Spreading salt

Interview | Scholar Alvin J. Schmidt on how Christianity has bettered society | Marvin Olasky

WORLD has criticized Zondervan for putting out the politically correct Bible translation known as Today’s New International Version, but the company also publishes some non-PC books.

One is Alvin J. Schmidt’s How Christianity Changed the World (2004), first published in 2001 under the clever but less descriptive title, Under the Influence, and largely ignored. It shouldn’t be, because these days American schools often deemphasize the contributions Western culture has made to the world, and particularly overlook the central role of Christianity in the development of hospitals, education, science, music, literature, family values, women’s rights, and much more.

Alvin J. Schmidt is a retired professor of sociology at Illinois College.