There are many religions to choose from

[Rational Inquirer]

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?

 

[LionL]

No reason I can think of.

Choose the religion which feels right to you - if none of them do choose to have no religion. In my experience one doesn't need a religion to find God. In fact, religions can push us further away from Him/Her.

 

[graceandpeace]

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?

If you're asking Christians, it really depends on which one you ask.

Some Christians go through great efforts to somehow "prove" Jesus, but that's not something I'm interested in trying to do. I can't prove my religion is true.

What I can say is why I believe in Jesus. I believe in His teachings & the example He set - calling us to love God & love our neighbors, even our enemies. His message of the Kingdom of God - the setting right of all things - gives me hope.

I'm invited to participate in this Kingdom now, by feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, being a good friend, etc, with the hope that one day this Kingdom will be fully realized in a cosmic way. Tears, pain, & death will cease. All things will be made whole & new.

 

[Larniavc]

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?

Oops.

Nothing to see here, carry on.

 

[Soyeong]

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?

The only reason to believe anything is because that's what you think the evidence most strongly supports. What you like or what feels right are biases that influence your ability to evaluate evidence as objectively as you can, so they are something you should try to be aware of so that you limit their influence as much as possible. Something can be true and should be believed even if it doesn't feel right and vice versa. So by all means, look at the evidence for different religions and try to evaluate which one, if any, is true.

There are many scholarly books written for and against the credibility of various religions, so try going to a library or a bookstore and looking at their selection. One book I suggest that is currently on sale for $1 on Kindle at Amazon.com is The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona.

 

[terryjohn]

If Christ said the things he said and did the things he did, and rose from the dead, then I think all others wouldn't get a look in.

 

[Rational Inquirer]

If Christ said the things he said and did the things he did, and rose from the dead, then I think all others wouldn't get a look in.

Similarly, if the Buddha did what he said he did (achieved enlightenment and received insight into the nature of the universe), that would make him worth listening to as well. Of course, I have no way of knowing if either Jesus or Buddha is the real deal.

 

[Job8]

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?

Because He took your entire sin debt and paid it in full. Now He offers you the gift of eternal life. Everyone one else was simply a sinful mortal (including Moses).

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?

Choose the one that makes the most sense to you. What else can you do?

 

[Rational Inquirer]

Choose the one that makes the most sense to you. What else can you do?

The problem with that, as I see it, is that even if one makes sense to me that does not make it true.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

The problem with that, as I see it, is that even if one makes sense to me that does not make it true.

That's a good point, RI!

And the kicker is ... you'll ALSO have to determine what constitutes the nature and structure of Truth itself (not to mention the nature of 'justification,' the nature of 'evidence,' as well as that of 'human perception'). Good luck on all of that!!

So, again, choose whichever ultimately makes the most sense to you...

2PhiloVoid

 

[Aidan K]

The problem with that, as I see it, is that even if one makes sense to me that does not make it true.

Go with Bahaullah . The fact that you mention His name means He has impacted on you. Think, read, pray

 

[Brianlear]

The life of Jesus is simply the most compelling. So much so, that even if you transiently follow other doctrines, you will always wonder in the back of your mind "what if Jesus was right?"

 

[Rational Inquirer]

The life of Jesus is simply the most compelling. So much so, that even if you transiently follow other doctrines, you will always wonder in the back of your mind "what if Jesus was right?"

I would say that which one is most compelling is a matter of opinion. Jesus' story may be most compelling to you, but not necessarily to me.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I would say that which one is most compelling is a matter of opinion. Jesus' story may be most compelling to you, but not necessarily to me.

Then, the next question is: what kinds of ideas are compelling for you?

 

[Rational Inquirer]

Then, the next question is: what kinds of ideas are compelling for you?

An excellent question, and one I am grappling with. I would say that the idea of love for one's fellow man is compelling--a brotherhood of humanity, regardless of country, race or religion. I would also say that I like the idea of the evolution of consciousness, as it seems to me that all things in this universe evolve. Perhaps we are here on Earth to have experiences, to evolve and grow. Then any afterlife would not be reward or punishment, but simply a continuation of our evolution. Perhaps.

 

[Brianlear]

"I would say that the idea of love for one's fellow man is compelling--a brotherhood of humanity, regardless of country, race or religion."

That IS jesus man!

 

[ldonjohn]

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?

