Denial of Christianity
The denial of Christian values is associated with the name of many philosophers and scientists. Perhaps the most striking example is Friedrich Nietzsche, who denied morality as such, arguing that all moral values in the world are relative. His ideas are revealed especially clearly in the book Ecce Homo.
The denial of Christian values was also propagated by communists, in particular by the ideologist of communism Karl Marx, who believed that egoism is a form of affirmation of the individual, and it is absolutely necessary.
It cannot be said that the followers of their ideas - the communists and, unfortunately, the Nazis - brought something positive to life; rather, exactly the opposite. Therefore, the idea of value relativism is apparently good only in theory, but applying it in practice, as history shows, is quite difficult. However, the situation with Christian values is no better: in the history of the spread of Christianity there are many sad and not at all peaceful pages.
CHAPTER I. THE FORMATION OF CHRISTIANITY AS A NEW CULTURAL-INTELLECTUAL FORCE
It is important to explain why the peoples of the Roman Empire, among whom, first of all, Christianity began to spread, were so receptive to this teaching, why did Christianity grow to the scale of a world religion? Our task is to reveal those natural, socio-cultural mechanisms that led to the fact that the teachings of the Jewish prophet Jesus became a world religion that had a huge impact on the course of world development.
Christian apologetics claims that, unlike all other religions of the world, Christianity was not created by people, but was given to humanity by God in a ready-made and complete form. However, the comparative history of religious teachings indicates that Christianity was not free from religious, philosophical, ethical and other influences. Christianity assimilated and rethought the previous ideological concepts of Judaism, Mithraism, ancient Eastern religions, and philosophical views. All this enriched and cemented the new religion, turning it into a powerful cultural and intellectual force, capable of opposing itself to all national and ethnic cults and turning into a mass supranational movement. The assimilation by early Christianity of the previous religious and cultural heritage did not at all turn it into a conglomerate of disparate ideas, but contributed to a fundamentally new teaching to gain universal recognition.
Liberty
Again, this concept is more of a legal one. Freedom is freedom of speech, entrepreneurship, freedom to choose religion or, for example, place of residence. Thus, freedom presupposes the right to independence, self-determination and independence of Russians.
Such freedom is good for a Christian if it is closely connected with church dogmas and contributes to the adherence to Christian values. Indeed, at the very beginning of biblical history, at the moment of the Fall, the ill-fated freedom of choice played a decisive role in the fate of people. Since then, people have not become wiser, and they often use such freedom not for their own benefit - at least from a Christian point of view. In this understanding, freedom in the absence of God in society is just as evil.
Justice
In the list of the Russian Orthodox Church, this item implies equality of rights, first of all, political. For justice to be realized, it is necessary that the courts be fair, there is no corruption and poverty, and social and political freedoms are guaranteed to everyone. Thus, a person must take a worthy place in society.
This understanding of justice does not directly correlate with its Christian perception, which clearly does not involve legal aspects. In a sense, worldly justice embodied is evil for a Christian.
Self-restraint
That is, sacrifice. It is clear that this is a refusal of selfish behavior, the ability to sacrifice oneself for the good of the Motherland and the immediate environment, a refusal to use people and the world for one’s own purposes.
It would seem that the value is closest to Christianity, however, there are some nuances here too. In everything it is necessary to maintain moderation, and prudence is most applicable to sacrifice. Moreover, from the point of view of Christianity, there is no need to sacrifice oneself for the sake of heretics or infidels.
Thus, self-restraint extends to fellow Christians, who make up the body of the Church.
Values of Christian Life
From the speeches of modern Christian authorities (who, of course, draw on a long tradition) it first appears that all important ideas come from God. He sends down to people moral laws, knowledge of how to avoid fears, evil, diseases, how to live in harmony with their environment and - most importantly - with their family. Thus, it is from him that information comes about the only true, according to Christians, way of life.
For every Christian, the most important value, of course, is God in his Triune form. This implies the perception of God as a perfect Spirit. The second is the Bible - the Word of God, which in Christianity is the most authoritative source. In fact, a person must check his every action against this indisputable source. The third value is the Holy Church, for each movement of Christianity it is different. The church in this case is understood not as a temple or a special place for prayer, but as a community of people united together to support each other's faith in Jesus Christ. Including, the sacraments of the Church are also important here, such as baptism, wedding, communion and some others.
If you do not understand the subtleties of the differences between different directions in Christianity - Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism in its various forms, various kinds of sects - then in general we can say that each of them has its own understanding of the Triune God. Of course, it coincides at least partially, and is fundamentally integral, which does not prevent one denomination from considering another as a heretical delusion, which is very difficult to save and set on the true path. Therefore, it will be easier to consider Christian moral values in the context of the movement most familiar to us - Orthodoxy.
Family values
And finally, the last item on the list is Christian values in the life of a modern family - love, care for elderly and young family members, fidelity.
If this is a marriage with an Orthodox person, then, of course, these ideas work. Therefore, like all others, family values in Christianity are perceived through a religious prism.
Thus, all eight of the listed ideas, the list of which was compiled by the Russian Orthodox Church, fit into the system of Christian values with some, sometimes very significant, restrictions. Universal human axiological ideas from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are combined with Christian ones insofar as, unfortunately. One more conclusion can be drawn from this: any value can become Christian if an authoritative organization such as the Russian Orthodox Church calls it such.
Family life
They are of particular importance in the process of forming a Christian family. Now they like to talk about the destruction of traditional family axiological ideas, which, of course, are understood as Orthodox and unconditional values.
The Christian family and its values are an extremely important element in Orthodoxy. Tradition plays an important role here, which is understood as the basis of the family way of life. These are established and established forms of behavior, customs that are passed on from the older generation to the younger. Within the framework of this understanding, in a Christian family the head must certainly be the husband, the wife becomes the keeper of the home, and children must unquestioningly obey and honor their parents. The values of upbringing in a Christian family are focused primarily on the spiritual life of the child, therefore, in parallel with secular upbringing, children are taught in Sunday schools and taught to regularly attend church and observe church rituals.
However, raising children does not begin with this, but with what the relationship between parents looks like. The child perceives all the subtleties very well and gets accustomed to them from childhood. In the future, he will consider the relationship between mother and father to be the norm. First of all, we are talking about spiritual relationships and connections between parents. Therefore, it is important to treat each other with respect, love and understanding - however, this extends far beyond the Christian family.
In family life, a child masters not only norms of behavior, but also other forms of spiritual culture, therefore, in Christianity, it is especially important to cultivate appropriate ideas in children.
What are values?
Let's start with a general concept. These are ideas that are shared and approved by the majority of people in a particular society, ideas about goodness, nobility, justice and similar categories. Such values are the ideal and standard for the majority; they strive for them and try to follow them. Society itself establishes and changes them, and each culture has its own set of significant values.
Accordingly, if values are an ideal for people, then the main Christian values are a standard and example for everyone who considers themselves to be any of the many Christian movements. Of course, first we should talk about eternal ideas, one way or another inherent in any variety of Christianity.
There are some points here in which human value and Christian value differ. Christianity defines value as a certain absolute good that has meaning for all people, regardless of what religion a person belongs to, if at all.
