A Must-Buy
An exercise in shameless self-promotion.

November 02, 2001 11:45 a.m.

n the time-honored tradition of shameless self-promotion, it is hereby announced that a new book by this writer and coauthor Vincent Carroll is coming out this month. It is entitled Christianity on Trial: Arguments Against Anti-Religious Bigotry, and is generously presented by Encounter Books, San Francisco. Its editor is the legendary Peter Collier, and the buzz seems to be that no American home should be without a copy.

While it would be extremely crass to offer a review of one's own writing (I speak from much experience), it is surely admissible to say that the parts by my co-writer, Mr. Carroll, are brilliant. His basic argument, which does bleed over into the non-Carroll chapters, is that Christianity has, all told, been an enormous blessing to mankind. Believers, indeed, will be reminded that pride in their faith is fully justified, while scoffers should be challenged in their view that Christianity has been a largely criminal enterprise.

This is not merely biased opinion. Booklist, whose word cannot be doubted, said the following in its pre-publication review:

The standard trashing of Christianity is false, as Carroll and Shiflett demonstrate by putting specific events, such as the Crusades, and practices, such as slavery, in historical and cross-cultural perspective. They don't deny genuine wrongdoing by Christians and churches but balance the wrongs with the much larger record of right doing by Christians and churches. They back their presentation almost exclusively with the findings of secular scholars. They write intelligently and uncondescendingly but very accessibly and with enough animation to pull readers into and speed them through each chapter. Superb argumentation.

Bless you, Booklist.

Sensible people, to be sure, must admit that mistakes have been made during Christianity's 2,000-year trek, but then Christianity took on a very tough assignment: to make saints of human beings. It has failed spectacularly with some, but succeeded incredibly with many others. In a time when the dustbins of history and flophouses of modernity are being searched for heroes, it is perhaps telling that Christian heroes are routinely overlooked. Very telling, in fact, for there are many to choose from.

Consider the career of Theodore Dwight Weld, a largely forgotten hero of the antislavery campaign, a man described by a contemporary as "the most simple hearted and earnest follower of Christ that I have known." He drew large crowds of sympathizers to his hours-long orations, and critics as well. On one occasion an assailant threw a stone through a church window, an event Weld later described in his journal. The stone was "one so well aimed that it struck me on the head and for a moment stunned me. Paused for a few moments till the dizziness had ceased, and then went on and completed my lecture. Meanwhile some of the gentlemen had hung their cloaks up at the window so that my head could not be so easily used as a target. The injury was not serious, though for a few days I had frequent turns of dizziness."

What was interesting about Christians such as Weld was not only their physical bravery, but their willingness to challenge the received wisdom of their time. Herewith the received wisdom of the era regarding blacks:

Vices the most notorious seem to be the portion of this unhappy race: idleness, treachery, revenge, cruelty, impudence, stealing, lying, profanity, debauchery, nastiness and intemperance, are said to have extinguished the principles of natural law, and to have silenced the reproofs of conscience. They are strangers to every sentiment of compassion, and are an awful example of the corruption of man when left to himself.

This description was not lifted from the pages of an antebellum South Carolina newspaper, but from the 1797 Encyclopedia Britannica. Similarly, the great minds of the day, including philosopher David Hume, compared blacks to animals: Hume's line was that a black who learned to speak English was similar to a parrot. Most Christians knew better, and some died proving the point. It should also be remembered that these exertions were undertaken on behalf of people who were often non-Christians.

This book will not be universally admired, to be sure. One thinks, for instance, of the slightly dowdy representative of a group called Freedom From Religion, who took to the airwaves just after September 11 to point out that the attack was a "faith-based" operation. If we were all atheists, this dolt announced, there would be peace on earth.

Overlooked in this analysis, besides Mao, Stalin and Hitler (the latter, the group's spokesman insisted, was Catholic - this book clears that up) was the fact that many, if not most, of the heroic firemen and police officers who died that day were Christians, and many of the dying and injured were taken to hospitals named after saints, not Madalyn Murray O'Hair.

Indeed, one particularly engrossing chapter of our book concerns the rise of Christian charity, truly a revolutionary development. Quoting historian John McManners, it is pointed out that "The Roman empire was no welfare state." Likewise, sociologist Rodney Stark adds, classical philosophy "regarded mercy and pity as pathological emotions-defects of character to be avoided by all rational men. Since mercy involves providing unearned help or relief, it was contrary to justice."

Christians had a different view. Their grace was unearned, and their Savior had instructed them that helping the sick, injured, weak and powerless was not an option-it was an imperative: One's eternal destiny depended on assisting the crippled child in the gutter and seeing the face of God in the poor. The wretched of the earth held the Key To Paradise. A more profound shift in perspective can hardly be imagined.

Those who believe it is important to support struggling authors who promulgate the truth can buy this book at the usual Internet locations such as Amazon.com, or call 1-800-786-3839 to place an order. It is being shipped to bookstores as well, in time for the Christmas season. The authors suggest that scoffers, such as the lady from Freedom From Religion, may require two copies.