| christianity influence on society: How Christianity Changed the World Alvin J. Schmidt, 2009-12-15 Western civilization is becoming increasingly pluralistic,secularized, and biblically illiterate. Many people todayhave little sense of how their lives have benefited fromChristianity’s influence, often viewing the church withhostility or resentment.How Christianity Changed the World is a topicallyarranged Christian history for Christians and non-Christians. Grounded in solid research and written in apopular style, this book is both a helpful apologetic toolin talking with unbelievers and a source of evidence forwhy Christianity deserves credit for many of thehumane, social, scientific, and cultural advances in theWestern world in the last two thousand years.Photographs, timelines, and charts enhance eachchapter.This edition features questions for reflection anddiscussion for each chapter. |
| christianity influence on society: The Evolution of the West Nick Spencer, 2018-02-14 What has Christianity ever done for us? A lot more than you might think, as Nick Spencer reveals in this fresh exploration of our cultural origins. Looking at the big ideas that characterize the West, such as human dignity, the rule of law, human rights, science, and even, paradoxically, atheism and secularism,he traces the varied ways in which many of our present values grew up and flourished in distinctively Christian soil. Always alert to the tensions and mess of history, and careful not to overstate or misstate the Christian role in shaping our present values, Spencer shows us how a better awareness of what we owe to Christianity can help us as we face new cultural challenges. |
| christianity influence on society: What's So Great About Christianity Dinesh D'Souza, 2008-11-04 Is Christianity true? Can educated, thinking people really believe the Bible? Or, do the athiests have it right? Has Christianity been disproved by science and discredited as a guide to morality? Best-selling author Dinesh D'Souza (What's So Great About America) approaches Christianity with a skeptical eye, but treats the skeptics with equal skepticism. The result is a book that will challenge the assumptions of doubters and affirm that there really is, indeed, something great about Christianity. |
| christianity influence on society: Christianity and Social Order William Temple, 1950 |
| christianity influence on society: Dominion Tom Holland, 2019-10-29 A marvelous (Economist) account of how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination. Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion-an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus-was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history. Today, the West remains utterly saturated by Christian assumptions. As Tom Holland demonstrates, our morals and ethics are not universal but are instead the fruits of a very distinctive civilization. Concepts such as secularism, liberalism, science, and homosexuality are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed. From Babylon to the Beatles, Saint Michael to #MeToo, Dominion tells the story of how Christianity transformed the modern world. |
| christianity influence on society: The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages Upon the Christian Church Edwin Hatch, 1895 |
| christianity influence on society: Making Christian History Michael Hollerich, 2021-06-22 Known as the “Father of Church History,” Eusebius was bishop of Caesarea in Palestine and the leading Christian scholar of his day. His Ecclesiastical History is an irreplaceable chronicle of Christianity’s early development, from its origin in Judaism, through two and a half centuries of illegality and occasional persecution, to a new era of tolerance and favor under the Emperor Constantine. In this book, Michael J. Hollerich recovers the reception of this text across time. As he shows, Eusebius adapted classical historical writing for a new “nation,” the Christians, with a distinctive theo-political vision. Eusebius’s text left its mark on Christian historical writing from late antiquity to the early modern period—across linguistic, cultural, political, and religious boundaries—until its encounter with modern historicism and postmodernism. Making Christian History demonstrates Eusebius’s vast influence throughout history, not simply in shaping Christian culture but also when falling under scrutiny as that culture has been reevaluated, reformed, and resisted over the past 1,700 years. |
| christianity influence on society: Christianity Linda Woodhead, 2014 This is a short, accessible analysis of Christianity that focuses on its social and cultural diversity as well as its historical dimensions. |
| christianity influence on society: God, Grades, and Graduation Ilana M. Horwitz, 2022 It's widely acknowledged that American parents from different class backgrounds take different approaches to raising their children. Upper and middle-class parents invest considerable time facilitating their children's activities, while working class and poor families take a more hands-off approach. These different strategies influence how children approach school. But missing from the discussion is the fact that millions of parents on both sides of the class divide are raising their children to listen to God. What impact does a religious upbringing have on their academic trajectories? Drawing on 10 years of survey data with over 3,000 teenagers and over 200 interviews, God, Grades, and Graduation (GGG) offers a revealing and at times surprising account of how teenagers' religious upbringing influences their educational pathways from high school to college. GGG introduces readers to a childrearing logic that cuts across social class groups and accounts for Americans' deep relationship with God: religious restraint. This book takes us inside the lives of these teenagers to discover why they achieve higher grades than their peers, why they are more likely to graduate from college, and why boys from lower middle-class families particularly benefit from religious restraint. But readers also learn how for middle-upper class kids--and for girls especially--religious restraint recalibrates their academic ambitions after graduation, leading them to question the value of attending a selective college despite their stellar grades in high school. By illuminating the far-reaching effects of the childrearing logic of religious restraint, GGG offers a compelling new narrative about the role of religion in academic outcomes and educational inequality-- |
