The Driving Force Of Western Culture

Kerry from Glenbervie

Christianity behind much of what we value. Visiting speaker J. Johns, UK.

'Increasingly, I'm coming across a distorted view of history and society. It is taken for granted that the values we prize, and which most of the world seems to want, are simply accidents of history. The truth is that Christianity played a significant role in shaping what we call “the West”.
Consider human rights; the idea that every individual has rights and freedoms. It is most famously expressed in the American Declaration of Independence: “... all men are created equal ... they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

It's no coincidence that Amnesty International, the leading human rights group, was founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson — a Christian.

Consider children. In the ancient world as in parts of the modern world - children were of little value.

However, following the example of Jesus (Matthew 19:14), Christianity values children. That high evaluation was worked out in the creation of orphanages by Christians such as Thomas Barnardo, Charles Haddon Spurgeon and George Muller, and in the labours of the tireless Lord Shaftesbury in creating laws to restrict the use of children in factories and mines.

Consider education. Today we believe in universal education but it was not always so. History tells of the important role of Christians in promoting education not just for an elite but for all. So while some have mocked the idea of Sunday schools, by 1830 they were bringing literacy to more than a million children in Britain. At a very different level, the importance of Christianity in education is seen in the way that so many Oxford and

Cambridge colleges bear the names of saints and men and women from the Bible.

Consider the economic systems that underlie modern Western society and that have allowed health and prosperity to so many. The Christian attitude to labour and wealth, widely but simplistically termed “the Protestant work ethic", was fundamental. Its attitude to wealth was summed up in John Wesley's words: “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” Possibly even more significant was the condemnation of those scourges of every economic system: dishonesty, corruption and laziness.

Take politics: look at the correlation between stable, functional democracies and those cultures based on "biblical values”. The largest aid organisation working with the homeless, the Salvation Army, proclaims its Christian ethos in its name. The Red Cross was started by Henry Dunant -- a Christian.

Alcoholics Anonymous was started by Christians. The modern hospice movement was founded by Cicely Saunders – a Christian. The Samaritans was founded by the Reverend Chad Varah. The YMCA was originally the Young Men's Christian Association.

Care for animals? The RSPCA was founded by the Reverend Arthur Broome with that champion against slavery William Wilberforce.

Of course, I have to admit that the record is not unblemished; history also yields the names of those who, despite naming the name of Christ, sadly perpetuated evil and ignorance. Nevertheless, the record of Christianity in creating much of what we value is overwhelming.'

J John will be speaking on Easter Saturday, 7pm, at 33 Porowini Ave, Whangārei.