A good book

I picked up a book yesterday entitled, "God is back, How the Global Revival Of Faith is Changing The World," by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge.

They are two Englishmen, educated at Oxford, and I don't know if they are followers of Christ.

But from what I have read (just the introduction so far) they seem to be "spot on" - of course maybe I should read more before I make that statement.

Let me quote from the inner flap of the book.

"On the street and in the corridors of power, religion is surging worldwide. From Russia to Turkey to India, nations that sore off faith in the last century - or even tried to stamp it out - are now run by avowedly religious leaders. Formerly secular conflicts like the one in Palestine have taken on an overtly religious cast. GOD IS BACK, shines a bright light on this huge, hidden world of faith, from exorcism in Sao Paulo to religious skirmishing in Nigeria, to televangelism in California and house churches in China.

Since the enlightenment, intellectuals have assumed that modernization would kill religion, and that religious America is an oddity. As GOD IS BACK argues, religion and modernity can thrive together, and America's approach to faith is becoming the norm. Many things have helped spark the global revival of religion, including the failure of communism and the rise of globalism. But above all, twenty first century faith is being fueled by a very American emphasis on competition and customer-driver attitude toward salvation.

These qualities have characterized this country's faith ever since the Founders seperated church and state, creating a religious free market defined by entrepreneurship, choice and personal revelation.

As market forces reshape the world, the tools and ideals of American evangelism are now spreading everywhere."

Interesting, interesting stuff.

To simplify, countries like China are expanding economically at such an explosive rate that the lack of a moral compass will implode the fabric of their society unless religion plays an important role.

Even the Chinese are edging toward the conclusion that God and modernization can go hand in hand, that spiritual wealth and material wealth go together.