The World is Already Christianized
“To oppose the Christianization of society not only ignores our history, it also opposes equality, human rights, limitation of power, and progress. To be anti-Christianization is to be anti-civilization as we know it. The gospel has, is, and will continue to transform the world, whether we like it or not. “
Introduction
The debate over the role of Christianity in society rages both inside and outside of the church. Outside of the church, Christianity is painted as an oppressive force that is a threat to democracy. Inside the church, people who should be allies are now splintering over the question of whether or not Christians should desire the Christianization of society. Both of these reactions display a profound ignorance of the Christian faith and our history. While one should expect unbelievers to fall prey to revisionist history, the church’s ignorance of its past is mind-numbing.
These two negative responses to the Christianization of culture are closely connected. If Christianity is an oppressive force, then Christianization brings Hell on earth and must be opposed. Has Christianity been good for the world? If so, then the Christianization of society becomes desirable and Christians should pursue it out of love for their neighbors.
Answering the question, “Is Christianity good for society?” rests upon whether we can define what is good. For postmodern relativists, there is no universal standard to define good. We are left only with relative truth claims made by individuals or communities. This means what is right or good for one group is non-binding on others.
To take extreme examples—according to Aztec culture, harvesting still-beating hearts from thousands of people was a moral good. By postmodern logic, such behavior is ethically permissible. For the Assyrians, filleting people alive was acceptable, so who are we to judge? The examples could continue with the atrocities of ISIS, Communism, and Nazism. If there is no God above, then there is no right or wrong. We are left with power and cultural norms to determine what is right.
No one today really wants to live as if this is true. The claim of moral relativism is a convenient excuse to escape moral authority when one’s conscience is convicted. Yet when this ethic has been tried on a societal level it has led to untold barbarism.
So why do we look upon the abuse of power as not good?
Christianity Has Been, Is, and Will Continue to Christianize the World
Enter Tom Holland, the atheist author of Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World. Holland, who loves the ancients, wrestled with why he found so many of their practices evil. The answer is simple—he’s been Christianized—and so have the rest of us. The way we reason, do ethics, and practice governing are inseparable from the positive impact of Christianity. Whether a person in the West professes belief in Christ or not (an eternally important question), they are already thoroughly Christianized.
We hear a lot of talk today about the West being “post-Christian,” but this is simply untrue. Holland proves that despite declining personal belief in God, the West remains Christianized. Moreover, if the West ever truly becomes post-Christian and returns to its pagan roots, such a trajectory will bring with it more and more oppression.
Holland traces the Christian impact on our history through three major contributions—human equality and rights, the progress of history and society, and rejecting power for weakness. In this way, Christianity transformed the world for the better.
Holland points out that even movements within the West that take aim at Christianity ironically borrow these Christian beliefs to undermine the faith. For example, the woke movement and its belief in human rights, its calls for men to treat women with dignity and equality in the sexual arena, and its rejection of power structures operate from a Christian perspective. He writes, “Christendom, in that sense, remains Christendom still” (pg. 542). To critique Christianity, our opponents must first borrow from our belief system. Unbelievers have no basis to argue for human rights, universal morality, or limitation of power structures apart from God.
Many believers and unbelievers take for granted our Christian inheritance and believe that these truths are “self-evident.” If natural law, or human reason, leads to the obvious equality of humanity, then we would expect to find human rights throughout history. We don’t. In fact, we find the opposite. Holland explains:
That every human being possessed an equal dignity was not remotely self-evident a truth. A Roman would have laughed at it…The origins of this principle—as Nietzsche had so contemptuously pointed out—lay not in the French Revolution, nor the Declaration of Independence, nor in the Enlightenment, but in the Bible (pg. 494).
Revisionist history whitewashes Rome as the pinnacle of civilization whose collapse brought on the Dark Ages. This is nothing more than propaganda. Rome was renowned for its brutality and abuses of just about everyone. If you love the abuse of slaves, the denigration of women, the free killing of lower classes, crucifying opponents, brothels with infants and children, and so much more, then Rome is for you! Holland and others describe the wickedness in which Rome gloried in great detail. There was no human equality in Rome. But, if you view human rights and equality as a good thing, then you have been Christianized.
Christianity also brought with it the idea of progress in society. History is linear, and not cyclical as the pagans often believed. Wherever Christianity took root, society was compelled to progress in holiness, goodness, and order. In this way, even modern liberal progressivism is a heresy that has broken away from Christianity. Progress and societal transformation have always gone alongside the gospel. This is the church’s history and it is not something for which we ought to be ashamed.
Finally, Christianity preaches a rejection of power and an embracing of weakness. History bears witness to the fact that power is often abused, but Christians are called to reject earthly power and to protect the weak. Such behavior is not natural to sinful man and is not commonly found in world history. Such a laying down of power is at Christianity’s heart, for the faith centers on a crucified God. The gospel turns the world and its vying for power on its head. But, to reject the Christian God, as Nietzsche points out, is to leave behind all Christian morality (pg. 464).
Conversely, Christianity directs us away from lusting for power. Holland contrasts Hitler’s thirst for power with the work of JRR Tolkien, “True strength manifested itself not in the exercise of power, but in the willingness to give it up. So Tolkien, as a Christian, believed” (pg. 485). If there is no God above, then power is all there is. If power is everything, then might makes right. Living in such a world is a terrifying thought. Many movements throughout history have centered on power and slaughtered millions, but Christianity with its crucified savior turned the world upside down.
What’s at Stake
If we believe that human rights, equality, progress, and limiting power are good things then Christianity is good. This is part of the transformation Christianity has always brought with it. Whether one believes that we should Christianize culture or not, it already has. Society is already Christianized, and this is a manifestly good thing. Wherever Christianity goes and takes root, it transforms and Christianizes society. Of course, there is still more transformation to go, but our history tells of the many positive ways society has already been Christianized.
There is not enough space to recount the many examples of this transformation throughout history—forcing African nations to stop selling slaves, steering Islamic nations away from the practice of slavery, and putting an end to widow killings in India. Yet, it is true that some who claimed to be Christian rejected these beliefs and perpetuated evil in the name of Christ. Such hypocrisy is not the end of the story. As Holland points out, such conquerors sowed the seeds of their own defeat as they brought Christianity with them. This is unique in history, that the conquerors’ own religion became the foundation of the conquered to be liberated. We must not fall prey to revisionist distortions of our history.
If society, aided by confused and cowardly evangelicals, succeeds in de-Christianizing itself, evil and suffering will only increase. Europe already experienced a taste of this as Holland explains how both Hitler and Marx rejected Christian morality and embraced ethics based on Darwinism (pg. 455-487). The result was millions upon millions being murdered. It is Christ or totalitarianism.
If we love our neighbors we should desire to work toward the Christianization of all things and against the de-Christianization of our society. Moreover, as people look for a foundation for freedom, progress, and rights, Christians have a tremendous evangelistic opportunity to point their fellow citizens to the God who saves sinners and who is renewing the world. Christ, through the blood of his cross, is reconciling all things to himself (Col 1:20).
To oppose the Christianization of society not only ignores our history, it also opposes equality, human rights, limitation of power, and progress. To be anti-Christianization is to be anti-civilization as we know it. The gospel has, is, and will continue to transform the world, whether we like it or not.
