What's So Great About Christianity?

Dinesh D'Souza

Ch 5: Render to Caesar

Western civilization was built upon the moral and political foundations of Athens (Classical Greco-Roman) and especially Jerusalem (Judeo- Christian). Christianity positively impacted Western culture through art, literature, music, etc. It impacted Western government through 1. Teaching faith in one God 2. Passing on the concept of separation of church and state 3. Pointing to the need for limited government. These beliefs provided the background for the development of Western law, government and religious practice, especially in the case of the US.

p42 "the West was built upon two pillars: Athens and Jerusalem."

p43 "The Athens we know and love is not Athens as it really was, but rather Athens as seen through the eyes of Jerusalem."

p43 Makes a scathing attack on Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as being a deliberately anti-Christian and deliberately distorted view of history.

p45 credits Christianity as being the source of western civilization. Starts the first of three central ideas, "the idea of separating or disentangling the spheres of religion and government."

p48 Islamic theocracy

p48 Augustine's The City of God as containing the embryo of the idea of limited government. Citizen's of two realms, so government's claim is not complete or absolute.

p51 John Locke and his advocacy of religious tolerance.

p53 Washington's and Adams' statements about morality and religion and government.

What's So Great About Christianity?

Dinesh D'Souza

Ch 6: The Evil That I Would Not: Christianity and Human Frailty

Because Christianity is concerned with ordinary life, it impacted social institutions such as the family, marriage, government, etc. While each indicidual is valuable and the social institutions they construct are generally good, individuals are also sinful. The Christian story provides ultimate hope for the future and has thus inspired Western civilization to live with hope (charity and commitment).

p55 The second major principle: Charles Taylor "affirmation on ordinary life". "It is the simple idea that ordinary people are fallible, and yet these fallible people matter. In this view, society should organize itself in order to meet their everyday concerns, which are elevated into a kind of spiritual framework. The nuclear family, the idea of limited government, the Western concept of the rule of law, and our cultures high emphasis on the relief of suffering all derive from this basic Christian understanding of the dignity of fallible human beings."

p55-56 Paul radically departs from Plato and classical philosophy by asserting that the human will is corrupt.

p55-56Very critical of Plato who extolled only knowledge and attributed all bad to ignorance, of the world of Greece and Rome for their exaltation of the rich and noble, of Homer for concentrating only on the ruling class. Aristotle considered the common man as fit only for servitude, even slavery.

p56 Auerbach , D'Souza starts "despite Christ's undistinguished origins, simple life, and lowly death, everything he did was imbued with the highest and deepest dignity". Eloquent paragraph about the honoring of the common man.

p56 Taylor "as a consequence of Christianity, new values entered the world.." "For the first time people began to view society not from the perspective of the haughty aristocrat but from that of the ordinary man. This meant that institutions should not focus on giving the rich and high-born new ways to pass their free time; rather they should emphasize how to give the common man a rich and meaningful life."

p57 Christianity and the idea of the family. --not important in ancient Greece -- Aristotle low view of women as "incapable of friendship", love unimportant, much homosexuality,

p58 Christianity's development of idea of romantic love and love for family as a "calling" from God, introduced idea of mutual consent for marriage,

p60 examples in defense of the rule of law.

p61 idea of servant leadership

p62 modern capitalism , Adam Smith, selfishness channeled in such a way that it is beneficial to all. "civilizes greed in much the same way that marriage civilizes lust. Both institutions seek to domesticate wayward or fallen human implulses in socially beneficial ways. "

p63 in defense of capitalism. Max Weber.

p64 valuing common man leads to a powerful emphasis on compassion.

What's So Great About Christianity?

Dinesh D'Souza

Ch 7: Created Equal: The Origin of Human Dignity

While not everyone appreciates some of the previously mentioned benefits, most everyone in the Western world appreciates the Christian belief in the value of the individual. A concern for the individual has produced a commitment to equality that has resulted in equal rights for women, the abolition of slavery, the concept of just war, and our approach to human rights.

p67 The third idea is the equality of all human beings. Christianity the propelling force behind ending slavery, for democracy, self-government, doctrine of human rights.

p68 Christianity brought value to life, regard for women, opposition to slavery

p71 Christian opposition to slavery in 18th century Britain.

p72-73 Great awakening and movements toward equality

p73 M L King Jr

p74 just war idea

p76 modern concept of freedom a Christian idea, contrasts with Greek democracy where city still had power over individual and could ostracize story of "Aristides the Just"

p77 Nietzsche - the life of the west is based upon Christianity