Kudos.

For being open and firm….and unashamed.

ps – Interesting comparison between Christianity and the other ‘religions’. Something for me to ponder.

It began with being brought up in the Christian Faith and being taught that God accepts us gratuitously for Jesus’ sake, since we can never live up to God’s standards for His creatures. All of that entails that there is a God, that He is the Creator of all that exists, and that, therefore, He determines what is just and that His creatures will be held to His standards of justice and righteousness. I believe that sin entered God’s good creation, wreaking havoc not only in the physical creation, but in the relationships humans have with each other and with God Himself. That is the ultimate cause of our disobedience and rebellion against our Creator.

God did not give up on His creation, but made a way back to Himself through Jesus’ blood, death, and resurrection.

What makes all that believable to me? I’m not sure I can say any more than I believe that Jesus is who He says He is. If He really died and really rose from the dead, then that validates everything He said and did on earth. Other than the fact that no one has ever found His tomb, I doubt I can prove the resurrection beyond any shadow of a doubt to someone committed to an opposing view.

Why does Christianity make more sense than the belief that all religion is simply a human construct? (I would recommend Chesterton on this.) I think, whether it makes more rational sense or not, Christianity is the opposite of every other religion in the sense that it is primarily the story of God coming and redeeming and recreating people who not only did not want to make their way to God, but who were actively opposing God. Every other religion is an attempt to justify one’s self and one’s existence. Christianity is God justifying man because man justifying himself is impossible.

FWIW,
Tim