The Cross and The Crossroads
Tom Holland’s Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World is a deep historical narrative, tracing how Christianity transformed Western civilization and beyond.If one can get past its intimidating page count, Dominion is a challenge to readers to recognize Christianity’s lasting influence on how the world understands power and meaning. Holland presents a very clear Western perspective. His writing is not focused on America, but rather takes a more global approach and is steeped in Western thought. To live in a Western country is to live in a society still utterly saturated by Christian concepts and assumptions. [1]
Critics of Holland’s writing have alluded to how his non-Western and non-Christian moral genealogies are marginal and absent. In a blog, the Brown Pundits suggest that Holland insists that: Christianity is the ONLY source of most of our modern liberal notions, which seems a bit of a stretch. It is also not a unique claim. In fact, there are books written about how the Jews created modern rights, or Islam did, or for that matter the Native Americans did. [2]
From my perspective, much of what shapes our Western worldview, our sense of the dignity of every person, the emphasis on individual rights, and the call to show compassion to the suffering finds its roots not just in influence from Christianity but in its very core teachings. Yet, in today’s postmodern and secular age, that direct connection is often muted or overlooked. The West, increasingly empty though the pews may be, remains firmly mooted to its Christian past. [3]
Dominion demonstrates how Christianity became the foundational bedrock of Western society, shaping values, laws, and moral imagination. Holland explores its vast implications on modern life, revealing how ideals of human dignity, justice, and compassion, often assumed to be secular, are deeply rooted in Christian thought and continue to influence global culture today. A point that Holland makes that resonated with me is that throughout history, the Church has occupied a complex role. He paints the picture, sometimes the church is standing as the victim of persecution, and at other times, becoming the very agent of it. What I value in his tackling of this sensitive matter was his intentional refusal to gloss over the darker chapters. He does not attempt to romanticize or sanitize the story of Christianity but instead brings its failures into the light with brave honesty. By acknowledging these shortcomings, I believe that as a reader, we can openly wrestle with the reality that, at times, faith traditions can be both deeply transformative and deeply flawed. This may open up a Pandora’s box of sorts, but if we are about improving, this is a necessary undertaking.
Holland also gives a powerful reflection on the incarnate Christ, illustrating how a movement born out of the execution of an innocent and seemingly insignificant man, Jesus Christ, in a forgotten empire, grew to shape history with lasting, transformative influence and continues to leave its mark on the world today. In my church context, we often sing the hymn, At the cross, At the Cross where I first saw the light and the burdens of my heart rolled away. It was there by faith, I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day. It is at the cross, where the burden of sin rolled away, believers first discovered that shame could be transformed into glory and sorrow turned into joy. The cross was Rome’s most brutal instrument of humiliation and torture. It was a public symbol of weakness and defeat and humiliation. Christianity has transformed this emblem of shame into our very centerpiece of hope and redemption. If the cross still resonates in our culture, it testifies to the enduring power of faith to redefine humanity’s understanding of power, sacrifice, and meaning. Like the hymn reminds us, it was there by faith we received our sight, and that true greatness is found not in domination, but in humility, service, and love.For Christians, I believe, the cross still calls us to live differently. It asks us to lay down pride, embrace self-giving love, and see life through the lens of Christ’s radical sacrifice. Every generation must choose whether to view power as the world does, or to walk in the way of the cross, where weakness becomes strength and surrender leads to life.
Overall, I feel that Dominion is one of those books I simply need more time with, because there are some serious nuggets for consideration. One such example is Holland’s take on Christianity and the radical reimagining of weakness. In the Greco-Roman world, strength was celebrated by community, power was pursued as a prize, with the vulnerable left to be disregarded. [4]
Christianity values declare the least, the poor, the sick, and the forgotten were not only valuable but also reflected the very image of God. (Matthew 25) Holland reminds us that this shaped the rise of hospitals, charitable institutions, and social reforms that prioritized compassion for the marginalized. Even in today’s debates about justice, equity, and care for the most vulnerable, are we echoing this deeply Christian sentiment?
I believe this should challenge us to reconsider how we engage the powerless in our own contexts. There seems to be a huge drifting away in our present socio-political climate, where the least are being forgotten the most. Looking through a leadership lens, in lministry, and our day to day lives we are very tempted to join the bandwagon in the world’s pursuit of power and dominance, but are we willing to follow the way of Christ who clearly identified himself with “the least of these”? Holland presses the point that Christian history is not only about grand cathedrals and councils but about everyday lives shaped by sacrificial love for the vulnerable.[5]
A question that comes to mind is in a culture that still prizes success, status, and strength, and riches, how might the Church embody the radical vision of Christ by centering its mission on the weak and the overlooked? This perspective should give us pause. Much of what we take for granted encompasses our compassion for the marginalized, our pursuit of justice, and a confidence in the future. What will be the results as our societies are growing increasingly secular? Dominion is not just a history book, but a reflective call towards our divine destiny. It causes us to wrestle with the enduring impact of the cross on both faith and culture.
[1] Tom Holland, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World (New York, NY: Basic Book, 2019), 13.
[2] Brown Pundits, Book Review
[3] Holland, 25.
[4] Holland, 215.
About the Author
Daren Jaime
7 responses to “The Cross and The Crossroads”
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Hi Daren,
As a Pastor what are your thoughts on this question: How can Christians engage with critiques of Western moral development to foster a more inclusive understanding of global contributions to justice, dignity, and compassion, without diminishing the unique influence of Christianity?
Hi Daren,
As a Pastor what are your thoughts on this question: In what ways can the Church reclaim the transformative power of the cross—not just as a symbol of redemption, but as a countercultural model of leadership rooted in humility and service?
Daren, you note that Holland frames Christianity as the bedrock of Western moral imagination. Yet, some might argue that other traditions (Jewish, Islamic, Indigenous) have also shaped ideas of dignity and justice. How might recognizing these parallel moral genealogies enrich—or complicate—the claim that Christianity uniquely transformed the world, and what implications does that have for how the Church engages pluralistic societies today?
Daren,
After living overseas in an Islamic setting for 5 years I am profoundly aware of how Christianity really is at the root of our worldview here in America. With our nation becoming more pluralistic, are there ways that we might prevent other worldviews from taking deeper root?
Hi Daren, thanks for your post. How do you encourage churches today to practically embody the vision of elevating the weak and marginalized, especially when we are driven by success and strength?
Hi Daren, Your post helped me clarify my own biggest takeaway from the book. As Christians, we can celebrate the enduring legacy of Jesus in the West. And in parallel, some of the pushback against the Church is the result of the legacy of Jesus being repeatedly misused in history. What do you think are the biggest abuses of the legacy of Jesus in the West in this century?
Thanks for this cogent post Daren. How would you and your own question: “In a culture that still prizes success, status, and strength, and riches, how might the Church embody the radical vision of Christ by centering its mission on the weak and the overlooked?”