I’ve got no patience for the health and wealth gospel peddled by some televangelists. But this article from the Economist is rather intriguing.
Excerpt:
“Some of the occasional churchgoers must wonder whether they might benefit from turning up more often. If they did so, they could gain more than spiritual nourishment. Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, claims that regular religious participation leads to better education, higher income and a lower chance of divorce.”
I’ll be back. Just going to check my bank balance.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Friday, December 23, 2005
What if Christmas Never Happened?
No Christmas means no Christianity. And without Christianity, Western Civilization would have turned out very differently (assuming such a thing as Western Civilization would have existed at all beyond the time of the Roman Empire). Rodney Stark of Baylor University has written a new book: The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success (Random House), where he puts forward the thesis that only in the crucible of Christian Europe could science and capitalism have been produced, with the result that the technological advancements we have today, as wrought by science and capitalism, are being enjoyed by many.
This essay is an adaptation of his book.
Stark writes:
“The success of the West, including the rise of science, rested entirely on religious foundations, and the people who brought it about were devout Christians.”
“For the past several centuries, far too many of us have been misled by the incredible fiction that, from the fall of Rome until about the 15th century, Europe was submerged in the Dark Ages — centuries of ignorance, superstition, and misery — from which it was suddenly, almost miraculously, rescued; first by the Renaissance and then by the Enlightenment. But, as even dictionaries and encyclopedias recently have begun to acknowledge, it was all a lie!”
“It was during the so-called Dark Ages that European technology and science overtook and surpassed the rest of the world. Some of that involved original inventions and discoveries; some of it came from Asia. But what was so remarkable was the way that the full capacities of new technologies were recognized and widely adopted. By the 10th century Europe already was far ahead in terms of farming equipment and techniques, had unmatched capacities in the use of water and wind power, and possessed superior military equipment and tactics. Not to be overlooked in all that medieval progress was the invention of a whole new way to organize and operate commerce and industry: capitalism.”
“Through all prior recorded history, slavery was universal — Christianity began in a world where as much as half the population was in bondage. But by the seventh century, Christianity had become the only major world religion to formulate specific theological opposition to slavery, and, by no later than the 11th century, the church had expelled the dreadful institution from Europe. That it later reappeared in the New World is another matter, although there, too, slavery was vigorously condemned by popes and all of the eventual abolition movements were of religious origins.”
(via Arts and Letters Daily)
This essay is an adaptation of his book.
Stark writes:
“The success of the West, including the rise of science, rested entirely on religious foundations, and the people who brought it about were devout Christians.”
“For the past several centuries, far too many of us have been misled by the incredible fiction that, from the fall of Rome until about the 15th century, Europe was submerged in the Dark Ages — centuries of ignorance, superstition, and misery — from which it was suddenly, almost miraculously, rescued; first by the Renaissance and then by the Enlightenment. But, as even dictionaries and encyclopedias recently have begun to acknowledge, it was all a lie!”
“It was during the so-called Dark Ages that European technology and science overtook and surpassed the rest of the world. Some of that involved original inventions and discoveries; some of it came from Asia. But what was so remarkable was the way that the full capacities of new technologies were recognized and widely adopted. By the 10th century Europe already was far ahead in terms of farming equipment and techniques, had unmatched capacities in the use of water and wind power, and possessed superior military equipment and tactics. Not to be overlooked in all that medieval progress was the invention of a whole new way to organize and operate commerce and industry: capitalism.”
“Through all prior recorded history, slavery was universal — Christianity began in a world where as much as half the population was in bondage. But by the seventh century, Christianity had become the only major world religion to formulate specific theological opposition to slavery, and, by no later than the 11th century, the church had expelled the dreadful institution from Europe. That it later reappeared in the New World is another matter, although there, too, slavery was vigorously condemned by popes and all of the eventual abolition movements were of religious origins.”
