Has Christianity been a negative influence on the world?

Modern atheists complain about many things associated with Christianity—its documents, its theology, its history, its reliance on miracles. But there is one huge charge made by them—that Christianity is dangerous and ruins everything. Is that true? A few moments of reflection will put this charge to rest. Christianity has, in fact, been a positive good for civilization. What follows is a brief list of major contributions.

Let’s start with one key component of the Western world—reliance on and love of science. Why did the Western world act as the cradle of modern science? Because the Judeo-Christian view says God is rational, He created an orderly world, and He is separated from His creation. Therefore, it was OK to investigate everything, thinking God’s thoughts after Him. Most of the brightest early scientists were devout Christians.

What about evils like slavery? It was the West, thanks to Christianity, that finally abolished this terrible scourge from its territories. Compare its track record with other major civilizations. In Islamic areas, for example, slavery has been much longer in existence..

What about another key interest in the West—higher education? Again, it was Christianity and the Protestant reformation that urged the development of centers of learning. Most early American universities were begun with religious motives and an emphasis on literacy.

Then there’s health care and charities. Christianity has always been in the lead for these concerns. Going back to the Roman days, it was the Christians who helped those in need. Hospitals, care for children, concern for the poor—all were part of the Christian agenda. Think about the Salvation Army, the YMCA, the Red Cross, and other successful charitable organizations—all had Christian roots.

Women have been treated better, thanks to Christianity. Any comparison of Christian women with non-Christian peers will reveal this to be true. Again, consider how women are treated in Islamic countries as a powerful contrast.

Democracy owes its start to Christianity. The ordinary person is uplifted in the Christian faith. It was the religious awakenings that led to the American Revolution.

The freedoms we cherish are also thanks to Christianity. We separate church and state, allowing freedom to worship as we see fit. How is freedom handled in atheistic countries like North Korea and China? How is it doing in other religious lands like the Islamic countries?

Then there’s the emphasis on hard work and capitalism. That’s due to a couple of things. The Protestant Reformation elevated work to a noble calling, a way to honor God, no matter what the job. The general Judeo-Christian worldview emphasized private property, allowing people to work hard for themselves.

This is only a quick list, but it serves to make the point. The atheists are able to freely express their opinions precisely because they live in a land that was founded on Christian principles. Imagine they were to say these things in Iran, Saudi Arabia, or other repressive regimes. Their life expectancy would be measured in hours. They should thank Christians for giving them a platform for their views.

Do miracles exist?

Today we live in a skeptical world. People like Richard Dawkins sneer at the idea of miracles, especially those connected with Christianity. They envision a world of the future ruled by science and logic where there is no place for superstitions and silly stories of gods performing miraculous feats. But for the Christian, miracles are crucial -- the birth , life and ministry, and death of Jesus of Nazareth is the heart of the message.

Can we today in the 21st century make a case for miracles? I believe we can. So I would like to give some reasons to believe in miracles and consider objections from skeptics.

Let's start with the existence of God. Something like 98 percent of the world believes there is a God of some type. If you are talking to one of these people, your work is pretty well done if you are defending the idea of miracles. God exists in a supernatural world, so if miracles require divine intervention, we can readily argue that such a being is capable of performing them. If you're dealing with someone who does not believe in God, there are many good ways to argue that he or she is wrong. For example, there are three major ways to prove your case -- the cosmological argument (where did the universe come from?), the design argument (where did such exquisite design come from?), the existence of morality (how did morality come from atoms and molecules alone?).

The second line of evidence for the existence of miracles involves the New Testament, source of many miraculous stories. We can make a strong case for the reliability of the four gospels If we consider the existence of so many manuscripts, their existence so close to the original documents, and affirmation from hostile, non-Christian sources.

A third reason to believe in miracles has to do with science. That may seem surprising to some who believe science and Christianity are at war. But many recent discoveries of science actually suggest the possibility of a supernatural world. For example, physicists now believe that there were 10 dimensions at the Big Bang event. So at the beginning of the universe, extra dimensions (God’s realm) were there. In addition, we now know a great deal about DNA, the building blocks of life which are information-rich. Where did this language come from? Such information must come from a language maker.

Finally, we can argue for miracles based on experience. There are so many people who have witnessed miracles. A few weeks back I spoke to thirty people or so, and I asked them if they had either witnessed a miracle or trusted someone who told them about experiencing a miracle. Nearly one-third of the people responded positively.

So what is a key objection to miracles? The one I have run into the most says that miracles do not exist because they violate natural laws. But let's consider that for one minute. Natural laws tell how things have usually happened; they do not predict the future. Consider a tennis ball that I have my hand. If I toss it up in the air, I may expect it to fall to the ground because I have seen it happen many times in the past. However, my wife may decide to grab the ball in mid air as it heads to the ground. Did she violate the law of gravity? No, she simply intervened just as God may intervene in our world.

There are other objections to miracles, but they do not seem especially strong. Some say miracles must not exist because most of the time they do not happen, so we are correct to be highly suspicious whenever a miracle is claimed. However, that is circular reasoning. Truth is not decided by a majority. Secondly, some say miracles are anti-science since science deals with what you can see, hear, etc. But that's not true; miracles are not anti-science. They are beyond science. That's why they're called "supernatural." There are others who argue that belief in miracles is bad because it would stop scientific research and investigation since no one could count on a rational universe. However, this is an orderly world which has natural laws dealing with regular events. Early scientists, many of whom were Christians, had faith that they could investigate the world because of its rational, orderly nature. Finally, there are those who refuse to believe in miracles simply because they have never seen one. But they are willing to believe in electrons even though they have never seen them either.

So there is a good case to be made for miracles. This blog has only been able to skim the surface. If you'd like more information, consider web sites such as str.org, equip.org, rzim.org, and answers.org. Some good books that deal with this include The Case for Faith, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, Know Why You Believe, Skeptics Answered, When Skeptics Ask.