We've all heard it:
"I'm not religious, but I believe in being a good person."
Sure. But where did that idea of good come from?
In The Jesus Effect, writer and entrepreneur Frank Dappah argues that the moral software running modern life - compassion, fairness, forgiveness, dignity - was coded in long before hashtags and culture wars. It came from Scripture. From the Sermon on the Mount. From a carpenter's son who told people to love their enemies and forgive their debtors - and somehow rewired the entire moral DNA of Western civilization.
Through history, humor, and sharp cultural commentary, Dappah traces how the Christian message got lost, hijacked, and rebranded - from politicians quoting Jesus to raise campaign money to churches that forgot what grace even looks like.
This isn't a sermon. It's a reality check - one that asks, with both curiosity and conviction:
Can a civilization keep its soul once it forgets where it came from?