As we see Christianity becoming increasingly unpopular in the West, it is interesting to reflect on some things that Jesus Christ brought to the world through his teaching and the lives of his followers. I think many who are tired of the influences of the Bible, which they see as binding or intruding on their freedoms, have no idea that if they banish Christianity from the scene, many of the things that they have come to value will eventually disappear as well because they are rooted in the teachings of Christ.

Some things that many forget, or never knew about Christianity (taken from What's So Great About Chrisianity by Dinesh D'Souza):

- the idea that love was the basis of getting married and preserving a happy marriage
- it introduced consent on the part of both the man and woman as prerequisites for marriage
-making the extension of respect to ordinary persons while taking into account their human failings and shortcomings - including our culture's powerful emphasis on compassion, helping the needy and reaching out to the distressed in lands far away
-the notion that the best way to lead is to serve others
-in the West, Christians built the first hospitals
-the preciousness and equal worth of every human life
-Christianity elevated the position of women in society (the Romans scorned it as a religion for women because it elevated them to equal footing in rules on adultery and marriage)
-Christians were first to start an anti-slavery movement
-The Christian revival that swept the country in the mid-eighteenth century (The First Great Awakening) created the moral foundation of the American Revolution
-The Second Great Awakening which swept through New England, New York and the interior of the country in the early nineteenth century helped fuel the drive for women's rights and the abolition of slavery
-modern science is an invention of medieval Christianity and the greatest breakthroughs in scientific reason have largely been the work of Christians

I fear that our ignorance of history is growing in this country as we focus more on technology and what it can do to make our lives "easier". Certainly, this is true intellectually as many educators and scientists turn a blind eye to the past in favor of scientific reasoning that is based on political ideals rather than facts or even sound theory.

I hear stories of hostile professors who go out of their way to embarass or fail students who are believers because they see Christians as weak, foolish or unenlightened (how ironic!). I was fortunate to grow up at a time where theories were still taught and prefaced as such -- I shudder to think what our young people are being taught and what challenges they are facing in trying to not only stand firm in their beliefs but to be able to speak freely of them in the classroom.

The next time you hear someone talking about Christians being an impedement to development or progress in this country, you might try gently reminding them of some of these "impedements" listed above.

Brad