Christianity

Our hurting world desperately needs the gift of authentic Christianity. Lives being transformed every day by the living Lord Jesus are proof that God’s word is true and his grace is amazing. Unfortunately, many of us settle for a religion about Jesus when we could have an intimate relationship with him. To experience such a relationship daily, as Oswald Chambers reminds us, I must give up “my claim to my right to myself.” When I do, “The free committal of myself to God gives the Holy Spirit the chance to impart to me the holiness of Jesus Christ.” When last did you make such a “free committal” of yourself to Jesus?

Christianity has changed the world in so many significant ways, many of which we are probably not even aware of on a daily basis. In his new book "Unimaginable: What our World Would be Like without Christianity," Dr. Jeremiah J. Johnston explores the ways in which Christianity has impacted the world for good and also what the world would be like if not for Jesus and the values He instills in every human life. Dr. Johnston looks at the impact Christianity has had--and is having--on the world from a cultural, historical, political, and personal standpoint. Below are excerpts based on Dr. Johnston's new book which draw attention to ten specific ways in which Christianity has influenced and changed the world for the better.

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As I document in my latest book, The Coming Tsunami, our culture brands Christians as outdated, intolerant, oppressive, and dangerous on a level unprecedented in our nation’s history. As a result, it is imperative that you and I become the change we wish to see. We cannot give what we do not possess or lead others where we will not go. As I noted yesterday, our example as Spirit-empowered Christ-followers can attract our secular culture to the One who is transforming us by his love and grace. But if we are “conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2), why would the world want what we have?

The latest data from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary shows seven “encouraging” trends for Christianity, according to Lifeway Research.

A new Pew Research study found that the number of American Christians has fallen to 63 percent from 78 percent over the last 14 years.

Last week, popular author J. Warner Wallace released his latest book, Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible. In the book, Wallace, a police detective specializing in cold cases, explores Christianity's plausibility.

We are inundated with stories proclaiming, and often celebrating, the decline of Christianity and Christian morality. But Christianity does not stand or fall with America.

Recently, Paul Maxwell, a former Desiring God writer and philosophy professor at Moody Bible Institute, publically renounced his Christian faith.

On Friday, HBO host Bill Maher compared Christians to QAnon conspiracists before blaming Christians for the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

While the world appears to be becoming ever more secular, new data is showing that more people have heard the Gospel now than ever before.