Loading...In my previous post I gave a taste of my new book Love They Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience of the West, by giving its Introduction. I now give its Conclusion, which tries to explain why it matters, or should matter, in my view, for understanding the significance of Christianity to our world together, for both those of us who are Christians and those of us who are not. This will take two posts:
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Conclusion
Altruism in the Conscience of the West
The only time anyone in my family could remember hearing my devout grandfather use foul language was
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Excellent analysis and presentation.
MikeR
Excellent, professor, one of the best you have written for the blog. There are some real gems here.
Hi Bart,
Is it possible that the rise in altruistic behavior among Christians is correlated with the development and codification of the theologies of heaven and hell? After all, the church’s teaching that good works are a path to eternal life makes altruism, by definition, not even possible in my view. Christians expect to be rewarded in heaven for good works. Folks who give anonymously to a stranger and who don’t believe in heaven or hell are the true altruists.
So I look forward to reading your book with my own prejudices in mind.
I’d say the new theologies certainly incentivized the behavior a good deal.
As a Dutchman, our foremost secular society ( as in most Northern European countries) has long settled a proper basic healthcare for everyone, social security and unemployment payment. Yes there are major differences between the liberal far left and the small group of rightwing conservatives. But everyone agrees that the way the USA ,as one of the most financial prosperous countries , deals with poverty and those ‘left behind’ is not very ‘christian’.
We have a hard time understanding the arguments of rightwing American evangelicals and Christian conservatives and this anti governmental attitude to take care for others collectively and the system that facilitates the basic needs of people. And by gradually taxing those who earn more to fund all of this.
Many Americans have trouble understanding it too…
Thank you for your insightful comment. It has given me much to reflect upon.
I should note that I am writing this before reading your new book, which I understand will soon be released on Amazon Japan, so my observations may not fully align with your arguments. Nevertheless, I would like to offer a brief reflection.
It seems difficult to deny that Christianity has exerted a profound ethical influence on Western civilization. In societies often characterized by strong individualism and competition, particularly in antiquity, the Christian emphasis on charity and care for others may have helped foster remarkable traditions of mutual aid. At the same time, Christian history includes troubling episodes such as the Crusades and the witch hunts, reminding us that religious traditions can also be implicated in violence.
Yet when we consider some of the largest mass atrocities of the modern era—under Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot—it is notable that these regimes were strongly hostile toward religion.
This raises an intriguing comparative question for me as a Japanese observer: if religion played a stabilizing ethical role in the West, how should we explain the relative historical stability of Japan, a society without a similarly dominant religious tradition?
I don’t know — but there were certainly other cultural factors at work!
Christ warned that all these things would take place. Many OT prophets said a people who were not HIS people would become HIS people. None of the horrors surprise me. What surprises me is that so many people follow denominations rather than Christ so easily. Of course, Christ said the righteous road is hard to walk and few will walk it. Let the wheat and the tares grow together. Those who search for the LIGHT (the first born of all creation) will find Him if they search with all their heart, soul and mind.
Your writings are an enjoyment to read so I will probably read this one,
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Judaism has altruism towards the “other” as well, maybe not as theology but they were certainly aware of it, since Joseph was in charge of storing grain for the poor in Egypt. So the Egyptians were obviously altruistic in their laws long before Christianity came along.
I’m not saying in my book that Christianity started the idea of being altruistic toward others. I’m saying the teachings of Jesus defined “others” as involving complete strangers and even enemies.
I am disturbed by the sentence stating that it is harder to overlook prejudice by Christians today than that of Christian theologians who supported the Nazis. To the extent that those theologians gave credibility to the Nazi cause, they not only betrayed their faith, but were both a direct and indirect cause of Hitler’s evil.
I agree it is troubling. But the reality is that AT THE TIME, many, many Christians thought the Nazi theologians were right, just as today, many people think that slaughters being done in the name of Christ are right. I agree that the scale of the Holocaust is virtually inconceivable, and hopefully will not be replicated. But the appeal to the name of Christ in favor or ruthlessly destroying the “other” is analogous, in my view, even if the scale differs. (If that makes sense)
Thank you for the response. I look forward to reading the book The Aryan Jesus, which you referenced, to learn about the thinking that led those theologians so far afield and gave authority to the Nazi regime. (I also look forward to reading your latest book!)
Things Christians Have Been Against (At least some Christians have been against some of these things some of the time, sometimes a large percentage of Christians were/are against these things)
https://edward-t-babinski.blogspot.com/2012/03/list-of-things-christians-have-been.html
1. Other Christians (even violently so, from the Early Church to the Reformation (from the Thirty Years War to modern day disagreements among Christians) to the Civil War (as theological crisis and “Holy War”) to World War 1 (the “Great and Holy War”) all the way to the ever popular game among Christians of pointing out what “only a true Christian would believe, say, or do.”
2. Pagans (a derogatory term invented by Christians that they used as a general insult to every Hellenistic teacher, philosopher, worshiper, etc.)
3. Native Americans
4. Jews
5. Witches, Divination
6. Feminists
7. Homosexuals
Miscellaneous additional things, Satan, Cats, Forks, Christmas and other Holidays, Plays, The Use of Musical Instruments in Church, The Abolition of Slavery, The Right of Females to Vote, Child Labor Laws, Sex Ed., Condoms, Anesthesia & Anesthetics, Cures for Malaria and Syphilis, Gas Lighting and Railways, Beards vs. Bare Chins, Striped Clothes, Split-Breeches, Short Dresses, Long hair (on men), Short hair (on women), Drinking, Dancing, Dishwashers, Democracy
In the comedy show Cunk on Earth, she summed up that dark side of Christianity with the line: Jesus preached tolerance and forgiveness, a message so important that his most ardent followers would eventually start killing anyone who didn’t want to hear it.
Ah…
Having just completed the audio version of your book, let me say that I very much enjoyed it – even though I don’t agree with all your conclusions (which is part of the reason why I enjoyed it, since it forced me to think). I must say that what resonated the most was your mid-book discursion about the incompatibility of Jesus’ obvious teachings and modern-day Christian nationalism. Thank you for having the courage to speak up – because on that point I agree 100 percent!
I do have a question on your statement that forgiveness (Jesus’s teaching) and atonement (Paul’s teaching) are mutually exclusive: Either the debt we face is written off (taken away voluntarily) or it’s not (but instead paid by someone else on our behalf). What about verses in Paul’s writing such as Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13?
Thanks. That’s actually one of the points. Ephesdians and Colossians are widely considered non-Pauline (written by later authors claiming to be Paul, but embracing different theologtical views)