Dear Friends,
It seems to me, after thousands of years of agriculture, philosophy and technological advancement, it was no coincidence that it was under Christendom, that the Enlightenment took place. Nor that the Industrial Revolution also happened under Enlightenment ideas tempered by Christian principles. Further, I am not the least shocked that the prosperity, health and freedoms we have today, are based on Christian philosophy. I am a bit surprised more people don’t give credit to our benefactors. Ingrates choosing to vilify those who have given so much for us. Things we take for granted, so we are willing to throw them away. Because, it is only by holding tight to those principles and ideas, that we can use them as a stepping stone to advance morally, technologically and philosophically.
Christian morality, the philosophy that is so reviled today by the smartest people in any room, (just ask them)… is the basis for all morality we hold in the West, like it or not. Why is slavery bad? Because Christian morality says, we are all created in God’s image, and who has the audacity to enslave an image of God himself? Why do we think bigotry is bad? Because Christian philosophy teaches that we are to treat others as we ourselves would want to be treated, and no one wants to be oppressed. Christians are morally forbidden from meting out that which we do not want for ourselves, beautiful in its simplicity and universality. Whether or not you believe that Jesus died on a cross for your sins… all of your morality is based on his life, death… and resurrection.
Why didn’t the industrial revolution take place in the Caliphate, pre British India or China? Because they didn’t have the philosophy for it. Advancement requires that philosophy rise first then technology comes after. They didn’t produce the Renaissance, Enlightenment, or Industrial Revolution, because it was not possible under their philosophies. While their philosophies served them well, in as far as they did, they were inadequate to foster the conditions that would lead to a paradigm shifting innovation, like capitalism. Rome had sufficient technology, but was mired in bureaucracy, outdated philosophies and too much corruption to create the conditions for entrepreneurs and innovators to thrive. Only in Christian Enlightened Europe did that happen, or apparently… could it have happened.
While Christians have, and still do, fall short of our calling to pick up our cross and follow Jesus, enough of us do, that society is changed for the better. Which allows our society to advance. Because Christianity is not a stultifying religion, it is one enamored with understanding the mind of God, through natural science. Not as a means to power, war or control, but knowledge for knowledge’s sake. That is another of Christianity’s gifts to mankind. Prior to Jesus, all knowledge, and much that came after, was horded and used to amass more power. Knowledge was rarely sought for its own sake, as a primary good. Instead, until Christianity came along, knowledge was considered a secondary good, something done to get a primary good. Like getting a colonoscopy to prevent Cancer.
Abandoning the foundations upon which our morality, technology and culture are built, is as stupid as cutting out the underpinnings from your house, to renovate the kitchen. In the end, you will be saved the cost of kitchen renovations, because the house will have been obliterated. Just as a house cannot float in thin air, hovering above what used to be its foundation… a culture, nation or science cannot hover above the wreckage of its philosophical basis either. Christians know this as do all wise people. Those mesmerized by an illusion do not. They can, but the fascination is often too strong for them to turn away. Plus, why look at reality when it is ugly and getting uglier, when the glittering lie is so lovely to behold? Because all that we hold dear hangs in the balance… and that loss will really sting.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