| christianity influence on society: What's So Great About America Dinesh D'Souza, 2012-11-20 With What's So Great About America, Dinesh D'Souza is not asking a question, but making a statement. The former White House policy analyst and bestselling author argues that in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, American ideals and patriotism should not be things we shy away from. Instead he offers the grounds for a solid, well-considered pride in the Western pillars of science, democracy and capitalism, while deconstructing arguments from both the political Left and political Right. As an outsider from India who has had amazing success in the United States, D'Souza defends not an idealized America, but America as it really is, and measures America not against an utopian ideal, but against the rest of the world in a provocative, challenging, and personal book. |
| christianity influence on society: C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity George M. Marsden, 2020-02-25 The life and times of C. S. Lewis's modern spiritual classic Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis's eloquent defense of the Christian faith, originated as a series of BBC radio talks broadcast during the dark days of World War Two. Here is the story of the extraordinary life and afterlife of this influential and inspiring book. George Marsden describes how Lewis gradually went from being an atheist to a committed Anglican—famously converting to Christianity in 1931 after conversing into the night with his friends J. R. R. Tolkien and Hugh Dyson—and how his plainspoken case for Christianity went on to become one of the most beloved spiritual books of all time. |
| christianity influence on society: Every Good Endeavour Timothy Keller, 2014-07-17 In today's increasingly competitive and insecure economic environment, we often question the reason for work: why am I doing this? Why is it so hard? And what can I do about it? Work may seem just a means to an end: we do it to earn the money to enjoy life outside the workplace. Here, Timothy Keller argues that God's plan is radically more ambitious: he actually created us to work. We are to work together to make the world a better place, to help each other, and so to find purpose for our lives. Our faith should enhance our work, and our work should develop our faith.With deep insight, Timothy Keller draws on essential and relevant biblical wisdom to address our questions about work. There is grace available if we have taken the wrong attitude, idolising money and using our careers to glorify ourselves rather than God. This book provides the foundations for a work-life balance where we can thrive both personally and professionally. Keller shows how through excellence, integrity, discipline, creativity and passion in the workplace we can impact society for good.Developing a better attitude to work releases us to serve others humbly, to worship God everyday, and leaves us deeply fulfilled. |
| christianity influence on society: The Christians as the Romans Saw Them Robert Louis Wilken, 2003-01-01 This book offers an engrossing portrayal of the early years of the Christian movement from the perspective of the Romans. |
| christianity influence on society: The Rise of Christianity Rodney Stark, 1997-05-09 This fresh, blunt, and highly persuasive account of how the West was won—for Jesus (Newsweek) is now available in paperback. Stark's provocative report challenges conventional wisdom and finds that Christianity's astounding dominance of the Western world arose from its offer of a better, more secure way of life. Compelling reading (Library Journal) that is sure to generate spirited argument (Publishers Weekly), this account of Christianity's remarkable growth within the Roman Empire is the subject of much fanfare. Anyone who has puzzled over Christianity's rise to dominance...must read it. says Yale University's Wayne A. Meeks, for The Rise of Christianity makes a compelling case for startling conclusions. Combining his expertise in social science with historical evidence, and his insight into contemporary religion's appeal, Stark finds that early Christianity attracted the privileged rather than the poor, that most early converts were women or marginalized Jews—and ultimately that Christianity was a success because it proved those who joined it with a more appealing, more assuring, happier, and perhaps longer life (Andrew M. Greeley, University of Chicago). |
