in general and more specifically to the manner in which Jesus lived his life. The story
of Jesus is a vivid example of how Christians are told the story of a man who lived in
this world. Peter, one of Jesus’disciples, once said of Jesus,“He went about doing
good.”^70 We call your attention to the word“doing,”as that orientation is still part
of the Christian tradition. As Schmidt and his coauthors note,
There are things that Christians“do”that are motivated by their faith, therefore, they are
“religious”acts of intention. Christianity has never seen its activity limited to the vertical
(God-human) plane. It has always had a vigorous commitment to imitate the example of
Christ being in the everyday world and being of service to everyday people, believers or
otherwise.^71
Christianity, as a statement of“doing,”has also stressed hard work. The argument
was that“material success was taken to be one clue that a person was among the elect
and thus favored by God, which drove early Protestants to relentless work as a means of
confirming (and demonstrating) their salvation.”^72 Even today, hard work is commonly
valued in the West. When meeting a person for the first time, you often hear the ques-
tion“What do you do?”It is the“doing”that can be partially linked to Christianity.Christianity and the Future
Throughout this book, we discuss cultural attitudes toward time. From those discus-
sions and from your own observations, you can conclude that Americans are future
oriented—they are concerned with what will happen next rather than what is hap-
pening in the present. We suggest that one of the reasons for this attitude might
have some of its roots in Christianity, as one of the lessons of Christianity is that
the future is important. For Christians,“no matter what happened in the past, it is
the future that holds the greatest promise.”^73 God forgives mistakes and offers repen-
tance and incentives to move forward. Many Christians believe the phrase“Forgive-
ness is the miracle of a new beginning.”Acts 3:19 instructs the individual regarding
moving forward when it states,“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins
may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the
Lord.”This sort of theology allows the individual to value the future. Even the notion
of a heaven accents the future. You can see that emphasis on the future in Romans
6:23:“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.”In short, built into Christian ideology is a positive and optimistic outlook
toward the future—a belief thatthings will be better in the future.Christianity and Courage
One of the most enduring legacies of the Jesus story is the message of courage in the
face of adversity. As Smith notes,“Through the pages of the Gospels Jesus emerges as
a man of strength.”^74 It appears that studying the life of Jesus reveals a man who would
not be intimidated by his opponents and who repeatedly demonstrated strength, integ-
rity, and daring in the face of overwhelming odds. Without fear, Jesus preached against
what was established doctrine during his entire adult life. This made him not only a
prophet but also a hero. France, writing about Jesus, points out,“He seemed to delight
in reversing accepted standards, with his slogan:‘The first shall be last, and the last
first.’”^75 You can conclude that his practice of mixing with ostracized groups (such as
the unfortunate and prostitutes) was a brave and courageous act. These same two attri-
butes represent powerful values in American culture.120 CHAPTER 4•Worldview: Cultural Explanations of Life and Death
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