ABSTRACT
One neglected component of the moral argument is that of history. Not only can one make a strong rational case for the God–morality connection philosophically. One can make the historical case for the moral argument—that is, strengthening the moral argument by looking to world history for clear connections between faithful Christ-followers and the transformation of communities—indeed, Western civilization. We could call these “J-shaped (or Jesus-shaped) cultures.”
The historical side of the moral argument involves specific developments that flow from the Jewish-Christian worldview, leading to societies that, though damaged by sin, are progress-prone rather than progress-resistant. “Progress” includes democracy, the founding of modern science, poverty-diminishing free markets, equal rights for all before the law, religious liberty, women’s suffrage, human rights initiatives, and the abolition of slavery and widow burning and foot binding. This chapter explores some of the philosophical supports for the moral argument, but its primary focus is on the impact of the Christian faith in human history and how the moral landscape of Western civilization—and portions of the non-Western world—would look morally different and darker without its influence.