| christianity influence on society: Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity Gary B. Ferngren, 2016-08 Drawing on New Testament studies and recent scholarship on the expansion of the Christian church, Gary B. Ferngren presents a comprehensive historical account of medicine and medical philanthropy in the first five centuries of the Christian era. Ferngren first describes how early Christians understood disease. He examines the relationship of early Christian medicine to the natural and supernatural modes of healing found in the Bible. Despite biblical accounts of demonic possession and miraculous healing, Ferngren argues that early Christians generally accepted naturalistic assumptions about disease and cared for the sick with medical knowledge gleaned from the Greeks and Romans. Ferngren also explores the origins of medical philanthropy in the early Christian church. Rather than viewing illness as punishment for sins, early Christians believed that the sick deserved both medical assistance and compassion. Even as they were being persecuted, Christians cared for the sick within and outside of their community. Their long experience in medical charity led to the creation of the first hospitals, a singular Christian contribution to health care. A succinct, thoughtful, well-written, and carefully argued assessment of Christian involvement with medical matters in the first five centuries of the common era . . . It is to Ferngren's credit that he has opened questions and explored them so astutely. This fine work looks forward as well as backward; it invites fuller reflection of the many senses in which medicine and religion intersect and merits wide readership.—Journal of the American Medical Association In this superb work of historical and conceptual scholarship, Ferngren unfolds for the reader a cultural milieu of healing practices during the early centuries of Christianity.—Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith Readable and widely researched . . . an important book for mission studies and American Catholic movements, the book posits the question of what can take its place in today's challenging religious culture.—Missiology: An International Review Gary B. Ferngren is a professor of history at Oregon State University and a professor of the history of medicine at First Moscow State Medical University. He is the author of Medicine and Religion: A Historical Introduction and the editor of Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction. |
| christianity influence on society: Religion and Social Problems Titus Hjelm, 2011-01-21 Although students and scholars of social problems have often acknowledged the role of religion, no thorough examinations of the relation between the two have emerged. This book fills this gap by providing a definitive work on the impact of religion on social problems, religion as a solution to social problems, and religion as a social problem in itself. |
| christianity influence on society: The Faiths of the Founding Fathers David L. Holmes, 2006-05-01 It is not uncommon to hear Christians argue that America was founded as a Christian nation. But how true is this claim? In this compact book, David L. Holmes offers a clear, concise and illuminating look at the spiritual beliefs of our founding fathers. He begins with an informative account of the religious culture of the late colonial era, surveying the religious groups in each colony. In particular, he sheds light on the various forms of Deism that flourished in America, highlighting the profound influence this intellectual movement had on the founding generation. Holmes then examines the individual beliefs of a variety of men and women who loom large in our national history. He finds that some, like Martha Washington, Samuel Adams, John Jay, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson's daughters, held orthodox Christian views. But many of the most influential figures, including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Jefferson, James and Dolley Madison, and James Monroe, were believers of a different stripe. Respectful of Christianity, they admired the ethics of Jesus, and believed that religion could play a beneficial role in society. But they tended to deny the divinity of Christ, and a few seem to have been agnostic about the very existence of God. Although the founding fathers were religious men, Holmes shows that it was a faith quite unlike the Christianity of today's evangelicals. Holmes concludes by examining the role of religion in the lives of the presidents since World War II and by reflecting on the evangelical resurgence that helped fuel the reelection of George W. Bush. An intriguing look at a neglected aspect of our history, the book will appeal to American history buffs as well as to anyone concerned about the role of religion in American culture. |
| christianity influence on society: Backgrounds of Early Christianity Everett Ferguson, 2003 New to this expanded & updated edition are revisions of Ferguson's original material, updated bibliographies, & a fresh dicussion of first century social life, the Dead Sea Scrolls & much else. |
| christianity influence on society: Time of Transitions Jürgen Habermas, 2006-03-14 We live in a time of turbulent change when many of the frameworks that have characterized our societies over the last few centuries – such as the international order of sovereign nation-states – are being called into question. In this new volume of essays and interviews, Habermas focuses his attention on these processes of change and provides some of the resources needed to understand them. What kind of international order should we seek to create in our contemporary global age? How should we understand the political project of Europe and how can the democratic deficit of the EU be overcome? How should we understand the relation between democracy as popular sovereignty, which has become the defining principle of political legitimacy in the modern world, and the idea of basic human rights embodied in the rule of law? Habermas brings his formidable powers of analysis and his distinctive theoretical perspective to bear on these and other key questions of the modern age. His analysis is shaped throughout by his commitment to informed public debate and his powerful advocacy of a postnational renewal of the project of constitutional democracy. Time of Transitions will be essential reading for all students and scholars of sociology and politics, and it will be of interest to anyone concerned with the key social and political questions of our time. |
