The Book That Made Your World

Every now and then it's interesting to have a foreigner give his impressions of how different he sees the America we think we know. That's what Alexis de Toqueville famously did in the 1830s. Now, a scholar from the country of India named Vishal Mangalwadi is the author of a book that presents a view of history that is both informative and provocative. It's called The Book That Made Your World. As a young man growing up in India, Mangalwadi wondered how the Western world became so successful while his own native India remained backward and in the "clutches of poverty." He came to the belief that the Bible created the soul of Western civilization, that the Bible is the root of all that is good in literature, science, education, and government. He says that the belief that man is made in the image of God, that man has creative ideas, a soul, and a freewill radically changed the world and its inhabitants.

Other civilizations were so different. During ancient times, heroism was defined by the power to conquer and rule. In medieval times, physical strength and the skill to use weapons became the criterion for heroism.

Eastern religions "looked for bliss within their consciousness" and tried to shut out the world by mantras, meditation, and silence. Although some non­ Western civilizations started out ahead in mathematics, in certain inventions, and in medicine, the lack of a belief that man was created in God's image left them way behind, and the West surged ahead. Christian truths led to success in the West and progress in science and inventions. This author, Vishal Mangalwadi, believes that rejection of the Bible and of biblical principles is causing the decline of America and Western civilization. The name of this book is The Book That Made Your World.

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