What would the world be like if Christianity never existed or if it ever ceased to exist? This is a question Jeremiah Johnston seeks to answer in his book Unimaginable. Some might say the idea of counterfactuals (alternative history) is pointless and even impossible to know. But Johnston argues that looking at what the world was like before Christianity and looking at parts of the world where there is little evidence of Christianity can help us draw some conclusions about a world without Christianity.

Unimaginable is divided into three parts. I. The World Before Christianity II. The World Without Christianity and III. The World With Christianity. It's not hard to look at the world around us and see that many cultures which were previously defined as Christian are becoming more and more secular. Johnston makes the point that even though people are more educated today than they've ever been, we don't learn from history and what Christianity has done for the world.

He works through what the world was like before Jesus walked on the earth and we can see the hardships many suffered and the atrocities men committed against each other. Then he focuses on the dangers of more modern ideas (think Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, etc) and the horrors these ideas brought on mankind (Hitler, Mussolini, etc). These ideas are utterly counter-Christian and the consequences were devastating. In the last section, Johnston looks at the good Christianity has done in the world. When people are valued as created in the image of God, the world transforms.

Johnston did a wonderful job of gathering information. Sometimes it was even overwhelming. He obviously did his homework. He makes it easy to see the good Christianity has done over the last 2000 years, and it's not hard to imagine how much worse off we'd be if it hadn't been a prominent force in the world. He even makes it personal in the last chapter so you can see the impact of Christianity on your own life.

I had two main issues with his arguments. The first issue is that he ignores or glosses over some of the horrible things people have done in the name of Jesus. I think his argument would be that those weren't actual Christians and they would have committed those horrors in some other name if Christianity wasn't around. I agree with that, but I also don't think you can simply ignore things like the Crusades and those who justified slavery with Scripture.

The second issue is, I think, inherent in arguing counterfactuals. And that's knowing the difference between causation and correlation. Some of the good that has come from Christianity that he mentioned most likely was caused, at least in part, by something else entirely. The biggest example I saw was that students who attended private Christian schools were more successful. While I'm sure faith in schools makes a huge difference, studies have shown that high socioeconomic status and parental involvement play a large part of the success of students. These things are more common for those who can afford private school, but they are not always a result of Christianity (especially the wealth). There are just too many factors in some of these examples for them to be clear cut.

Overall, I thought Unimaginable was very well done. Some of the information was new to me, but a lot of it was just a good reminder of what I already knew. And the more we know about history, the better decisions we can make in the future.


I received this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

An interesting idea, and a powerful look at "What If...Christians never existed?" While I didn't agree with everything in this book, the overall idea and story is an important one.

Fascinating. So often we hear the cry that Christianity has caused all of the worlds ills. Well this books gives the reader an excellent rebuttal to that- real information about just how much civilisation owes Christianity. Highly recommended.

Growing up, one of the most interesting comic books that I read was the "What If...?" series from Marvel. What this series was about was taking a popular story in Marvel Comics and ask what would happen if this situation happen such instead of the original outcome. It was an interesting take on how certain stories in Marvel might have happened if some their famous stories ended differently.

 Jeremiah J. Johnston does his own version of "What If...?" with Christianity in his book, Unimaginable: What Our World Would Be Like Without Christianity. Johnston serves as president of the Christian Thinkers Society and is a professor at Houston Baptist University. In this book, Johnston takes a look at what would happen if Christianity never had the impact it did on the world.

 The beginning of the book discusses what the world was before Christianity. A world full of suffering and fear. As I read these chapters, it was a very historical approach to the world before Christ came. The next part of the book deals with the "What If...?" factor. What would the world look like if Christianity never happened. How people would still be in slavery, not just in their sin, but physical slavery. The world would be more influenced with the thinking of men like Adolf Hitler and more. 

 The final chapters of the book deal look what impact Christianity has made in the world. Jesus came so that we may the abundant life that God has blessed those who are called Children of God. Christians have made a significant impact in their world around them and have even stopped some of the great injustices of our world. 

 As I read this book, there were some parts I liked and others I was asking myself, "where is he going with this?" I felt there was a lot of jargon and not a lot of depth into a book that looked at what would happen if Christianity never came into the world.

The author of Unimaginable, Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, has written this book to aid both Christians and non-believers in appreciating the events that occurred in the past, especially those we need to avoid repeating in the future. He begins his task by asking this question: What would the world be like if Christianity had not emerged, and what would happen if Christianity disappeared today? This is something that's not really as difficult to understand as it may seem. Through extensive and careful research the author presents to his readers what the world was like before Jesus appeared on the scene. That's the topic of the first of three sections. What we read in this part of the book may just surprise many people. 

The second section refreshes our memories of a group of men who at the early part of the nineteenth century turned their backs on the Christian world. Their influence led the Western world in the name of Enlightenment into bloodbath after bloodbath. It is not a pleasant part of world history. The third section introduces the idea that in spite of the philosophies of these influential men, Christianity continued to instill in its followers the value of life and human dignity. This led to humanitarian efforts that spread all throughout the world to every corner of the earth, including the world in which we presently live. Trying to imagine what it would be like if faith-based humanitarian aid was never sent to areas in America affected by fire, floods, storms, and illness is taxing. Try to imagine what the health situation of the countries without healthcare offered by faith-based hospitals and other care organizations is almost impossible.  

