THE CITY

The City
theisms and as such in order to conduct an orderly conversation I
will limit my topic to just one kind. My argument could be applied
to both Islam and Judaism, but here I will focus only on the theism
with which I am most familiar: Christianity, a worldview that
Dawkins accuses of frequent dastardly deeds. I am interested only
in mainstream versions of Christianity, by which I mean versions
of Christianity that have had venerable histories and numerous
adherents – the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Russian Orthodoxy,
Methodism, the Baptist tradition, and so forth. I grant that there
have been numerous individual outliers in history who have claimed
to be Christians but whose deeds have been evil and who have not
gained substantial followings. Any worldview, including atheism,
will have such outliers.
Do the beliefs of mainstream Christian traditions promote the
virtues of political cooperation? I contend that they do. In fact, the
cooperative tools that Christianity offers are superior to the tools
that are usually otherwise available. In making this claim I will be
advancing a principle-based argument – not a historical or practicebased
one – and I will be analyzing particular Christian beliefs and
then asking what the corresponding traits are that are promoted by
these beliefs. I will not be analyzing all of the different traits that
Christianity promotes. My point will simply be, against Dawkins,
that some dispositional traits are cooperative and that they follow
naturally from Christian beliefs.
A capacity for hope and a desire for stability are the particular
traits that I have in mind, and that I think that are robustly promoted
by Christianity. For starters, Christianity teaches a strong view of
divine providence. God exists, God is sovereign, and God guides
human affairs in providential ways. In fact, God’s interest in human
affairs is deeply benevolent: “And we know that in all things God
works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called
according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NIV). God allows humans
a sphere of decision-making autonomy, but he also at the same time
orchestrates our circumstances in constructive ways. The question,
of course, is what exactly is the practical meaning of this providential
orchestration?
Consider the trait of hope. Does Christianity’s robust divine
94