Did Christianity transform the world for better or for worse?

To talk about Christianity’s contribution to the development of civilization, we can cite numerous aspects of civilization that Christianity reformed historically. But first we must understand two things: what is civilization? And what are the principles and ideas on which Christianity built its vision and carried out its contribution to the development of the world. First, what is civilization? Civilization is the total sum of cultural, social, spiritual, ethical, and material advances that elevates the values, fulfillment and happiness of humanity. If we wanted to encapsulate the Christian thought in one sentence, although this is an exaggeration by all means, here it is: Christianity is Emmanuel (God with us) - more than just watching over us, and more than a caring loving God in heaven - God, in Christ, is one of us. So when God created the universe, He loved and valued every creature. And to redeem the world from evil, sin and suffering, God, in Jesus Christ, became man (i.e. one of us) and accepted suffering to death. Even after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, He is still with us, in the Eucharist and by the work of His Spirit. It is this union of God and humanity that distinguishes the Christian thought and faith. When our ancestors saw Christ and lived with him, they were transformed. He was the promise of God to Israel. He not only brought goodness, cured suffering, and fed people, but also assured people that He -God incarnate- is with them in spite of everything even to the point of death and beyond death for everlasting life. If people got into trouble, he was there, forgiving people, healing their moral and physical wounds, selfishness and aggressiveness, encouraging them patiently to change their heart, and building hope in a better kingdom, ushering the kingdom of God, a civilization of love. And Christ’s kingdom, which is in heaven, is infused and extended on earth through the Church (Thy kingdom come), where salvation has to reach to all nations. In other words, unless the Christ is born, there is no redemption. “The Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom” With these words Jesus talked to people. This is why it was the Christian civilization that, above all other civilizations, enriched man and relieved his suffering. One of the first things Christianity revolutionized was its regard of human dignity as essential regardless of the person’s social class, race, or gender. In pagan Rome, it was an entertainment to watch gladiators kill each other for the sake of the pleasure of the emperor - In Christian Rome, it was no longer entertained.In pagan Rome, the norm was to get rid of the not-so-useful individuals: the elderly, the crippled, the weak children, and the sick as they were a burden especially in emergency situations such as wars and famines. In Christian Rome, the dignity of every human came to be respected and cherished - no one could be dispensed with. Christians eliminated abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and killing of the weak. Christianity also eliminated to a great extent the secondary class condition of women including polygamy, prostitution, and divorce. Slavery came to be abolished gradually in Christian nations with the Church from the beginning advocating the dignity of every man “whether free or slave.”Even in war, when Christians could not convince their rulers to settle their conflicts peacefully, the church required them to abstain from battles in certain days of the week and during holy days such as Lent and Easter. Furthermore, Christianity established measures and norms to protect the weak, children and women in conflicts and wars. Christianity does not ask people to raise up their voices to God in heaven, but dialogue with God who lives in them through the sacraments and in a special way through the Eucharist. Because since God became man, man could no longer live for this world, but for a world here and beyond - extended to the next life. Humanism, in the 14th century, based itself on man as an end in himself. Man is what matters, and the goal is man’s fulfillment regardless of which way he pursues. What humanism taught was a short-sighted vision of Christianity. It was Christianity that revealed man as created in the image of God, and that he was “the glory” of God in his creatures. But Christianity went further and said that man’s happiness is not in a merely material world, but in God’s gifts both spiritual and material, and that the material world was therefore to be sanctified by the presence of God in man. In a world of suffering, Christianity preached hope in God, a loving father, not a tyrant judge. As the Father forgives, Christianity preached forgiveness rather than revenge. Even suffering, the age-old enemy of man, was now considered part of inner growth and maturity, if accepted without bitterness and grudges. The ultimate suffering, death, has been conquered by Christ who accepted the cross and curse of his people, and transformed Saul to Paul. Since primordial time, man searched for God to worship. Many Eastern religions claim the truth about God. However, they offer varied images of God, or gods, mostly as impersonal force. Among world religions, the monotheist religions alone develop the idea of a personal God, a God who cares about people. These are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But only Christianity offers a salvation to humanity’s loneliness, suffering, and evil, through the cross of Christ. Christ’s cross carried Jesus, both man and God - the man with his hands stretched out in love embracing all his brothers, the Son of God whose cross reaches up to heaven and touches the earth to reconcile God with man. Christ, being the Son of God, knows the ultimate love of His Father and he alone can put forward the case of a fallen and despairing humanity. How can death be a blessing? Only by accepting it in trust of God’s powerful love and promise. By loving to the point of accepting the cross and insufficiency of the earthly life, as Jesus accepted suffering to the death on the cross, humanity can be resurrected with Christ. The cross, accepted in love, is not the sign of defeat but of victory. This is the great promise offered by Christianity.