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For the Glory of God

One of the books I read on holiday was For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery by Rodney Stark. Subtitled, “How monotheism led to reformations, science, witch-hunts and the end of slavery” this is really a very worthwhile read. It is a scholarly book with over a hundred pages of notes and references, but don’t let that put you off. The conclusion reads:

… it was not the wisdome of the East that gave rise to science, nor did Zen meditation turn people’s hearts against slavery. By the same token, science was not the work of Western secularists or even deists; it was entirely the work of devout believers in an active, conscious, creator God. And it was faith in thye goodness of this same God and in the mission of Jesus that led other devout Christians to end slavery, first in medieval Europe and then again the New World.

In those ways, at least, Western civilization was really God given.

It’s well worth a read, give it a go.