I have long appreciated the mind and heart of Vishal Mangalwadi, the outstanding Indian thinker who has done much to point out the positive influence of the Bible on the development of the West. (Previous blog posts here). Now he has written his 450 page magnum opus (but perhaps there is more to come?), The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization.
Charles Colson is excited about the book. He writes:
Vishal Mangalwadi, a native of India, is one of the greatest Christian worldview thinkers of our day. He believes that much of modern India, including its language, educational system, and political freedom, developed not out of Hinduism, but out of Christianity.
His newest work, The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization explores the Bible’s impact, not only in leading the West to unparalleled liberty and prosperity, but in helping India and other nations to share in the West’s success.
Mangalwadi carefully examines the intellectual roots of Western concepts of human dignity, reason, morality, science, liberty, and self-sacrificial heroism, explaining how each of these concepts grew out of Biblical principles. He then contrasts the biblical view of life with alternative worldviews like Secularism, Islam, and Hinduism.
Colson writes a lot more, and concludes:
I recommend a lot of books on BreakPoint, but this is a must-read. If Western civilization and our way of life are to survive, we must understand and re-embrace the biblical principles and values they were built on. [my emphasis]
Many other leaders enthusiastically endorse the book:
The condition of a society, good or bad, is the outflow of communal character—of what the usual citizen is prepared to do as if it were obviously right, and is prepared to sacrifice for if necessary. That communal character, in turn, arises out of a system of ideas and beliefs about what is real and what is good. The system of ideas and beliefs that gave rise to and sustained the “Western” world has its unique source in the Bible and in traditions arising out of it. Devotion to truth, to the common good and to the good of every individual, and—within that framework—freedom to live as one chooses, has never in world history had another foundation than the Bible. Look and see. The failure of contemporary education and intelligence is nowhere more manifest than in the appalling ignorance of “leaders” about the true foundation of our ideals and practices of public order and private well-being. With solid, detailed information, clarity of presentation, and logical force, Vishal Mangalwadi enables anyone willing to see how our “Western” world depends entirely upon what the Bible, and it alone, teaches about reality and how to live. We must be aware of that dependence, and of the manifold follies of well-meaning people who, for around two centuries now, have tried to set the Christian outcome upon a secular or non-Christian basis. At this point our institutions are lost. It is time for the prophet. Here we have one.
Ravi Zacharias, Author and Speaker
"This is an extremely significant piece of work with huge global implications. For too long now the West has flirted with a Naturalistic worldview that has jeopardized the most sacred aspects of life and living. If the trend to debunk the Bible continues in halls of learning and in institutions that shape Western culture the cost will be that of self-destruction. Vishal therefore brings a timely message and shows how profoundly and meaningfully the Bible does have the prescription for bringing healing to the nations that have never known human dignity or social, economic, and political freedoms."
Ranald Macaulay, Founder of ‘Christian Heritage’, Cambridge, England
"After the seismic shocks of the recent financial crisis (the after effects of which are still unknown) I know no other book I would rather have anyone read. Not since Francis Schaeffer’s ‘How Should we then Live?’ in 1977 have we had so lucid and far-ranging an explanation of what troubles the global community. The author’s scholarship and intellectual penetration are everywhere apparent, yet never at the expense of a simple, straightforward and even disarming narrative. I can’t recommend it too highly."
David Lyle Jeffrey, PhD., FRSC, Distinguished Professor of Literature and the Humanities Baylor University, Waco, TX
"This is a highly accessible intellectual history, part spiritual autobiography, part prophetic warning to the declining West. Mangalwadi's perspective is that of a widely-read Christian from the 'Global South.' From it he provides a sober, unflattering assessment of our identity crisis, showing how it results from an under-nourished, severely atrophied world-view, increasingly divorced as we are from the biblical foundation that once gave us both coherence and a self transcending sense of purpose."
Jeff Fountain, Director, Schuman Centre for European Studies, The Netherlands
"This book is well overdue! If there is one book that has shaped Europe's art, architecture, commerce, education, ethics, family life, freedom, government, healthcare, law, language, literature, music, politics, science, social reform and much more, it is the Bible. Yet Biblical illiteracy is almost universal in Europe today. Ignorance or prejudice has kept the Bible out of school curricula at all levels—with serious consequences. We need Vishal's clear, prophetic, Eastern voice to jolt us back to reality before our rich biblical heritage slips beyond our grasp."
Eugene Habecker, President, Taylor University
"An intriguing and necessary read. While the subject matter is of immense importance to understanding Western civilization, rarely have I seen this topic addressed with the breadth represented here. Vishal references competing "truth claims" and discusses their inadequacies for providing hope for a world engaged in ever increasing upheaval. I'm persuaded that reading this book will become an important part of the Christian university curriculum."
Art Lindsley, Senior Fellow, the C. S. Lewis Institute, Washington DC
"Vishal’s book is one of a kind; vast in scope, penetrating in its depth, prophetic in its message, yet easy to read. If we fail to listen and recover the importance of the Bible in personal and public life, then the sun may set on the West. This book is a tract for our times and a must read for anyone concerned with impacting our culture."
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Janet Parshall offers an interesting radio interview with Vishal Mangalwadi - http://www.revelationmovement.com/instructors/blog_post/25