If we were to distill the teachings of Jesus down to the items that everyone, regardless of personal beliefs, agreed that were the essence of his message, we would have at least this one thing: that he fundamentally regarded every single individual as intrinsically valuable regardless of societal condition.
This is undeniably a unique concept in the world of his own time, at any time by anyone in human history before him, disregarded by most people and societies until a very long time after him, and still controversial in supposedly civilized societies. It was unconceived by any other teacher before him, excepting that Jesus was living out the perfect fulfillment of the code that God had given to an imperfect people centuries before.
Read further to understand how significant this is, in places we never suspect…
Though Christmas is a religious holiday, secularists should appreciate its great contribution to Western Civilization: the lesson that all men are equal in their fundamental human dignity.
Source: Christmas and Western Civilization
Messages from the Mythical 