How and when did you become a Christian?

[SandRose]

Thanks once again for all the responses to this topic. Just a few quick followup things this time...

Jak: Thanks for such a detailed and reasoned post. Where did you grow up that Christianity was such a small minority? Also, I'm a little confused about your reasoning that Christianity's being strange, and its having people willing to suffer / die for it, is an indication of its truth -- how would you respond to an assertion that Islam, Heavens Gate, and Aztec religion fulfill those same characteristics equally well?

Wish I had more to give you.

Me too -- I can't help thinking there's a sort of communication gap between us. Statements like "God called and I answered" may say everything for you, but to me they mean nothing. (Thanks for trying, though -- I do appreciate it.)

 

[Key]

Me too -- I can't help thinking there's a sort of communication gap between us. Statements like "God called and I answered" may say everything for you, but to me they mean nothing. (Thanks for trying, though -- I do appreciate it.)

Nahh.. statements like that don't say much to me either.. so don't be too hard on yourself, but.. let me give ya an example, maybe clear the problem up.

Have ya ever had like major stitches done to you due to cuts or something.

Every try to explain how you just "Dealt with it" I mean.. really.. how did you just "Deal" with it. Do you have words to explain how you "dealt" with it. Not really, and if you knew it was gonna happen, you don't think you could deal with it.. in that sense. but.. when it happened.. you just had to deal with it.

But.. if you talk to someone else that has been though that type of ordeal.. and you say "Well I just dealt with it" nothing more needs to be said.. because you both know what it was like.. and words.. just don't mean a thing at that point, and even if you tried to use words.. they would not do any justice to what it really felt like.. what it was like going though that level of pain.. so.. words become a hindrance.. and to say "Well I dealt with it" is simple enough.. and the people that know what it was like.. just nod and agree.

Let me give you another example. Do you have a Tattoo? Maybe.. but could you explain what it was like getting the very first tattoo? The burn in your body as the needled went into the skin.. and way the skin started to go numb.. and how when they switched from the 3 point black line to the 8 mag needle to do the color.. the pain changed accordingly. But then.. after you got home.. the itch set in.. and then.. a week later.. after this itch just about drove you crazy.. you looked down at the work.. the realization that you are stuck with this sets in.

Now.. sure.. that seems to explain it.. but.. unless you been there.. done that.. you will not truly grasp what it was like.. what it felt like.. and the emotions and feelings that were involved.. as such.. it just falls on ears that can not comprehend.

I guess the same thing could be said about God. When God enters your life.. unless you been there.. done that... it just really.. fails to have good words to say what it was like.

I am sure people explain their stories.. and their pains and trials.. but.. your outside.. you don't get the true power from the story.. you get a passing appreciation, if any, for what it was like for them. Then they tell you of how God lifted them out of that, and still, unless you know what that feels like, you have no base point, no way to relate to it. So it's just passing appreciation, not true grasping of what they are relaying to you. But, if you went though it, your eyes fill with mist, and you see the moments in your mind, and they fill you, you know, what it was like, and you recall your own, you in a way, know their trials and tears, and revelations and humbling and awakening, and there lies the brotherhood and Sisterhood of God.

But do I have a story to tell... well..

God Called... and I answered...

Truly sorry if that does not fill you.. or give you a passing appreciation, maybe, if you walked the same road as I did.. then that is all I would ever need to say.. for you to nod your head.. and go "I know what you mean", and ya would, and there would be a lasting appreciation between us.

It's not communication.. we both have the same words.. it's far deeper then that.

Still.. sorry I can't give you more then this.. or more then what I have given, maybe one day, you will remember this.. nod your head.. and say "I now know what you mean Key.. I now know what you mean brother".

I wish you always the best.

God Bless

Key

 

[Raph]

At the end of the year 1988, I was invited stay over at my Christian friend’s house by his mother for Christmas. I jumped at the chance, seeing that his mother was an excellent cook and I need not want to spend Christmas alone. One night there, while I was trying to drift off to sleep, a strange euphoria swept over me. I though I was going down on acid (L.S.D) but this was somehow different from the other times I had taken this drug. The last time I took acid, being a few years before. I was pondering over this strange experience in my thoughts, wondering if someone had drugged me, thinking to myself “What is this strange feeling?” Then this feeling spoke to me in my mind, it said, “I am God.” Confronted by the sudden realization that God was real, I reacted in the only way anyone could which was sheer terror; therefore, I did the only reasonable thing I could do in this situation, I told Him, “Go Away.”

