Christmas is More Than the Birth of Christ as God’s Freedom – It’s the Duty to Defend All God-Given Rights

Jesus established the Two Kingdom principle which has been famously enshrined in the US Constitution’s 1st Amendment 

AUDIO: Christianity Built the West! w/ Stephen Johnson

Jesus as Govt Theorist: And so it’s argued that the ideas Jesus shared helped found the Western world and radically changed the globe. An example? How about when Jesus addressed paying God or Caesar:

Paying Taxes to Caesar Mark 12: 13-17

Later, they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to catch Jesus in His words. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”

But Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denariusc to inspect.” So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they answered.

Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

2 Kingdoms: Here, Jesus established the Two Kingdom principle which has been famously enshrined in the US Constitution’s 1st Amendment and is a linchpin of Republicanism to this day -- the Separation of Church & State.

Innovations brought by Christianity to the world:

Now consider the following points regarding innovations brought by Christianity to the world:

How Has the Christian Worldview Influenced the West?

“Historically you can make a strong argument that you can go back to the last thousand years, and almost everything that’s been done in western civilization—new schools, education, hospitals, jobs, great art, music—was all done by Christian believers who understood the call on their lives. They take the gifts that God has given them, and through their work bring shalom to the communities that God called them to serve. The result of that is what we have with the success of the western civilization. Christianity built western civilization. Everyone else will tell you that’s not true, but when you really look at the facts, it’s undeniable. The first person to write anything about religious liberty—ever—was one of the church fathers in 200 AD. He was the first one to put the words “religious freedom” or “religious liberty” into that context. You can try to write it out of history if you want, but it’s just not possible. Western civilization is the most prosperous, successful civilization ever because of Christianity—nothing else.” -- Hugh Whelchel

How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism,

“A series of developments, in which reason won the day, gave unique shape to Western culture and institutions. And the most important of those victories occurred within Christianity. While the other world religions emphasized mystery and intuition, Christianity alone embraced reason and logic as the primary guides to religious truth…from early days, the church fathers taught that reason was the supreme gift from God and the means to progressively increase understanding of Scripture and revelation. ” Rodney Stark

Without Jesus, there would be no modern world

How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization:

Q: “Why do you call the Bible the soul of Western civilization?

Vishal Mangalwadi: Although the West has amputated its soul, I call the Bible the soul of Western Civilization because it propelled the development of everything good in the West: its notion of human dignity, human rights, human equality, justice, optimism, heroism, rationality, family, education, universities, technology, science, culture of compassion, great literature, heroism, economic progress, political freedom.”

USA Without Jesus: So, the above quotes richly illustrate what we owe Jesus and his followers. But what happens now that Jesus has been much tossed aside and sent packing? Well, consider just a few more points.

Without Jesus, there would be no modern world. But let’s assume that Jesus was the Son of God & God, as the Trinity presupposes. What other things could be expected once God exits our society, stage left?

Only as Americans recapture our faith will we regain credibility and competence as a world leader

Trinitarian Leadership: The Third aspect of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, aka the Counselor, will be resisted as well. And so the spiritual aid given to Christians, who were once the majority of Americans will no longer be available, since belief is a prerequisite for such divine aid. Aid rendered for faith, thought and actions.

Unhinged Leadership: The fact that as Christianity vanishes, our leaders are increasingly unhinged in their statements and policies. And therefore we end up with a government run by environmental extremists who insist the lower border be permanently left open without being able to explain why. Etc, etc.

Human ‘Noetic’ Sin Effects on Mind: So consider Stephen Moroney’s brilliant thesis which begins thusly as a paper which is then crafted into a book:

Theologians sometimes employ the technical phrase 'noetic effects of sin" to denote the ways in which human sin distorts human thinking. In the past, sin was considered a topic of great importance to Christian scholars, and many theologians explored the ways in which sin affects human thinking.1 More recently, however, the subject of sin and its attendant noetic effects has received proportionately little attention2. This essay intends (1) to examine two influential models of the noetic effects of sin, and (2) to propose a new model which purports to be the most adequate of the present alternatives, though not the final word on the subject.

CONCLUSION: The purpose of this essay is to offer an explanation for why the public statements and policies of American politicians, especially those most riddled by atheism seem crazy. Because, as leftist leaders increasingly demand anti-God policies, we will increasingly fail. Sadly, this is the best explanation available for America’s recent failures. And only as Americans recapture our faith will we regain credibility and competence as a world leader.