(cont'd from yesterday's post)
Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World tells its story from the point of view of an atheist who discovered to his surprise that modern, secular, humanistic values come from two thousand years of Christian history.
Roman society was all about rank and power. Conquering armies brought hordes of barbarians back to Rome to be slaves. Women ranked a notch above slaves, but a husband had the power to use the slaves, women and children of the house in any way he wished. In fact, it was his choice of whether to keep or throw away newborns. Babies could be discarded and abandoned on trash heaps.
Jesus Christ was born into that era, dying with criminals in tortuous crucifixion. That God would come to earth in human flesh to identify with suffering, powerless humanity was disgusting to the Romans.
But those who chose to identify with Christ started changing society a little at a time. They rescued babies. They preached that marriage was sacred and wives must be loved as Christ loved the church. That slaves had souls.
(cont'd tomorrow)
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