| christianity influence on society: Shaping a Christian Worldview David S. Dockery, Gregory Alan Thornbury, 2002-09-01 Shaping a Christian Worldview presents a collection of essays that address the key issues facing the future of Christian higher education. With contributions from key players in the field, this book addresses the critical issues for Christian institutions of various traditions as the new century begins to leave its indelible mark on education. |
| christianity influence on society: Christianity’s Role in United States Global Health and Development Policy John Blevins, 2018-07-06 In recent years, the role of religion in influencing international health policy and health services provision has been seen as increasingly important. This book provides a social history of the relationship between religion and America's international health policy and practice from the latter 19th century to the present. The book demonstrates that the fields of religion and public health have distinct moral frameworks, each with their own rationales, assumptions, and motivations. While these two frameworks share significant synergies, substantial tensions also exist, which are negotiated in political contexts. The book traces the origins of religion’s influence on public health to the Progressive Era in the latter half of the 19th century, examines tensions that arose in the first half of the 20th century, describes the divorce between religion and international health from the 1940s through the 1980s, identifies the sources of the renewed interest in the relationship between religion and international health, and anticipates the future contours of religion and international health in light of contemporary political and economic forces.While the influence of religion on international health practice and policy in the United States serves as the focus of the book, the effects of US policies on international health policies in general are also explored in depth, especially in the book’s later chapters. This ambitious study of religion’s social history in the United States over the last 150 years will be of interest to researchers in global health, politics, religion and development studies. |
| christianity influence on society: Redeeming Capitalism Kenneth J. Barnes, 2018-05-09 On reclaiming the moral roots of capitalism for a virtuous future For good or ill, the capitalism we have is the capitalism we have chosen, says Kenneth Barnes. Capitalism works, and the challenge before us is not to change its structure but to address the moral vacuum at the core of its current practice. In Redeeming Capitalism Barnes explores the history and workings of this sometimes-brutal economic system. He investigates the effects of postmodernism and unpacks biblical-theological teachings on work and wealth. Proposing virtuous choices as a way out of such pitfalls as the recent global financial crisis, Barnes envisions a more just and flourishing capitalism for the good of all. |
| christianity influence on society: How Then Should We Work? Hugh Whelchel, 2012-05 Have you ever felt like what you do the majority of the week at work may not have any value to God? Many Christians struggle to find any meaning in their work. Many are taught it's just a place to share your faith or earn a paycheck to donate to missions. Businessman Hugh Whelchel was just that guy but knew there had to be more. His thorough biblical investigation reveals the eternal significance of work within the grand biblical story of God's mission throughout history.--Publisher description. |
| christianity influence on society: The Rule of Saint Benedict Saint Benedict, Wyatt North, 1921 |
| christianity influence on society: How Now Shall We Live? Charles Colson, Nancy Pearcey, 2011-07-14 2000 Gold Medallion Award winner! Christianity is more than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is also a worldview that not only answers life's basic questions—Where did we come from, and who are we? What has gone wrong with the world? What can we do to fix it?—but also shows us how we should live as a result of those answers. How Now Shall We Live? gives Christians the understanding, the confidence, and the tools to confront the world's bankrupt worldviews and to restore and redeem every aspect of contemporary culture: family, education, ethics, work, law, politics, science, art, music. This book will change every Christian who reads it. It will change the church in the new millennium. |
| christianity influence on society: Making a Difference R. C. Sproul, 2019-01-01 The great challenge for the Christian in a post-Christian context is how to impact this fallen world with our faith. In Making a Difference, beloved theologian R. C. Sproul shows readers how to confront today's moral and social issues with an effective biblical response. Dr. Sproul first examines the major philosophies that affect the way Americans think and act--secularism, existentialism, humanism, and pragmatism--and then presents ideas on how to apply a biblical perspective to spheres of public life that need the Christian's influence today: economics, science, art and literature, and government. |
