The percentage of the population that identify as Christian in the Western World has diminished over the last few decades. As a reuslt, church attendance has decreased significantly. Of course, this can be partially attributed to the disillusionment of the public, especially millennials and subsequent generations, with the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. An additional factor has been the alliance of some evangelical churches with the hard right politics of the Republican Party. However, there has also been a cultural and philosophical shift brought about by an increasing secularization in the West with roots going back to the Enlightenment. An increasingly entrenched and even militant scientific materialism followed by post-modernism has resulted in the dismissal of Christian faith as an outmoded form of consciousness.
However, a large number of those who have departed from the Christian faith of their childhood have no real understanding or a very superficial understanding of Christian beliefs and the historical evidence supporting the Judeo-Christian tradition. Furthermore, they do not understand the influence of Christianity in the development of Western culture and values. After years of study, I do believe Christianity is rational and rests on solid historical foundations. But my purpose here is to focus on why I believe Christian faith is relevant to the larger concerns of our times under three topics:
The Western concept of human rights and freedom of conscience is based on the idea of the dignity and worth of the individual. This idea has profoundly influenced the meaning of personhood and its implications in law and social norms in the Western world. But what was the origin of this idea and why did it arise almost exclusively in the Western countries?
Many historians would agree that Christianity was foundational in the gradual development of this idea through the centuries along with classical Greek and Roman influences. The Christian belief that God became human in Jesus implies that we as humans have special significance. Human beings reflect the “image of God” which makes human life sacred. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, states, "And God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, from a Christian perspective, each person, no matter how humble, has dignity and worth. However, even though the worth and dignity of each person was believed in a formal sense, it must be admitted that the implications of this belief have been slow to be realized in the actual life of Western society, and tragically, even the church itself. But over the centuries it gradually became the foundation of the idea of human rights and human dignity in the West, influencing both law and culture.
Note: The corruptions and abuses of Christendom are well-documented. However, they display human failures, not the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. Just as the Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament) chronicle the failures of Israel to be a "light to the nations," so the church has also failed many times over its 2,000 year history. Yet, there have always been those who were faithful and exhibited the Christian virtues. The lives of the saints as well as many humble lay people kept the light of faith burning even through the worst of times. The Reformation was a reaction against the abuses of the papacy and brought an increased focus on the individual's relationship to God and individual moral conduct. The ideas of the rule of law and the dignity and the worth of the individual with its extension to the concept of human rights slowly took shape and has continued to influence governance and public policy in the West in spite of many setbacks. Of course, even to this day, the implications of these ideals have not been fully realized and are still ignored in many parts of the world.
Following World War II, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 originated in and was advocated almost exclusively by Western nations. However, human rights and freedom of conscience are not assumed in Muslim majority countries or in many Asian countries today. Muslim majority countries have objected to a “Western bias” in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating that it is in conflict with Sharia Law. In China, human rights and freedom of conscience and belief is subordinated to the dictates of the totalitarian state. Currently, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have promoted Hindu Nationalism, which has resulted in intolerance of other faith groups.
Note: Since I first wrote this article, the troubling phenomenon of Christian Nationalism here in the U.S. has come to the attention of the American public. This is a disappointing and heretical development and a betrayal of genuine Christian faith as Jesus and the Apostles taught and lived it.
Christian ethics are based on the character of the God of the Bible as expressed in the Ten Commandments, the Prophets, and the teaching of Jesus. In contrast to the Christian worldview, secularism cannot establish a basis for human dignity and human rights. At best, given a secular worldview, we can say that the promotion of these ideas is an individual preference or the preference of a community. But others may disagree with that preference. For example, in the Philippines, President Duterte had no problem authorizing the police to commit extrajudicial killings of suspected drug offenders. So much for human rights and the rule of law. Without an ultimate reference point, no transcendent moral values exist. As Dostoyevsky's character, Ivan states in the Brothers Karamazov, "Without God, all is permitted".
If societies are guided only by personal preferences, anyone can question a moral assertion, with the reply, "Who says?" In other words, on what authority are you basing that assertion? One person might believe that white Europeans are superior to people of African origin and that discrimination is, therefore, justified. Others counter with the value of universal human rights. But if moral statements only reflect personal preferences, how can racism and white supremacy be condemned? The racists just have different preferences from those who uphold human dignity and human rights for all people.
Thankfully, a large percentage of secular people live good, even exemplary lives, but I submit that they do so because our civilization was shaped by the Judeo-Christian ethic. Secularists live and act on the memory of Christianity in contradiction to their materialistic worldview.
Note: I know that you may strongly object to my assertions
here based on the fact that in the past Christians in the American
South used the Bible to justify slavery. Others will point out that
secular European countries have more compassionate social safety
nets and policies than America, which is supposedly more religious.
My response is the same as the note under the previous "The Meaning
of Persons" heading. These problems result from a failure to
understand and to aspire to live by the teachings of Christ.
Some optimists say the "arc of history bends towards justice". There is truth in that statement, at least as we look to the past. But as we look at what is currently happening around us, humanity seems to be going backwards. The 21st century has given us many reasons to be pessimistic about the future of humanity. The century opened with the greatest attack on the U.S. since Pearl Harbor. Ever since September 11th, 2001 we have lived with the threat of terrorism. Our forays into the Middle East have caused massive casualties and have upended the stability of that region. Furthermore, the Syrian war has led to massive migrations into Europe. The rise of the Islamic State has brought back medieval forms of brutality that have shocked us. Then, in February 2022, Vladimir Putin initiated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a naked aggression, which has resulted in war crimes and civilian deaths not see since World War II. Add to this the toll of the recent global pandemic and the threat of climate change as time is running out to mitigate its worst effects.
We have also seen ominous changes in American society:
All this can cause a person to ask, "Where is history going?" What will the future be like for our children and grandchildren? Do we have any hope for the future? Does history have any meaning?
Christians are as disturbed as anyone else by the trends and events we are witnessing in these times. Nevertheless, we believe that God is present and working in the midst of this chaotic world. History has a direction and a purpose. Psalm 76:10 reads,
"Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt."
The meaning here is that God works his purpose out through or in spite of the freely chosen acts of humans. Ultimately, Christians believe history is moving towards a goal---that the second coming of Christ at the end of history will bring a renewed earth, the end of pain and suffering, and final justice for those who never received justice in this life. This is the Christian hope and confidence.