Is Christianity Useful to the West?

About this sermon

Friends, is Christianity a useful religion to the West? Atheist Richard Dawkins recently claimed that, while still an atheist, he considers himself a “cultural Christian” because of Christianity’s utility in supporting Western cultural and political values, which he laments are under attack. Former atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali also recently shared that she became a Christian upon realizing that Christianity is necessary to preserve Western political norms. There are some complex and even troubling underlying questions about making the connection between Christianity and utility, especially as it relates to contemporary “Western values.” How is the utility defined and in response to what specific societal goals? Is Christianity’s utility limited to the West alone? Aren’t there some “Western values” that are antithetical to Christianity? A listener asks how to respond to the common criticism from atheists that Christians only believe in God because they are scared of death. 00:00 | Intro 01:32 | Bishop Barron’s recent farm visit 03:00 | Recapping Richard Dawkins and the New Atheism 07:14 | Unpacking Richard Dawkins as a “cultural Christian” 12:38 | Can Christianity be culturally useful without a fixed cultural aim? 14:13 | Making moral judgments without a fixed standard 16:43 | The fundamentality of Christian thought in the West 19:51| Remembering the doctrinal dimension of Christianity 21:51 | Other influences in Western thought 25:16 | Is linking Christianity and Western thought evangelically helpful? 27:23 | Listener question 29:44 | Join the Word on Fire Institute ———SHOW NOTES——— Article: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257276/famous-atheist-richard-dawkins-says-he-considers-himself-a-cultural-christian Article: https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/ Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ ———WATCH——— Subscribe to this Channel: https://bit.ly/3nL6bMU Word on Fire Institute Channel: https://bit.ly/43jgnga Word on Fire en Español Channel: https://bit.ly/2uFowjl ———WORD ON FIRE——— Word on Fire: https://www.wordonfire.org/ Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ FREE Daily Gospel Reflections (English or Español): https://dailycatholicgospel.com/ ———SOCIAL MEDIA——— Bishop Barron Instagram: https://bit.ly/2Sn2XgD Bishop Barron Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Sltef5 Bishop Barron Twitter: https://bit.ly/2Hkz6yQ Word on Fire Instagram: https://bit.ly/39sGNyZ Word on Fire Facebook: https://bit.ly/2HmpPpW Word on Fire Twitter: https://bit.ly/2UKO49h Word on Fire en Español Instagram: https://bit.ly/38mqofD Word on Fire en Español Facebook: https://bit.ly/2SlthaL Word on Fire en Español Twitter: https://bit.ly/38n3VPt ———SUPPORT WORD ON FIRE——— Donate: https://www.wordonfire.org/donate/ Word on Fire Store: https://store.wordonfire.org/ Pray: https://bit.ly/2vqU7Ft