| christianity influence on society: Christians Against Christianity Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., 2021-07-06 A timely and galvanizing work that examines how right-wing evangelical Christians have veered from an admirable faith to a pernicious, destructive ideology. Today’s right-wing Evangelical Christianity stands as the very antithesis of the message of Jesus Christ. In his new book, Christians Against Christianity, best-selling author and religious scholar Obery M. Hendricks Jr. challenges right-wing evangelicals on the terrain of their own religious claims, exposing the falsehoods, contradictions, and misuses of the Bible that are embedded in their rabid homophobia, their poorly veiled racism and demonizing of immigrants and Muslims, and their ungodly alliance with big business against the interests of American workers. He scathingly indicts the religious leaders who helped facilitate the rise of the notoriously unchristian Donald Trump, likening them to the “court jesters” and hypocritical priestly sycophants of bygone eras who unquestioningly supported their sovereigns’ every act, no matter how hateful or destructive to those they were supposed to serve. In the wake of the deadly insurrectionist attack on the US Capitol, Christians Against Christianity is a clarion call to stand up to the hypocrisy of the evangelical Right, as well as a guide for Christians to return their faith to the life-affirming message that Jesus brought and died for. What Hendricks offers is a provocative diagnosis, an urgent warning that right-wing evangelicals’ aspirations for Christian nationalist supremacy are a looming threat, not only to Christian decency but to democracy itself. What they offer to America is anything but good news. |
| christianity influence on society: Eternal Living Gary W. Moon, 2014-12-04 Curated by Dallas Willard's long-time colleague and friend Gary Moon, this medley of images, snapshots and Dallas-isms moves readers toward deeper experiences of God. Whether influenced by him as a family member, friend, professor, philosopher or reformer, contributors bring refreshing insight into his ideas, what shaped him and also his contagious theology of grace and joy. |
| christianity influence on society: Christendom and Christianity in the Middle Ages Adriaan Bredero, 1994 This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. Though buffeted on all sides by rapid and at times cataclysmic social, political, and economic change, the medieval church was able to make adjustments that kept it from becoming simply a fossil from the past rather than an enduring institution of salvation. The dynamic interaction between the medieval church and society gives form to this compelling and well-informed study by Adriaan Bredero. By considering medieval Christianity in full relation to its historical context, Bredero elucidates complex medieval realities -- many of which run counter to common modern notions about the Middle Ages. Bredero moves beyond the usual treatment of history by framing his overall discussion in terms of a fascinating and relevant question: To what extent is Christianity today still molded by medieval society? The book begins with an overview of religion and the church in medieval society, from the early Christianization of Western Europe through the fifteenth century. Bredero counters earlier romanticized assessments of the Middle Ages as a thoroughly Christian period by arriving at a definition of Christendom, not in its original sense as the empire of Charlemagne, but rather as the countries, people, and matters which stood under the influence of Christ. |
| christianity influence on society: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Max Weber, 2012-04-19 Author's best-known and most controversial study relates the rise of a capitalist economy to the Puritan belief that hard work and good deeds were outward signs of faith and salvation. |
| christianity influence on society: Christ and Culture H. Richard Niebuhr, 1956-09-05 This 50th-anniversary edition, with a new foreword by the distinguished historian Martin E. Marty, who regards this book as one of the most vital books of our time, as well as an introduction by the author never before included in the book, and a new preface by James Gustafson, the premier Christian ethicist who is considered Niebuhr’s contemporary successor, poses the challenge of being true to Christ in a materialistic age to an entirely new generation of Christian readers. |
| christianity influence on society: Why Liberalism Failed Patrick J. Deneen, 2019-02-26 One of the most important political books of 2018.—Rod Dreher, American Conservative Of the three dominant ideologies of the twentieth century—fascism, communism, and liberalism—only the last remains. This has created a peculiar situation in which liberalism’s proponents tend to forget that it is an ideology and not the natural end-state of human political evolution. As Patrick Deneen argues in this provocative book, liberalism is built on a foundation of contradictions: it trumpets equal rights while fostering incomparable material inequality; its legitimacy rests on consent, yet it discourages civic commitments in favor of privatism; and in its pursuit of individual autonomy, it has given rise to the most far-reaching, comprehensive state system in human history. Here, Deneen offers an astringent warning that the centripetal forces now at work on our political culture are not superficial flaws but inherent features of a system whose success is generating its own failure. |
| christianity influence on society: The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine Noel Emmanuel Lenski, 2006 The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine offers students a comprehensive one-volume survey of this pivotal emperor and his times. Richly illustrated and designed as a readable survey accessible to all audiences, it also achieves a level of scholarly sophistication and a freshness of interpretation that will be welcomed by the experts. The volume is divided into five sections that examine political history, religion, social and economic history, art, and foreign relations during the reign of Constantine, who steered the Roman Empire on a course parallel with his own personal development. |
