Likelihood of Christian teachings being true?

[logicality]

Does anyone have an idea of what the likelihood is of any of this being true? I consider myself a seeker, and until I have some numbers I guess I'll never know if it's real or not. I'd like it to be, but if it isn't logical then I may as well be an Atheist - though it would be convenient I don't necessarily need religion, I don't think.

One one hand, the book of Genesis seems to be really accurate with regards to cosmology. On the other, it seems a bit implausible to me that only one tribe of people (Israelites) would be willing to listen to God, and that these two people were deceived by a snake, and so on and so forth. In other words, some of it seems amazingly accurate but other parts seem, well, I wouldn't say impossible but you do have to ask yourself why the story is the way it is, don't you?

 

[CodyFaith]

It's a matter of faith.

 

[bling]

How important is it to you personally to have Christianity be true?
How would it change you to know Christianity is true?
What do you want to change?

 

[PropheticTimes]

Spiritual things are seen through spiritual eyes. If you want the blindness removed so that you can see the truth, ask God to show you He is real. If you are patient, if you don't constrict Him to your own limitations (as in "do THIS to show me", He isn't a genie in a bottle) and if you keep your eyes open, He will show you.

A lot of Scripture seems fantastical when looked at through limited human vision and ability, but I have learned that truth is far stranger than fiction.

 

[Greg J.]

Does anyone have an idea of what the likelihood is of any of this being true?

How much have you examined the validity of the archeological evidence? Talked to Christians who describe their experiences of God (not their beliefs about God) and discovered that they don't make up stories and aren't crazy? The Bible is a book of experiences, not theories. Do you have to find something to be logical for it to be true? Have you educated yourself to have enough information to have a trustworthy opinion?

I consider myself a seeker, and until I have some numbers I guess I'll never know if it's real or not. I'd like it to be, but if it isn't logical then I may as well be an Atheist - though it would be convenient I don't necessarily need religion, I don't think.

Religion can be helpful to some people, but I recommend seeking evidence that Jesus was who he said he was rather than "a religion."

One one hand, the book of Genesis seems to be really accurate with regards to cosmology. On the other, it seems a bit implausible to me that only one tribe of people (Israelites) would be willing to listen to God,

It is implausible. In fact, they did not listen. God chose that group of people to prepare to be able to tell every other group of people about God.

and that these two people were deceived by a snake, and so on and so forth. In other words, some of it seems amazingly accurate but other parts seem, well, I wouldn't say impossible but you do have to ask yourself why the story is the way it is, don't you?

A part of wondering about the reality of God is wondering about the reality of it being possible that things can happen that can't be detected by humans according to their understanding of physics (aka, the supernatural).

 

[RascaLinFaith]

100% - it's impossible for Christianity to not be true.

 

[PropheticTimes]

How much have you examined the validity of the archeological evidence? Talked to Christians who describe their experiences of God (not their beliefs about God) and discovered that they don't make up stories and aren't crazy? The Bible is a book of experiences, not theories. Do you have to find something to be logical for it to be true? Have you educated yourself to have enough information to have a trustworthy opinion?

Religion can be helpful to some people, but I recommend seeking evidence that Jesus was who he said he was rather than "a religion."

It is implausible. In fact, they did not listen. God chose that group of people to prepare to be able to tell every other group of people about God.

A part of wondering about the reality of God is wondering about the reality of it being possible that things can happen that can't be detected by humans according to their understanding of physics (aka, the supernatural).

beautiful....experience and relationship, not theory and religion

 

[Aryeh Jay]

100% - it's impossible for Christianity to not be true.

Good answer for a theology student, you never know if teachers are members…

 

[RascaLinFaith]

Good answer for a theology student, you never know if teachers are members…

lol

 

[logicality]

100% - it's impossible for Christianity to not be true.

Could you elaborate?

 

[redleghunter]

Does anyone have an idea of what the likelihood is of any of this being true? I consider myself a seeker, and until I have some numbers I guess I'll never know if it's real or not. I'd like it to be, but if it isn't logical then I may as well be an Atheist - though it would be convenient I don't necessarily need religion, I don't think.