So after having this close encounter of a different kind, I began to ask a Christian friend of mine a few questions about God and the bible. The look on his face was priceless when I began to show interest in this Jesus stuff he was selling. I told him of my experience and he flipped-out but I told him I was not sold. I am going to have to read this bible thing first and think about this whole thing before I make any decisions on what really happen to me. Christmas was over, I headed back to Vancouver Island where I lived at the time. I bough myself a bible and began to read it. I intended to read this thing from cover to cover, thinking it was some kind of text book. I started in Genesis and got as far a the begots in the same chapter before I got bored of it. I also spent that year talking about the existence of God and spirituality to a number of people to get their take on the matter, all of them non-Christian. Toward the end of the year of 1989, I came to the conclusion that there was no way I could live the Christian life because I loved my flesh too much and didn’t want to give it up to follow Jesus. I felt glad that I had finally made a decision about this matter.

Once again, my Christian friend’s mom invited me over for Christmas and once again I could not resist a chance to have some more of that home cooking. Needless to say my Christian friend got me back into a discussion about God the night before I was heading back home. Even though I had decided that I could never live the Christian life before, something came over me during our conversation, a reckless impulse to just do it. I told my friend we need to take a walk. We ended up at the elementary school just down the street from his house. There I received Jesus as my savior and I was touch again with the same euphoria I had experience the year before, the very presence of God which is still with me today. I discovered that the great lie that God was something you only got to experience only after you died was untrue. The whole point of Christ's sacrifice was for man to know Him now in life and to live a life worthy of Him, eternity is just the icing.


.

 

[SandRose]

Key: Thanks for your very thoughtful post -- It was sort of beautiful in a way. I understand what you're getting at, although I think I'm personally a little less cynical toward the ability of words to communicate something to another person, even if they've never experienced it. (I'm currently trying to write a novel, and even though my own writing skills may not be good enough to achieve that level of communication, I'd like to think it's possible at least.)

But when you asked if I've ever had major stitches done due to cuts, it struck a chord with one of my own experiences, and it made me feel like sharing a story, which may be only sort of relevant here if anyone wants to listen. This is something that I've never really told anyone outside the "real world" (aka offline)...

When I was 16, I had an accident where my entire arm went through a plane glass window. All of the flesh from my wrist to my elbow was pretty much shredded -- there were long strips of skin literally hanging loose. No one was around who could drive, and since this was something that required some serious medical attention (it was bleeding badly) we ended up calling an ambulance.

As the paramedics were arriving, I remember being almost unable to bring myself to look at the injury, and thinking that there couldn't be enough skin left for them to even sew it back together. But instead of allowing myself to panic, I remember thinking over and over again that I was going to a hospital now, there are doctors there, and they'll try their best to fix it. (That was how I "dealt with it," I suppose.) In the end it took 40+ stitches, 60+ staples, and surgery to repair a severed tendon. Five years later, I still have some pretty cool, wicked scars to show for it (and some minor stiffness now and then) but for the most part my arm and hand are as good as new.

But telling that story, even if the listener doesn't understand precisely how it felt when they started putting in the stitches (and the painkiller wasn't working and I could feel each stitch and staple going in), I would at least expect them to understand what happened, how it happened, maybe even imagine what it was like -- I disagree that it would be so far beyond their own experiences as to be incomprehensible. I think the big difference here (the gap between the two of us I mentioned) is that, while I don't doubt that you're very sincere in how you feel, and while I don't doubt that you've experienced an emotion that I haven't, I don't believe that God exists anywhere outside your brain (unlike the injury or the tattoo).

I don't mean to offend you or anything by that, and I'm not sure if I've quite said it right, but I suppose that's the clearest way I can think to put it right now. I really do appreciate your thoughtful post, and I understand that I'm an "outsider" to what many of you guys feel and believe. But I'm happy being where I am -- my current views are the result of being honest with myself, nothing more and nothing less. You can probably say the exact same, and in that sense... even though we're coming from two different places on this, right now I feel strangely like we've found some common ground. Thanks for that.

