You and I belong to a great tribe in the universe. What achievements we have accomplished. We human beings have landed the moon, discovered the theory of the standard model, and proved Fermat’s last theorem. No matter whether our tribe is a masterpiece of God or just a result of a series of coincidences, we should be proud to be numbered among its members. We also have a very good historical record of our glorious clan.
     History books are full of events like wars, the rises and falls of countries, the successions of kings and emperors, major social movements, etc. However, the biggest event in human history is the constant effort for people to survive according to the technological conditions of their time and under the rule of their governments. All of your ancestors luckily received food from others before they could feed themselves, got enough food by various methods after they could and had to do so, and survived many dangers such as wars, diseases, and natural disasters until having at least a son or a daughter. This is the historic event bringing you to the earth of the twenty-first century.
     On the basis that all people want to survive and pursue happiness, many different governments have been established during different eras. The size, location, lifespan, and form of a government depend on geographical factors, ethnic components, technological conditions, unpredictable events, etc. Some governments were beneficial to their people and some others were harmful to their people. A government having more people with more advanced technologies usually becomes a stronger one. A government having fewer people with poorer technologies usually becomes a weaker one. Sometimes governments incite conflicts and wars among each other, and sometimes one government conquers another. For example, the Roman Empire rose and controlled the land around the Mediterranean. The Romans found nearly all the countries around them were weaker than theirs so they conquered them to satisfy their greed. When this empire became weak, barbarians pillaged and destroyed it. For innumerable common and nameless people, their fates were tied with the Roman Empire, and they did their best to survive under its rule, whether they liked it or not. History is filled with many records such as this.
     Science, technology, and other areas of knowledge were developed along with the rises and falls of governments. Discoveries are made through great efforts or accidentally. People conducted research for good or bad purposes. Some ideas were lost. Some ideas were preserved and led to further developments. The ways of life and the scenes of the world have changed dramatically over thousands of years. This is another big trend of human history.
     Regarding the relationship between religion and history, we know that no religion in this world attracts all people in all Ages. However, if some religion is true, the God of this religion should be the God who has watched the progress of mankind through generations. He should have influenced history to a great extent, used history to prove the existence of himself, and attracted many different people of different Ages. Because he is the true God of mankind, he should not create a long history with many people living in different kinds of societies without any purpose. He should interweave his plan with the development of our great tribe in the universe.
     There is a race in the world whose fate has been bound with Christianity since its beginning: the Hebrews. They established the country, Israel, in the Palestinian area of the Middle East. Today, they still regularly celebrate Passover, commemorating how God performed many miracles to lead them out of their slavery in Egypt. It is a fact of our world that an important nation holds a historical account full of events contradicting scientific knowledge. If there is no power capable of interfering with the regulations of nature, some crazy Hebrews created many fake stories a long time ago. Otherwise, the God who is capable of performing miracles chose them to carry out his plan in human history.
     Israel was once a part of the Roman Empire. Jesus was born during those days. After his crucifixion, his followers, the first Christians, established the church. They suffered a fate similar to Jesus’, persecution. Romans were known for their extreme cruelty. Many believers were crucified, beheaded, or killed by other brutal methods. However, more and more people were converted because of the witnesses of martyrdom. Christianity became very popular. The highways and sea routes of the empire sped the spread of this new religion. Christians were everywhere in the greatest empire to date in the Western world. After about three hundred years of persecution, an emperor became a Christian and Christianity became legal. Decades later, it went a step further to become the state religion of the Roman Empire. All other religions were forbidden and all people were required to be Christians.
