The Psalms, The Anthology Of The Hymns

Although When Christianity Appeared The Total Population Of The Planet Was Only A Fraction Of That Of The Twentieth Century, Most Of The Earth's Surface Was Quite Outside The Mediterranean World, Persia, India, And China.

That Free Will Was Demonstrated In The Placing Of Temptation Before Man With The Command Not To Eat Of The Fruit Of The Tree Which Would Give Him A Knowledge Of Good And Evil, With The Disturbing Moral Conflict To Which That Awareness Would Give Rise.

John The Baptist, Who We Are Told Was Related By Blood To Jesus, Was Preaching The Impending Judgement Of God, Urging Repentance And Moral Reform, And Baptizing In The Jordan River Those Who Responded.

As The Centuries Pass, The Evidence Is Accumulating That, Measured By His Effect On History, Jesus Is The Most Influential Life Ever Lived On This Planet.

The Nineteenth Century Spread Of Christianity Was Due Primarily To A New Burst Of Religious Life Emanating From The Christian Impulse. . . . Never In Any Corresponding Length Of Time Had The Christian Impulse Given Rise To So Many New Movements. Never Had It Had Quite So Great An Effect Upon Western European Peoples. It Was From This Abounding Vigor That There Issued The Missionary Enterprise Which During The Nineteenth Century So Augmented The Numerical Strength And The Influence Of Christianity.