One one hand, the book of Genesis seems to be really accurate with regards to cosmology. On the other, it seems a bit implausible to me that only one tribe of people (Israelites) would be willing to listen to God, and that these two people were deceived by a snake, and so on and so forth. In other words, some of it seems amazingly accurate but other parts seem, well, I wouldn't say impossible but you do have to ask yourself why the story is the way it is, don't you?

Are you familiar with the NT manuscript evidence?

 

[logicality]

Are you familiar with the NT manuscript evidence?

Can you elaborate?

 

[redleghunter]

Can you elaborate?

Indeed.

 

[logicality]

Indeed.

Shall you?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Does anyone have an idea of what the likelihood is of any of this being true? I consider myself a seeker, and until I have some numbers I guess I'll never know if it's real or not. I'd like it to be, but if it isn't logical then I may as well be an Atheist - though it would be convenient I don't necessarily need religion, I don't think.

One one hand, the book of Genesis seems to be really accurate with regards to cosmology. On the other, it seems a bit implausible to me that only one tribe of people (Israelites) would be willing to listen to God, and that these two people were deceived by a snake, and so on and so forth. In other words, some of it seems amazingly accurate but other parts seem, well, I wouldn't say impossible but you do have to ask yourself why the story is the way it is, don't you?

I'm not sure that a Bayesian approach to affirming the validity of Christianity is going to demonstrate all that much. Just sayin'.

 

[Hawkins]

Does anyone have an idea of what the likelihood is of any of this being true? I consider myself a seeker, and until I have some numbers I guess I'll never know if it's real or not. I'd like it to be, but if it isn't logical then I may as well be an Atheist - though it would be convenient I don't necessarily need religion, I don't think.

One one hand, the book of Genesis seems to be really accurate with regards to cosmology. On the other, it seems a bit implausible to me that only one tribe of people (Israelites) would be willing to listen to God, and that these two people were deceived by a snake, and so on and so forth. In other words, some of it seems amazingly accurate but other parts seem, well, I wouldn't say impossible but you do have to ask yourself why the story is the way it is, don't you?

You don't need to treat Genesis as something historical only. It contains metaphors and prophecies.

God hid the Tree of Life from the reach of humans such that no human can tell with certainty that whether life will go on after our physical death. Those who choose to rely on their own logicality/intelligence (leaning on the Tree of Knowledge to eat from its fruits), the day they choose of eat of it the same day they shall surely die (the second death).

It's prophecy here. The main reason is that your logicality/intelligence can never be extended to the truth lying behind your physically death. However, you think you know the truth because Satan the snake said that, "whatever advocate about afterlife is not scientific and unsupported by evidence". Your whole secular education (more than 15 years in your critical age?) is full of such a kind of fallacies to have you brainwashed but without your own awareness. That's how the snake tempted you to eat from the Tree of Knowledge to think that your eyes are opened (but actually your mind is closed).

 

[dcalling]

Does anyone have an idea of what the likelihood is of any of this being true? I consider myself a seeker, and until I have some numbers I guess I'll never know if it's real or not. I'd like it to be, but if it isn't logical then I may as well be an Atheist - though it would be convenient I don't necessarily need religion, I don't think.

One one hand, the book of Genesis seems to be really accurate with regards to cosmology. On the other, it seems a bit implausible to me that only one tribe of people (Israelites) would be willing to listen to God, and that these two people were deceived by a snake, and so on and so forth. In other words, some of it seems amazingly accurate but other parts seem, well, I wouldn't say impossible but you do have to ask yourself why the story is the way it is, don't you?

If you read the book, you will see that other tribe of people are very good at listening to God at times (Jona and Ninivih), and the entire OT is almost exclusively about how Israelites disobey God instead of obeying God. God chose Israelites, not that Israelites willing to listen to God. David's grandma are not Israelites either (check out Ruth).

Anyway, for things that too far out, you can only accept by faith since it is impossible to prove or disprove.
But for recent history, I would consider the establishment of Israel a sign from God, because for a nation to rebuild after 2000 years is impossible except from God alone.

And look at Christian history, it is an obscure sect of Judaism, got prescuted really hard by most Roman empires in the first 300 years, with the teaching of non-violence (love neighbors, no revenge) and has to be honest. Just read those horrible stories (and yet the amazing faith), it is impossible for it to survive if not lead by God.

