Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Work Cited

Home
Careers, Workplace and Religion
Faith in a rational God: The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark

Faith in a rational God: The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark

Last updated on: February 9, 2015 at 5:24 pm by Mikel Del Rosario

Faith in a rational God: The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark 2015-02-09T17:24:30-05:00 Mikel Del Rosario

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

(This post first appeared here at the blog of the Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement.)

By Kasey Summerer

In this installment of our series featuring resources on Faith, Work and Economics, we recommend Rodney Stark’s The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success.

Stark helps the reader understand and even rethink the way history unfolded concerning innovations of the last millennium within science, industry, politics, and economics. As Stark works his way through history he draws out misconceptions that have arisen over time such as that science is naturally at odds with Christianity and that Christianity is a religion of mere faith and not intellectual thought. From this foundation, Stark proposes the exact opposite- that it is Christianity’s “faith in reason” that caused the West to make technological breakthroughs and propel it economically ahead of the rest of the world.

3 Key Points from the Book

This book challenges the reader to look beyond the face value of the pages of history, asking not merely the “what” but the “why” that caused some of history’s greatest innovations. Stark guides this process by digging deeper into the beliefs that sparked an intellectual revolution.

Christianity’s Rational Theology Sets it Apart

Unlike all other world religions, Stark argues that Christianity alone possesses two key distinct characteristics that predispose its adherents toward a pursuit of knowledge. First, Christianity believes in a God who is a “conscious, rational, supernatural being of unlimited power and scope who cares about humans and imposes moral codes and responsibilities upon them,” and therefore necessitates an exhaustive theology that seeks to answer “serious intellectual questions” (5). Second, Christianity has an extremely high emphasis on orthodoxy, that is, a right understanding of God and therefore emphasizes progress in an effort to gain clearer understanding of the nature of God. Being so, Christianity has been a catalyst for innovation (in science, technology, and morality) in comparison to other religions that stifle innovation either in an effort to follow legal standards (Judaism and Islam) or to pursue spirituality in lieu of theology (Taoism and Buddhism).

Christian Reason and Progress Put Europe on the Map

Due to Christianity’s commitment to reason and progress, Europe experienced remarkable innovation in the period notoriously known as the “Dark Ages.” Unbridled from the control and high taxation of fallen Rome, Europe began to thrive with innovation due to what Stark attributes to the fundamental Christian beliefs of freedom and moral equality of every person. Stark keenly notes that invention and innovation are often stifled under oppressive despots and “tend to occur only where property is safe from seizure either because the state has become disorganized or because its powers have been curtailed” (38). While this period is often veiled behind misconceptions, innovations such as the watermill, eyeglasses, and the mechanical clock found their birth during this time.

Capitalism: A Christian Innovation

Coming out of an age of innovation, founded on the Christian principles of freedom and moral equality, capitalism was born. As Stark asserts, another key Christian principle was foundational in the birth of capitalism: property rights. As Stark writes, “The Bible takes private property rights for granted, often condemning infringements such as theft and fraud” (78). Stark spends extensive time on the issue of property rights, as well as free markets and free labor and shows that in countries where these three were either present or lacking determined whether capitalism either thrived or writhed.

Conclusion

Rodney Stark persuasively points to the underlying source of the modern world we see today: the Christian beliefs and principles that birthed a revolution of thought and innovation. While Stark works as a generalist for the most part (which may the biggest criticism against his book), covering vast brush strokes as he paints the picture of capitalism’s storied history, his point is undeniable: Christianity is not at odds with science, reason, and innovation, but rather is a proponent and even catalyst of all three. This is a great read for anyone looking to better understand Christianity’s relationship to business, economics, and even science.

Read the Book

Stark, Rodney. The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success. New York: Random House, 2005.

The Victory of Reason

Western Christianity

Previous Post

January 25, 2015

Bringing faith and work and people together: Flourishing Churches and Communities by Charlie Self

Next Post

February 12, 2015 An essential faith and work bibliography, or two, or three...

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Curriculum Reviews Discipleship Information Interviews Movie Reviews New Book Resource Lists Theology of Work Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the giant defeated by David?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Samson Goliath Pharaoh Herod