In My Path to Christianity, I mentioned that I became ‘Christian’ (in quotes since I merely called myself that but didn’t act in accordance with it) because I wanted the peace and joy it gave my wife, Kerry.
Well, as with all things, that’s not the whole story…
“What specifically gave her this inner peace? Was it God? Religion? or the simplicity of believing you have an answer?”
I could have easily decided that Kerry’s inner peace came from the simplicity in accepting a pre-determined belief system. After all, this is what I had always assumed before since any religion can provide that.
But something felt different about this…
I don’t think that I can logically convince you to become Christian. Believing requires faith. Here I present why I believe that Christianity is true and superior to other religions.
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I already told you why I believe in God, and I believe we all have this feeling on some level, but why the God of Christianity vs all of the other options?
It’s difficult to quickly summarize an entire religion in a brief paragraph, but… Here are the basic beliefs of some religions:
- Hindu - Belive in Reincarnation as karma until you self-actualize by recognizing that their 1 supreme God (among millions of others) is all that exists.
- Buddhism – Believe that life and death are an illusion, and that there is no God. A buddhist’s goal is to purify the mind, developing infinite love and compassion through meditation.
- Islam/Muslim – *Sort of* believe in the same God as Jews, but have a prophet who claims to have revelation from an angel, necessary because jews perverted “the truth”. Believe that you can earn God’s mercy by your works, including jihad.
- Mormons – Similar to Muslims in that they *sort of* believe in the same God as Christians but have a prophet with revelation from an angel that overrides the Bible. Believe that God was once a man, and that you can become God if you work hard enough.
- Jews - Believe in 1 God – a personal, sovereign God who judges, punishes, and rewards. As a race, they were chosen by God and given laws to live according to.
Just as each of these religions rejects Christianity, I reject all of these religions because each is incompatible with Christianity. Jesus makes it clear that there is only ONE way to Heaven, which means that no other option can provide salvation. John 14:6:
“No man can come to the Father except through me.”
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Buddhism is atheistic and thus not compatible with the belief of a higher being (and worshipping a fat everyday joe isn’t my thing).
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Hindu is more of a culture than a religion/belief system, as well as polytheistic (believe in multiple Gods) and includes reincarnation, which, frankly, just seems to be a silly way of explaining karma.
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Both Islam and Mormonism were founded by ordinary men who (supposedly) heard from an angel/God, with no outside confirmation of supernatural events, and provided political and financial gain for their founders.
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I actually considered being Jewish at one point, because it seemed to make more sense than Christianity when I didn’t understand why Jesus was necessary. Plus, I wanted to be rich and it seemed like Jews had that going for them (Hey, what can I say – I thought like an Atheist looking for what benefitted me the most!) But you can’t really choose to be Jewish since it’s more than just a belief system, but also a race chosen by God. Plus, when you understand the full picture of Old and New Testament, Judaism is incomplete and Christianity logically completes it.
How Christianity completes Judaism:
The Bible makes sense. It may be difficult to believe certain parts of it, but it flows logically and presents a perfectly rational world-view.
The Old Testament was written by the Jews (they call it the Torah), and is primarily a written account of the world and their own history as God’s chosen people, including laws to live by. It’s mostly stories of God punishing them for not following those laws. Men are born into sin, and Jews were required to kill animals as a sacrifice to God for their sins.
The New Testament comes after the Old Testament (duh) and was written by Christian Apostles (Jewish converts) who were eye-witnesses to Jesus’ life/death/resurrection (which fulfilled Old Testament prophecies – but Jews obviously reject this – which was also prophesied), and lays out a belief system which includes instructions for how to live.
FYI: Isaiah, Psalms, and Jeremiah from the Old Testament are three of the books which prophesy Jesus the most, including that: He would be born of a virgin, would be preceded by a messenger, would be rejected by his own people, betrayed by a close friend, be crucified, and be resurrected.
Anyways… why are Jesus and the New Testament necessary to complete the Old Testament? A couple of reasons:
- God stopped communicating to the Jews, thus finalizing their Torah, for no apparent reason (unless you recognize God’s reintroduction in Jesus).
- The law provided to the Jews pointed out sin, but could not save them from it. In fact, telling someone not to do something makes them want to do the opposite due to our sinful nature (ever seen something that says “don’t turn this over” – what did you want to do immediately?
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- Jesus fulfilled the law by abiding in it perfectly, which no one else could do.
- Man could be forgiven for our sins and spared God’s judgement by Jesus’ blood (sacrifice) on the cross, providing the savior we need since man cannot appease God by his actions.
- God’s saving grace could be expanded outside of just the Jews.
- Jesus being resurrected provided a living King to guide us.
[In a cheesy infomercial voice] But wait, there’s more!
Historical evidence that Christianity is correct:
Simon Greenleaf was a Law Professor at Harvard in the 1800′s who wrote Treatise on the Law of Evidence, which heavily influenced America’s legal system and is the basis for all evidence requirements today. One day, after publishing his book, several of his students challenged Professor Greenleaf, an atheist at the time, to apply his legal evidence requirements to Jesus’ resurrection…
The result? Greenleaf concluded that Christianity does not bring irresistible evidence but offers sufficient evidence for the serious inquirer. His conclusion was based on several factors, including: separate unbiased confirmation of supernatural events, eye-witness testimony, aligned corroboration, and belief despite severe persecution and without monetary gain. After his research, Greenleaf became a Christian and published The Testimony of the Evangelists, Examined by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice.
Christianity is Unique:
I used to think that all religions were the same – the beliefs might have been different, but ultimately religion was there to control you and make you obey rules and fit in to society…
Christianity is the only religion where God reaches out to man, instead of exhorting man to reach up to God. In fact, Christianity is the only religion to recognize that we are not, and cannot be, good enough to appease God by our actions. Every other religion is based on works, while Christians alone recognize that it is only faith that provides salvation (and from which actions naturally flow out of).
Why any religion at all? Why not just be spiritual?
Here’s what I’ve learned: People always have an idol (something they worship). Maybe it’s God, or maybe it’s Money, or Environmentalism, or just themselves. Being “spiritual but not religious” can mean lots of things, but whatever it is, it’s not Christianity.
Some people think that the goal of life is to become a good/fulfilled person, so if a religion (or spirituality) makes you happy and moral, then it doesn’t matter what your beliefs are.
I disagree. Motives matter. The TRUTH matters.
There’s more to life than your personal happiness. Once you know that there is a God, and that He sent his only son to die for your sins, you understand that the purpose of this life is not seaking temporal pleasure, but is glorifying God. And yet, by trusting in Him and abiding by His word, there is fulfillment and happiness.
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When I considered myself Atheist, I saw that some of the best people I knew were not religious, while some of the worst people I knew claimed they were Christian. That was a strong strike against Christianity because I believed the goal of religion was to be a good person. I was wrong. Being a fulfilled, moral person should be a result of following Christ, but it’s not the goal.
Christians recognize that though anyone can be a “good person” (i.e. not criminals, but kind and considerate of others), but that we’re all born sinners and that on our own there is nothing we can do to please God. How do I defend my view that Atheists could be better than people who claim to be Christian? Well, for one, not everyone who claims to be a Christian actually is. Secondly, Christians still struggle with sin and temptation. There are also other factors, like motives - where good behaviors are motivated by selfish desires.
