The Christian Core of the West and the Need for Renewal
by Rick Plasterer, Juicy Ecumenism:
Both America and the West in general are in a crisis of identity and morality because the central inspiration of both, namely Christianity, no longer holds the confidence of the public at large. Christian renewal is essential for the continued life of Western civilization, otherwise, it faces demise. This was the message of British author, speaker, and social critic Os Guinness at a Faith and Law forum on September 16.
In the sense of science, technology, and the urban/industrial and business culture associated with it, the modernity of Western civilization now dominates the world, including places that are markedly anti-liberal, such as China. But Western religion was the decisive factor in making the world today. Christianity has been dominant in the West since 380 A.D., when the Roman emperor Theodosius “declared the empire officially Christian” in the Edict of Thessalonica.
Then it was the Reformation that gave impetus to the modern world, Guinness maintained. Indeed, “the Reformation created the modern world.” He said that “for 500 years, the West has dominated the world.” He added that from the Jewish perspective, the Reformation was a rediscovery of the Torah. When historians say that “’Western civilization is the greatest civilization, ever,’ that’s not a moral compliment,” he said. “Every previous civilization was regional,” but Western civilization is now “global.”
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