FREEDOM

The Sioux City Journal had an article in their religion section from which I would like to share some blurbs and my thoughts. The article is actually a review of a book written by Rodney Stark, sociology professor at Baylor University. The book is, "The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism and Western Success" (Random House). Stark contends that, ". . .The success of the West, including the rise of science, rested entirely on religious foundations, and the people who brought it about were devout Christians . . . real science arose only once: in Europe. Only in Europe did alchemy develop into chemistry and astrology into astronomy, with thinkers moving beyond mere technology into true research. . . Christianity was oriented to the future while the other major religions asserted the superiority of the past." Stark also says, "In most religions the material universe is regarded as eternal, without beginning or purpose and without a creator, and the cosmos is a supreme mystery, inconsistent, unpredictable and arbitrary. . . . The path to wisdom is through meditation and mystical insights that do not produce empirical knowledge."

The differences between the so-called races are negligible! There is no significant difference in the capacity of achievement between the races. There truly is only one race, the human race! Nevertheless, cultural differences are significant. What a person believes has everything to do with his success! Even as family beliefs have a lot to do with how individual family members behave and perform, so ethnic culture is a powerful dynamic in the performance and behavior of its people. Thus, the success of the West was not because Europeans were smarter or superior, it had to do with what it believed. Now that the West has cut itself off from the belief system that made it flower, I wonder what will happen next? As a Christian and an optimist, things will work out according to God's plan, and it's a wonderful plan!

Happy Valentine's Day! Remember, it was Christianity that defined LOVE!

Grace & Peace;
Tom