Our calendars are based on the birth of one man, Jesus Christ, who is the single central figure of human history. And this is the century — more than any other — where His case has been argued: in science, in history and, most of all, in the area of morality. In each, skeptics of Christianity came into the century making claims that cannot hold water a hundred years later.
Science
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.(Psalm 19:1)
When the century began, Darwinism seemed to be winning the day against a narrow interpretation of the Book of Genesis. Darwinism taught that humanity evolved gradually by random chance from other forms of life over an immense period of time. Darwinism found favor with another common theory of that time, that the universe was either infinite — that it was somehow always here — or so immeasurably old that the accidental evolution of life, no matter how incredibly improbable that may seem, would have had the time to actually occur.
With an infinite amount of time and a relatively primitive understanding of how complex life really is, Darwinism seemed almost plausible. But Einstein’s general theory of relativity pointed to a universe that had a beginning, and a relatively recent one at that. Then came a fuller understanding of DNA, molecular biology and the incredible complexity of even the simplest form of life.
How complex? The simplest form of life is a virus, the simplest of which contains over 300 pairs of amino acid combinations, each of which must be put into place in exactly the right order with the right combination of enzymes. The universe contains over 10 trillion galaxies, each averaging 100 billion stars. Yet, if you assumed that all the atoms in the universe were proteins and amino acids (which, or course, they are not; only the tiniest fraction is organic matter), and you randomly combined all these atoms once per second for 18 billion years, the chances against properly assembling even a single virus are hundreds of trillions to one.
Darwin assumed an infinite amount of time and a simplistic organic structure that allowed life to emerge from some primordial soup. He was wrong on both counts. Evolution dies at cell one.
(For more on the subject, I recommend the books of Dr. Hugh Ross, the astrophysicist who founded “Reasons to Believe,” a ministry with the two-fold purpose of presenting the gospel to scientists and explaining science to Christians.)
Many Christians view the “Big Bang” theory as — like Darwinism — a threat to faith. Nothing could be further from the truth. Einstein’s equations suggested, and hundreds of scientific observations have confirmed a universe expanding from a single point in space.
Which means this: Everything — all space, all matter and even time itself — emerged at a single moment from a single point in space, out of absolutely nothing with no natural cause or explanation.
This moment of creation — there really is no other term for it — absolutely defies any concept, or theory, or idea, or notion of an accidental, naturalistic cause. Those who deny a Creator must now stand silent.
History
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
Before this century, skeptics often argued that Christianity is merely compelling mythology, that there probably never was a historical Jesus, and if there was, his story had been distorted or exaggerated. Key teachings were added centuries later, skeptics said, including accounts of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
Today, that argument simply cannot be supported. Dozens of extrabiblical references to Jesus have been found, including first-century Roman historians who noted — only a few years after Jesus’ death — that His followers believed Him risen from the dead. Skeptics said there was no Pontiuis Pilate, until a coin was found a few years ago with Pilate’s name on it. They said there was no record of Annas or Caiaphas, until records of both were recently found in ancient Jewish documents.
Just as science makes an ever-more-compelling picture of creation, the better our archeology gets, the better the Bible looks. Today, Jesus Christ cannot be written off as fable. He is known to have lived and taught. His actions and His teaching were widely recorded. He is known to have been put to death without cause. His followers believe He rose from the dead. They believe that now. They believed it then.
Jesus Christ can be accepted. He can be rejected. But He cannot be dismissed. That choice is no longer available.
Morality
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2 Timothy 3:1-4)
The century began under the influence of the Age of Enlightenment, which dominated popular thinking in the 18th century. Following the discoveries of Isaac Newton and the writings of John Locke and David Hume, reason was elevated above all else as the path to progress. The result would not just be better living conditions, it would be better people. Through reason — and a rejection of the superstitions of the past — the human race would grow ever closer toward perfection.
Friedrich Nietzsche followed the Age of Enlightenment with his deep hatred of Christianity as a philosophy for the weak. The hope for mankind, Nietzsche argued, was the complete rejection of the Christian faith and its sense of sin. Only then could humanity advance under the leadership of the “overman,” a new kind of person freed from outmoded notions of morality.
Which brings us back to the trial of Leopold and Loeb.
Nathan Leopold was a disciple of Nietzsche. Leopold was also fascinated by his partner Richard Loeb and thought him — young, bold, wealthy — to be the type of person Nietzsche saw as beyond the bounds of traditional morality. Leopold’s proof was to join Loeb in a crime that shocked this nation to its core.
Soon, we would be shocked again by another follower of Nietzsche named Adolf Hitler.
This century was to be the one where the human race finally shook off the superstitious shackles of “traditional” morality and evolved to a higher plane based on reason and man’s natural goodness. Then came Leopold and Loeb. Then came Auschwitz and Treblinka. Then came Armenia and Cambodia and Rwanda and Bosnia.
Much of human history has been squandered on two futile pursuits: to prove man good and to make man good. In this extraordinary age where very little fails, these pursuits have failed miserably. We live longer and healthier. We are stronger and smarter. We are better in every way, except better. This century is stained red with proof of that. This most dazzling age is also the most brutal and selfish of any century in history. With every technological improvement, the basic problem of man becomes clearer. In this hi-tech age, no technology can match the power or surpass the hope of a single, simple, wooden cross.
