“Without faith, the obscenity would have collapsed.”
And it would have been replaced by what? It doesn’t make much sense to assume that when faith collapses, reason automatically springs up to fill the void. In the Middle Ages, the literate few may have had reason to fall back on – but what about the majority who knew nothing about science or logic? If Christianity had suddenly disappeared, I think the masses would have come up with a million little faiths to replace it.
Today, faith is just one of many options available to help us deal with life. The principles of science and reason are also there for everyone to learn and use. That was not the case seven hundred years ago. That’s not to say I entirely disagree with Benson about the present. I just try not to apply 21st century standards to 13th century people.
The problem with Islam (and, according to some people, all religions) is that it tries to apply 13th century standards to 21st century people. Personally, I have no desire to return to the “good old days.”
