Is Christianity history? Or is Christian history the deepest explanation of the modern world?
Today in the west, many consider the church to be dead or dying. Christianity is seen as outdated, bigoted and responsible for many of society’s problems. This leaves many believers embarrassed about their faith and many outsiders wary of religion. But what if the Christian message is not the enemy of our modern Western values, but the very thing that makes sense of them?
In this fascinating book, Glen Scrivener takes readers on a journey to discover how the teachings of Jesus not only turned the ancient world upside down, but continue to underpin the way ...we think of life, worth, and meaning. Far from being a relic from the past, the distinctive ideas of Christianity, such as freedom, kindness, progress and equality, are a crucial part of the air that we breathe. As author Glen Scrivener says in his introduction: “The extraordinary impact of Christianity is seen in the fact that we don’t notice it".
This is a book for both believers and sceptics—giving Christians confidence to be open about their faith and showing non-Christians the ways in which the message of Jesus makes sense of their most cherished beliefs. Whoever you are, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for the values you hold dear as you discover the power and profundity of Jesus and his revolution.
Glen Scrivener is an ordained minister and the Director of Speak Life, an organization that exists to share the love of Jesus through creative communication.
(Review written for 'The Air We Breathe')
As opposed to Tom Holland's "Dominion", Glen Scrivener takes us, not through time, but through ideas to explore the foundations of the assumptions of Western Civilization -- ideas like equity, justice, and freedom. These ideas would have been foreign to a 1st century BC Roman, but to a modern westerner they're as natural as "The Air we Breathe".
(Review written for 'The Air We Breathe')
The author understands the the cultural struggles of our day and effectively points out western history for those who likely have taken for granted-the air we breathe with regard to ‘rights’. Succinct, compelling, and well done. I learned fresh evidence for understanding the contrast The Jesus revolution brought about. Useful for the skeptical and seasoned teacher!
(Review written for 'The Air We Breathe')
Glen Scrivener's The Air We Breathe provides believers and non-believers alike with a timely reminder that in an increasingly hostile and uninformed environment our faith is strongly evidence-based.
Rather than attacking the self-refuting contradictions of postmodernism, the premise is simple and positive: as fish are forgetful of water, our western world is forgetful, even ignorant, of its Judeo-Christian heritage. He builds a sure, cumulative case for the Christian origins for the values which underpin a now unconscious foundation not simply ...of the historical West, but even of the excesses of identity politics, itself
This book is readable, accessible, even entertaining, despite its critically important and weighty thesis. It's evident from the outset, in its careful construction, that the author knows exactly where he's taking the reader, the route he's taking and exactly what the reader will find.
By the eighth chapter, the vast cultural impact of the Christian gospel on Western values is drawn inexorably together into a truly powerful statement - not simply a cultural statement, but a truly coherent faith statement.
This is certainly good apologetics. In a disarming and generous way it destroys the public stereotypes, caricatures and ignorance which has always muddied the waters of sincere discussion.
This can never be a work wherein (in absurdist postmodern terms), the reader determines its meaning. Rather, it points us in a winsome, appealing and sure-footed way to 'the Author and Perfecter of our faith.'