Rational Inquirer

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?
Rational Inquirer, I will attempt to answer your question assuming you really want a genuine answer, and are not looking to draw Christians into a debate about Christianity.
I am a Christian, a believer in Jesus, but I have not always been a believer. I grew up in church where I heard about God, Jesus, the cross, heaven, and hell Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. When I became a young adult I decided that I didn't know if all that stuff was true or if it was just a lot of stuff people made up and wrote in a book called the bible. I got out of church, forgot about the God & Jesus stuff, and got on with my life. A few years later I began to think about it all again, and became quite concerned about what would happen to me if the bible is true. Eventually, that concern led me to a desperate search for the truth.
I started going to church again and this time I really listened to the messages. I talked to the pastor, Sunday School teacher, and other Christians. This was before the internet, cell phones, etc. so I read books about Christianity & about believing in Jesus, and listened to preachers on the radio/TV. I knew about Jesus & the cross. I did what the preacher told me to do, “come forward and say a prayer to believe in Jesus.” I said “I believe in Jesus” and pretended to be a believer. I talked the talk and walked the walk, but I was a fake. I did not understand how just believing in Jesus & saying a prayer could make me a Christian. I read in the bible that even Satan believes in Jesus, and I knew he could never become a Christian. I was confused and miserable. No one could convince me that anything in the bible was true. I wasn't even sure if God existed. I thought that I would never know if God was real, if Jesus was who He claimed to be, or if I would ever know what it really means to “believe” in God or in Jesus. I was desperate to know the truth, but all the questions I asked, all the books I read, all the preachers I listened too could not convince me that any of it was true.
Then, one night as I went to bed, out of a sense of desperation & helplessness, I just gave up on myself trying to find the answers I needed. I looked up at the ceiling in my bedroom and said a prayer to a God who I wasn't even sure existed. My prayer was something like this “God, will you show me the truth about believing in Jesus?” I slept better that night than I had slept in a long time.
The next day, I found our large family bible that we never read, opened it to the Gospel of John and started reading. I did not know what I would find there, but I was ready to accept whatever it would be if it could convince me of its truth. As I read from John chapter 1 through chapter 6, I found that for the first time in my life I was understanding what I was reading in the bible. By the time I was in chapter 6, I was completely convinced that the bible is the absolute truth, that God is real, and that Jesus is who He claimed to be. As a non-believer I could not understand how anyone could know, for sure, that the bible is true? But, within the time I read those 6 chapters, I became a real believer.
No, I did not convince myself that what I was reading was the truth. I was a skeptic who thought that understanding God was not possible, but here I was, reading about God & Jesus and understanding it in a way that I knew it was all true. It was as though I had been blind and now I could see, and that is actually what did happen to me. The best way I know to explain it is that something “turned on the light” and “I got it.” Christians know what that “something” was/is that turned on the light for me. The Holy Spirit moved into my dead spirit and gave me life. That new life was “spiritual light” or a “quickening” that changed the focus of my “belief” from myself to the message of the cross where Jesus died to pay the penalty for my sins. My confidence or trust went from myself to that message. It was instantaneous and it “changed” my life from a life of misery and dreadful fear to a life of complete assurance & peace knowing that the God who a few moments ago I did not know existed, had reached down from His Throne in Heaven and saved this undeserving sinner from himself, forgave my sin, made me His own, and gave me eternal life with Him.
The “impossible” had just happened to me, and all I did was, in a sense of helpless desperation, turn from myself and sought after God, who I wasn't sure existed, in a book that I wasn't sure was true. Yes, it was impossible for me to convince myself of the Truth, but for God, the Holy Spirit, it was a simple matter of doing what He will do for anyone who seeks the truth in earnest. The following scriptures describe what the Holy Spirit did for me and will do for anyone.
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (KJV) He used the words of the Gospel of John to give me life.

But, we must seek Him in earnest as stated in the following scriptures:

Jeremiah 29:13; “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (KJV)

Dueteronomy4:29; “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (KJV)

Here are 2 other important scriptures from the Gospel of John.

John 6:37 “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (KJV)

John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” KJV)

God will draw anyone to Jesus when He sees that he/she is seeking Him with all their heart and soul, and Jesus will not turn anyone away who comes to Him in that attitude.

Much more could be said about this matter, but this is already very lengthy so I will end it here as I give you my answer to your question: Jesus, is the only one who died on the cross to pay your sin debt to God. (And mine)

Don

 

[Rational Inquirer]

