Gomer95 said:
Well all through history since Christ Christianity has had people trying to discredit or disprove it and it has all been unsuccessful because it is true and I understand yes if I was just blindly saying "this is true because well I just BELIEVE IT…END OF STORY" then that would be similar to what all religions do BUT not only do I have a personal experience of how Jesus has changed my life forever and for the better, I did investigate lots of questions about Christianity and its past and origins just like any follower of any religion should do when I first started inquiring about it and then ultimately became a follower of Christ.
For the Christian, the ultimate expression of truth is found in the person of Jesus who said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father but through me…" (John 14:6). Jesus, who claimed to be divine, performed many miracles, and rose from the dead said that he alone was the Truth. He was either right or wrong. There is no in-between. If Jesus is wrong, then Christianity is wrong. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we should abandon our faith because he would be no different than anyone else. If Jesus is not God in flesh, then we should denounce him as a madman because you can't claim to be God and be sane unless the claim is true. Therefore, if what Jesus said about himself is true, then Christianity is true.
Did Jesus fail to rise from the dead? If so, why could no one produce the body? Were the eyewitnesses of his resurrection really conspirators and liars? Then how did they concoct such a lie based on eyewitness accounts that could have been verified at that time? We have no historical refutations of the gospel claims. Why would people invent such a story that they knew would probably cost them their lives? Why would Paul, of Pharisees sent to destroy Christianity, suddenly convert and state that his conversion was based upon the appearance of the resurrected Christ? The answer to these questions is best found by believing that Jesus was who he said he was, performed miracles, and rose from the dead.
You see, Christianity is only as true as Jesus is true. If it can be shown that Jesus lied, failed to perform miracles, was not God in flesh, and did not rise from the dead, then Christianity is false and we are deceived.
So I agree with you we SHOULD look for evidence concerning our religion we follow and even though I didn't mention it above, there is a lot of historical evidence that backs up a lot of what the Bible says about the times, the people, the culture, etc. and it's not all made up. So to answer your question yes I have faith in what Jesus did in the cross for my and everyone else's Salvation and that he rose from the dead and was seen by over 500 verified witnesses of the day AFTER they had all seen him crucified and die. It's amazing feat yes that only the Lord could do and that's why it has made such an impact on so many people worldwide and is still going strong 2000 years later. So yes I base my beliefs on Faith AND evidence and we should always do that to see if it is true and if it is, it will stand up to those tests.
Hope this all makes sense and yes like you said I'm not trying to be judgmental or anything but just trying to help you understand how I arrived at my decision. I can tell you 150% it has changed my life for all eternity! And it open to anyone who asks and wants to follow Jesus! Glad we can talk about it!
I appreciate your account of how and why you believe. But, I'm not sure it really gets to my core point of willingness to question your base presuppositions. I believe that a strong religious faith should be compatible with enough humility and willingness to admit we are wrong (and not just about small stuff). Unfortunately, I think a hallmark of a successful religion is the requirement of an unearned and prideful certainty of one's own correctness. A religion that says "Here is what we think is correct, but lets keep an open mind" does not survive. A religion that says "We know absolute objective truth and the mind of God, all other religions are wicked demonic influence." does survive. Similar criticisms can be made of many atheists.
Another hallmark of religion is how it spreads and passes down. 30% of the world is Christian, 25% Muslim, 15% Hindu, etc. etc. If you or I had been born decades ago in Iran, there is a near 100% probability that we would today be Muslims explaining why Islam is correct by citing personal experience, historicity, and circular arguments within the Quran. The accident of when and where we are born is a near perfect predictor for what someone will believe. And if that doesn't cause us to stop and doubt our own beliefs, then I don't know what will.
Person 1 is a faithful Christian who believes that the accounts of the Bible are likely true and correct. Person 1 considers different faiths, different arguments, different presuppositions and is willing to change or amend what they believe based on new information. Even if that change is drastic and difficult.
Person 2 is a faithful Christian who knows the accounts of the Bible are definitely true and correct. Person 2 considers different faiths and presuppositions as either demonic or ill-guided and rejects any position or argument a priori that contradicts the Bible or church teaching.
Between person 1 and 2. Who is more humble? And who is more prideful?
I don't think any of this alien stuff is real. . . . but as a thought experiment - if we met aliens that had a religious tradition that might challenge your own, are you person 1 or 2?