| christianity influence on society: The Next Christians Gabe Lyons, 2012-03-13 “I recommend The Next Christians, which will give you great insight into the hopes and aspirations of the next generation…. —Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship “Provocative, yet massively optimistic!” —Louie Giglio, pastor and founder of the Passion Movement Gabe Lyons is optimistic that Christianity’s best days are yet to come. His best-selling book, UnChristian, revealed the pervasiveness of culture’s growing disregard for Christians. Now, in The Next Christians, Lyons shows how a new wave of believers are turning the tide by bringing the truth of the Gospel to bear on our changing, secular society. “Restorers,” as Lyons calls them, approach culture with a different mentality than generations past. Informed by truth, yet seasoned with grace and love, these believers engage the world by drawing it to the sensibility and authenticity of the Christian life. You can be one of these “next” Christians and change the negative perception of Christianity by living a life that is faithful to the Gospel, yet credible and coherent to your friends and neighbors. |
| christianity influence on society: Politics - According to the Bible Wayne A. Grudem, 2010-09-28 Should Christians be involved in political issues? This comprehensive and readable book presents a political philosophy from the perspective that the Gospel pertains to all of life, including politics. Politics—According to the Bible is an in-depth analysis of conservative and liberal plans to do good for the nation, evaluated in light of the Bible and common sense. Evangelical Bible professor, and author of the bestselling book Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem unpacks and rejects five common views about Christian influence on politics: compel religion, exclude religion, all government is demonic, do evangelism, not politics, and do politics, not evangelism. Instead, he defends a position of significant Christian influence on government and explains the Bible's teachings about the purpose of civil government and the characteristics of good or bad governments. Grudem provides a thoughtful analysis of over fifty specific and current political issues dealing with: The protection of life. Marriage, the family, and children. Economic issues and taxation. The environment. National defense Relationships to other nations. Freedom of speech and religion. Quotas. And special interests. Throughout this book, he makes frequent application to the current policies of the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States, but the principles discussed here are relevant for any nation. |
| christianity influence on society: To Change the World James Davison Hunter, 2010-04-14 The call to make the world a better place is inherent in the Christian belief and practice. But why have efforts to change the world by Christians so often failed or gone tragically awry? And how might Christians in the 21st century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative? In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter offers persuasive--and provocative--answers to these questions. Hunter begins with a penetrating appraisal of the most popular models of world-changing among Christians today, highlighting the ways they are inherently flawed and therefore incapable of generating the change to which they aspire. Because change implies power, all Christian eventually embrace strategies of political engagement. Hunter offers a trenchant critique of the political theologies of the Christian Right and Left and the Neo-Anabaptists, taking on many respected leaders, from Charles Colson to Jim Wallis and Stanley Hauerwas. Hunter argues that all too often these political theologies worsen the very problems they are designed to solve. What is really needed is a different paradigm of Christian engagement with the world, one that Hunter calls faithful presence--an ideal of Christian practice that is not only individual but institutional; a model that plays out not only in all relationships but in our work and all spheres of social life. He offers real-life examples, large and small, of what can be accomplished through the practice of faithful presence. Such practices will be more fruitful, Hunter argues, more exemplary, and more deeply transfiguring than any more overtly ambitious attempts can ever be. Written with keen insight, deep faith, and profound historical grasp, To Change the World will forever change the way Christians view and talk about their role in the modern world. |
| christianity influence on society: Inventing the Individual Larry Siedentop, 2014-10-20 Here, in a grand narrative spanning 1,800 years of European history, a distinguished political philosopher firmly rejects Western liberalism’s usual account of itself: its emergence in opposition to religion in the early modern era. Larry Siedentop argues instead that liberal thought is, in its underlying assumptions, the offspring of the Church. “It is a magnificent work of intellectual, psychological, and spiritual history. It is hard to decide which is more remarkable: the breadth of learning displayed on almost every page, the infectious enthusiasm that suffuses the whole book, the riveting originality of the central argument, or the emotional power and force with which it is deployed.” —David Marquand, New Republic “Larry Siedentop has written a philosophical history in the spirit of Voltaire, Condorcet, Hegel, and Guizot...At a time when we on the left need to be stirred from our dogmatic slumbers, Inventing the Individual is a reminder of some core values that are pretty widely shared.” —James Miller, The Nation “In this learned, subtle, enjoyable and digestible work [Siedentop] has offered back to us a proper version of ourselves. He has explained us to ourselves...[A] magisterial, timeless yet timely work.” —Douglas Murray, The Spectator “Like the best books, Inventing the Individual both teaches you something new and makes you want to argue with it.” —Kenan Malik, The Independent |
