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Jesus Made Your Moral World (Even If You’re an Atheist)
The poet Linda Ellis tells us the most important element on any tombstone is the dash between the years. “It matters not how much we own‚ the cars‚ . . . the house‚ . . . the cash‚” she writes. “What matters is how we live and love‚ and how we spend our dash.”
The Gospels tell us Christ made a world of difference in the space between his birth and death. He didn’t come simply to die for us; he came to live for us.
What difference did he make? Let’s imagine a world without his influence.
Value of Children
The ancient world was a dangerous place to be born. The infant mortality rate‚ writes Robin Lane Fox‚ was “almost inconceivably high.” In fact‚ writes Everett Ferguson‚ it’s “the dominant fact about children in the ancient world.” Child sacrifice could be found in pagan Samaritan rituals. Abortion was often attempted.
In ancient Rome‚ a common practice involved “setting out” unwanted children—due gender discrimination‚ fear of omens‚ the child’s deformity‚ or simply a desire to lessen a family’s financial burden. Many died from exposure‚ and those who survived often became slaves. Exposure was practiced in several countries and across the economic spectrum. An Egyptian papyrus dating to 1 BC gave this advice: “If by chance you bear a child‚ if it is a boy‚ let it be‚ if it is a girl‚ expose it.”
But then Jesus entered into the place of hatred and spite‚ teaching and practicing a different way‚ forever increasing the value of children. People brought little children to Jesus‚ and he welcomed them with open arms‚ telling his followers the key to faith is to be more like a little child (Matt. 18:3–4; 19:14).
Christians took notice. A second-century letter announced that Christians “marry‚ as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring.”
On his conversion to Christianity in 312‚ the emperor Constantine enacted laws credited with discouraging newborn exposure and encouraging the rescue of abandoned infants; 62 years later‚ under another Christian emperor‚ Valentinian I‚ child exposure was legally prohibited. Believers from the first few centuries viewed the protection of orphans as a Christian duty‚ raising them in their homes and‚ later‚ using church buildings or monasteries as shelters and schools (James 1:27).
Do you value children? Jesus and his followers are directly responsible for creating this cultural instinct.
Value of Women
The world before Christ wasn’t known for its elevation of women. Severe discrimination was commonplace‚ and female children were far more likely to be abandoned‚ exposed‚ or aborted. Even in Rome‚ women were treated (at best) as second-class citizens‚ unable to vote or hold political office.
Then Jesus entered the picture. Female followers supported Jesus’s ministry (Luke 8:1–3)‚ told others of his good news (John 4:29)‚ and were among the first to witness his resurrection (Matt. 28:1–10).
The world before Christ wasn’t known for its elevation of women. Then Jesus entered the picture.
The followers of Jesus took notice. Paul demanded husbands love their wives like Christ loved the church. In terms of salvation‚ the church wasn’t to distinguish between “male and female‚” since we are “all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). The Western traditions of human rights‚ human equality‚ and women’s rights have been strongly influenced by Christian thought. The countries with the most rights for women have traditions of Christian influence.
Do you value women? Jesus and his followers made that standard.
Care for Widows and the Elderly
Concern for those nearing the end of life wasn’t a high priority in the ancient world‚ and in many places‚ care for those without family wasn’t a social concern either.
But Jesus saw value in those most in need of aid. He raised to life the son of a widow‚ pointed to another widow as the prime example of virtue‚ and made sure his mother was cared for in the wake of his death. He railed against religious customs that “[devoured] widows’ houses” (Mark 12:40) or allowed people to sideline their responsibility of providing for their aging parents (7:10–13).
Again‚ Jesus’s followers took notice. Paul’s first letter to Timothy outlines the high honor given to older men and women and tells the people of God to provide money and care to the widows among them. “If anyone does not provide for his relatives‚ and especially for members of his household‚” the apostle warned‚ “he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8).
The non-Christian world took notice as well. The second-century satirist Lucian claimed an imprisoned believer was constantly visited by others of the Christian community—a people he described as “poor wretches” and “aged widows and orphan children.”