 

[Honoluluwindow]

Does anyone have an idea of what the likelihood is of any of this being true? I consider myself a seeker, and until I have some numbers I guess I'll never know if it's real or not. I'd like it to be, but if it isn't logical then I may as well be an Atheist - though it would be convenient I don't necessarily need religion, I don't think.

One one hand, the book of Genesis seems to be really accurate with regards to cosmology. On the other, it seems a bit implausible to me that only one tribe of people (Israelites) would be willing to listen to God, and that these two people were deceived by a snake, and so on and so forth. In other words, some of it seems amazingly accurate but other parts seem, well, I wouldn't say impossible but you do have to ask yourself why the story is the way it is, don't you?

Lesson One in genesis is that God is presupposed and is not knowable save only to the extent that He chooses to reveal Himself to man.

 

[No.5]

It all hangs on the divinity of Jesus Christ. If Jesus is who He says He is then the bible is true. He actually quoted from most of the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament books were written by people who were "validated" by Jesus himself. In order to know if Christianity is true, I think the quickest way would be to investigate the historicity of Jesus Christ. If the christian account matches the historical facts better than the alternatives, then there is very good reason to believe that this whole thing is true.

 

[thesunisout]

Does anyone have an idea of what the likelihood is of any of this being true? I consider myself a seeker, and until I have some numbers I guess I'll never know if it's real or not. I'd like it to be, but if it isn't logical then I may as well be an Atheist - though it would be convenient I don't necessarily need religion, I don't think.

One one hand, the book of Genesis seems to be really accurate with regards to cosmology. On the other, it seems a bit implausible to me that only one tribe of people (Israelites) would be willing to listen to God, and that these two people were deceived by a snake, and so on and so forth. In other words, some of it seems amazingly accurate but other parts seem, well, I wouldn't say impossible but you do have to ask yourself why the story is the way it is, don't you?

I think, before you consider the Lord Jesus Christ, you need to figure out the likelihood of two things:

Whether you're a sinner

Whether upon meeting God after death you will be in serious trouble

To find out if you're a sinner, simply look at the 10 commandments and see if you've broken any of them. If you're human like the rest of us, then you have certainly broken at least one of them, if not many of them. So, we can set the likelihood of you being a sinner at 100 percent.

Since you are a sinner and have broken Gods laws, what are the odds of you being in serious trouble? Well, if you've broken the law, that means you deserve to be punished. If you've broken Gods laws you are going to receive Gods punishment. So, we can set the likelihood of you being in serious trouble with God at 100 percent.

So, now with this information, we can properly consider the Lord Jesus Christ.

With all of that being true, what is the likelihood that you need Jesus Christ?

Do you know why Jesus Christ was sent to earth? He was sent to pay for our sins:

1 Corinthians 15:3

For I delivered to you in the foremost what also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

Let's say you were arrested for murder. If you said to the judge, "Hey Judge, please let me go. My good deeds in life have outweighed my bad deeds. I have done many good works, such as caring for the poor, volunteering at homeless shelters, and many other things." What is the likelihood that the judge will let you go and dismiss the charges? It is the same likelihood that God would let you go and dismiss your charges if you meet Him without Jesus by your side. If you try to explain to God how good you've been in life, that isn't going to pay for your crimes against Him anymore than your good deeds would get you out of a murder charge.

That is why Jesus came, because we cannot pay for our sins against a holy God. We've all sinned

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Our sins have earned us eternal death in a place called hell, Gods prison, but God doesn't want you to go there:

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord

That's why He sent Jesus Christ, to pay the price we can't pay. How do we receive Gods forgiveness through Jesus Christ?

Romans 10:9-10

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Realize your great need for Jesus, that you actually cannot face death without Him, and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. That means that you must believe that He was raised from the dead and is alive today in Heaven; that He has the power to save you. You must confess Him as your Lord, which means that you are giving your life to Him and asking Him to be the director of your life from now on.

If you do that you will be saved, and you will know Him. It won't be a question anymore because you will meet the living God, who knows and loves you personally, and He will change you forever. He will make you into a new person who is forgiven, cleansed of your sin, and capable of living a life that pleases God. You will receive eternal life. When you stand in front of God with Jesus Christ, He says "Not Guilty"

So, you're looking at this from the wrong angle. It's not a question of what you can figure out, it is a question of your great need for a Savior. The certainty of that is 100 percent.