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 the mess of history, and careful not to overstate the Christian role in shaping our present values, Spencer shows how a better awareness of what we owe to Christianity can help us as we face new cultural challenges.
Arvustused
All readers, whatever their religious, non-religious or political persuasions, should read this. * Sughra Ahmed, Chair, Islamic Society of Britain * Surrounded by complex issues, it is hard to understand whats going on, what the important thinkers are saying, and what a thinking Christian might make of it all. Nick Spencer carves out a clear path through this jungle, helping us to see how we got here in the first place and how we might move forward in faith and wisdom. * N. T. Wright, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, University of St Andrews * This is a much needed book. Spencer shows persuasively that we cannot understand our political, economic or social culture without taking into account the key role Christianity has played in shaping Western values. Balanced and never claiming too much, it offers an essential corrective to contemporary narratives that try to write Christianity out of the script. * Richard Harries, House of Lords * An informative and interesting read. * Pobl Dewi * moves along an excellent pace, deservedly a Church Times bestseller * Progressive Voices * a collection of insightful and challenging essays * Reader Magazine *
Muu info
A sequence of sparkling essays by one of our leading public theologians, exploring and defending the enduring role of Christianity in Western thought, politics and culture.
| Acknowledgements |
|
x | |
| Introduction |
|
1 | (9) |
|
1 Why the West is different |
|
|
10 | (15) |
|
|
|
25 | (13) |
|
3 Trouble with the law: Magna Carta and the limits of the law |
|
|
38 | (13) |
|
4 Christianity and democracy: friend and foe |
|
|
51 | (13) |
|
5 Saving humanism from the humanists |
|
|
64 | (15) |
|
6 Christianity and atheism: a family affair |
|
|
79 | (15) |
|
7 The accidental midwife: the emergence of a scientific culture |
|
|
94 | (16) |
|
8 `No doubts as to how one ought to act': Darwin's doubts and his faith |
|
|
110 | (15) |
|
9 The religion of Christianity and the religion of human rights |
|
|
125 | (13) |
|
|
|
138 | (14) |
|
11 `Always with you': Capital, inequality and the `absence of war' |
|
|
152 | (15) |
|
12 Christianity and the welfare state |
|
|
167 | (18) |
| Books consulted |
|
185 | (2) |
| Index |
|
187 | |
Nick Spencer (Author) Nick Spencer is Senior Fellow at Theos, the Christian think tank. He is the author of a number of books and reports, including Magisteria (Oneworld, 2023), The Evolution of the West (SPCK, 2016), Atheists: The Origin of the Species (Bloomsbury, 2014) and Darwin and God (SPCK, 2009).
Outside of Theos, Nick is Visiting Research Fellow at the Faiths and Civil Society Unit, Goldsmiths, University of London, and a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion.
Sarah Smith (In-House Designer) Sarah Smith is the CEO of acet UK, a Christian charity delivering relationships and sex education in secondary schools and providing training to youth workers, teachers and parents. She lives in London, and is awell known speaker throughout the United Kingdon. She is the author ofA Guide to Growing Up: Honest Conversations About Puberty, Sex and God.
Lisainfo e-raamatute kohta