1. HUMAN DIGNITY & EQUALITY
Christianity introduced the foundational belief that every human is made in the image
of God (Genesis 1:27).
This led to:
Universal human value - the strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must”
Thucydides (Athenian historian and general)
Imago Dei (Image of God): The radical claim that all humans, not just elites, are made in
God's image
Moral worth not based on class, race, sex, or power. Galatians 3:28
This single belief is the foundation of Western morality.
Without this, ancient cultures believed:
Women were property
Children had no rights
Slavery was normal
The poor deserved their fate
The powerful were “more valuable”
Christianity overturned that.
2. THE VALUE OF WOMEN
Christianity elevated women dramatically:
Before Christs teachings changed the world women had a very different
existence:
Women were legally treated as minors
Under Greek and Roman law, women required a male guardian to sign contracts, own
property, or appear in court.
Women were excluded from public leadership
Women were barred from voting, holding office, or speaking in assemblies in virtually all
ancient societies.
Women were considered intellectually inferior
Philosophers like Aristotle taught that women were “defective men” and naturally unfit
for rational or civic life.
Women’s testimony was not trusted
In Jewish and Roman courts, a woman’s testimony was often inadmissible or
considered unreliable by default.
Female infanticide was common and accepted
Baby girls were disproportionately abandoned or killed in the Roman world because
they were considered less valuable.
Domestic abuse was legally permitted
Roman law allowed husbands to discipline wives physically, and a woman had little
legal recourse against mistreatment.
Women were excluded from formal education
Most ancient societies educated only boys, viewing literacy and philosophy as
unsuitable for women.
Women were socially invisible
Ancient literature, political life, and historical records almost never mention women
except as extensions of male status.
After Christ changed the world:
(Christ said ima make sure women are mentioned) A woman was the first witnesses of
the resurrection
Husbands commanded to love their wives sacrificially
Women gained rights to own property in Christian societies
Movements for women’s education were led by Christians
3. THE VALUE OF CHILDREN
In the Roman world:
Unwanted infants were left to die
Children could be sold
Abuse was expected
Christians:
Rescued abandoned babies
Created the first orphanages
Opposed infanticide
Taught that children are a blessing
Jesus saying:
“Let the little children come to me”
was culturally revolutionary.
4. THE END OF SLAVERY
Christians were the leading force in ending the slave trade:
William Wilberforce in Britain
Quakers in America
Evangelicals across Europe
They argued from Scripture:
All people bear God’s image
Slave traders are condemned in the NT
True Christian brotherhood is incompatible with ownership of another’s life
MAJOR CHRISTIAN ABOLITIONISTS (BRITAIN)
These are the leaders who actually ended the British slave trade.
William Wilberforce – Devout evangelical Christian; led the movement that abolished
the slave trade in 1807 and slavery in 1833.
Thomas Clarkson – Anglican; foundational researcher and activist.
Granville Sharp – Christian humanitarian; key legal victories.
Zachary Macaulay – Christian; worked to end slavery across the empire.
Hannah More – Evangelical writer; used literature to shape public morality.
John Newton – Former slave trader turned Christian pastor; wrote Amazing Grace.
The Clapham Sect – Evangelical Christian reform movement that powered abolition.
MAJOR CHRISTIAN ABOLITIONISTS (UNITED STATES)
Frederick Douglass – He condemned hypocritical churches, he professed a deep
Christian faith and used Scripture constantly in his speeches.
Harriet Tubman – Devout Christian; relied on Scripture and visions; called “Moses” of
her people.
Sojourner Truth – Christian preacher; her abolition speeches were essentially sermons.
Harriet Beecher Stowe – Christian; author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which shook the
nation.
William Lloyd Garrison – Christian radical who called slavery a sin.
Theodore Weld – One of the most influential abolition lecturers; Christian.
Elijah Lovejoy – Christian pastor and abolition martyr.
Charles Finney – Revivalist who refused communion to slaveholders.
