The11thDr. wrote:Well the old testement(the way god seems to make morality meaningless for instance) did put me off quite a lot i suppose, miricles in the new testement kind of seem really implausible to me, why go to all the trouble of making the perfect laws of nature just to break them?
I perhaps can accept(this is something in itself right?) some of the things Jesus said, but I dont think I will ever go as far as believing that he is god. I do admit I actuallyf did not read a very lot of mere christianity, maybe it gets more profound after the tiny portion of it that I did bother to read.
I guess the best you could possibly achieve is to try and convince me to be more open to the concept of god, I wouldn't like you to think that I am closed minded. If i had to choose between being comfortable or being correct, then I think that i know what i would choose.
Ok Below is a very brief list that i compiled one day of why I am a Christian. It is brief - and not in any real detail - but maybe some of these ideas will help.
God
1) Why are we here? Why is this reality here? We could have been anything — in any form of universe. It could have been Middle Earth, Krynn, Azeroth etc.. but it is this one. So why can't it be a universe where an all-powerful God created us.
2) Fine tuning. The universe is fine tuned — there are no doubts about that. We are talking about things like the strength of Gravity, the weak and strong nuclear forces, the rate of expansion, the location of our solar system — the size and position of the planets, the size of our sun and our distance away from it, the moon etc etc etc…….. We are looking at in surmountable odds against this being chance. Unless there are an infinite number of universes there can be no other reason apart from design.
3) The universe had a beginning — FACT. What created it? It needs to be an unchanging, uncaused eternal force. This is how the bible describes God.
4) The origin of life. Science has yet to show how life spontaneously arose on earth with the conditions that were present.
5) Irreducible Complexity — There are biological systems that cannot be broken down into parts, because they cease to be functional, therefore natural selection would have got rid of them a long time ago.
6) Our consciousness. We are sentient. We have an awareness of self. Is this simply an emergent property from the complexity of our brain/ Why are we seekers of something bigger than us? Why is there a God shaped hole in our life? We have eternity in our hearts and we look to see beyond our own mortality. No other species on earth has shown signs of this. Is this because we were made in Gods image?
7) The meaning of life. If the naturalistic definition of things is correct then life really has no meaning whatsoever. Our existence is futile — the laws of thermodynamics and entropy will see to that on a universal scale. Our thoughts, dreams, hopes and aspirations will all be in vein as they will die with us. All our achievements will soon be forgotten. Mankind's future is certain as the sun will eventually go nova in 5 billion years. The universe, if constantly expanding will eventually be a cold dark place as entropy takes his hold. Our future is sealed — we are all doomed.
In this universe, love is the cruellest trick of all. It is nature's biggest joke on us. We are destined to fall in love with people and see them taken away from us —never to be seen again. You might ask yourself why put yourself through all that torture. Your parents will die. Your spouse will die — your children will die. It would be better to live selfishly without any feeling for any other human being as it will bring constant heartache and pain.
Unless there is a God.
Miracles do happen. Maybe some might be explained away by science someday - but the testimony of miracles and NDE's cannot be ignored.
Jesus
1) He existed. The gospels are testimony to that. There are secular sources that verify his existence. Some from hostile sources.
2) He was a special man that caused a big stir. The church is a testimony to that as well as secular sources.
3) The resurrection is the only explanation for why there is a church today. The early growth of the church was down to a complete change of heart with the disciples. They were scattered, yet reformed after Jesus's death with a firm belief that he had risen. They went to their deaths claiming this fact. They were in a unique position to know whether this was a lie or not. Nobody with a reasonable mind dies for a lie.
4) Jesus rose from the dead — see above. There is also the factor of an empty tomb to contend with, plus the witnesses' accounts of the risen Jesus. The opposing authorities had ample opportunity and means to produce a body, yet they also agreed with the tomb being empty. Declaring instead that the disciples must have stolen it. If the disciples had stolen the body, do you think they would have then go on to die most horribly for this lie.
5) Jesus is God. He attested to much many times in the bible. Most of the letters of Paul state as much and these made up the early creed of the church. The council of Nicene decided on the nature of his divinity.
6) Jesus fulfilled many prophecies in the bible signalling the long awaited messiah.
7) Jesus wisdom is pure and really is the right way to live a life. If everyone followed the teachings of Jesus then there really would be heaven on earth.
Paul is the best witness for Jesus as he was originally hostile to him and persecuted and murdered Christians. Christ was revealed to him and him became one of the greatest theologians that ever lived.
9) If God exists — then coming down to earth will be a simple matter for him.
10) Jesus fits the profile of a loving, personal, holy and just God. Doing what he preaches by dying for his fellow man.
11) If God came to earth, his incarnation would split history right down the middle and he/she would be the most talked about man in all of humanities history