Rational Inquirer

Why should I believe Jesus, rather than say, Buddha or Bahá'u'lláh?
Rational Inquirer, I will attempt to answer your question assuming you really want a genuine answer, and are not looking to draw Christians into a debate about Christianity.
I am a Christian, a believer in Jesus, but I have not always been a believer. I grew up in church where I heard about God, Jesus, the cross, heaven, and hell Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. When I became a young adult I decided that I didn't know if all that stuff was true or if it was just a lot of stuff people made up and wrote in a book called the bible. I got out of church, forgot about the God & Jesus stuff, and got on with my life. A few years later I began to think about it all again, and became quite concerned about what would happen to me if the bible is true. Eventually, that concern led me to a desperate search for the truth.
I started going to church again and this time I really listened to the messages. I talked to the pastor, Sunday School teacher, and other Christians. This was before the internet, cell phones, etc. so I read books about Christianity & about believing in Jesus, and listened to preachers on the radio/TV. I knew about Jesus & the cross. I did what the preacher told me to do, “come forward and say a prayer to believe in Jesus.” I said “I believe in Jesus” and pretended to be a believer. I talked the talk and walked the walk, but I was a fake. I did not understand how just believing in Jesus & saying a prayer could make me a Christian. I read in the bible that even Satan believes in Jesus, and I knew he could never become a Christian. I was confused and miserable. No one could convince me that anything in the bible was true. I wasn't even sure if God existed. I thought that I would never know if God was real, if Jesus was who He claimed to be, or if I would ever know what it really means to “believe” in God or in Jesus. I was desperate to know the truth, but all the questions I asked, all the books I read, all the preachers I listened too could not convince me that any of it was true.
Then, one night as I went to bed, out of a sense of desperation & helplessness, I just gave up on myself trying to find the answers I needed. I looked up at the ceiling in my bedroom and said a prayer to a God who I wasn't even sure existed. My prayer was something like this “God, will you show me the truth about believing in Jesus?” I slept better that night than I had slept in a long time.
The next day, I found our large family bible that we never read, opened it to the Gospel of John and started reading. I did not know what I would find there, but I was ready to accept whatever it would be if it could convince me of its truth. As I read from John chapter 1 through chapter 6, I found that for the first time in my life I was understanding what I was reading in the bible. By the time I was in chapter 6, I was completely convinced that the bible is the absolute truth, that God is real, and that Jesus is who He claimed to be. As a non-believer I could not understand how anyone could know, for sure, that the bible is true? But, within the time I read those 6 chapters, I became a real believer.
No, I did not convince myself that what I was reading was the truth. I was a skeptic who thought that understanding God was not possible, but here I was, reading about God & Jesus and understanding it in a way that I knew it was all true. It was as though I had been blind and now I could see, and that is actually what did happen to me. The best way I know to explain it is that something “turned on the light” and “I got it.” Christians know what that “something” was/is that turned on the light for me. The Holy Spirit moved into my dead spirit and gave me life. That new life was “spiritual light” or a “quickening” that changed the focus of my “belief” from myself to the message of the cross where Jesus died to pay the penalty for my sins. My confidence or trust went from myself to that message. It was instantaneous and it “changed” my life from a life of misery and dreadful fear to a life of complete assurance & peace knowing that the God who a few moments ago I did not know existed, had reached down from His Throne in Heaven and saved this undeserving sinner from himself, forgave my sin, made me His own, and gave me eternal life with Him.
The “impossible” had just happened to me, and all I did was, in a sense of helpless desperation, turn from myself and sought after God, who I wasn't sure existed, in a book that I wasn't sure was true. Yes, it was impossible for me to convince myself of the Truth, but for God, the Holy Spirit, it was a simple matter of doing what He will do for anyone who seeks the truth in earnest. The following scriptures describe what the Holy Spirit did for me and will do for anyone.
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (KJV) He used the words of the Gospel of John to give me life.

But, we must seek Him in earnest as stated in the following scriptures:

Jeremiah 29:13; “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (KJV)

Dueteronomy4:29; “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” (KJV)

Here are 2 other important scriptures from the Gospel of John.

John 6:37 “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (KJV)

John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” KJV)

God will draw anyone to Jesus when He sees that he/she is seeking Him with all their heart and soul, and Jesus will not turn anyone away who comes to Him in that attitude.

Much more could be said about this matter, but this is already very lengthy so I will end it here as I give you my answer to your question: Jesus, is the only one who died on the cross to pay your sin debt to God. (And mine)

Don

Thank you for sharing your story with me, and in such detail. I am currently reading the Bible cover to cover (very gradually). I guess I'll find out if I have such an experience.

I admit, however, that although I honestly try to keep an open mind, I remain extremely skeptical. In particular, I find the idea that only those who happen to choose the right religion get to go to heaven very hard to swallow.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Thank you for sharing your story with me, and in such detail. I am currently reading the Bible cover to cover (very gradually). I guess I'll find out if I have such an experience.

I admit, however, that although I honestly try to keep an open mind, I remain extremely skeptical. In particular, I find the idea that only those who happen to choose the right religion get to go to heaven very hard to swallow.

I understand what you mean, Rational. Concern over how God can still be considered as "fair" in relation to the actual, and apparently limited, distribution and application of His message (i.e. the New Testament Gospel), is valid and has many people wondering.

However, keep in mind that there are more than a couple of theological positions that Christians have on this important subject, and you may want to check them out as a side-note while you read through the Bible.

Just something to think about.

Peace
2PhiloVoid