Why Christianity?

[moosiz]

Hey I'm a long suffering seeker to put it mildly, and for about 2 years I've been trying to keep a stable faith but so many things throw me off. I was just wondering what makes Christianity different from the masses of religions that are out there? Why was Jesus such a main figure and I know the speech about dying for our sins but what was the significance?

 

[rogsr]

I'm not going to get into this discussion in its entirety because it just takes too long, but I'll give you my abridged addition.....

I, like you, could not get passed the fact that there were other teachers that lived througout history that were also very wise and taught many good things. People like, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Zarathustra, and Soctates all have many good things to say. So why Jesus Christ?

I say, look at a time line, and listen to what each of those wise and monumental teachers said of themselves.

I'll save you a trip to the library and tell you that all of those men listed above affected human abstract thought more than any other man or men since(except Jesus); they all lived within around a hundred years of eachother at around 500 bc, which is a pretty tight time frame, historically speaking(coincidence?); and they all called themselves prophets/teachers sent to bring wisdom to many.

So what seperates Jesus? Jesus, like all the wise teachers listed above knew His calling. He knew that He was the Christ and followed the Father's will accordingly. Zarathustra for instance, the Persian prophet, knew his calling was as a prophet/messanger and followed the Father's will accordingly, though he did not know God as His Father, because Christ had not come into the world yet to declare the truth about God. None of those other teachers made an attempt to establish a religion around themselves; their respective religions were not established until long after their deaths, although they had disciples/students/pupils.

I believe that it was God's will to send all of those men into the world centuries before His Christ in order to prepare a clear path for His Son, to introduce wisdom into men's hearts so that they would be capable of accepting Christ when He came. The Jews had prophets, so why wouldn't other cultures have prophets at around the same time? I'm not sure if you follow me on this but I did spend a great deal of time in prayer to overcome this particular obstacle. I just couldn't accept the mean spirited hatred that many Christians express towards other world religions after I studied them and could clearly see some degree of Truth in them. All Truth comes from God.

Good luck with your journey, if you seek you will find-

 

[VivDaGurl]

I come from a non-Christian family and had been exposed to Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Hinduism in the past. Many people told me that all religions are the same because they are teaching you to be a good person and sure enough I can’t deny that. If you obey the god(s), you will be blessed.



Jesus, the Son Of Man showed me a different between Christianity and all the other religion, which I had believed thus far as stated below:-

• In the past, my parents used to bring me to the temple to worship the gods before I face my major exams and each time I were asked to state my name, address, what I want to ask for and what I will give to the gods in return. Should I break my promise, the gods will not grant me my wish in the future and I don’t only go to one temple but multiple temples. In Christianity, we don’t have to state our name, address and even telling God that we will give a certain gifts in return because God know who we are and He’ll bless us what we ask for in His Name so long it’s God’s Will for us to receive the blessing. Luke 11:10 says that “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened”.

• Should we not give the gods what we’ve promised after our wish is being granted, the gods will make things worst in your life. One example I’ve heard about this couple who couldn’t bear a child had asked for a child and promised to present a good feast with suckling pig (it’s a very expensive dish) to the gods upon giving them a child. After the couple had been granted with their wish, they were overjoyed and had forgotten to thank the gods by fulfilling their promise. The gods began to make the child sick with one disease after another. After some time, the couple couldn’t bear it anymore and went to a medium (a person who gets the god to possess him/her to speak or act). Through the medium, they were reminded of what they had promised. The couple immediately works on their promise and the child was then free from all the diseases. Luke 11:11 – 13 says, “Which of your fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give you a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” We address God as Abba, Father and would He not give us what we want without expecting anything back?

What I’ve shown was the only two main reasons that had turned me to God. Should God be God, He has everything and do not need us to repay Him. On the other hand, I do not “owe” Him anything even after He had blessed me with the things I’ve asked for. To top it all, Christianity isn’t merely a religion but relationship with God and we can look upon Him as our Father, we can count on Him, we can go straight to Him to ask for anything without going through a medium, He’s always there for us to comfort us in our sorrows, etc. Get to know Jesus more by reading His Work and establish a good relationship with the Lord. You’ll begin to experience a whole lot of goodness and He has so much to shower on you if you fully submit yourself to Him and walk in His Light!


May the Lord be with you……

 

[fragglerocker]

I was just wondering what makes Christianity different from the masses of religions that are out there? Why was Jesus such a main figure and I know the speech about dying for our sins but what was the significance?

For me, just the simple fact that Jesus died for us is enough. All the other leaders, Buddah, Mohammad, Confuscius (forgive me if I'm getting my leaders confused!) did two very different things from Jesus:

1.) They lived their natural life and died naturally. They didn't willingly give up their lives so that we may live. They didn't voluntarily hang on a cross and suffer the things that Jesus suffered.

2.) They all died. Yes, Jesus died. But He also rose again. Many people witnessed this. I believe the numbers are in the hundreds, but you might want to check the end of one of the gospels for sure.

Jesus proved to be the Son of God through many miraculous healings, signs and wonders, and the devotion of His followers. Someone just yesterday asked me "I've noticed Christians are so much more sure about their beliefs, why is this?"

All I could answer was that it's because Jesus and the Holy Spirit fuels our faith. I can't see the wind, but I can see the effects of the wind. My Savior is like that. I cannot see Him with my eyes, but I can see the effects of His works in myself and in those around me.

Maybe that doesn't answer your question, but it at least is something to think about.

The Bible says "Seek and you shall find." May you have a completely awesome, supernatural encounter with Jesus!