Author: 2,000 Years Later, Christ Still Influencing People and Nations
by Allie Martin
April 1, 2004
(AgapePress) - A Christian author says the significance and impact of Christ is not limited to the Church.In his book Why Jesus Matters: The Eternal Impact of One Extraordinary Life (Barbour & Co, 2003), Bruce Bickel and co-author Stan Jantz explore the undeniable marks Jesus left on history, culture, science, the arts, morality, ethics, and relationships. Bickell says Christ's impact is still felt in countries that are based on Christian principles.
"If you look historically over the last 2,000 years, the countries and the governments that are based on Christian principles far and away provide more civil rights and civil liberties for people than [do] dictatorial, totalitarian governments that have no Christian influence," the author says.
Bickel, who with Jantz has co-written a series of "Christianity 101" Bible study guides, also believes Christ would have made a terrible politician because He was more concerned with telling the truth than with making people feel good about themselves.
Christ, the author says, had both liberal and conservative leanings. "I think He was very, what we would call, 'conservative' in His theology, and I think he would be very 'liberal,' as we use that term, in terms in his social program," Bickel says.
"He said that there is truth, and that there is absolute truth -- and that there is black and white; there is right and wrong."
Bickel points out that sort of stance tends to be more of a conservative perspective; whereas a liberal perspective would let people decide for themselves what is right or wrong, saying "there shouldn't be one system that is imposed on everybody.'"
Bickel maintains there is clear evidence that the world is a much better place materially and economically because of Jesus and His teachings.
Among the books Bickel and Jantz have teamed on are Revelation: Unlocking the Mysteries of the End Times, Ephesians: Finding Your Identity in Christ, and Genesis: Discovering God's Answers to Life's Ultimate Questions.
