Good books

[paul hohulin]

  I am reading a good book "Under the Influence - How Christianity Transformed Civilization" by Alvin J. Schmidt.  In this book you find a lot of information that has been deleted or neglected by historical revisionists in our public universities.
Some of the topics in the book:

The Sanctification of Human Life
Christianity Elevates Sexual Morality
Women Receive Freedom and Dignity
Charity and Compassion: Their Christian Connection
Hospitals and Health Care: Their Christian Roots
Christianity's Imprint on Education
Labor and Economic Freedom Dignified
Science: Its Christian Connections
Liberty and Justice for All
Slavery Abolished: A Christian Achievement
Christianity's Stamp on Art and Architecture
The Sound of Music: Its Christian Resonance
Hallmarks of Literature: Their Christian Imprint

Alvin Schmidt shows that the world would be a different place if Christ had never come and Christianity had not impacted civilization the way it did.  In my public school education only the negative aspects of Christianity seemed to be emphasized ie. Crusades, inquisitions etc.  It is true that people in the name of Christianity have done some terrible things, but on the balance Christianity has done more for improving the world than any other worldview.

Here is a quotation from the book in the section dealing with science: its Christian connections.

" Alfred North Whitehead, the renowned philosopher of science, once said that 'faith in the possibility of science, generated antecendently to the development of modern scientific theory, is an unconscious derivative from medieval theology.'  Similarly, Lynn White, the historian of medieval science, has stated that "the (medieval) monk was an intellectual ancestor of the scientist."  And the German physicist Ernst Mach once remarked, "Every unbiased mind must admit that the age in which the chief development of the science of mechanics took place was an age of predominantly theological cast."

"There are numerous pronounced differences between Christianity and pagan religions.  One is that Christianity, with its Judaic heritage, has always taught and insisted that there is only one God, a rational being.  Without this Christian presupposition, there would be no science.  The origin of science, said Alfred North Whitehead, required Christianity's 'insistence on the rationality of God."

"If God is a rational being, then may not human beings, who are made in his image, also employ rational processes to study and investigate the world in which they live?  That question, of course, was answered in the affirmative when some Christian philosophers linked rationality with the empirical, inductive method.  One such person was Robert Grosseteste(ca.1168-1253), a Franciscan bishop and the first chancellor of Oxford University, who proposed the inductive, experimental method, and approach ro knowledge that was further advocated bv his student Roger Bacon(1214-94), also a Franciscan monk, who asserted that "all things must be verified by experience." Bacon was a devout believer in the truthfulness of Scripture, and being empirically minded, he saw the Bible in the light of sound reason and as verifiable by experience."

"Almost three hundred years later another Bacon, Francis Bacon(1561-1626), gave further momentum to the inductive method by actually recording his experimental results.  He has been called the "the practical creator of scientific induction."  In the context of rationality, he stressed careful observation of phenomena and collecting systematic information in order to understand nature's secrets.  His scientific interests did not deter him from also devoting time to theology, for he also wrote treatises on the Psalms and on prayer."

" By introducing the inductive empirical method guided by rational procedures, Roger Bacon, William Occan, and Francis Bacon departed to a considerable degree from the ancient Greek perspective of Aristotle(384-322B.C.)  Aritotelianism, which had a stranglehold on the world for fifteen hundred years, held that knowledge was only acquired through the deductive processes of the mind; the inductive method, which required manual activity, was taboo."

Quoted from "Under the Influence-How Christianity Transformed Civilization by Alvin J. Schmidt" pgs. 218-220

The Catholic Church opposed the findings of Copernicus and Galileo(who also were dedicated Christians) based on the Greek view of science which it accepted, not on the basis of scripture.  It was Lutheran Christians who encouraged Copernicus to publish his work.

 "No historian will cover up the facts that a Lutheran prince(Duke Albrecht of Prussian) subsidized the publication of his (Copernicus's) work, that a Lutheran theologian (Andreas Osiander) arranged for the printing, and that a Lutheran mathematician(Georg Joachin Rheticus) supervised the printing" (Under the Influence p.226)

Now why is it that some modern scientists want to suppress any information about the roots of modern science. Hmmmmmmmmm, maybe it has something to do with the presuppositions of their own materialistic view of the universe which itself is a religious system which must be accepted by faith.

