why christianity?

tj rich · Post by **tj rich** » Fri Jun 30, 2006 4:31 am

To me, this is the ultimate question. God exists (or does not exist) independently of our belief, so the real question for believers is which religion? Most people seem to follow the religion they were brought up in and you will find equally devout people from all faiths. All major religions offer moral codes, a framework for living, an explanation for creation, a purpose for our existence and the promise of life after death. From a christian perspective I can't understand why God would send Jesus to redeem mankind but limit this to a few thousand people in and around Jerusalem. What about the rest of the world? Why does God allow other religions if no man cometh to the father except through Jesus. generations of people died with no hope of salvation through no fault of their own. Help>

ray · Post by **ray** » Fri Jun 30, 2006 5:51 am

Jesus did not come for a few thousand but for everyone. We have a free will to accept or reject or to believe something else. Satan is the father of lies and has started other religions to draw us away from the one true God. We can choose to believe his lies or believe God.

Ray

Gman · Post by **Gman** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 12:19 am

I can't understand why God would send Jesus to redeem mankind but limit this to a few thousand people in and around Jerusalem.

I might be able to help here... Geographically God could have choose to put the city of Jerusalem (the message of the gospel) in a far away land high up in the moutains safe from harm. But instead he put Jerusalem right in the center of the whole world. In fact in it's day, Jerusalem had major highways running through it where all the major countries of the world would run their trade routes. Along theses routes were huge maker stones along side the highways proclaiming the word of God to the nations of the world. When a nation became curious about these markers while they walked along these highways, they eventually found Jerusalem and then found the word of God.

The nation of Israel was actually to be a kingdom of priests (Exod. 19:6) to the rest of the world and to spread the message to the rest of the world too. How else was he going to get his messsage across to the rest of the world back then? They didn't have newspapers back then nor computers. If people would ask his guidance, he would give it to them. God never forces his people to believe or love him, they must by their free will come to him, thus the reason why there are so few believers.

The message of God and Jesus is complete and TOTAL LOVE!! If it isn't total PURE love, then it is worthless and worthy to be thrown away. But when you understand the principles of it, you will understand that it IS the message of LOVE to all the nations of the world from God.

You can never work for it (God's love) by being good either. It is attained through faith in Jesus Christ alone. That is one of the things that makes it different from the rest of the religions of the world too..

Hope this helps...

God bless,

G -

tj rich · Post by **tj rich** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 4:35 am

Thanks Gman but for all His good intentions Christianity didn't reach the americas or australasia until 40 generations (at least)of people had died without the chance to know Jesus. Is this the action of an omnipotent all loving god? Do you agree with ray that other religions were started by satan. I have studied other religions and met with people of other faiths and find that hard to believe but Why does our God allow them to live good yet misguided lives without hope of salvation? Or are all religions equally valid? or are we all deluding ourselves?

Canuckster1127 · Post by **Canuckster1127** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:56 am

Welcome TJ,

I would direct your attention to our main boad for many articles that deal with this and similar issues. You might want to start here

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetic ... heard.html

What will happen to the people who have never heard of Jesus Christ?
by Rich Deem
Introduction

Will all those people who have never heard of Jesus Christ be sent to hell? First we must note that the Bible says God will judge all people righteously.1 It seems there will be a stricter judgment for those who have rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ than those who have never heard.2 Paul tells us that those who have never heard of the law are not imputed sin under the law.3 Paul also tells us that those who follow the law (e.g., practicing Jews) will be judged by the law.4 The people who have never heard of the law are judged by the law of God which He has placed into their hearts:

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:14-16)
Judgment

A further indication that the judgment of God is based upon what we know and what we have been given can be seen in a warning by James:

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. (James 3:1)

In other words, those who know the gospel, study it, and teach it will be under stricter judgment, since they have the ability of guide others, or lead them astray. Jesus, in the parable of the Master and the slaves (Luke 12:41-48) talked about the difference in judgment between those who know the will of God vs. those who do not know:

"And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. (Luke 12:47-48)
Don't know the name "Jesus"

Do people have to know the name "Jesus Christ" to be saved? Many people do not know that "Jesus" is not the "real" name of the Savior. His real (Hebrew) name is "Yeshua," which is usually translated into the English as "Joshua." The Greek transliteration is "iaysous." In fact, in three verses of the New Testament (Luke 3:29, Acts 7:45, and Hebrews 4:8), iaysous is translated into the English as "Joshua," since the text refers to the Old Testament saint. In addition, the word "Christ" is not Jesus' last name, but His title. The Greek word "christos" (translated "Christ" in the English) means "Messiah," the "anointed one." This is why the New Testament letters often refer to Jesus as "Christ Jesus," which means "Messiah Jesus." Other languages have different pronunciations of the name of Jesus. However, God is able to understand whom we are talking about and save us no matter what we call the name of the Savior. In addition, Job, from the Old Testament, was saved even though he did not know the name of the Savior.5 Therefore, although it is true that Jesus is the only way to get into heaven,6 you don't necessarily have to know His name to get there.
What about the Great Commission?

