Suppose Holland is Correct…
For as long as Western culture can trace its history, Christianity has been at the center. Quite literally, most American towns were built with a Christian congregation in the middle of the city planning. But the centering of this religion within most Western cultures has begun to wane, wobble, and even fall in many cases.
In his historical and social analysis work, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, scholar Tom Holland examines the rise and dominance of Christianity as the most potent world-shaping movement in human history. How did a fledgling cult following what most contemporary historians considered a failed Messiah from Galilee become a force that changed Greek and Roman societies within several centuries, eventually the world? Holland traces the course of ‘the flood-tide of Christ’ to explore what it was that made Christianity so subversive and disruptive. [1]
As Holland examines the early centuries of Christianity, he draws on comparative historical accounts to fully understand how this religious movement touched the margins of society in ways that the Greeco-Roman cultures had not. As he argued:
The conviction that God was a warrior bound by a timeless covenant to the defense of a particular people was one that he had abandoned after his first vision of Christ. It was a new covenant that he had preached. The Son of God, by becoming mortal, had redeemed all humanity. Not as a leader of armies, not as the conqueror of Caesars, but as a victim the Messiah had come. The message was as novel as it was shocking—and was to prove well suited to an age of trauma. [2]
While Holland surveys critical junctures in the early days of Christianity and its impact on the Roman world as he finds his way into a modern-day assessment of the influence of the faith, Bart Ehrman’s The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World provides a more in-depth understanding of the rise of Christianity.
Moving beyond antiquity, Holland traces the influence of Augustine on the liminal space between the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of other European and Asian rulers, the development of European aristocrats and its trajectory into Muslim dominance, the transformative power of Papal authority in Medieval Europe, the transforming power of the Reformation, and the spread of Christianity through European Colonialism. As Holland moved from century to century, he examined the influence of Christian thought on governance, ethics, morality, literature, art, philosophy, education, and human rights.
Since there is a seamless connection between Christianity and the world at large, we must also turn a critical eye to the role of the religion within some of the more unsavory chapters in human history. What do we do with the blending of the aristocracies of Europe and the “righteous” motivation behind the Crusades? How do we justify the atrocities of Colonialism around the Globe that led to the subjugation, enslavement, and annihilation of countless populations? What do we do with the stain of Imperialism on many of the challenges we face today? What shall we do with the stagnation of scientific and medical advancement through the justification of Christian authority?
More often than not, most well-meaning Christians are willing to accept the atrocities of the past in a humble rejection of the Christian justification of the dehumanization of others, whether through enslavement, war, or genocide. However, the challenge arises when people of faith fail to recognize their biases as it directly influences their inability to see the parallels of today, whether they be the dehumanizing of LGBTQ+ individuals, the tone-deafness of dismissing the cries of victims of systemic racism, or insensitivity to the subversiveness patriarchal culture.
Suppose Holland is correct in that the morality of the Western world is a direct result of continued Christian influence. What do we do with the challenges raised by the economic disparity and greed of Capitalism, the oppression of an unjust healthcare system, the inequitability of gender and race within most social systems, and the exploitation of non-Western workers for the benefit of Western consumers? If the number of people recognizing themselves as part of the Christian faith has declined rapidly over the last few decades, what do we do with its continued influence on our world today?
As Holland reflected, “Christianity, it seemed, had no need of actual Christians for its assumptions still to flourish. Whether this was an illusion, or whether the power held by victims over their victimizers would survive the myth that had given it birth, only time would tell. As it was, the retreat of Christian belief did not seem to imply any necessary retreat of Christian values. Quite the contrary.”[3]
Indeed, Christianity is the single most significant religious influence in human history. Its impact reaches far beyond what Holland captured in his whopping 636 page anthology of historical analysis. For good and for ill, the Christian faith has changed the world. What we do with an honest examination of our past and present will influence the choices we make in the future.
[1] Tom Holland, Dominion: The Making of the Western World (London: Abacus, 2020), 24.
[2] Ibid., 18.
[3] Ibid., 521.
About the Author
Andy Hale
Associate Executive Coordinator of CBF North Carolina, CBF Podcast Creator and Host, & Professional Coach6 responses to “Suppose Holland is Correct…”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Andy, you ask a number of difficult, but good, questions about Christianity’s role in the Western world, including the divides and inequities of the present day. Holland wrote about many of the “sins” of the church’s past – do you think he under-emphasized them or perhaps did not attribute negative realities to that influence? A second question: you reference Ehrman’s book. I have not read it, but I have heard a lot about it. Why do you believe he “provides a more in-depth understanding of the rise of Christianity?”
Despite being 636 pages, Holland could have doubled the size of the book to discuss all of this in depth. I think he highlights the bad and ugly of Christianity’s involvement in these matters. At the same time, it wasn’t necessarily the book’s purpose. There are so many other resources that cover this matter. Anything from Karen Armstrong is worth it, especially “Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence.”
Ehrman, a former Protestant, now atheist, questions some of his early scholarship on the rise of Christianity. Instead, he looks at how the Jesus movement settled into the cracks of the Greco-Roman society, leveraging the trade routes and influencing the aristocracy.
Andy: This anthology is indeed sweeping. The sheer vastness of covering the historical arc that Holland does is impressive. I love books like this; I always feel like afterwards I can see the big picture and that helps me understand what is happening in our present. It enables me to take a step back and analyze, with poise, why the current culture wars are happening.
Hi Andy,
Ty for you post. What would be some of the modern historical moments that you would pick and write about in history that has contributed to the Making of the Western Mind?
Andy, you quote:
“However, the challenge arises when people of faith fail to recognize their biases as it directly influences their inability to see the parallels of today, whether they be the dehumanizing of LGBTQ+ individuals, the tone-deafness of dismissing the cries of victims of systemic racism, or insensitivity to the subversiveness patriarchal culture.”
I have heard you talk about these two topics a lot the last 2+ years. I am curious, do you see any other “blind spots” of the church today? In what ways do you find reason to rejoice for the role and impact the Church has had in the US and abroad?
Also, you say,
“What we do with an honest examination of our past and present will influence the choices we make in the future.”
What solutions do you propose for you, your family, and tribe, as well as the Church at large, in taking a positive step in this direction?
Andy, suppose Holland is correct, what would be the so what for your leadership context?