Is Christianity 'true'?

The Hebrew creation narratives established a world that was natural; it did not contain spirit. This means that the trees were trees and the rocks rocks and the sun and moon lights in the sky and not deities. This was absolutely essential for the growth of natural science because the world could be investigated on its own terms, i.e. the natural.

The opposition to idolatry in the whole of Scripture freed men and women from the worship of false gods, be they national, societal or personal. There is no such thing as pure atheism, we always trust in something; even if that is, in Brian's case, the exercise of reason.

We could go on and mention the establishment of schools and universities and hospitals, all of which had their origin in the Church. We could mention the origin of art in the West as essentially ecclesial. The centrality of Christianity for the culture of the West is carved in stone all over Europe, it is painted on walls and on canvases, carved in marble and written about in books. Without Christianity the West has no culture. Bach wrote all of his music to the glory of God.

So, we are told that we can leave this heritage and we will be free to become rational beings, not tied down by superstition and ignorance. Can we? The cracks of secularism are showing all over the place. The idea of grace is being submerged in law and managerialism. The idea that we must create ourselves, pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, has become a cruel joke that leaves many at a loss as to what it means to be human and alive in the world.

Rather than jettison the cultural and theological riches of the past we must retrieve them anew. We will find that they are not irrelevant to our situation but are the engine for healing the present and for forming a future fit for the human.