John Brown – Fiercely religious; believed he was executing divine justice.
The Quakers – The first large religious group to condemn slavery entirely.
What they used:
Genesis 1:27 — All people made in God’s image
Galatians 3:28 — All one in Christ
Exodus — God delivers the oppressed
Philemon — Brotherhood over ownership
The law of Christ — “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39)
Every major abolitionist quoted Scripture to argue that slavery is
fundamentally incompatible with the gospel.
Slavery existed worldwide for thousands of years —
Christ destroyed it.
5. CHARITY, HOSPITALS, AND CARE
FOR THE POOR
Before Christianity:
Caring for the poor was rare
There were no hospitals
Compassion was not a civic virtue
Christians invented:
Public Hospitals
Orphanages - (4th Century) institutions, like the Orphanotropheion in Byzantium
Institutionalized Charity organizations
Hospice
This sprang directly from Jesus’ teachings:
“Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me.”
6. THE BIRTH OF MODERN SCIENCE
Most early scientists were devout Christians:
Isaac Newton
Johannes Kepler
Galileo
Blaise Pascal
Robert Boyle
They believed:
God created an orderly universe
Therefore nature could be studied
Truth is consistent because God is consistent
The Christian worldview gave birth to the scientific method.
7. EDUCATION, UNIVERSITIES, AND LITERACY
Christian impact:
Monasteries preserved ancient writings
Churches taught reading so people could read Scripture
Christians founded the first universities:
– Oxford
– Cambridge
– Harvard
– Yale
– Princeton
– Notre Dame
Education spread because Christians wanted people to know God’s Word.
8. ART, MUSIC, AND LITERATURE
Some of the greatest art in history exists because of Christ:
Art:
Michelangelo’s David & Sistine Chapel
Da Vinci’s Last Supper
Medieval and Renaissance Christian art
Music:
Bach (“Soli Deo Gloria”)
Handel’s Messiah
Hymns and gospel music traditions
Literature:
Dante’s Divine Comedy
Milton’s Paradise Lost
Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress
Christianity has shaped Western imagination for 2,000 years.
9. MORALITY & LAW
Key Western moral foundations come from Christ:
Love your neighbor
Forgive enemies
Treat others as you want to be treated
Care for the poor
Protect the vulnerable
Seek justice without vengeance
Legal systems influenced by Christianity:
Human rights law
Due process
Equality before the law
Abolition of cruel punishments
Condemnation of corruption
Christianity transformed societies from vengeance-based to justice-based.
10. THE CONCEPT OF SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Before Jesus:
Leaders were tyrants
Power served the ruler
Jesus introduced:
“Whoever wants to be great must be your servant.”
This changed:
Leadership philosophy
Corporate ethics
Political thought
Pastoral ministry
Human expectations of authority
Even secular leadership books quote Jesus.
11. GLOBAL MISSIONS & HUMANITARIAN WORK
Christian missions brought:
Literacy
Medicine
Hospitals
Agricultural knowledge
Schools
Orphan care
Clean water projects
Across:
Africa
Asia
South America
Pacific Islands
Missionaries were often the first to oppose:
Tribal violence
Infanticide
Caste systems
Cannibalism
Sex trafficking
The modern humanitarian movement is rooted in Christian mission work.
TRANSFORMED TIME
Jesus literally reset world time.
BC = Before Christ
AD = Anno Domini (“Year of Our Lord”)
Even “BCE / CE” is still based on His birth year.
No other figure divides history this way.
BILLIONS OF LIVES TRANSFORMED
Unlike worldly conquerors:
Jesus conquers hearts, not nations
His kingdom grows without armies
His influence touches every corner of the globe
There is no person in history whose teachings have changed more lives.
THE ONLY KING WHO CONQUERED DEATH
Every conqueror:
Lived by the sword
Died by illness, assassination, defeat, age
But Jesus:
Died for His enemies
Rose again
Lives forever
Builds a kingdom not of this world
Matthew 24:
Signs of the End of the Age
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
