What do you think?
Rate this book
This Book Changed Everything: The Bible’s Amazing Impact on Our World
When George Washington had successfully led the American Revolution, he declined to become King George I of the USA. He chose to become the president, the first among equals. Biblically inspired political, social and economic vision radically changed the course of our history, our institutions and our ideals, besides, of course, bringing deep changes in our individual selves.
This Book Changed Everything, the latest book by a foremost Christian thinker of our age, Vishal Mangalwadi, is a tour de force that will redefine the way we look at the Bible’s transforming influence on everything that our modern world cherishes. The Bible, Mangalwadi argues, empowered little people who challenged the might of great empires and turned tiny nations into economic superpowers. It delivered humankind from superstition and gave them the courage and confidence to reshape the world. At the root of this revolution was the acknowledgment of God’s Revelation as the only reliable guide to build our lives as well as our nations on.
In 15 well-argued chapters, Mangalwadi demonstrates the role of Revelation on areas as diverse as epistemology, language, law, economics, political offices, nations and communities, church and tolerance. Chapters on journalism and literature by Jenny Taylor and Ashish Alexander respectively contribute significantly to this volume’s argument—that This Book, indeed, Changed Everything!
“When a brilliant philosopher from India gives his version of the history of the West, we should listen. In the 19th century, Tocqueville showed how the Bible made America different from France; today Vishal Mangalwadi shows why the Bible made Europe different from the rest of the world.”
— ERIC METAXAS, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Martin Luther and Bonhoeffer; Nationally syndicated host of The Eric Metaxas Radio Show
“I have come to believe that Vishal may well be Christianity’s most able global thinker. Not as famous as some, he travels deep into both the Bible and the historical record to uncover a treasure, and then he travels the globe sharing that treasure. I believe that he is one of the founders of the next great world-wide phase of Christian civilization.”
— JERRY BOWYER, Financial Economist, Author, President of Bowyer Research; Editor of Townhall Finance.
“This book changed everything? That is a bold statement. Can any book do that? Most people have no idea of the Bible’s influence upon our world. Vishal explores history, gives evidence and powerful arguments that the modern world is inconceivable without the Bible.”
— STEVE GREEN, Chairman, Museum of the Bible, Washington DC
“From his Eastern perspective, Vishal helps us Westerners recover our memory and true identity. Building on his earlier book, The Book that Made Your World, Vishal here re-tells us our own story and opens our eyes to recognize the true wellsprings of our civilization. Short memories breed short-sightedness. Vishal re-roots us in the past so that we regain a vision for the future in order to be effectively engaged in the present.”
— JEFF FOUNTAIN, Founder, Schuman Study Centre, Amsterdam
“Formerly Christian West has lost the foundational values and convictions for democracy; the ethics which valued human life, liberty, and dignity. Vishal Mangalwadi has worked amongst the destitute of India as well as taught in institutions of higher education. He has spoken to parliamentarians and senators, for he speaks with the clear perspective of a world pilgrim and a life experience that spans East and West alike.”
— PROF. DR.
This Book Changed Everything, the latest book by a foremost Christian thinker of our age, Vishal Mangalwadi, is a tour de force that will redefine the way we look at the Bible’s transforming influence on everything that our modern world cherishes. The Bible, Mangalwadi argues, empowered little people who challenged the might of great empires and turned tiny nations into economic superpowers. It delivered humankind from superstition and gave them the courage and confidence to reshape the world. At the root of this revolution was the acknowledgment of God’s Revelation as the only reliable guide to build our lives as well as our nations on.
In 15 well-argued chapters, Mangalwadi demonstrates the role of Revelation on areas as diverse as epistemology, language, law, economics, political offices, nations and communities, church and tolerance. Chapters on journalism and literature by Jenny Taylor and Ashish Alexander respectively contribute significantly to this volume’s argument—that This Book, indeed, Changed Everything!
“When a brilliant philosopher from India gives his version of the history of the West, we should listen. In the 19th century, Tocqueville showed how the Bible made America different from France; today Vishal Mangalwadi shows why the Bible made Europe different from the rest of the world.”
— ERIC METAXAS, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Martin Luther and Bonhoeffer; Nationally syndicated host of The Eric Metaxas Radio Show
“I have come to believe that Vishal may well be Christianity’s most able global thinker. Not as famous as some, he travels deep into both the Bible and the historical record to uncover a treasure, and then he travels the globe sharing that treasure. I believe that he is one of the founders of the next great world-wide phase of Christian civilization.”
— JERRY BOWYER, Financial Economist, Author, President of Bowyer Research; Editor of Townhall Finance.
