[Mudboy Slim]

Interesting to hear the comments from an atheist...even if you don't believe in the divinity of Jesus, you can still be astonished by the impact made by this one man...

"Here Was A Man"
(To be spoken--Johnny Cash-like--over a lonely keyboard version of "Joy to the World")

"Here was a man...a man who was born in a small village, the son of a peasant woman. He grew up in another small village. Until He reached the age of thirty, He worked as a carpenter; then, for three years, He was a travelling minister. But He never travelled more than two hundred miles from where He was born, and where He did go, He usually walked. He never held political office, He never wrote a book, He never bought a home, He never had a family, He never went to college, and He never set foot inside a big city, yet...here was a man.

Here was a man...though He never did one of those things that you usually associate with greatness, He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this World, except through the Divine Purpose that brought Him to this World.

While He was still a young man, the Tide of Popular Opinion turned against Him. Most of His FRiends ran away...one of them denied Him, one of them betrayed Him and turned Him over to his Enemies. Then, He went through the mockery of a Trial and was nailed to a Roman Cross between two thieves. And even while He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had in this World, and that was His robe, His Purple Robe. When He was dead, He was taken down from the cross and laid in a borrowed grave, provided by a compassionate FRiend.

More than Nineteen Centuries have come and gone, and today He's the Centerpiece of the Human Race, Our Leader, and the Column to Human Destiny. And I think I'm well within the mark when I say that All of the Armies that Ever Marched, All of the Navies that Ever Sailed, All of the Legislative Bodies that Ever Sat, and All of the Kings that Ever Reigned...All of Them Put Together have not affected the Life of Man on this Earth so Powerfully as that One Solitary Life...

Here was a man."

FReegards...MUD

[MineralMan]

"Interesting to hear the comments from an atheist...even if you don't believe in the divinity of Jesus, you can still be astonished by the impact made by this one man...
"

Indeed, and that's the basis of my interest in the overall story. Christianity has, arguably, been the most influential religion in history, since Western civilization has, over the past few hundred years, made the most progress in most areas.

Still, Christianity is the religion of only about 1/3 of the world's population. Islam is second. Hinduism, Buddhism, and secularlism follow, although not necessarily in that order.

Each of the religions has made a powerful impact on the societies which embrace it. That is the reason religion is a central interest of mine...one that I have studied, now, for almost 40 years.