Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible

by J. Warner Wallace

Even if you haven’t attended a university, you’ve experienced the impact of Jesus followers at some point in your education. Christians have been educational innovators: If you were asked to read books as part of your education (at the primary, secondary, or university level), you can thank Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400–1468 CE), devoted Jesus follower and the creator of the printing press.21 If you benefited from an organized, public educational system in your community, you can thank Johannes Bugenhagen (1485–1558 CE), a Jesus follower who pioneered the organization of schools;22 Philipp Melanchthon (1497–1560 CE), a theologian who was also a pioneer of public education;23 John Comenius (1592–1670 CE), a Moravian Brethren bishop (considered the “father of modern education”) who advocated for universal education;24 and Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (1651–1719 CE), a French priest who promoted compulsory education and spent much of his life educating the poor.25 If you had access to an education as a child, you can thank Martin Luther (1483–1546 CE), the German theologian and religious reformer who argued for universal education and literacy for children;26 John Calvin (1509–1564 CE), the French theologian and reformer who advocated for “a system of elementary education in the vernacular for all, including reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and religion;”27 and Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852 CE), the son of a Lutheran pastor who is known as the “father of kindergarten educatio...