“This book changed everything? That is a bold statement. Can any book do that? Most people have no idea of the Bible’s influence upon our world. Vishal explores history, gives evidence and powerful arguments that the modern world is inconceivable without the Bible.”
— STEVE GREEN, Chairman, Museum of the Bible, Washington DC
“From his Eastern perspective, Vishal helps us Westerners recover our memory and true identity. Building on his earlier book, The Book that Made Your World, Vishal here re-tells us our own story and opens our eyes to recognize the true wellsprings of our civilization. Short memories breed short-sightedness. Vishal re-roots us in the past so that we regain a vision for the future in order to be effectively engaged in the present.”
— JEFF FOUNTAIN, Founder, Schuman Study Centre, Amsterdam
“Formerly Christian West has lost the foundational values and convictions for democracy; the ethics which valued human life, liberty, and dignity. Vishal Mangalwadi has worked amongst the destitute of India as well as taught in institutions of higher education. He has spoken to parliamentarians and senators, for he speaks with the clear perspective of a world pilgrim and a life experience that spans East and West alike.”
— PROF. DR.
419 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 7, 2019
67 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Vishal Mangalwadi
55 books123 followersVishal Mangalwadi (1949-) is an international lecturer, social reformer, cultural and political columnist, and author of thirteen books. Born and raised in India, he studied philosophy at universities, in Hindu ashrams, and at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. In 1976 he turned down several job offers in the West to return to India where he and his wife, Ruth, founded a community to serve the rural poor. Vishal continued his involvement in community development serving at the headquarters of two national political parties, where he worked for the empowerment and liberation of peasants and the lower castes.
His first book, The World of Gurus, was published in 1977 by India's Vikas Publishing House, and serialized in India’s then-largest weekly, Sunday. It is still used as a text book in universities. It was Mangalwadi’s book on the New Age Movement and India: The Grand Experiment, that first brought his works to the attention of the American public. In demand worldwide, Vishal is a dynamic and engaging speaker who has lectured in 34 countries. He enjoys simplifying complex ideas and inspiring despairing hearts with hope.
His first book, The World of Gurus, was published in 1977 by India's Vikas Publishing House, and serialized in India’s then-largest weekly, Sunday. It is still used as a text book in universities. It was Mangalwadi’s book on the New Age Movement and India: The Grand Experiment, that first brought his works to the attention of the American public. In demand worldwide, Vishal is a dynamic and engaging speaker who has lectured in 34 countries. He enjoys simplifying complex ideas and inspiring despairing hearts with hope.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 10, 2019
Read this book. You will not be disappointed. In true Schaefferian style, Vishal adeptly demonstrates how the Bible changed the world. Just as Jesus brought a shift so climatic that we could not even record the days of the year the same way, the Bible brought a seismic shift to way we think, live, and operate in this world. Translated into the language of the people the Bible has had a powerful impact on the way the world works. I could write an essay or even a book on how important Vishal's work is, but I would much rather you read his books starting with this one.
August 30, 2024
I valued this book for Mangalwadi's outsider perspective on Western Christian culture, observing the ways in which it differentiates from his native Indian culture. I think the most compelling chapters were those on revelation, objective truth, language, and scriptural authority over law and leaders. He also examines interesting ideas around the Bible's impact on economics, empires/nations, and industrialisation which I hadn't considered, but may need more time to mull on. Guest writers contribute chapters on the Bible's impact on literature and the 'novel' format, as well as journalism. Mangalwadi seems to write with a 'stream of consciousness' style that namedrops different people and events, which can be hard to follow when the examples are fairly obscure even to a 'relatively informed reader'. Occasionally, the praise Mangalwadi gives can sometimes feel like a glorifying of the West, and particularly America. However, I think Mangalwadi makes a successful case for the Bible's impact on Western culture, politics, and philosophy etc., as well as for its decline due to increasing detachment from Biblical authority and truth. He states that there will be at least 2 more volumes, but neither have seemingly yet been published. 3.5 stars
February 3, 2021
A challenging much needed worldview on how an ancient text some consider irrelevant outdated shaped aspects of our western society. The fight for tolerance and free speech was a biblical idea, and that allowed truth to make its case. But with the lack of value for truth we see our civilization, communities deteriorating .
A must read, especially in our times for understanding on how we as humans can move forward
A must read, especially in our times for understanding on how we as humans can move forward
April 12, 2023
A book for our times
I found this book extremely helpful and insightful. For a person with a reading disability it takes extreme effort to get throw a book of this size but this book was well worth the effort. It is probably the best book I have read sense collage.
