John’s comments on science ultimately miss the point here, as both Islam and Christianity ascribe sovereignty over creation to a sole Creator. Monotheism is able to “midwife” science because it removes all miracles to the one Rulemaker who, by definition, is the only one who can break the rules. Whereas mystical and polytheistic religions allow for human ‘magical thinking’ to influence space & time & matter, and so are inherently resistant to science, monotheism is compatible with science because it sees the miraculous as interventions in the mundane creation we humans inhabit, rather than as intrinsic parts of it.
The flourishing of science, however, is another matter. While Islam is compatible with science, it lacks the seperation between the “kingdom of God” and the “kingdom of man” which in Christianity allows human endeavors to flourish without the constraint of having to be sanctified. Sure, there are silly Christians who insist on chewing TestaMints and playing card games with “Christian” playing cards, but even they “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”. In the “kingdom of the left hand” Christians are free to glorify God in their vocations, whether they be butchers, bakers, or scientists. Similarly, and most importantly to John’s very good Quo Vadis point, Christianity gives Caesar honor in his vocation, granting him the “power of the swoard” to restrain evil and establish temporal justice.
Ironically, it is liberal Christians, children of the Enlightenment who therefore have lost the theology of the Two Kingdoms precisely because they reject the miracles of the Bible, who are worthless in the fight against jihad – or against moral decay in our society for that matter.
So, of course I’d rather have Christopher Hitchens on my side than Bishop Muskens. But I’d rather have orthodox Christians on my side than Gordon Brown or Hillary Clinton!
So the answer really is for the Christian majority in the west to return to solid, Biblical teaching. Then they will stop all this “social Gospel” nonsense (which is no Gospel at all, because it is about good works rather than the forgiveness of sins!), let God be God, and be content going about their vocations – vocations which include being soldiers, rulers, and policemen wielding the “power of the sword” so that our civilization can be protected from terrorists abroad and criminals at home.
