December 19, 19991

There are more lists of who is or what has been the greatest whatever of the century or millennium than we can count.

ESPN has done a list of the top 100 athletes of this century. I saw a couple of the features about Babe Didrikson, winner of a number of gold medals in the Olympics and then later became the top female professional golfer of her day. They were very interesting stories.

There have been lists of the most influential books, the most influential musicians, movies, events, etc., etc.

You might have seen Dr. Dobson’s recent newsletter in which he talks about the A&E cable network’s series entitled, Biography of the Millennium: 100 People – 1000 Years. They interviewed historians, scholars, politicians, and theologians looking to identify the 100 most influential people of the millennium. (Of course Jesus has been and still continues to be the most influential person who ever lived at any time in history I didn’t see the series, but the list is interesting. I think you will find the number 1 most influential person of the last 1000 years especially interesting.

Here is the top 10 countdown: #10 – Galileo, #9 – Copernicus, #8 – Einstein, #7 – Karl Marx #6 – Christopher Columbus, #5 – Shakespeare, #4 – Charles Darwin, #3 – Martin Luther, #2 – Isaac Newton.

I think you would agree that these were all great thinkers whose ideas changed (for better or worse) the course of humanity. You may not have chosen one of these people as worthy of the honor of being in the top 10, but I think A&E was right in their selection of the one person who has by his achievements had the greatest impact on the world this millennium. Their selection: #1 – Johann Gutenberg.

Gutenberg’s invention of the moveable-type printing press in the mid 15^th century changed the world more than any other invention or event. The goal was to be able to get the word of God to the people. The Gutenberg Bible was the first book to be printed using this method. What is amazing is that the printed word still carries so much influence even in our day almost 500 years later.

As we approach the new millennium we should make sure that the greatest moment of this millennium isn’t lost on us. Johann Gutenberg wanted to put the Bible into the hands of the people so they could know God’s wisdom and will for themselves. I would challenge each of us to make sure that we get the Bible into our hands, not just to possess it, but to read it, believe it, and live it.

It doesn’t really matter whether you listen to the Bible on tape, read it off a computer screen or the old fashioned way on paper. What is important is that we take the time to read God’s word everyday.

When Raccoon John Smith was asked to mediate the union of Christians some following Alexander Campbell and some following Barton W. Stone, Smith declared, "Let us, then, my brethren, be no longer Campbellites or Stoneites, New Lights or Old Lights, or any other kind of lights, but let us all come to the Bible, and to the Bible alone, as the only book in the world that can give us all the Light we need."

There is only one book that can give us the wisdom and guidance we need to navigate the uncertain future of a new millennium. Let us be committed to reading every day.

Next week we’ll list several good options for starting a daily reading program that will make reading the Bible every day a little easier.

-John