The Air We Breathe: How We All Came to Believe in Freedom, Kindness, Progress, and Equality

by Glen Scrivener

Overview

Is Christianity history? Or is Christian history the deepest explanation of the modern world?

Today in the west, many consider the church to be dead or dying. Christianity is seen as outdated, bigoted and responsible for many of society’s problems. This leaves many believers embarrassed about their faith and many outsiders wary of religion. But what if the Christian message is not the enemy of our modern Western values, but the very thing that makes sense of them?

In this fascinating book, Glen Scrivener takes readers on a journey to discover how the teachings of Jesus not only turned the ancient world upside down, but continue to underpin the way we think of life, worth, and meaning. Far from being a relic from the past, the distinctive ideas of Christianity, such as freedom, kindness, progress and equality, are a crucial part of the air that we breathe. As author Glen Scrivener says in his introduction: “The extraordinary impact of Christianity is seen in the fact that we don’t notice it".

This is a book for both believers and sceptics—giving Christians confidence to be open about their faith and showing non-Christians the ways in which the message of Jesus makes sense of their most cherished beliefs. Whoever you are, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for the values you hold dear as you discover the power and profundity of Jesus and his revolution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784987497
Publisher:	Good Book Co
Publication date:	05/14/2022
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Glen directs the evangelistic charity Speak Life. He is an ordained Anglican who writes, speaks, and makes media to equip the church and reach beyond it. He is married to Emma and is the author of 7 books, including 321, Long Story Short and The Gift.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Things were different back then
2. Equality
3. Compassion
4. Consent
5. Enlightenment
6. Science
7. Freedom
8. Progress
9. The Victory of the Victim
10. Choose Your Miracle
Final words

Editorial Reviews

Here is a fascinating, persuasive and urgently needed book. Glen presents the Christian cultural legacy as not only positive but so deeply ingrained in us that, without realising it, we often use it to attack what we dislike about ‘Christianity’. Glen also shows, by implication, what we stand to lose by Christianity’s erosion. Typically, however, he brings our attention back to the ‘author and perfecter’, Jesus Christ, asserting the simple (and maybe hard-to-face) conclusion that so much of what we know and love comes from him!

Joel Virgo (Senior Pastor

Brilliant, fascinating, readable and winsome! Glen Scrivener’s The Air We Breathe powerfully demonstrates how Christianity has shaped our Western values so much that we don’t even notice it. Highly recommended for skeptics, inquirers, believers, doubters and anyone wondering whether following Jesus still makes sense in the modern world. (Author

Secular Westerners reject Christian belief while feasting on its fruit. Whether the subject is enlightenment or equality, compassion or consent, science or freedom or progress, our neighbors have Christianity to thank for the values they cherish. This argument is provocative, and demonstrably true. Building on groundbreaking historical scholarship, Glen Scrivener has made a case that cannot be ignored. This is one of the most important books I’ve read in a long time

Matt Smethurst (Lead Pastor

We are so accustomed to both Christianity and the criticisms of Christianity that we often forget the great blessings the Christian religion has brought to the world. Whether you need to be reminded of these gifts or to unwrap them for the first time, this book will challenge, encourage and enlighten you.

Karen Swallow Prior (Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture

The Air We Breathe is a tour de force. Compressing 2,000 years of Western history into a couple of hundred pages, Glen has provided a brilliant summary of why the moral vision of the West is still fundamentally shaped by the Christian revolution. This is a must-read for any intellectually engaged person who is committed to human rights, compassion and progress but hasn’t yet been introduced to the one who inspired the values they believe in.

Justin Brierley (Host

This is such a well-written, captivating book; I could barely put it down. Glen shows us that human rights, equality and justice have been ludicrous and offensive notions for most of history. These notions hold sway today only because the Christian world view won. Don’t believe it? Read the book.

Tim Farron (Member of Parliament

It is not necessary to be a Christian to appreciate the force of Glen Scrivener’s argument in this punchy, engaging and entertaining book.

Tom Holland (Historian; Author

Glen Scrivener has done us a great favour. He has taken lengthy, scholarly (and sometimes boring) history tomes and transposed their ideas into something exciting, crystal clear, and almost impossible to put down. His central thesis is that our contemporary “secular” beliefs about equality, compassion, sexual consent and even progress all ultimately derive from the Christian faith. This thesis is not so controversial in learned circles, but with a few more books like it may soon become common knowledge. I hope this book is very widely read.

John Dickson (Author; Historian; Distinguished Fellow

The Air We Breathe is a pithy, energetic and compelling exploration of how Christianity has formed our moral thinking—whether we realize it or not—and why the truth or falsehood of Christianity matters for all of us today. Whatever your current beliefs, I highly recommend you give Glen Scrivener a hearing!

Rebecca McLaughlin (Author

We long for justice, freedom, and equality. We believe that each and every human being—no matter how rich or poor, powerful or weak—deserves fairness, dignity and respect. But where does this vision come from? Why are we so zealous for it? What if our values aren’t as self-evident as we think they are? This is why Glen Scrivener’s The Air We Breathe is a must-read for anyone who benefits from being WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic). This book will give us the basis for our shared vision. It will give us the story behind our values. By reading this book, we will humbly acknowledge the Composer from whose songsheet we’re singing.

Sam Chan (Third Space

Glen Scrivener does an outstanding job of showing us that the Western world is not nearly as post-Christian as we tend to think. The evidence and fruit of biblical influence is all around us—even our unbelief is more Christian than we might realise. This is an eye-opening and game-changing book.

Sam Allberry (Author; Speaker)

A riveting, compelling and refreshing read. Glen bottles the air of the centuries (millennia, even), distilling it into this well-researched, short, snappy read. The Air We Breathe is a thoughtful excavation of seven values at the heart of our society and where they came from. It sparkles with Glen’s characteristically poetic storytelling, while incisively capturing abstract concepts and grounding them in historical and contemporary cultural examples. I enjoyed reading this book, and I look forward to sharing it with others.

Kristi Mair (Author; Speaker; Academic)

Before the pandemic, like almost everyone else in London, I read Yuval Harari’s Sapiens. I was troubled by his cynical story of where we come from; even with my background in neuroscience, I found the reductionism unpersuasive. Glen Scrivener argues that our modern culture, and most of the values we hold dear, originated somewhere else entirely. Love him or hate him, the teachings of Jesus Christ have infused the air we breathe more than we know. A brilliant book.

Dr Andrew Sach (Pastor; Writer)

A really excellent book. The last time I read apologetics this compelling, it was by CS Lewis.

Stephen Holmes (Senior Lecturer in Theology