{"id":37199,"date":"2024-04-03T21:23:04","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T04:23:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=37199"},"modified":"2024-04-03T21:23:04","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T04:23:04","slug":"thanks-be-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/thanks-be-to-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Thanks be to God"},"content":{"rendered":"

In his book, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World<\/em>, Tom Holland, historian of ancient societies, writes an extensive account of the influence of Christianity on Western Civilization. In Holland\u2019s own words, \u201cThis book explores what it was that made Christianity so subversive and disruptive; how completely it came to saturate the mindset of Latin Christendom; and why, in a West that is often doubtful of religion\u2019s claims, so many of its instincts remain \u2013 for good and ill \u2013 thoroughly Christian.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Holland\u2019s Perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holland argues that the Christian values, such as universal human dignity, equality, and compassion, are woven deeply into Western societies, shaping their moral, ethical, and cultural scaffolding. He asserts that even as the West has moved away from identifying with the Christian church, many of its core values and institutions still \u201cbear the imprint of Christianity.\u201d[2]<\/a> William Edgar, professor of apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary notes that Holland\u2019s thesis \u201cis that the gospel reverses the usual way in which power works by introducing love rather than conquest. This has happened over and over again throughout Western history. One might say that the basic proposal is \u201cthe meek shall inherit the earth (Matt 5:5).\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Holland presents a story of an imperfect humanity, often striving to live out their \u201cChristian\u201d convictions in imperfect and misunderstood methods.[4]<\/a> Says reviewer Terry Eagleton, \u201cHolland has\u2026 an intense, sometimes rather grisly feel for the physical: the book is resonant with the cracking of bones, flaying of flesh and shrieks of small children tossed into fires. Some of this was inflicted on Christians, and some of it inflicted by them.\u201d[5]<\/a> For Holland, the Christian story remains one of the most influential and greatest stories ever told.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Pondering Holland\u2019s Presentation<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have always assumed that valuing human life and protecting the marginalized and ensuring basic rights of survival for all were moral truths with which humans were born knowing, moral truths wired into our being by a loving Creator. Holland\u2019s point of view is that these were never self-evident truths, but dominant Christian values passed down through civilizations.[7]<\/a> These \u201ctruths\u201d are now so taken for granted in our Western culture, that we have lost track of their Christian roots. I am going to have to ponder this further, as I am not quite ready to fully embrace Holland\u2019s thesis. I do find it incredible that these values have been woven over time into Western culture and have endured, despite mixed human motivations. I also think God\u2019s qualities of love and compassion and care for others are woven into the human spirit.<\/p>\n

The Longevity of God\u2019s Story<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I contemplated the longevity of Christian values which are still driving Western cultural agendas after two thousand years, my thoughts jumped to the longevity of the revelation of God through God\u2019s creation, which has remained steady since the beginning of time. This is truly a long-standing version of the greatest story ever told, and, as the focus of my doctoral project, it\u2019s fresh on my mind.<\/p>\n

In all creation, seen and unseen, God offers steady and consistent messaging, revealing himself, offering rhythms of life, demonstrating growth, connectedness, healing, and hope. Some people have historically referred to God\u2019s creation as the \u201cbook of nature,\u201d which speaks of God\u2019s character and offers invitation to know God in unique and rich relationship, without words, but in full knowing. Barbara Mahany, author of The Book of Nature: The Astonishing Beauty of God\u2019s First Sacred Text<\/em>, in describing what it means to read this everyday book, writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cI read with my heart and my soul wide open. I read with my loam-stained mitts sunk deep in the earth, and my mud-splashed boots crunching the autumn woods. I read with my nose to the glass from my upstairs nook. I read while taking out the trash and when dumping sunflower seed in the backyard feeder. I read when the rain taps at my window and awakes me from slumber. I read when I open my eyes to an ice-crystal dawn.<\/p>\n

And the more I read, the more I see and feel and hear. With my own eyes and flesh and ears \u2013 and soul. And the more I see what has always been: my God reaching out to me in all God\u2019s astonishments and beauties and wonders. It\u2019s a book without end, and I\u2019ll never stop reading.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tom Holland presents an incredible account of the persistence of Christian values as transmitted through people of countless civilizations, with varying motivations and abilities to interpret and convey that messaged and it\u2019s roots. It is astounding that these values have weathered the imperfections of our humanness. I\u2019m contemplating Holland\u2019s full thesis and not sure I agree.<\/p>\n

I am thankful, however, that God does not leave the transmitting of his story entirely up to humans but has provided us with numerous ways of knowing and drawing close to him, one of which is through the amazing gift of God\u2019s creation. Thanks be to God.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Tom Holland, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World <\/em>(New York, NY: Hachette Book Group, Inc., 2019), 17.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> ChatGPT 3.5, \u201cThesis of Dominion by Tom Holland,\u201d March 29, 2024, chat.openai.com.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> William Edgar, \u201cA Book Review of Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World,\u201d Unio Cum Christo<\/em>,\u00a0 \u00a0April 2021, uniocc.com.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Holland, 542.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Terry Eagleton, \u201cDominion by Tom Holland Review: The Legacy of Christianity,\u201d in The Guardian<\/em>, November 21, 2019, https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2019\/nov\/21\/dominion-making-western-mind-tom-holland-review<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Holland, 17.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Holland, 540.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Barbara Mahany, The Book of Nature: The Astonishing Beauty of God\u2019s First Sacred Text <\/em>(Minneapolis, MN: Broadleaf Books, 2023), 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In his book, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, Tom Holland, historian of ancient societies, writes an extensive account of the influence of Christianity on Western Civilization. In Holland\u2019s own words, \u201cThis book explores what it was that made Christianity so subversive and disruptive; how completely it came to saturate the mindset of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3157],"class_list":["post-37199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-holland-dlgp01","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37200,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37199\/revisions\/37200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}