The Air We Breathe

From the Introduction
Goldfish don’t see water…It shapes everything they do and everything they see. But they don’t see it.

Here’s the contention of this book: if you’re a Westerner…you are a goldfish, and Christianity is the water in which you swim. Or, to say the same thing in a slightly different way, Christianity is the air we breathe.

Scrivener addresses the “nones” (the view from the outside),..

The extraordinary impact of Christianity is seen in the fact that you don’t notice it. You already hold particularly “Christian-ish” views, and the fact that you think of these values as natural, obvious or universal shows how profoundly the Christian revolution has shaped you.

The “dones” (the view from beyond), and the “wons” (the view from within).

The book works through seven values that are central to the modern outlook:

• Equality: We believe in the equal moral status of every member of the human family, no matter their rank, race, religion, gender or sexuality.
• Compassion: We believe a society should be judged by the way it treats its weakest members.
• Consent: We believe that the powerful have no right to force themselves on others.
• Enlightenment: We believe in education for all and its power to transform a society.
• Science: We believe in science: its ability to help us understand the world and improve our lives.
• Freedom: We believe that persons are not property and that each of us should be in control of our own lives.
• Progress: We believe in moral improvement over time and that we should continue to reform society of its former evils.

The book moves from the beginning of the Bible through to today as the chapters progress.

Scrivener mentions the acronym coined by Joseph Henrich: Western values are W.E.I.R.D. – Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic. Unmistakably, the WEIRD West has its roots in the Jesus revolution.

The first chapter explores the thoughts and attitudes of the ancient world before the advent of Christianity.