If you are A) not reading this in San Diego and B) not a baseball fan, you are probably thinking I made that title up for the humorous way it sounds. I know what you are also probably thinking . . ."Why in the world do you always say ‘I know what you’re thinking’ EVERY SINGLE NEWSLETTER? - except that one historic anomaly back in the late 90’s when I actually had no clue what you were thinking." (The "except that historic. . . " part is my thinking, not yours.) Well, if you have any idea where I originally got that idea then call, write, email, fax, page, go to the guest book on my website (www.Larrybubb.com) or telepathically send your response to me; if you are right (maybe even if you are wrong) I will send you a free tape or CD of The Best of Larry Bubb – Plus 17 Bonus Tracks.
The Padres have already asked me to leave my pet goat at home.
The conversation began at the new San Diego baseball stadium named PetCo Park, obviously named for the great athletic prowess possessed by most cats, parakeets, hamsters, and other pets (please feel free to insert your own joke here, like the one about the monkey on the mound, or how the Padres don't stink, Petco really IS where the pets 'go', or how the San Diego Chicken was ahead of his time or the weasel who . . . well, you get the idea.) At least it wasn’t called Enron Park or Balco Park. My good friend, Ross Shepherd, and I were talking as we watched the Cincinnati Reds play – the Padres happened to be playing also since it is, after all, their park – and thoughts turned to religion.
Beforehand, I had been reading a newsletter by Jews for Jesus after "The Passion" movie had been released, and it sparked a thought in my head . . . and we all know how potentially dangerous that can be.
It is not surprising that I am a Cincinnati fan since I grew up in that area. It is not surprising Kentuckians believe KY basketball is the best or that Hoosiers believe Indiana basketball is No. 1. It is not surprising for most Americans to be rooting for the USA at the Olympics. You probably believe your high school is the best one . . . unless your grades aren’t good; in which case you probably think it’s the worst. O.K. - I guess we better disregard that last example. The point is, if you live in a certain area most of your life, you naturally have a loyalty and affinity to that area.
Now, think about world religions and their human founders. The last few days I did exhaustive research - I actually had to leave the La-Z-Boy recliner - checking reference books, encyclopedias, the Internet and even the Oxford World Atlas. I don’t want to bore you with a lot of footnotes so I’ll summarize my findings.
When I think of Judaism, Abraham and Moses both come to mind as figures who shaped the foundation of that religion. Undoubtedly, most who practice Judaism as a religion also happen to be of Jewish descent through the line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Hinduism has its origins in India. Is it coincidence that 79% of the religious population of India claims to be Hindu? Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) was born in 563 B.C. in northern India. Did you know that the 10 countries with the most Buddhists include India and those on the same continent just east of India, like China? The founder of Islam was Mohammed. He was born in Saudi Arabia in the year 570 A.D. The vast majority of Muslims live near the Middle East; either in nearby northern Africa, like Egypt or in Asia. He was a descendant of Ishmael, first born of Abraham, as are all those of Arabic descent. Are you surprised that the majority of those whose ethnicity is Arabic are Muslim?
The common thread for all those religions is that the majority of adherents are always from the same ethnicity or live in the same region as the founder. It only makes sense as they can easily identify with that common heritage as we saw in the basketball example above.
So, as I was reading the Jews for Jesus newsletter, it mentioned that it should be natural for Jews to follow Jesus since He was Jewish. Then it dawned on me, "Wait a minute Larry, you’re not Jewish!" (Don’t worry, it was not the first time it crossed my mind that I’m not Jewish.) What struck me is that I am following a Jewish leader, yet I am a white Anglo-American. How strange. I discovered from the Atlas and a couple other sources that on 5 of the 7 continents (an overwhelming 128 countries) the majority of adherents to any religion are Christian. One of the 2 remaining continents is Antarctica where the penguins had trouble filling out the survey forms. The other is Asia, which has quite a mixture since every major living religion started there.
The World’s Living Religions by Dr. Robert Hume identifies the main geographical region for every living world religion, for instance Hinduism’s main region is India. There is one exception. For Christianity, the region listed is "The World." 48.4% of the religious population of Africa follows a Jewish leader named Jesus. There are 25 million Christians in India. 2/3rds of the Arabs, who claim some religion in the US, claim Christianity.
The very fact that so many people of all different nationalities and ethnicities follow Jesus is powerful confirmation of the words of Acts 4:10-12: " . . . Jesus Christ . . . there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved." It’s only natural for people of a certain ethnicity to follow a religion founded by someone from that same ethnicity. But for so many people of all different nationalities and ethnicities and ancestry to all follow Jesus is further evidence that Jesus is not just a regional god but is the God for the entire human race. The vast majority of Christians are not of the same ethnicity as their founder, namely Jewish. If you are reading this and you are not Jewish, you are a testimony to God’s eternal plan to save the entire planet, regardless of race or nationality or ethnicity. "God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son that whoever puts their faith in Him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
To my knowledge, I have never met a Jew who is a Muslim. I have never met an Arab who was Buddhist. That’s not to say they don’t exist, but they are certainly an exception. On the other hand, I have friends who are European, Hispanic, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Jewish (including one of my Board of Directors) who have all given their lives to Jesus Christ. Believe it or not, I even have a few Anglo friends who are followers of Jesus!
I have at times thought that the real powerful testimonies were those like my friend Ron, who had a $100 a day heroin addiction, who were miraculously delivered when they decided to put their faith and hope in Jesus. I now see that the truth of Christianity is also demonstrated in the very fact that so many of you reading this are not Jewish, yet you have chosen to follow a Jew named Jesus.
This is not to minimize the incredible testimony of those who are Jewish and follow Jesus. I have had a few Jewish friends over the years who were ostracized by their families because of their faith in Jesus. In fact, one family put up a grave marker and literally considered their daughter to be dead. No, Jewish believers have decided to follow Jesus not because it would help their business or make them rich or popular, they did so because . . . Jesus is the Truth!
I know what you’re thinking now, "What happened in the baseball game at the beginning of this article?" The Reds lost. In fact, I "got" to see them lose 3 times in one week, just before they went on to win 10 of the next 11 games to move into 1st place. I’m negotiating with the Reds right now to get paid for NOT attending their games! And the Padres have already asked me to leave my pet goat at home.