The Joy Of The Savior's Birth

Scott S. Powell at the Washington Times offers a piece on the joy of the savior’s birth.

For Christians, Christmas is a unique time of joy associated with the birth of the savior Jesus, whose life, death and resurrection makes possible a personal and intimate relationship with God. Jesus was born a Jew, and his teachings were built on the foundation of the Torah and the Old Testament. And so it is that Christians and Jews have much in common and share a natural mutual affinity.

Christians and Jews have both faced persecution throughout history, and hostility is again intensifying. And that persecution comes not just from radical Islamists, but also from secular progressives who now dominate Western culture.

Various towering intellectuals even wish that Christ had never been born. Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, who separately inspired and influenced the rise of murderous totalitarian regimes in Russia and Germany both condemned Christianity and religion in general. For Marx, “religion [was] the opium of the people.” Nietzsche said Christianity was “the greatest of all imaginable corruptions.”

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is an American film classic enjoyed by more during the Christmas season today than when it first came out in 1946. Directed by the legendary Frank Capra, the film is an otherworldly story revolving around a main character played by Jimmy Stewart in a narrative showing what life would have been like if he had never been born. Similarly, since Capra’s collective cinematographic works exhibit a profoundly Christian vision, it’s worth extrapolating on how history and the present would be different if Christ had never been born.

History shows that the Christian Church has brought about more changes for the advancement and benefit of people than any other force or movement. Nonbelieving secular-minded people might be surprised by the myriad achievements by committed Christians — progressive accomplishments that they too celebrate.

Before Christ, human life was cheap and expendable all over the world. In the Americas, the Near East, Africa, the Middle East and the Far East child sacrifice was a common phenomenon. Babies, particularly females — who were considered inferior — were regularly abandoned. Author George Grant points out: “Before the explosive and penetrating growth of medieval Christian influence, the primordial evils of abortion, infanticide, abandonment, and exposure were a normal part of everyday life ” That changed in the West with the 6th century Christian Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian whose Law Code declared child abandonment and abortion a crime.

… Suffice it to say that life both at home and around the world would no doubt be qualitatively worse today if Christ had never been born and Christianity had not become the greatest spiritual force ever to advance the care and development of people. Indeed, there is reason to sing “Joy to the World.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/24/what-would-the-world-look-like-if-christ-had-never/