Is the world a better place because of Christianity? On the surface, that seems to be a straightforward question, but the answer rapidly becomes quite complex. It is a polarizing question, most notably because talk of Christianity is never neutral. I happen to be a Christian. That is my bias. And I assume that some of you who read this column are humanists or agnostics—some are atheists, at least I hope some of you are reading along. Nevertheless, in that case, both you and I have certain biases, and those biases are reflectedinhowweapproachalmost all the crucial questions in life, including the question of whether the world is a better place because of Christianity.
However, you and I are not so far apart that we don’t share much in common. There exists much common ground between believers and unbelievers. This common ground also extends to how we interpret what we observe in the world around us. Christian believers and unbelievers alike observe and appreciate the splendor of the same naturalworld.Commongroundalso allows us to have discussions about history: those irretrievable events from time past. From common notions concerning our collective past, you and I might “reason together,” examining the facts of history, and by doing so, answer the question: “Is the world a better place because of Christianity?”
Undoubtedly, various people think the world would be a much better place if Christianity had neverbeenestablished,especiallyin the Western world. And, it is quick and easy to answer “no” to the question at hand. That is because even within Christian circles, it is freely admitted, as an author unknown to me writes, that since “Imperfect disciples now represent Jesus, there areplentyofexampleswherepeople bearing the name of Christ have not lived out its message,” and various scandals,botholdandnew,continue to bear out this truth.
Christian history certainly bears uponitselftheuglymarksofamovement that sometimes failed to live out its message. The unmitigated slaughter and pillage of anyone standing in the way of the Christian conquerors during the Crusades, the infamous use of torture by Christians during the Inquisition, and the condoning of chattel slavery by Christians, especially in this country. These are no small charges leveled against Christianity, charges to which Christianity must plead guilty. And if that were the sum total of the Christian witness, I would zealously join in and condemn the entire enterprise as irredeemably corrupt. But that is not the whole of the Christian story.
The entirety of the Christian story starts and ends with Jesus. That is because Jesus’s coming into the world changed everything. Indeed, the message of Jesus was, asChristiantheologianKavinRowe says, a surprise to the world. And, “at the center of their surprise . . . was the revelation of the human as the image of Christ.” In that way, Christianity became not only a surprise to Jews and Gentiles but also an invaluable gift to the world, grounded in the humanity of Christ. The profound realization that all humans are universally equalized by virtue of having been created in HisimagemadeChristiansextreme counter-culturalists in a pagan world. Indeed, Jesus changed everything by striking at the heart of hierarchical autonomy. The One who is related to every person who comes into the world defined what it means to be a unified race made in the image and likeness of Christ. And the outworking of this paradigm shift in the Greco-Roman world was profound. Paul best summarized this Christ-centered shift, writing, “[t]here is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). If the Jew is equal to the Greek, and the slave equal to the free, then so too the poor were equal totherich,thewidowtothemarried, and the orphan to the parented. It was, in fact, Christians who rescued and adopted the infants discarded by the Romans. Christians placed such high value upon both the orphans and the widows that James, the brotherof Jesus,wrotethatpure and undefiled religion before God is “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27).
If we examine the plight of the poor, widows, and orphans, from the height of the Roman Empire to the present day, it is clear that the world is a better place because of the Christian witness. Even still, critics of Christianity’s influence in the Western world abound. One such critic is the ancient Greek and RomanhistorianCharlesFreeman. In his 2002 book The Closing of the Western Mind, Freeman suggests that Christianity’s great crime against the Western world was “the fall of reason” brought about by three predominant factors: “the attackonGreekphilosophybyPaul, the adoption of Platonism by Christian theologians, and enforcement of orthodoxy by emperors desperate to keep good order.” In the articles that follow, I aim to challenge these threeassumptionsbysheddinglight on what Freeman failed to grasp. Whether you are a Christian, a Seeker, or a Non-believer, I respectfully welcome you to read on and consider the evidence for yourself, all the while we press towards an answertothequestion,IsGoddead?
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore. You can contact him at: dr.kerley@isGoddead.com.