Does the fact that people do not need to know the exact name of the Savior mean that Christians should not evangelize those who have never heard the gospel? When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He commanded them to "make disciples of all the nations," which has been called the Great Commission.7 Although it might be possible for people to be saved in the absence of knowing the gospel, it isn't likely to occur in very many instances. Therefore, it is important that Christians proclaim the gospel as much as possible. Since we don't know if any particular person knows the gospel, sometimes we seem to be a little pushy. If you are a non-Christian, please don't take it personally. We are not trying to annoy you, but genuinely want you to experience the peace of Jesus Christ and join us in eternity.
Conclusion

Know Jesus, Know Life - No Jesus, No LifeI know there are many Christians who say that all those who die without faith in Christ will be relegated to spend eternity in Hell - even if they have never heard the gospel. I think scripture suggests otherwise - that we are judged on the basis of what we know and how we act upon it. This is not any sort of ecumenical theology or "all ways lead to God." Those who have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and have refused to believe have rejected Him, and, as such, will fall under the condemnation of God, because they have rejected His provision for our disobedience.2 Therefore, atheists are still without excuse8 in rejecting God. Those who perpetrate evil, even without the knowledge of the gospel, will likewise be condemned, since they have violated their God-given conscience. In the same way, those who play the "religion game" of going to church on Sunday, but living apart from a relationship with God, will be condemned.9

Not everyone here would agree with this. It provides a good place to start a discussion however if this is a stroong concern or question for you.

Bart

Gman · Post by **Gman** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 8:00 am

I would direct your attention to our main boad for many articles that deal with this and similar issues. You might want to start here

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetic ... heard.html

Wow, I really like how this is phrased. Nice... I've been a Christian for about 20 years now and even I can learn some new things. Thanks Canuckster.

Tj rich, as for your other question I guess one could say that the other religions could be inspired by satan (I'm not going to even capitalize his name), but I'm sure man and his reasonings formulated much of it too, (or maybe even a combination of both, satan and man. I don't know..).. I think everyone needs to have some kind spirituality, and find some way to fill that void.

I can't speak for everyone here.. I've studied most of the world religions myself, I would have to agree that Jesus is the only way and that God reveals his PURE love to all the nations of the world. It might sound kind of shallow, but when you line them up, Jesus fulfills all the requirements. This is something perhaps a person might need to find out for themselves, (not just taking someone elses advice)..

I would also add, Christianity is a middle eastern belief. It did NOT originate in Europe, Asia, Africa or India. It was placed right smack dab in the middle of all the nations of the known world at that time. And that is why Jerusalem was conquered so many times by different nations. It's almost like all the nations of the world have some kind of claim to the tiny nation of Israel at sometime in the history of mankind, (and thus slowly learned about God). Kind of neat huh?

God also pursues his believers... Like a good sheperd he goes way out of his way to bring the rest of his sheep back to the fold. He can't force his ways on us either, we (by our free will) must have to step towards him or believe him as well. And God, sometimes can only go as far as his people move, (with respect to our free will). To me that is why there are so many other faiths out there.. It's a choice.

Hope this helps as well,

Take care,

G -

Felgar · Post by **Felgar** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 1:04 am

Gman wrote:I've studied most of the world religions myself, I would have to agree that Jesus is the only way and that God reveals his PURE love to all the nations of the world. It might sound kind of shallow, but when you line them up, Jesus fulfills all the requirements.

That's it for me too. No other religion is focussed on love in the same way. Therefore, no other religion adequately defines a supremely powerful and wholely good God. The Christian God is the only one that *could* logically exist. Absolutely everything else is a direct result of the love of God that is explained in the Bible.

tj rich · Post by **tj rich** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 5:31 am

I'm glad I'm not alone in questioning my faith. Thanks for the feedback- it gave me alot to think about. It seems that all religions are human constructs and that is why there are alot of them and they are all flawed. Christianity can't be the answer-Christians don't even agree with each other and any other religion I have encountered has the same basic problem, none have all the answers because they are all man made. I want to believe not delude myself.