Do you demonstrate practical care to widows and the elderly? Jesus and his followers did.
Value of Human Life
It’s been said nothing is as painful as watching “man’s inhumanity to man.” The Roman gladiator games are an example. During a four-month celebration for the emperor Trajan‚ as many as 10‚000 gladiators fought to the death. Christians were often thrown into the arena to be eaten by wild animals—and people watched it for sport.
That is‚ until the fifth century‚ when a monk named Telemachus jumped into the arena to try to stop a gladiatorial match and was stoned by the crowd for interrupting their sport. Moved by Telemachus’s martyrdom‚ the Christian emperor Honorius banned gladiator combat once and for all.
Do you value human life‚ and would you find watching people die for sport inhumane? Jesus and his followers were influential in making the world see this too.
Human Equality
Slaves made up as much as 30 percent of the Italian populace in the century before Christ was born—and nearly half were owned by the elite‚ who constituted less than 2 percent of the population. The mortality rate among these slaves was morbid indeed; a slave was lucky to survive his or her teen years‚ while the average life expectancy among the general population in Rome was in the mid-20s.
But Jesus taught a new way of envisioning our relationships with one another. He questioned the hearts of those who wished to be master over others rather than seeking to be servant of all (Mark 9:35). He taught that all who belong to God are brothers and sisters to Christ and to one another (Matt. 12:46–49; 23:8; Luke 8:21). He challenged his Jewish contemporaries with an illustration in which he praised a Samaritan as the example of virtue (Luke 10:25–37)‚ and he angered them with tales of God’s mercy and compassion toward those outside their religious and social circles (4:16–29). He offered healing and salvation regardless of social class (Mark 5:1–43).
For those who owed (or were owed) a sizable debt (which often led to slavery when unpaid)‚ Jesus taught the principles of forgiveness and love of neighbor over love of money (Matt. 6:12‚ 19–24; 18:21–35). The concept of “lording it over others” wasn’t to characterize the people of God (Matt. 20:25–27; Mark 10:42–44); instead‚ the world would know Christians by their love for each other (John 13:35).
The followers of Jesus took notice. It’s no coincidence the British abolitionist William Wilberforce was a Christian‚ that nearly two-thirds of his American counterparts were ministers‚ or that leaders for racial equality such as Martin Luther King Jr. operated out of deep Christian principles.
Do you value freedom‚ dignity‚ and equality across racial divides? Jesus and his followers led the way.
Charity
It’s hard to find any record in the ancient world of an organized charity effort or a place of healing for all in need. Romans would help injured soldiers recuperate‚ but only for their own benefit‚ so the soldiers could return to the field.
The concept of ‘lording it over others’ wasn’t to characterize the people of God; instead‚ the world would know Christians by their love for each other.
By contrast‚ Jesus describes recipients of the kingdom as actively caring for the hurting among us. “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers‚” said the Lord‚ “you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40).
The followers of Jesus took notice. In the fourth century‚ Christians established the first hospitals for all in need‚ whether their maladies were leprosy or blindness. In the Middle Ages‚ there was one source for more than 2‚000 hospitals: the Benedictine monks; by the 16th century‚ these same monks were caring for the sick within their 37‚000 monasteries.
The tradition is still obvious. From the Salvation Army to the Red Cross to the YMCA‚ from Francis of Assisi to Mother Teresa‚ from Florence Nightingale to Louis Pasteur—the history of modern medicine and the care for hurting people pays its debt to the Christian story.
In Paris today stands possibly “the oldest continuously operating hospital in the world”—known for a millennium as Hôtel-Dieu (house of God). Think of the closest hospital to you—chances are the name Baptist‚ Methodist‚ St. Vincent’s‚ St. Luke’s‚ or something similar is attached. That’s not a coincidence.
What difference did Jesus make? A world of difference. And he’s still living and active‚ waiting to change lives for the better.
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