 

[jrmronald]

I'll try to answer your question about my personal life. I was
raised Methodist, Baptist and Lutheran. As a young person
I realized that the churchs I went to had a little problem in that
they were all different and did not apeal to reason I became
agnostice until I was 25 and did about 10 years of study and
became Catholic which appealed to reason. I hope I answered
your question.
jrm

 

[diamondjoust]

I went to a Baptist sunday school as a kid, and later to an Anglican church for what's called communion, after being what's called "confirmed" at age fourteen. I knew about Jesus and his life but never heard of hell and judgment day in the lessons and sermons I got. When I was twenty-five I picked up the Bible at home one day and started to read it for the first time for myself, and got convicted in my conscience that Jesus was the Son of God, and had the answer for my guilt, in his death for me.
I just simply turned to him in prayer from the heart, and in simple faith said: "I'm sorry Jesus for what I've done", and immediately the Lord was present, and the Holy Ghost fell on me, and he was in me as a tangible person present with me, whom I had not known or met before. What happened was not mere theory or just something in my brain; and I'm even more sure I know the Lord now than I was when I first met him back then. Tangible contact with Jesus, and receiving God's Spirit is something all and only true Christians have, and can be construed as an antithesis of the contact sinners make with evil or false spirits, when they use protocol to access the spirit world other than the name of Jesus, which is the only way to access the Father and receive the Holy Ghost.

 

[Seekermeister]

For some Christians, this is an easy question to answer, but not for myself. For as long as I can remember, I have been a Christian, of one stage or another. But, being a Christian is not a stagnant state that a person reaches in this lifetime. As a Christian matures, it is possible to look back, and question his past, but in reality, those past transformations is what gives hope for those of the future. I am more of a Christian than I have ever been, but I pray that I shall continue to grow.

I could point to certain events which have brought me to where I am, but each of these were merely steps. When did I become a Christian? I have always been one...but not always a very good one.

 

[SandRose]

Thanks for your continued responses, everyone I don't have any particular follow-up questions at the moment (other than perhaps the ones asked a few pages ago) but feel free to keep using this topic to post your stories -- I'll stay subscribed to this thread and watch it for replies. It's been interesting hearing the variety of everyone's experiences, and I'd be glad to hear the stories of anyone else who feels like sharing them.

 

[Key]

Key: Thanks for your very thoughtful post -- It was sort of beautiful in a way. I understand what you're getting at, although I think I'm personally a little less cynical toward the ability of words to communicate something to another person, even if they've never experienced it. (I'm currently trying to write a novel, and even though my own writing skills may not be good enough to achieve that level of communication, I'd like to think it's possible at least.)

But when you asked if I've ever had major stitches done due to cuts, it struck a chord with one of my own experiences, and it made me feel like sharing a story, which may be only sort of relevant here if anyone wants to listen. This is something that I've never really told anyone outside the "real world" (aka offline)...

When I was 16, I had an accident where my entire arm went through a plane glass window. All of the flesh from my wrist to my elbow was pretty much shredded -- there were long strips of skin literally hanging loose. No one was around who could drive, and since this was something that required some serious medical attention (it was bleeding badly) we ended up calling an ambulance.

As the paramedics were arriving, I remember being almost unable to bring myself to look at the injury, and thinking that there couldn't be enough skin left for them to even sew it back together. But instead of allowing myself to panic, I remember thinking over and over again that I was going to a hospital now, there are doctors there, and they'll try their best to fix it. (That was how I "dealt with it," I suppose.) In the end it took 40+ stitches, 60+ staples, and surgery to repair a severed tendon. Five years later, I still have some pretty cool, wicked scars to show for it (and some minor stiffness now and then) but for the most part my arm and hand are as good as new.

But telling that story, even if the listener doesn't understand precisely how it felt when they started putting in the stitches (and the painkiller wasn't working and I could feel each stitch and staple going in), I would at least expect them to understand what happened, how it happened, maybe even imagine what it was like -- I disagree that it would be so far beyond their own experiences as to be incomprehensible.

Now, see here we are on the same page. Like that Sharp feeling, like a quick bee sting as they put the stitch into the skin (When they did not wait for the meds to hit), then that feeling like the skin (As much as it hurts) is being dragged by the thread, and as they tie it down, you can feel the, I swear you can feel the new hole they just put into stretch a little, and the pain is just about blinding as it ever could. Then they put the staple in, and it's quick, all you feel, is the impact to the skin, at first, then it just stings all around the are.

There is the time you are not looking down, but you are at the same time, needing to look at it, you need to know how bad it is, can ya move the fingers, can you move the arm, you don't want to move the arm, but you want to move the arm at the same time. You want to wiggle your fingers to make sure you still can, but you are scared to move the fingers, or anything at all, because, it's all just so bloody and the shock is about the only thing keeping you sane at this moment, but you know, it should hurt more then it does, but, your mind is like, well this, I can deal with this, just a few more moments, and then I'll be ok, I'll be taken care of, and they will just fix me up, and everything is going to be fine, I'm going to be fine, they will fix me up, and it's all going to be ok.

