Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About Christianity, 15-16 (2007)
“The Rev. Randy Alcorn, founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries of Oregon, sometimes presents his audiences with two creation stories and asks them whether it matters which one is true. In a secular account, ‘You are the descendent of a tiny cell of primordial protoplasm washed up on an empty beach three and a half billion years ago. You are the blind and arbitrary product of time, chance, and natural forces. You are a mere grab bag of atomic particles, a conglomeration of genetic substance. You exist on a tiny planet in a minute solar system in an empty corner of a meaningless universe. You are a purely biological entity, different only in degree but not in kind from a microbe, virus, or amoeba. You have no essence beyond your body, and at death you will cease to exist entirely. In short, you came from nothing and are going nowhere.’
“In the Christian view, by contrast, ‘You are the special creation of the good in all-powerful God. You are created in His image, with capacities to think, feel, and worship that set you above all other life forms. You differ from the animals not simply in degree but in kind. Not only is your kind unique, but you are unique among your kind. Your Creator loves you so much and so intensely desires your companionship and affection that He has a perfect plan for your life. In addition, God gave the life of His only son that you might spend eternity with Him. If you're willing to accept the gift of salvation, you can become a child of God.’”
Dinesh D’Souza (1961-) is a the author of several best-selling books including Illiberal Education, The End of Racism, Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader, The Virtue of Prosperity: Finding Values in an Age of Techno Affluence, What’s So Great About America, Letters to a Young Conservative, The Enemy at Home, and What’s So Great About Christianity. D'Souza's articles have appeared in virtually every major magazine and newspaper, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, New Republic, and National Review.
D’Souza’s latest book, What’s So Great About Christianity, explores the positive societal aspects of Christianity. Today’s excerpt merely contrasts the worldview of secularists and Christians. Tomorrow and subsequent days will highlight how this different worldview perspective affects societies.
A post by Jim Davids.
Professor James Davids joins the crew of the Tdj with this missive. Jim will focus on “Faith, the Law and the Contemporary Scene”.
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