I found this book extremely helpful and insightful. For a person with a reading disability it takes extreme effort to get throw a book of this size but this book was well worth the effort. It is probably the best book I have read sense collage.
February 20, 2023
3/10
Great premise about the impact of the Bible on Europe and how this affected the world...but it falls flat on its face.
It reads like a rambling sophomore university essay where they're so excited to flex their surface knowledge of trivia they just learned that they simply regurgitate it out onto the page. Honestly painful to read, I couldn't get past the first chapter.
This juvenile attitude toward writing and knowledge makes sense considering he fluffed the front of his book with EIGHT pages of people praising his book, many of them repeats from the duct jacket and the back cover; talk about insecure.
He also starts off the book by praising Zwingli, and falling into these tired tropes of "Dark Ages" Europe and implicitly accepting "Reformation" arguments at face value because he sees Enlightenment Era liberalism in them (which he laughably sees as a GOOD thing). I laughed out loud when he said the Wars of Religion wasn't a fight between different religions but "God's Word vs. religion," like that was a fantastically deep statement and not a profoundly idiotic one.
I couldn't stop reading this garbage fast enough. Only gave him an extra star because the premise is great and he seems to have *some* knowledge of the subject, but man is he a disorganized midwit.
Great premise about the impact of the Bible on Europe and how this affected the world...but it falls flat on its face.
It reads like a rambling sophomore university essay where they're so excited to flex their surface knowledge of trivia they just learned that they simply regurgitate it out onto the page. Honestly painful to read, I couldn't get past the first chapter.
This juvenile attitude toward writing and knowledge makes sense considering he fluffed the front of his book with EIGHT pages of people praising his book, many of them repeats from the duct jacket and the back cover; talk about insecure.
He also starts off the book by praising Zwingli, and falling into these tired tropes of "Dark Ages" Europe and implicitly accepting "Reformation" arguments at face value because he sees Enlightenment Era liberalism in them (which he laughably sees as a GOOD thing). I laughed out loud when he said the Wars of Religion wasn't a fight between different religions but "God's Word vs. religion," like that was a fantastically deep statement and not a profoundly idiotic one.
I couldn't stop reading this garbage fast enough. Only gave him an extra star because the premise is great and he seems to have *some* knowledge of the subject, but man is he a disorganized midwit.
June 18, 2022
An outstanding book on the influence of the rise of cultures who based their societies upon the Bible. Written by an Indian, I think that most non speaking people outside of Western society can see the beauty of a society built upon the ethos of the Bible. In Western cultures, we are victims of a collective amnesia where we think that we know things, (thanks Google), but all of our finest institutions have been built on people who care for others, and that care for our neighbour comes from a love of God and biblical principles. This current generation is full of themselves as some sort of elite beings in history. They think that their intellectualism and ethical constructs are built on logic; but without grace, mercy and care for the most vulnerable, we will descend into a chaotic self-centredness. Welcome to the 21st century.
May 21, 2023
An excellent book
The first thing I liked about this book was that it was written by someone with a non-Christian background both in terms of religion and culture as it would be easy to accuse someone with a Christian upbringing to be bias towards the Bible. However, while I found some sections difficult to comprehend, I felt the author present a comprehensive case as to how the Bible has shaped our word for the better.
The first thing I liked about this book was that it was written by someone with a non-Christian background both in terms of religion and culture as it would be easy to accuse someone with a Christian upbringing to be bias towards the Bible. However, while I found some sections difficult to comprehend, I felt the author present a comprehensive case as to how the Bible has shaped our word for the better.
June 14, 2024
Excellent work!!
This was an excellent and very educational treatise of the Bible's role in the development of the West and what we call the modern world. It also outlines how the West has lost its leading edge as a result of moving away from the biblical laws and principles that were its foundation. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the author's series on this topic.
This was an excellent and very educational treatise of the Bible's role in the development of the West and what we call the modern world. It also outlines how the West has lost its leading edge as a result of moving away from the biblical laws and principles that were its foundation. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the author's series on this topic.
August 11, 2022
The author has a whole lot to share. He has done a lot of research however. He has clearly been influenced by Westerners with a very negative bend against certain elements of society. When he waxed eloquent on those negative issues he gets nauseating but when when is sharing research he is a god read.
April 27, 2021
This book truly does make the case for the "Amazing Impact" the Bible has had on our nation and culture - even the whole world. Worth the read.
January 1, 2022
Very similar to The Book That Made Your World. It seems to be volume 1 of a series that will expand on the subject, but the rest of the series isn't out yet.
March 6, 2023
Essential reading if you want to understand your world. Praise Jesus.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews