• By TERRY ROBINSON
• Advocate News Features staff
• Published: Nov 21, 2009

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In this season of Thanksgiving, the United States should be thankful for its Christian heritage.

That’s the view of the Rev. Russ Stevenson, the former longtime pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge and current pastor of River Community Church South in Burnside.

Stevenson, 72, said it was the deep influence of the Christian faith that has shaped our basic values.

“That’s our heritage. There’s no getting around it, and that’s something to give thanks for,” he said. “Western culture is the child of the Christian faith. That’s our roots. Even if you’re not a Christian, they still are the roots of what we have today.”

In his book “Forgotten Foundation (Reformation Press),” Stevenson argues, citing historical evidence, that the Christian faith led to the concentrated study of science, equal rights for all races and voting rights for women.

“It’s the Christians’ view of nature that enabled science to begin,” he said. “It’s the Christian view of the image of God that ended slavery. It’s the Christians’ view of male and female being equal in Genesis (Chapter) 1 that was the reason for the emancipation of women.”

Stevenson calls “Forgotten Foundation” a “kind of a cautionary tale” because so many people in our culture have forgotten or have even doubted our country’s religious heritage, Stevenson said.

“Those who forget their roots have no future,” he said. “If we neglect where we come from, there’s no way we can know where we’re going.”

The 159-page book examines “six great ideas” that formed the foundation of modern civilization.

“So many people today have not a clue about that,” Stevenson said. “That’s the amazing thing. It’s the Christian heritage of this country that has given it so many blessings.”

Stevenson, a graduate of Princeton who has been in the ministry for 46 years, said he got the idea for the book while teaching a course for college freshmen and high school seniors at First Presbyterian Church, where he served as pastor for 20 years.

He said the students encouraged him to write a book, saying the ideas from the course should be shared with a broader audience.

After his retirement from First Presbyterian in 2004, Steven spent eight months in New York researching. “Forgotten Foundation” was released earlier this year.