Hohulin

 


 




 
 
 
 
 
 

 

   
   
 
 

[David Mauldin]

Here are books that have changed my life.


The Diary of Anne Frank!

Burry my Heart at wounded Knee!

The Giver

Fairenheit 451

ISHI Last of the Yahi

A Parcel of Patterns
  These books caused me to think, ask questions that eventually have tranformed my thinking!  

[Joe Sperling]

There are some great books out there for sure. I have
attempted to read "The Christian in Complete Armour" by
John Gurnall, but it is a very very long book. What I have read though is very inspiring.

Another book that is very inspiring is "Captain's Courageous" by Rudyard Kipling--it's a book about the development of character in a bratty rich kid when he is thrown overboard and rescued by cod-fishermen.

Another great book (I've forgotten the author) is about all the amazing things that can be found in a pond behind this man's house. It's called "McGelligot's Pool"--a truly amazing and huge variety of fish are found in this pool. The story is told in poetry fashion and makes a great read.


--Joe

[Mark Kisla]

 I could never sit still long enough to read much, but three books that kept me in my chair were:
  A WALK ACROSS AMERICA
 TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD
 OF MICE AND MEN

[al Hartman]

Paul,

     For a long time i have believed that American students are robbed of their heritage by the exclusion of Christianity's positive influence from courses on American History, World History, Political Science, Philosophy and Psychology.
     But the people who decide the curriculums never ask me, and the local newspaper seems to shun my letters on the topic.  Who could be behind it all??

al Hartman

[David Mauldin]

Mark  A Walk Across America has probably been the most influentual book in my life (Whan it comes to traveling!) Since reading it I have always dreamed about doing the same and it inspired my bike trips these past three summers.  (Always wanted a dog like that!)

[David Mauldin]

After reading The Diary of Ann Frank, I found my Christian beleifs greatly shaken.  According to the vast majority of Christian teachers this beautiful, young, vibrant good-hearted girl of 14 years has been burning in a Christless eternity since she died in a prison camp!  To this kind of thinking I say NO WAY!

[Mark Kisla]

Dave ,
I had the dog but not the journey. Maybe that's something I can do when I retire.
 Mark

[David Mauldin]

Do it now! The longer you wait the harder it will get!
(But in case you don't can I borrow your dog?)

[Mark Kisla]

My wife and I went camping this past weekend, we past an elderly couple who were pulling a pop-up camper like ours. My wife says "boy sweetheart we're getting old but I never knew how much fun it would be"

[Tanya]

YAY...  I love this thread about good books. It's something to comment upon without ending up in a theological debate!

Some good books:
 
A Chance to Die      by Elisabeth Elliot
This is a great biography of Amy Carmichael, the godly missionary who saved thousands of children from temple prostitution in India.

The Giving Tree       by Shel Silverstein
Buy it for your kids then read it to yourself.

Koop                       by C.Everett Koop (the former Surgeon General of the USA)
I love biographies & this was is very interesting & easy to read.

Soul Survivor           by Phillip Yancey
A collection of short biographies of 12 people--some Christians, some not--who had an influence on the author.  

[4Him]

The following is posted on "New Earth, Old Earth"...

...read John Barnhouse's book "The Invisible War"---it is a very interesting book, but filled with far more than conjecture--there are many things in the book to help with your walk--in regards to warfare, etc. ...
Another good book that deals with this is "The Fingerprint of God" by Hugh Ross. I find the whole thing to be very interesting, and exciting in a way. there are many things the Bible doesn't tell us---but may give us a glimpse, a very small glimpse---enough to make you wonder. And there's nothing wrong with that or God wouldn't have given us imaginations.
Take care,  Joe

Joe,
Thanks for your recommendation regarding The Invisible War by John Barnhouse.  I bought it and started to read it at first because I was interested in the Genesis 1:1-2 interpretation (his is very sound) but the book goes so much farther!  It is well written, easy to read and sticks to Scripture.
BTW, I read The Fingerprint of God quite some time ago and found it very compelling as well.
Again,
Thanks!

[Joe Sperling]

Tim---

As I mentioned in my E-mail I had incorrectly said
"John" Barnhouse. I believe the author's correct name
is Donald Grey Barnhouse. But it is a fantastic book!

take care and God bless,  Joe