Did Christianity Cause Western Values? Part 3: Contingency

HISTORICAL CONTINGENCY

Both Jesus and Paul thought the world would soon end. Neither of them were committed to political change or institutional reform. Paul talked about throwing off the shackles of slavery, but as a metaphor for what Christianity achieves for the soul after death. Paul told his followers to accept slavery in this life. Jesus and Paul didn’t preach about creating a liberal order in this world, so it’s tough to give them, or Christianity, credit for creating it. They preached a message of how to enter God’s…