These three sections are short and written in conversational manner, making this book approachable for nearly anyone. In reading these parts, I got the sense that Dr. Johnston was sharing with us only the very tip of the iceberg. There was so much more he could have shared in this book. But one of the things I have noticed about the author is that his purpose is to communicate what is important to his listeners or readers. He didn't get lost in the details. He is an intellectual that instead of preferring to stay isolated in a bubble away from everyone else, wants to reach out and assist people with understanding the "why" behind his assertions. I have watched some of his speaking engagements on You Tube and was impressed with his personable mannerism. His is truly a mission of the heart. 

For me, the true gold of this book is in the references. In reading through all the pages of references Dr. Johnston includes in the book, I realized how much more in depth we could read and learn. His sources are scholarly and wide reaching. This is the part of the book that can offer more if you have an inquisitive friend who isn't satisfied with the interpretation the author offers. That makes this book a great resource, not only for yourself but for others who want to know more. 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a review copy of this book from Cross Focused Reviews on behalf of Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group. I was not required to write a review, positive or otherwise. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What would the world look like if Christianity didn’t exist?  Would there be function and form, would anarchy and evil overtake all?  Jeremiah Johnston sets out to visit the past when Christianity was in its infant stages, takes us through the years of Marxism, communism and strong atheism in leading countries and finally looks to our current world as an example of how Christian perspective and mission has set the tone and method by which we advance and live.


There have always been many differing view points on the validity and importance of Christianity with many who argue for a day where the church will cease to be a part of life.  Through historical teaching, political views and other various sources Johnston presents a wonderful writing on the value of Christian faith.

Biblical evidence is found throughout and there are extended sections devoted to showing what the world would look like without a Christian influence.  I found it very informative to walk through the teachings and writings of various influential philosophers and psychologists as well as the toll specific leaders took on their countries and the world.  All of which is available in history books and validated online sources, exposing the truth that a world without Christianity sets the clock back on many different areas of life, including equality of sexes, value of human life (races, nations and infants) and importance of freedom (of thought and the issue of slavery).

I greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to those in faith or considering it, as well as to any who believe the Christian church has outgrown it’s usefulness.  There is rich context with incredible sources to be found inside.

*I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  These are my personal thoughts.

Unimaginable
What Our World Would Be Like Without Christianity
by Jeremiah J. Johnston
Bethany House

Bethany House Publishers
Christian
Pub Date 05 Dec 2017


I am reviewing a copy of Unimaginable through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:


In this book Jeremiah J. Johnston gives us a brief glimpse into what the world may look like without Christianity. The author points out the pain and suffering that would be experienced as well as the fear of Hell.  


Johnston goes on to point out why people reject God.


Professor Jeremiah Johnston dares to speak up for Christianity in a time when Christians are often attacked for their beliefs.  The author shows the positive effect of Christianity from the first century until today.


I give Unimaginable five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

THE JESUS FACTOR

Dr. Jeremiah J. Johnson, a professor, scholar and public speaker, guides us on a journey through the history of mankind as he weighs, based on an enormous variety of perspectives, the impact that the Bible and the Christian faith have had throughout the centuries.

The author shows us how the world was before Jesus and the Christian movement were first born, when poverty, slavery, prostitution, and women and child abuse were common. The rise of Christianity gave the world a new path, bringing a huge improvement in the society’s overall quality of life, especially in the lower social strata.

Suffering, fear and inequality ran rampant back then. The people were hostages of pain and disease, desperate for a cure, fearful of death and hell in a society fractured between freemen and slaves, rich and poor, men and women.

Even racism faded while Christianity swept through Europe and the Roman Empire. In the following millennium, no major philosophers or Christian theologians argued about racism and slavery.

But, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the racist ideal rekindled, as well as that of racial supremacy, which the author shows as examples of how modernism, by setting Christian principles aside, opened the way for the emergence of depraved movements, such as the communist and the nazi regimes, inspired in anti-Christian systems, and that ended up being responsible for the death of almost 150 million lives.

The 19th century was particularly prolific in the rise of ideologies that proved detrimental for mankind. Johnson lists the “Big Five,” those who contributed severely to move the world away from the Judeo-Christian worldview – Feuerbach, Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud. And without God, something has to fill up the void.

With the 20th century, the world watched mankind’s dehumanization and the arrival of Nietzsche’s Übermensch – Hitler, madly determined to exterminate millions in order to elevate a race. The origins of Mein Kampf and the “science” of racial purity go back to the proliferation of noxious ideas from the 19th century, which were also embraced by some of the most Machiavellian despots, such as Stalin, Mussolini, Mao Zedong and the three Kim dictators from North Korea.

In antithesis, the great opponent to Hitler’s imperial conquest, Winston Churchill, always acted in defense of the Christian civilization. The British statesman’s own life is proof that history is made by energetic people that strive for the impossible.

Jeremiah Johnson answers to the great questions about how the world would be, with and without Christianity. What was it that Romans didn’t like about Christianity? What is the value of life and human dignity? What made Christianity irresistible?

What this book shows to us and to the skeptics is that nothing would be the same without the existence of Jesus and the Christian movement that grew around Him. Yes, because up to the first twenty years of the first century, there wasn’t any of this Christianity thing going on. It was His miracles and healing power, but above all the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, that everything changed. The Jesus factor.

This Jesus factor contributed to the abolition of slavery, thanks to men like William Wilberforce and John Wesley, to the resolving of international conflicts, to the end of discrimination and inequality concerning sex, ethnicity and religion, and to the establishment of public education systems, including for those with disabilities.

In the ancient world there was no “humanitarian help,” but the first Christians learned with the Jesus factor how to take in the outcasts and the sojourners, building the communal shelters of medical care – the hospitals of our days.

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A life changing look at the often overlooked and under appreciated importance of Christianity in shaping the modern world.