| christianity influence on society: Did America Have a Christian Founding? Mark David Hall, 2019-10-29 A distinguished professor debunks the assertion that America's Founders were deists who desired the strict separation of church and state and instead shows that their political ideas were profoundly influenced by their Christian convictions. In 2010, David Mark Hall gave a lecture at the Heritage Foundation entitled Did America Have a Christian Founding? His balanced and thoughtful approach to this controversial question caused a sensation. C-SPAN televised his talk, and an essay based on it has been downloaded more than 300,000 times. In this book, Hall expands upon this essay, making the airtight case that America's Founders were not deists. He explains why and how the Founders' views are absolutely relevant today, showing that they did not create a godless Constitution; that even Jefferson and Madison did not want a high wall separating church and state; that most Founders believed the government should encourage Christianity; and that they embraced a robust understanding of religious liberty for biblical and theological reasons. This compelling and utterly persuasive book will convince skeptics and equip believers and conservatives to defend the idea that Christian thought was crucial to the nation's founding--and that this benefits all of us, whatever our faith (or lack of faith). |
| christianity influence on society: Secular Faith Mark A. Smith, When Pope Francis recently answered “Who am I to judge?” when asked about homosexuality, he ushered in a new era for the Catholic church. A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable for a pope to express tolerance for homosexuality. Yet shifts of this kind are actually common in the history of Christian groups. Within the United States, Christian leaders have regularly revised their teachings to match the beliefs and opinions gaining support among their members and larger society. Mark A. Smith provocatively argues that religion is not nearly the unchanging conservative influence in American politics that we have come to think it is. In fact, in the long run, religion is best understood as responding to changing political and cultural values rather than shaping them. Smith makes his case by charting five contentious issues in America’s history: slavery, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, and women’s rights. For each, he shows how the political views of even the most conservative Christians evolved in the same direction as the rest of society—perhaps not as swiftly, but always on the same arc. During periods of cultural transition, Christian leaders do resist prevailing values and behaviors, but those same leaders inevitably acquiesce—often by reinterpreting the Bible—if their positions become no longer tenable. Secular ideas and influences thereby shape the ways Christians read and interpret their scriptures. So powerful are the cultural and societal norms surrounding us that Christians in America today hold more in common morally and politically with their atheist neighbors than with the Christians of earlier centuries. In fact, the strongest predictors of people’s moral beliefs are not their religious commitments or lack thereof but rather when and where they were born. A thoroughly researched and ultimately hopeful book on the prospects for political harmony, Secular Faith demonstrates how, over the long run, boundaries of secular and religious cultures converge. |
| christianity influence on society: Freedom to Flourish Elizabeth Garn, 2021 So many women are exhausted because they think their purpose is rooted in what they do. Instead, it's rooted in who God is. Learn how we flourish as his image-bearers-- |
The Origin of Christianity - Biblical Archaeology Society
Sep 12, 2024 · The ex Roman rev Vermes attended seminary in Hungary and Italy .but has mis-stated the case. “Christianity”, defined as a faith in Christ being the person of Jesus of Nazareth, …
When Did Christianity Begin to Spread? - Biblical Archaeology Society
Nov 17, 2024 · Christianity began in the 1st century in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, ca. 30-33 C.E. (A.D.), and has existed continually ever since. Perhaps not always visibly in the eyes of the …
Evidence of Early Christianity in Northern Europe
Jan 3, 2025 · Excavations of a cemetery in the ancient Roman town of Nida, located in a suburb of modern Frankfurt, Germany, have revealed the earliest evidence for early Christianity north of …
Was Jesus a Jew? - Biblical Archaeology Society
May 20, 2025 · Christianity didn’t really take hold until some 200 years after his death, when Roman Emperor Constantine (Jewish mother) declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman …
The Antonine Plague and the Spread of Christianity
Jan 13, 2024 · Christianity is one of the most fear-based religions known to man. As we all know, this is around the time the “gospels” were written. I see this time as the “foot in the door” plague …
Christianity Forum - - City-Data Forum
May 11, 2025 · Christianity Display Options: Showing threads 1 to 45 of 22586: Sorted By Sort Order. From The ...