Felgar · Post by **Felgar** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 12:40 pm

tj rich wrote:It seems that all religions are human constructs and that is why there are alot of them and they are all flawed.

Untrue. Christianity is God's construct, and the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Would a loving God create beings in His image, as objects of His affection, and then NOT explain to them at least the most fundamental aspects of His nature and His plan for salvation and eternity? I think not... And again, a passive and ambivalent being is not the God of the Bible, and would seem to me to be a logical impossibility. If not impossible, then certainly irrelavent by definition and therefore undeserving of consideration.

FFC · Post by **FFC** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 1:18 pm

Hi, tj rich,
You have a lot of good questions. Don't give up asking them, and try not to pre-judge God based on your human and finite observations, because if God is real, and His ways are so far above our ways then there is no possible way to see the whole picture here on this earth.

If your heart is open, and you are sincerely seeking, He will help you in your search. If you don't want to believe you won't. When all is said and done it comes down to God and you. Don't waste your time looking for all the answers to all your questions, spend it looking for God himself.

Take care
John

August · Post by **August** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 5:48 am

tj rich wrote:I'm glad I'm not alone in questioning my faith. Thanks for the feedback- it gave me alot to think about. It seems that all religions are human constructs and that is why there are alot of them and they are all flawed. Christianity can't be the answer-Christians don't even agree with each other and any other religion I have encountered has the same basic problem, none have all the answers because they are all man made. I want to believe not delude myself.

Hi tj, and a belated welcome from my side too.

When it comes to religion, we have a few options. We can identify a deist ot theist model, for example. When it comes to theism, we have essentially 3 choices: Islam, Judaism or Christianity. Within all 3 of those there are history, truth claims, laws, wisdom, narrative, but what makes Christianity unique among the 3 is the gospel of grace. In both Islam and udaism you are required to perform according to both scripture and doctrine, but even then you are faced with the possibility that you may not measure up to the standard required. In addition, Islam is a historic mess and has many internal inconsistencies.

Let's try to follow through this a bit more. God reveals Himself in 2 ways, through His creation, and through His direct revelation to mankind. Sure, it is your choice to pick which revelation is the one that God gave to mankind, so how would you go about doing that? You already mention internal consistency, fo example you mention that Christians do not agree with each other so it is internally inconsistent.

What would you state as all criteria for making that crucial decision? I think you must be careful not to make your own human construct of what you think it should be the "objective" yardstick.

I just want to correct you on one thing. While Christians may differ on some issues, what defines Christianity is the gift of grace that we received from God through the person of Jesus Christ. We may differ on end times, or the age of the earth, or many other things, but we all agree on the redemptive power of the cross. That is also the only crucial aspect necessary for salvation, once you believe that to be the truth, the rest of the discussions, debates and disagreements happen on a level that is "lower" than that, but not crucial to salvation.

tj rich · Post by **tj rich** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 7:14 am

Hi everyone. Thanks again for taking time to post your replies. I cannot judge God but I can form opinions about religions and religious doctrine. The existence or otherwise of a creator god is unprovable, I'm interested in the knowable, personal God of the bible. I have spent time in prayer and looked for this God through fellowship in church. I read and re-read the Bible and then studied books on theology that led me to learn about other faiths. All this led me to that question "why Christianity?" The Bible isn't the literal word of God- it contradicts itself, is logically inconsistent and needs translation and interpretation. Can God be reached without organised religion? Let me know.

Canuckster1127 · Post by **Canuckster1127** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:57 am

http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/false.html

Here's an article addressing some of the issues you might be referring to in terms of the Bible.

You're throwing a lot of assumptions on your part out without substantiation.

Are you willing to take some time to look at whether what you are assuming is correct or not?

FFC · Post by **FFC** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:56 am

Can God be reached without organised religion? Let me know.

Not only without organised religion but despite it. Christianity is a relationship. You can look into all the religions of the world and all the miriad of views that christians have but none of them will save you. If you want to have the pure truth then you have to go to the source.

Jesus said:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus is The the Way The Truth and The Life. The only one who matters in these issues, and the only one to whom you'll have to give an answer to. Go to Him. Read His simple words in the gospels. It's okay to have the questions, but ask yourself if all you want is answers or the one has them all.

tj rich · Post by **tj rich** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:05 pm

thank you FFC your response shows great generosity of spirit and gives me hope. As for making assumptions, anything I have said I have meant and all my conclusions were only arrived at after years of deliberation and diligent study, and I am happy to substantiate any and all of them. However that is not the point, just because I cannot find peace in organised religion does not take away from anyone who does. I realise some of my opinions could cause offence,that was not my intention I have been looking for insight and debate not argument.