
- 1. Infanticide would return in earnest.
- 2. The family would be radically redefined and/or dismantled.
- 3. Notions of elite superiority would again take root (return of slavery).
THE BATTLE :
Atheists and secularists often demand that Christianity answer for the many murders and wars committed in its name. D’Souza wonders why atheism is rarely asked to answer for its wars and crimes. In the past century, atheist and anti-Christian regimes have been responsible for far more human killings than so-called Christian regimes or leaders could manage in the last millennium. Communist Russia, China , Cambodia and Nazi Germany wiped out innocent people in astronomical numbers. D’Souza writes; “Religion-inspired killing simply cannot compete with the murders perpetuated by atheist regimes.” (p 215). He adds that “the atheist bloodbath is the product of a hubristic modern ideology that sees man, not God, as the creator of values.” (p. 221).
THERE’S HOPE:
As Europe continues to move away from its Christian legacy, Christianity is expanding its influence in Central and South America, Africa and Asia . Its’ growth is tapering off in the USA , but remains strong. Christianity has long reached out to the developing world, and now its dominance is shifting away from white and Western cultures to second and third world cultures.
FAITH VS SCIENCE:
Christianity played a pivotal role in the rise of science in the West because it passionately valued truth. Faith and science can be partners in an objective search for truth and meaning. Still, neither one alone can provide all the answers.
The majestic order of the universe is obviously awesome. Yet, the truth seeker is forever humbled by the limits of human channels for investigating its awesomeness. Science cannot explain the conscience and Darwinism cannot account for heroic altruism. Humans are much more than mere survival machines. Music is much more than vibrations colliding with eardrums provoking neural reactions in the brain. We are made up of matter in motion, but that does not begin to explain humanity. Reality goes much deeper than the scientific portrait of it. D’Souza does not disparage evolution, but rather concludes “For the Christian, the evolution debate comes down to competing theories of how God did it.” (p. 153).
SEX:
D’Souza boldly argues; “It is chiefly because of sex that most contemporary atheists have chosen to break with Christianity.” (p. 269). While atheists often claim scientific, historical and rational reasons for rejecting Christianity, D’Souza thinks the real reason may be a lingering resentment for the moral restraints on our sex lives imposed by an invisible deity. That’s a subjective call.
THE SHADOW OF ETERNITY:
We wonder where God is when people hurt. But why do we blame God for evil when so much of it is man-made? D’Souza asked, “Where is atheism when bad things happen?” (p. 273). In the face of tragic hardship. Christianity offers what D’Souza calls “sub specie aeternitatis.” That is to say, it offers a life to be lived “in the shadow of eternity.” This shadow is the only basis for believing that life matters, even when it hurts.
SUMMARY:
This book is most rewarding at the end. D’Souza concludes that there are two kinds of disbelief. First, the notion that all religions are equally false (atheism). Second, that all religions are equally true (relativism). D’Souza affirms the uniqueness of Christianity. Born in India , he offers perspectives on that uniqueness from Eastern thought that add to his credibility.
D’Souza never strays far from his aim to refute atheism. I think he succeeds, but a few of the philosophical valleys he takes the reader through get rather dry. His arguments occasionally get circular but they do make you think more deeply. My primary criticism is that he stays on defense too long. When he finally goes on offense affirming the greatness of Christianity, he is quite effective. But the reader wonders why he waited so long. At the bottom line, the greatness of Christianity is not just found in the impact it has had on human history, but on humans in particular.
Joel Mark Solliday, B.A., M.Div., is the editor of Campus CrossWalk and the pulpit minister of the Northern Light Church of Christ in Minnesota . He earned his M.Div. at Fuller Theological Seminary and has worked at Pepperdine and ACU. His wife Katie is a junior high school teacher.
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