Questions about influence

 Richard Dawkins ought to be known as a biologist, but he’s famous for being an atheist. After outraging conservative Christians for decades, he recently said he considered himself a cultural Christian. His remark established new levels of outrage among conservative Christians.

I grew up among believers and could have told Dawkins he was about to step in it. But I’m not sure what he was supposed to say.

Two questions are at play:

First, has Christianity influenced Western culture?

The answer is so obvious that many people think that’s all there is to it.

But the second question is: Even if it’s obvious that Christianity has had an enormous influence on Western culture, is that a good thing? Should we rejoice or mourn?

Dawkins was trying to say, in an almost conciliatory way, that he’d absorbed many values as part of the culture. Perhaps it would be fair to say that he absorbed many of the prejudices against non-Christian religions as part of the culture.

I can see the logical distinction between questions about influence: Was I influenced? And, if so, was that influence valuable or harmful?

I have been thinking about my early years in the Navy. There’s no question the Navy influenced me. But that’s not the most interesting question.