What if Christ had never been born? This provocative question is one most people likely give little attention to during a season when Jesus’ birth is a celebratory focal point. But it’s a curiosity Dr. Jerry Newcombe, executive director of the Providence Forum, has unpacked over the years. Newcombe’s new film — aptly titled “What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?” — explores how Christ’s birth transformed the world. “There’s so many different ways in which Christ, through the church, has changed and impacted civilization,” he told CBN’s Faithwire. “There’s a reason that history is divided [by] ‘before Christ’ and ‘Anno Domini,’ in the year of our Lord.” Newcombe said Jesus “unlocked the forces of charity” and taught His followers to teach others the precepts of the Christian faith. He argued there’s barely a sector of society left untouched by Jesus’ coming, discussing education, charity organizations like the Salvation Army, and other sectors. “The link between Christianity and education for the masses is very strong,” Newcombe said. “It was the Christian Church during the late Middle Ages that invented the phenomenon of the university.” Hospitals, too, owe their creation and formation to the Christian faith, he said. Plus, music and the arts have benefited richly from the Christian tradition, with the economy and government following as other arenas in which Christ’s teachings have had a transformative impact. “It’s really important to realize that so many things get back to Jesus Christ,” he said. “[Jesus] said, ‘I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly.’ And boy is that true.” Watch Newcombe explain Christ’s monumental impact on civilization. D. James Kennedy Ministries.