The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Jonathan M. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Read What if Jesus Had Never Been Born by D. James Kennedy
What if Jesus had never been born? I cannot actually say that this thought had ever crossed my mind before. The late D. James Kennedy discusses in this eye-opening book what the world might be like if Jesus had never existed.
An example cited at the start of the book is from the classic movie, It's a Wonderful Life. In this film George Bailey gets a chance to see what his hometown, friends and family would have been like if he never had been born. Maybe we could rename What if Jesus Had Never Been Born to It's a Wonderful World. It is almost impossible to imagine what the world would be like without the influence of Christ and Christians throughout the centuries.
Here is a brief glance at the contributions Christianity has made to society:
- Hospitals, which essentially began during the Middle Ages
- Universities and centers for higher learning, many of which started out as seminaries
- Literacy and education available to everyone
- Capitalism and free enterprise
- Representative government, particularly as it has been seen in America.
- Separation of political powers
- Civil liberties
- Abolition of slavery
- Modern science
- Condemnation of adultery, homosexuality, and other sexual sins
- Regard for human life
- Translation and putting into writing of many of the world's languages
- Development of music and the fine arts
- Salvation of countless souls
With the anti-Christian sentiment in the world today, it is hard to reconcile the many positive contributions Christians have made to society. Our world clamors for tolerance in everything except the tolerance of Bible-believing Christians.
Here is a narrative by James Allan Francis that sums up the whole issue:
"He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies and went through a mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race.
All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life."
What if Jesus Had Never Been Born was a very thought provoking book and I enjoyed it very much. I was inspired to see everything that has been done in this world by normal, everyday people who have been motivated by a love for Christ and His Word.