(via Arts and Letters Daily)
Friday, December 16, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Bible Translations
New Testament scholar Ben Witherington III has posted some bible recommendations on his blog, although his dislike of the English Standard Version triggered some disagreement in the comments section. His main concern seems to be the issue of gender inclusiveness. And Wayne Leman continues the discussion on his blog.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Alan Jacobs on Lewis
Is the hype worth it?
As Sunday’s church bulletin was given to me I could not ignore the front cover: an image from the new Narnia film. At that point I knew something was afoot. I already knew the sermon was going to be Narnia-related. That I have no problem with. Referring to and quoting Lewis, with his many insights into the Christian faith, can be helpful in bringing out a theological point. But with the publication of this bulletin, our church (and I suspect many others) has officially become an arm of the marketing division of the Walt Disney Corporation. The copyright on the back cover (in small print) tells it all. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is the effort to hype this film as a ‘Christian story’ missing the point? Hard to say. In the book The Pilgrim’s Guide, Christopher Mitchell, theology professor at Wheaton College and director of the Marion Wade Center, writes:
“The vividness with which Lewis perceived the potential eternal destinies of every man and woman compelled him to direct a greater part of his energies toward the saving of souls. Lewis perceived evangelism to be his lay vocation, and the means by which he expressed this evangelistic impulse were his writing and speaking….Lewis said without qualification that ‘the salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world’….the idea struck him that the gospel could be ‘smuggled into people’s minds’ by means of fiction….in answer to the question…’Would you say that the aim of…your own writing is to bring about an encounter of the reader with Jesus Christ?’, he replied, ‘That is not my language yet it is the purpose I have in view.’” (pp.3-5)
So, at its core, Narnia seems to be evangelistic work. But, any subtlety that Lewis used in his fictional works is being obliterated by the campaign by churches to get non-Christian friends and relatives into the cineplex. The great thing about his fiction is the way that one could enjoy the story without being aware of the Christian themes in them. Some themes are obvious, some less so. Lewis probably cared more that a good story was being experienced, and if the reader could make a connection with the religious elements, then fine. If not, then too bad. I view all this preaching about the film to be similar to when a writer makes a point in poetry and then is forced to explain herself, in prose, what each line in the poem means. It’s all just so, well, obvious.
On the other hand, I guess one could say, “Who cares?”, or as the Apostle Paul might say, “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”
“The vividness with which Lewis perceived the potential eternal destinies of every man and woman compelled him to direct a greater part of his energies toward the saving of souls. Lewis perceived evangelism to be his lay vocation, and the means by which he expressed this evangelistic impulse were his writing and speaking….Lewis said without qualification that ‘the salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world’….the idea struck him that the gospel could be ‘smuggled into people’s minds’ by means of fiction….in answer to the question…’Would you say that the aim of…your own writing is to bring about an encounter of the reader with Jesus Christ?’, he replied, ‘That is not my language yet it is the purpose I have in view.’” (pp.3-5)
So, at its core, Narnia seems to be evangelistic work. But, any subtlety that Lewis used in his fictional works is being obliterated by the campaign by churches to get non-Christian friends and relatives into the cineplex. The great thing about his fiction is the way that one could enjoy the story without being aware of the Christian themes in them. Some themes are obvious, some less so. Lewis probably cared more that a good story was being experienced, and if the reader could make a connection with the religious elements, then fine. If not, then too bad. I view all this preaching about the film to be similar to when a writer makes a point in poetry and then is forced to explain herself, in prose, what each line in the poem means. It’s all just so, well, obvious.
On the other hand, I guess one could say, “Who cares?”, or as the Apostle Paul might say, “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”
Friday, December 02, 2005
Anne Rice
In case anyone missed this, Interview with the Vampire author Anne Rice has become a Christian (or at least has returned to her childhood religious beliefs). The thing that impresses me is the careful thinking she did before returning to the Church. She even read a few evangelical scholars and in particular speaks very highly of N.T. Wright.
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