Then they lay your arm down, and put the needles right into the wounds, and pain, and the needled, and the fluid fills into the wound, and first one is beyond the pain of the injury itself, as they shove that needle into you, and all you think of is "Just a moment more, then it will stop hurting, then it will stop hurting, just please stop hurting, they just gonna do it this little bit, and it's gonna stop hurting.

Now, Sure, Other people might be thinking, "Well that sounds Bad, don't it"

But, you and I, well, that's like.. LIFE.. that is REAL to us, we know that feeling, we experienced it, and we know it, and when we talk about it, and our words, have Weight, and Merit, and they have LIFE to them. There is a REALness to those words.. even if other people might sympthise with what that might have been like.. they stil have a barrier there, something that stops them from truly grasping what it was like. That is where the LIFE is my friend, that is LIFE.

And we know, that each of us, Knows what the other is talking about, there is no miscommunication there, there is no problems grasping what was said, or confusion. We have that rapport between us, that binds us.

Same with Christ...

right now I feel strangely like we've found some common ground. Thanks for that.

Always a Blessing

God Bless

Key

 

[tarama]

[FONT=&quot]I've been wondering a lot about individuals' experiences when it comes to religion. Were you raised Christian, or did you convert later in life? Was there a special person in your life, or a line of reasoning / evidence, that convinced or motivated you to arrive at your current beliefs? Any other experiences or details you want to share about the path you followed -- certainties, revelations, doubts? I'm very curious about your stories, and would be interested in hearing what you guys have to share.

I'm not sure if this is the best board for this kind of topic, but since I'm rather new to CF it seemed like an okay place for such a discussion. Looking forward to hearing from you guys
[/FONT]

Hi Sandrose, you just sound so lovely and so genuine. I don't often share my testimony, however I feel compelled to do so with you. I think because you validate people and their experiences. It takes so much to share your heart and journey with others. I guess I'll start from my early teens. My Dad was a pastor (minister) for quite a few years. I only went to church to help with the music, as it was a small church and there were about 3 musicians in the place. When I reached the age of about 14 I was into all sorts of things, smoking, drinking, demeaning relationships etc. It was later in life, around 18-19 that I started with the drugs. I was travelling a destructive road, full of pain and addictions. My sister died in August 2003, when I was 21. She had a tragic accident. She was my best friend and an awesome, incredible woman of God, always putting others before herself, speaking about God to others constantly, praising God under every circumstance. When she died, my whole world, which I thought had already fallen apart, really fell apart. I thought that if I was going to see Tracey again then I would need to give this 'God stuff' a go. How do I explain ... I was completely broken and God picked up the pieces and continues to put me back together to this day. Last year, 2006 in January my Dad passed away, further on in the year, in May my Grandma passed away also from cancer. The most recent loss my family and I have experienced is my 15 month old nephew, Nicholas in October last year. I have learnt in this life that only one thing is constant, and that is God. God is my best friend. He is my refuge. If I was to loose anybody else that is close to me, I would continue to survive because I have God in my life. He renews my hope everyday. He fills me with peace and strength to endure the agony of losing such precious people that I loved so completely. I'm praying that this post makes sense to you. In response to what you asked ... was there a certain someone ... yes, it was my sister Tracey. This is my life story, less a few details, otherwise, like anybody else I'd be here all night! God bless you

 

[SandRose]

Key: Thanks for the follow-up post. You have a way with words that captures feelings particularly well, and I think I understand better what you mean when you talk about believers being drawn together by the emotion they feel.

Tarama: I appreciate the compliment, though I'm not sure I deserve it (I fear that sometimes my natural skepticism gets in the way of respecting and appreciating others' experiences as much as perhaps I should). I'm glad you decided to share your story and everything you went through, though -- it seems to me like there could be a much greater understanding between the theist / atheist divide if people were more willing to look at beliefs in the context of the lives and experiences of individuals, instead of just blindly analyzing beliefs themselves.

 

[LivingLifeHisWay]

My Testimony:

My Journey to Christ

As a child I endured every type of abuse. The abuse molded me into an empty and hollow person. I started searching for love and clung to temporary fulfilments. People pleasing began and I did everything I could just to fit in. Alcohol, drugs and people satisfied the emptiness but it would never last. The satisfaction I was given would wither and I would add more and more just to feel whole. What a downward cycle that was.

