The God That Did Not Fail: How Religion Built and Sustains the West

by Robert Royal

Secular humanists and other progressives have been predicting the demise of religion for the past 250 years. But they keep running into a problem--those who were supposed to be liberated by secular gospel that God is Dead aren't buying it. Why not? Since the Greeks and Romans, as Robert Royal explains, religion has nurtured the development of the individual and of Western culture itself. Christianity and Judaism collaborated to create a dialogue between faith and reason that determined the history of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Reformation, and several Enlightenments, including our current postmodern moment. Royal concludes that modern democratic societies are intimately tied to a Christian view of the dignity of the human person and the health and survival of free institutions.

Genres: History, Catholic, Religion, Nonfiction

280 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2006

Reviews

[Trevor Carlsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the historical perspective highlighting the importance of Christianity for Western Civilization.

[Kerstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating study on the establishment of Christianity and how, despite all the challenges over the centuries, has stayed strong, even stronger than often times believed. The secular philosophies of the past 300 years took a (monstrous) toll on western civilization but have played themselves out now. One of their main goals, to eleminate religion, did not happen even in totalitarian places like the former Soviet Union where religious persecution was quite severe. We are now experiencing a renewal of religion in the West. How successful the West will be in maintaining its Christian heritage will depend in large part in the will to defend this heritage from destructive forces within and without.

[Frank R · Rating 2 out of 5]

An overview of the role religion has played in all of Western Civilization. Lacked a coherent thesis that tied the time periods together. Interesting but not groundbreaking.

[Mitch]

recommended by Chaput: http://catholiceducation.org/articles...