Narnia: A World Without Jesus Would Be A More Unjust World Series

What If It Was Always Winter And Never Christmas?

(What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?)

Part #1 – December 11 – “A world without Jesus would be a more unjust world”

Brief description of the movie and the other world the children enter into. (Promote movie). When they enter this world called Narnia, it is under a curse; where it is always winter but never Christmas. The story is an analogy of our fallen world and the redemption brought by Jesus Christ.

The concept of “parallel universes” is becoming a fashionable storyline and internet chat room topic. You might remember the FOX network series “Sliders” where the characters move between different worlds like our own but with different histories. There is an internet Newsgroup called “alt.history. what-if.” I visited that site a couple of times as I prepared this series and found that a lot of people are passionate about debating how the world would be different if certain things had happened differently in the past. There seems to be an especially large interest in debating how the world would be different if the South had won the Civil War. But I found that there is a passionate debate on the site regarding how the world would be different if Jesus had never been born. The conversation exists between Christians and non-Christians.

We have seen this “parallel universe” concept in the form of the timeless Christmas classic “It’s A Wonderful Life.” Remember how George Bailey felt when he when back to his hometown after being granted the wish of seeing what life would be like if he had never been born? Just the small town he lived in was unrecognizable, because George was not there to have helped people. If we could see a glimpse of what our world would be like if Jesus had never been born, it would not be recognizable to us either, but in much more devastating ways.

Some people don’t like Christmas, mostly because of the commercialization or because it brings back bad memories of years gone by.

I heard a story of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable. And after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids. She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year - Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, get that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, make sure we don’t forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card. Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd. She pushed her way in and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn’t take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up, and shot." From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don’t worry, we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

Don’t forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different the season would be. Christmas would not have to be a frustrating or depressing time but an opportunity for thanksgiving and joy.

Back to the idea of parallel universes. Even small changes in history would have caused major differences. But Jesus’ life and work were no small contributions and did not just have minor effects on humanity.

Jesus is the most influential person in the history of the earth.

- History is marked by His birth – so that the whole world acknowledges His existence and influence. Though how many even know what B.C. and A.D. stand for?

- Virtually every religion acknowledges His moral teachings if not His claims to be the Savior, the Messiah.

A Newsweek magazine poll from December 2004 found that if Jesus had never been born,

63% believe there would be less charity in the world.

61% believe there would be less kindness.

59% believe there would be less personal happiness.

58% believe there would be less tolerance.

47% believe there would be more war.

Jesus has had an enormous impact on every part of life.

What would the world be like if Jesus had never been born? Over the next three weeks, we will examine that question from many angles. Today I want to focus on how Jesus and His church have impacted the world in terms of ethics and social justice.