I was married at 19 and divorced by 20. My 1st husband was the only person I thought cared about me and when he cheated on me my life shattered into a million pieces. I was truly ALONE. This is when bad turned into worse. More alcohol, more drugs and more people invaded my life. The year after my divorce was the worst year of my life. I think back at that time and shame is the only word I can use to describe what I did. Dirty, ugly....SHAME.

A year later I met my current husband. He was so different from anyone else in my life; so different from me. He was a straight laced, stand up kind of guy. In order to be with him I had to clean my act up and I did. I stopped the bad girl routine and straightened myself out. I was still living for myself though. I still had anger issues, bitterness overwhelmed me and I had a big chip on my shoulder. He loved me anyway. When we started to plan our wedding we met Pastor Phil. He agreed to marry us if we would participate in a bible study with him.

It was that bible study that brought me to the feet of Jesus. The turning point for me was when I made the comment "I'm afraid to die" and the pastor said "You should be". His comment came from love and it was the first time someone was that honest with me. It made me re-think my life, what I believed and what my eternal outcome would be.

A few months into the bible study and about 5 weeks before our wedding day my husband and I both repented and put our faith in Jesus Christ. One thing I've learned is I needed to go through my past, just the way it happened. I needed to be broken in order for God to lift me up. I needed to realize that I can't do it on my own. I can't live life my way and be satisfied. And be whole. Jesus satisfies. Jesus makes me whole.

From that day until I die I choose to live my life His way. The only way that works.

 

[LivingLifeHisWay]

I once was lost....


Before becoming a Christian I knew there was a God, I knew that Jesus died for my sins and I knew He rose again BUT and that's a BIG but - I didn't understand it. All that information did not relate to me and I didn't understand how it affected me. Looking back, I can see that I was truly lost. Living life selfishly, not caring who I hurt or who hurt me for that matter. I was literally walking no, running to hell. Now I know that sounds harsh and no one likes to talk or hear the word hell but it's the truth.

I was not repentant of my sins and I didn't put my faith in Jesus Christ. If I had died during that time I would have gone straight to hell and I deserved it. I deserved hell. I still do. Now comes the joyful part.......despite the fact that I do deserve hell I'm not going there anymore. Because I repented and placed my faith into Jesus Christ; because I bieleve with my whole heart and soul that He died for me and rose again - JESUS is now preparing a place for me in Heaven. I fell asleep one night clutching a one way ticket down and woke up to an eternity in Heaven. How precious is that?

How awesome is our God that now when He looks at me He doesn't see the shameful things I have done. He sees me through Jesus' blood, the lamb that was slain to pay my penalty. He didn't have to die but He chose to for me. He didn't deserve death, I did, but He loved me that much. The reason why I am so passionate about my Lord and Saviour is because I understand (key word there) what He did for me. I understand that I was dead and now I'm alive. I understand what being saved means. I was saved from eternal damnation.

I will thank God everyday for the gift of eternal life that was given to me. A life that I await to commence. I am no longer afraid to die, I embrace it. As morbid as that sounds. To be away from the body is to be present with the Lord....what better place is there?

.....but now I'm found

 

[tarama]

I once was lost....


Before becoming a Christian I knew there was a God, I knew that Jesus died for my sins and I knew He rose again BUT and that's a BIG but - I didn't understand it. All that information did not relate to me and I didn't understand how it affected me. Looking back, I can see that I was truly lost. Living life selfishly, not caring who I hurt or who hurt me for that matter. I was literally walking no, running to hell. Now I know that sounds harsh and no one likes to talk or hear the word hell but it's the truth.

I was not repentant of my sins and I didn't put my faith in Jesus Christ. If I had died during that time I would have gone straight to hell and I deserved it. I deserved hell. I still do. Now comes the joyful part.......despite the fact that I do deserve hell I'm not going there anymore. Because I repented and placed my faith into Jesus Christ; because I bieleve with my whole heart and soul that He died for me and rose again - JESUS is now preparing a place for me in Heaven. I fell asleep one night clutching a one way ticket down and woke up to an eternity in Heaven. How precious is that?

How awesome is our God that now when He looks at me He doesn't see the shameful things I have done. He sees me through Jesus' blood, the lamb that was slain to pay my penalty. He didn't have to die but He chose to for me. He didn't deserve death, I did, but He loved me that much. The reason why I am so passionate about my Lord and Saviour is because I understand (key word there) what He did for me. I understand that I was dead and now I'm alive. I understand what being saved means. I was saved from eternal damnation.