     The fact that Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire has many various consequences. It contradicts the principles of Christianity in nature. No one can be changed into a follower of Jesus by a political power. It was really bad for many people during that era. The leadership of the church was corrupted by worldly power and wealth. The Medieval Church was also responsible for bloody episodes such as the Crusades and the Inquisition. Christianity is doomed to be criticized for these infamous acts, although there is no such thing now. People at that time could nominally be Christians, but they rarely read the Bible, considered the church as a political authority, and didn’t become true worshipers of Jesus Christ. However, it undeniably expanded the influence of Christianity during the following generations. For a quarter of the human population, Christianity was the only legal and required religion. Other ancient religions in the Roman Empire were gone. Even the barbarians who attacked and destroyed the Roman Empire later gave up their tribal beliefs and accepted Christianity. Christianity was deeply rooted in the culture of the Roman Empire and those countries that are its cultural descendants. In America, for instance, it is common that a couple rarely going to church make a marriage commitment in the name of God in a church. It is also common that an atheist dies and is memorialized in a ceremony led by a Christian pastor. It seems true that a reason for the existence of the Roman Empire is to help Christianity build a solid foundation for the future generations.
     Christianity got help from the Roman Empire and became the dominant religion of a part of the world commonly called Western Civilization. It is also fortunate for Christianity that the countries of Western Civilization became the most advanced and powerful countries in the world due to a series of revolutions in knowledge, technology, and productivity. Countries in Europe later became stronger and stronger and gained the power to dominate the entire earth.
     Europeans discovered the new continent, America. They colonized South and Central America and built a new nation in North America. They ruled Africa, India, and many other countries in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. We call this expansion modern imperialism. Western Civilization established a new order of the globe. Its political, military, technological, and cultural power influenced the whole world. Christianity took advantage of this trend and was disseminated into almost every country, with various degrees of success. No other religion gained such an opportunity. It seems true that a reason for the process of modernization and globalization is to bring Christianity to all human beings.
     As proof of the global influence of Christianity and Christian culture, most societies in the world now operate on a seven-day cycle. We may find its origin in the Bible. God ordered the Hebrews to put aside a day rest every seven days. The common numbering system for years is another example. The original purpose of this system was to memorialize the birth of Jesus. Maybe there is a God using these things to tell people that he is the true God of the world.
     Many historians, both Christians and non-Christians, agree that Christianity was unreasonably lucky in becoming one of the major religions in the world. Many main trends in human history helped the growth and popularization of Christianity. Are they merely coincidences, or is there a God behind these events?
     There is another thing worth noticing. The modern country of Israel was established in AD 1948. The Israelites had lost their country and were forced into exile for about two thousand years. They suffered discrimination, oppression, and the Holocaust. Nevertheless, they survived and strangely didn’t lose their ethnic identity. Their revival is an even bigger miracle. If you were able to go back to 450 years ago and analyze the political situations at that time, you definitely wouldn’t believe that the Israelites would reestablish their country in Palestine. The Turkish Empire was the controller of Palestine. It was one of the strongest countries at that time. It had enormous enmity against the Israelites and Christians. The Turks definitely would never allow the Israelites to rebuild their country in Palestine. However, due to the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions centuries later, the British Empire became far stronger and was able to take control over Palestine. It also helped the Israelites rebuild their country. A prophecy in the Old Testament came true, despite of the impossibility. Why did the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions pave the way for an event predicted in the Bible? Why did the English do such a kind thing for the Israelites? Why did this happen to the Israelites instead of any other race? If there is no God who arranged this, the Israelites are too fortunate. The next time you look at a globe, pay attention to the small piece representing the country Israel. Stories relating to that place may relate to your future.
     The conclusion is that the story of Christianity satisfies our assumptions about what God will do during human history if there is a God. The chance is better to find the true God in Christianity than in a new religion that is developed recently and attracts less than 1 percent of people on earth. The God of such a religion has forgotten the world for thousands of years and forsaken more than 99 percent of people on earth.
     It is also noteworthy that if Christianity is true, our arguments imply that a person living now has some additional troubles for not believing. God set the whole historical record for each person’s individual decision to believe in him or not. During this process of thousands of years, many lives were lost in all kinds of events. There was a self-consciousness, a free will, a soul, within each person in history. The soul of a person in the past is as valuable as the soul of a person living now, but the person in the past didn’t have these references for making his or her own decision. The person living now may receive more punishments for living in the Modern Age if he or she really must face judgment.

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