Constantine’s Capital City - Biblical Archaeology Society
Sep 27, 2023 · Here, Christianity was declared legal by Emperor Constantine and eventually became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Home to the Hagia Sophia, the Hippodrome of …
The Split of Early Christianity and Judaism
Jan 16, 2024 · Christianity and Judaism, two of the world’s major religions, shared the same foundation—ancient Judaism. The two religions, however, eventually split in a series of partings, …
Paganism Under Constantine - Biblical Archaeology Society
Jan 12, 2024 · Instead, the shift to Christianity was a slow change in which many Roman religious practices continued in the face of an increasingly Christian empire. “There’s evidence from other …
The Nag Hammadi Codices and Gnostic Christianity
Jan 14, 2024 · The teachings of Gnostic Christianity—vilified especially since they were declared heretic by orthodox Christianity in the fourth century—had been virtually erased from history by …
The Origin of Christianity - Biblical Archaeology Society
Sep 12, 2024 · The ex Roman rev Vermes attended seminary in Hungary and Italy .but has mis-stated the case. “Christianity”, defined as a faith in Christ being the person of Jesus of …
When Did Christianity Begin to Spread? - Biblical Archaeology …
Nov 17, 2024 · Christianity began in the 1st century in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, ca. 30-33 C.E. (A.D.), and has existed continually ever since. Perhaps not always visibly in the eyes …
Evidence of Early Christianity in Northern Europe
Jan 3, 2025 · Excavations of a cemetery in the ancient Roman town of Nida, located in a suburb of modern Frankfurt, Germany, have revealed the earliest evidence for early Christianity north …
Was Jesus a Jew? - Biblical Archaeology Society
May 20, 2025 · Christianity didn’t really take hold until some 200 years after his death, when Roman Emperor Constantine (Jewish mother) declared Christianity the official religion of the …
The Antonine Plague and the Spread of Christianity
Jan 13, 2024 · Christianity is one of the most fear-based religions known to man. As we all know, this is around the time the “gospels” were written. I see this time as the “foot in the door” …
Christianity Forum - - City-Data Forum
May 11, 2025 · Christianity Display Options: Showing threads 1 to 45 of 22586: Sorted By Sort Order. From The ...
Constantine’s Capital City - Biblical Archaeology Society
Sep 27, 2023 · Here, Christianity was declared legal by Emperor Constantine and eventually became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Home to the Hagia Sophia, the Hippodrome …
The Split of Early Christianity and Judaism
Jan 16, 2024 · Christianity and Judaism, two of the world’s major religions, shared the same foundation—ancient Judaism. The two religions, however, eventually split in a series of …
Paganism Under Constantine - Biblical Archaeology Society
Jan 12, 2024 · Instead, the shift to Christianity was a slow change in which many Roman religious practices continued in the face of an increasingly Christian empire. “There’s evidence from …
The Nag Hammadi Codices and Gnostic Christianity
Jan 14, 2024 · The teachings of Gnostic Christianity—vilified especially since they were declared heretic by orthodox Christianity in the fourth century—had been virtually erased from history by …