I will thank God everyday for the gift of eternal life that was given to me. A life that I await to commence. I am no longer afraid to die, I embrace it. As morbid as that sounds. To be away from the body is to be present with the Lord....what better place is there?

.....but now I'm found

Praise God for you! For your powerful testimony! Praise God for the incredibly wonderful things he has done in your life! A friend said something to me that has stayed with me always and that is if I was the only person on this earth, God still would have sacrificed his son Jesus to save me! Praise the Lord

 

[Key]

See SandRose, when I talked with you just now, about the injury, and your nodding your head, going I know what you mean. But that is a lasting appreciation, that I was talking about. The respect is there, and you appreciate that we are equal in that set of our lives. Just because some one can sympathize with you, or respect how something feels, that is a passing appreciation, they do not walk away from the words, with a new respect of who they are talking to, and the bond that is now shared.

Think of how simple that bond is now between us, and only because of Pain from an injury.

Now Imagine.. how awesome that feeling becomes when it is God.

.....but now I'm found

See SandRose, this is the part that struck the most with me.. her life, and her trials, not so much, not my walk, not my life, I can only passingly appreciate them, but this last part...

"Now I am found".. see that comes to life for me.. because that is where we are linked.. I look at this.. and emotons fill me.. I know what it feels like to be finally found.. and it's beyond words...

But that is our link... all her words, a novel could have been written.. but for me to grasp her story best.. was the end... "Now I am Found" and between us.. that is all that needs to be said.

Hope I explained that well...

Still difficult to explain it.. sometimes... because.. in an odd way.. it's beyond words.. just like say...

When you feel love for someone.. can you put the love to words? Maybe.. but they are words that you associate the feeling with, if the other person reads them.. and does not do the same.. the feeling.. the exchange is lost...

And, even then.. did you really put your feelings to words.. or just the best words that you had....

That is why when we say "I love you" it's not filling... as a word... as a sentence.. but.. if you know love.. and you love the other person.. that is all that needs to be said.. it is enough....

Language is a funny thing.. and I hope this helps you with your novel.

God Bless

Key

 

[SandRose]

LivingLifeHisWay: Thanks for sharing that -- it must've taken a lot of courage to post such a long and heartfelt story of your journey. What struck me though was the amount of emphasis you put on the shame, feeling that you deserved to die, etc. -- I'm just afraid you're being too hard on yourself. You suffered through abuse, divorce, loneliness -- things that would be emotionally devastating to anyone. Making mistakes and struggling to cope are a part of what it is to be human, and to me it honestly seemed a little unfair that you seem to see yourself as a worthless sinner who deserves to burn in hell. (I say this out of sympathy for what you went through, not out of challenge to or disagreement with your beliefs.) But I'm very glad you pulled through, and best of luck to you in the future.

Language is a funny thing.. and I hope this helps you with your novel.

LOL-- Thanks for the encouragement

 

[jak]

Jak: Thanks for such a detailed and reasoned post. Where did you grow up that Christianity was such a small minority? Also, I'm a little confused about your reasoning that Christianity's being strange, and its having people willing to suffer / die for it, is an indication of its truth -- how would you respond to an assertion that Islam, Heavens Gate, and Aztec religion fulfill those same characteristics equally well?

I thought then...and still think...that its an indication of the truth of Christ's coming to life again...because that was something unique and well, rather unbelievable(!..humanly speaking) that Christ's disciples said from the start about him. They said he rose again, they'd seen him, and therefore he was who he said he was...and stuck to that despite torture and execution. It was too far-fetched a tale for anyone to make up; and if at all one of them did make it up, and persuade so many others to endorse it for whatever reason, would you or I stick to a dressed up, bizarre story to the point of getting by eaten by lions rather than confessing it was just a tale? rather unlikely...and so many of them! Most of the disciples of Christ were executed. Peter was crucified, james killed early on, Paul beheaded, Thomas probably killed in my own country, india (yes, we're 2-3% of the population)...

Yes, others are willing to die for their faith...Muslims are willing to die, because dying in jihad ensures that you reach heaven...but its not for the same reason...that they have been eye-witnesses of what, if true, is certainly the greatest event in human history: a dead man coming to life again, and walking and talking with many people. So I found the Christian story different. ;-)