Book Description
In Unimaginable, you'll discover the far-reaching ways that Christianity is good for the world--and has been since the first century AD--including:
· How the plights of women and children in society were forever changed by Jesus
· Why democracy and our education and legal systems owe much to Christianity
· How early believers demonstrated the inherent value of human life by caring for the sick, handicapped, and dying
· How Christians today are extending God's kingdom through charities, social justice efforts, and other profound ways
This book guides readers through the halls of history to see how Jesus' teachings dramatically changed the world and continue to be the most powerful force for good today. This provocative and enlightening book is sure to encourage believers and challenge doubters.
Credit: Lifeway Description· How the plights of women and children in society were forever changed by Jesus
· Why democracy and our education and legal systems owe much to Christianity
· How early believers demonstrated the inherent value of human life by caring for the sick, handicapped, and dying
· How Christians today are extending God's kingdom through charities, social justice efforts, and other profound ways
This book guides readers through the halls of history to see how Jesus' teachings dramatically changed the world and continue to be the most powerful force for good today. This provocative and enlightening book is sure to encourage believers and challenge doubters.
Review
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.
Let me begin by saying that I did honestly enjoy this book. It took me almost two months to read it. It lived up to my expectations of chronicling the impact of Christianity in our world, past and present. It exceeded my expectations in the actual writing style. Johnston has thoroughly researched this topic and presents it in a scholarly way, which meant I had to engage my brain in a way I haven't since college. Not only was I impressed with the depth that his research provides, I am in awe of the author's ability to condense 2,000 years of history into a small number of pages. Yet doing so does not weaken his argument.
The book is divided into three parts: The World Before Christianity, The World Without Christianity and The World With Christianity. While I took many courses of history in college, I don't recall any one class being dedicated to Ancient History which made that portion of the book really interesting. The perspective it provided to that life and it's correlation to life in "Bible times" was eye-opening for me. What really struck me was the echo of past history, political and religious atmospheres that can be found in our world today.
"What we find is that for all the claims of religious tolerance and inclusivity, it turns out that the
Greco-Roman world was not so tolerant after all. In effect, the policy was something like this:
"You may worship any gods you wish, but you must revere and support our gods as well."
Religious rights and equality were extended to those who followed the party line, Christians,
along with atheists, did not and so were persecuted." (pg 61)
Johnston makes it clear that Christianity has brought freedom and equality to the world. These concepts being extended to the vast majority of the population was unimaginable in Jesus' time; it is unimaginable in America to consider that they would not exist. This book had me constantly referring to the endnotes and going in search of more information on the events and people that Johnston portrays in this book. I definitely think this book is worth the read.
The book is divided into three parts: The World Before Christianity, The World Without Christianity and The World With Christianity. While I took many courses of history in college, I don't recall any one class being dedicated to Ancient History which made that portion of the book really interesting. The perspective it provided to that life and it's correlation to life in "Bible times" was eye-opening for me. What really struck me was the echo of past history, political and religious atmospheres that can be found in our world today.
"What we find is that for all the claims of religious tolerance and inclusivity, it turns out that the
Greco-Roman world was not so tolerant after all. In effect, the policy was something like this:
"You may worship any gods you wish, but you must revere and support our gods as well."
Religious rights and equality were extended to those who followed the party line, Christians,
along with atheists, did not and so were persecuted." (pg 61)
Johnston makes it clear that Christianity has brought freedom and equality to the world. These concepts being extended to the vast majority of the population was unimaginable in Jesus' time; it is unimaginable in America to consider that they would not exist. This book had me constantly referring to the endnotes and going in search of more information on the events and people that Johnston portrays in this book. I definitely think this book is worth the read.
I gave this book: ★★★★
★ = I did not like it ★★ = It was okay ★★★ = I liked it
★★★★ = I really liked it ★★★★★ = I loved it
