January 1, 2001
EDITORIAL:
Jesus offers wisdom for new millennium
___Happy New Millennium!
___Folks only thought last year was the start of something big. You remember Y2K and millennial mega-celebrations. But, of course, the new millennium begins today--Jan. 1, 2001. For the last time in this millennium (thank the Lord), it's like this: We never had a year 0; every century or millennium necessarily begins with '01 and ends with '00. So, Happy New Millennium!
___What do you think this new millennium will bring? The thought staggers the imagination, particularly as you look back over the past thousand years. People who lived in 1001 had more in common with residents of the first century than they did residents of the 21st century. In fact, in many respects, many people in 1901 had more in common with residents of the first century than they did with today's global citizens.
___No one alive in 1001 could have imagined the lifestyle we enjoy today. Few people alive in 1901 could have foreseen a fraction of the advances the world has seen in even the past hundred years.
___The ascent began when Johannes Gutenburg, 1397-1468, developed the printing press, making book publishing--and the widespread ability to read--possible.
___This invention precipitated a religious revolution by making the Scriptures accessible to common people and fostering what we have come to call the priesthood of all believers--the understanding that God is accessible to every person and each person is accountable directly to God for individual actions. This belief emancipated the people from the grip of the priesthood, and this has a direct bearing on who we are as Baptists. We wouldn't be Baptists without the Bible, and we wouldn't have individual access to the Bible without the printing press.
___Gutenburg's invention also initiated learning advances we enjoy today. From the development of vaccines and antibiotics that have defeated dread diseases, to aeronautical mechanics that defy gravity, to molecular engineering that promises great things for tomorrow--these and other feats of the mind have been made possible by books and the widespread ability to think and learn. Each generation has built on the preceding one, and the keys to learning are words and ideas held and transferred in print. The next time you fly in a plane, call a loved one miles away or take a pill that makes you well, thank God for Gutenburg.
___What will be the greatest advancement of the next millennium? The next century? No one knows, of course. We really can't predict what will make the news next week, much less in 100 or 1,000 years. Most of us hope and pray for cures, for the elimination of diseases that ravage the human body and often inflame the human soul. Maybe a development, as yet unthinkable, will forestall famine and pestilence. Perhaps the Lord will return. Or maybe, a thousand years from now, humans will discuss the developments of the millennium just completed.
___From the crest of a new millennium, we realize we need the same guidance for tomorrow as people have needed for every new year and every new day since Jesus walked the earth 2,000 years ago. He provided timeless advice we would do well to heed as we begin 2001:
___"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:37-39).
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___ Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
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