Help with these problems in Christianity

[Koolerkev]

I have a lot of questions and I need help answering them. But instead ofwriting a big wall of text, I’d like it if everyone just focused on one question at a time. And I’d update more as each one is answered. And thank you for any help you bring.

How can we know that Christianity is the true religion? How can we be sure that the buhddists or any other religion aren’t the one that have it right? What is so unique about Christianity that sets itself apart from every other religion and makes it the one true religion? What does Christianity have that other religion’s don’t?

I hope God isn’t mad at me for doubting him.

 

[ALLFORHIM]

I have a lot of questions and I need help answering them. But instead ofwriting a big wall of text, I’d like it if everyone just focused on one question at a time. And I’d update more as each one is answered. And thank you for any help you bring.

How can we know that Christianity is the true religion? How can we be sure that the buhddists or any other religion aren’t the one that have it right? What is so unique about Christianity that sets itself apart from every other religion and makes it the one true religion? What does Christianity have that other religion’s don’t?

I hope God isn’t mad at me for doubting him.

Well the one that pops into my mind is that christianity is the only religion that has an answer for sin. The others dont.

 

[mschrank]

That’s a great question. The main answer is, as you might have guessed, Jesus.

I think a quick point on the difference between “small g” gods and God is necessary. Throughout history, people believed that gods had come and lived on earth. Except what they meant by god wasn’t exactly the same was what we mean when we say God. Pagan gods were more like superheroes. They existed inside nature too, and were not transcendent.

Then there is the idea of God, big G God, many pagan religions had the idea of Him too, but they could not say that much about him. For example, Plato talked about God, and came to the conclusion that He must be One, and that the so called “gods” were not really gods at all. Yet Plato had no way of knowing more about God’s nature since he lived 400 or so years before God would actually come to earth.

Some ancient religions speak of the gods (again, small g) and men existing on earth, but that is always supposed to be in a distant, faraway time. The Greeks called it the Golden Age and the Semites like the Sumerians called it the “time when gods liked men”. These are all supposed to be the myth-time, the time before normal life began. They are myth.

This is where it gets really exciting! No religion claims that God, the big G one- came in person to what we would call the secular, common world. We say in the creed, “of ONE BEING with the Father, VERY GOD OF VERY GOD”! They wanted to make it clear that Jesus was not just another “god”, a superman, the world had plenty of those! No, He was/is GOD. In the creed we say “who for us men and our salvation was crucified under pontius pilate”. That’s absolutely amazing- GOD himself, comes down to earth not in some far away, distant, mythic time when animals talk and gods throw around thunderbolts, but in OUR WORLD.

“And the Word was made Flesh, and Dwelt among Us”

There’s the starting point.’

Great Question!

Oh, you absolutely must read “The Everlasting Man” by GK Chesterton. He answers your question fully.

 

[MarcoPolo]

I answered this question the other day. Compared to Buddhism or a lot of the other larger faiths, they are based on revelation to an individual. Christianity has hundreds or thousands of witnesses attesting to Revelation and the Resurrection, not to mention a bunch of followers martyred for that faith.

p.s. Hi ALLFORHIM, I haven’t seen you around much in a while. :tiphat:

 

[Todd_Easton]

We know that Christianity is true because of the signs (miracles) Jesus Christ performed. St. John says,This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” (John 3:2)

This is especially the case with regard to Jesus’ ultimate miracle, his own resurrection from the dead. St. Paul says,If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:17-19)

 

[ALLFORHIM]

I answered this question the other day. Compared to Buddhism or a lot of the other larger faiths, they are based on revelation to an individual. Christianity has hundreds or thousands of witnesses attesting to Revelation and the Resurrection, not to mention a bunch of followers martyred for that faith.

p.s. Hi ALLFORHIM, I haven’t seen you around much in a while. :tiphat:

Yeah took a break for awhile Thanks for noticing

 

[Charlie_Zeaiter]

Hi Koolerkev,

One of the reasons I have faith in Christianity is that is has fulfilled prophecy. No other religion can claim to have the same proof. I’d encourage you to research it.

Also, try looking at the parallels between Passover and the crucifixion. That’s really interesting and deepens my faith.

And try researching when the crucifixion actually took place. I believe it to be Friday 3rd April, 33AD. I hope you’ll look into that as well, and you’ll see that the crucifixion was not a random event, but a God willed sacrifice for us.

And lastly, trying researching that famous miracle that took place on October 13th, 1917. I’m convinced it was a divinely inspired miracle.

 

[Koolerkev]

I don’t know how to edit my first post, so how is it that its not God’s fault for people going to hell? I understand how its a person’s free will and action that can get them there, but still God permits it so it is his fault in a way.

 

[thistle]

I don’t know how to edit my first post, so how is it that its not God’s fault for people going to hell? I understand how its a person’s free will and action that can get them there, but still God permits it so it is his fault in a way.

No it is not God’s fault in any shape or form. He gave us free will to accept or reject his love. Those who reject it and die in that state have effectively chosen to go to Hell.

 

[Singinbeauty]

How can we know that Christianity is the true religion? How can we be sure that the buhddists or any other religion aren’t the one that have it right? What is so unique about Christianity that sets itself apart from every other religion and makes it the one true religion? What does Christianity have that other religion’s don’t?

A lot of good questions that all boil down to one. How do we know that Christianity is the right path?

Simple answer is: We don’t.

The best I can say is that we have to follow our hearts, minds and souls to find the correct path. The moment we start to think about it too much it because a big huge smelly mess. It’s times like these where we have to be still and listen to God. To close our eyes and focus on the question with God. Talk it out as if He were another person sitting across from you. I know that it seems ‘silly’ to feel like you are talking to yourself but in actuality you are speaking with the most High and are in His presence. To me, this is a most comforting thought.

I guess what I am trying to say, if you are unsure - go straight to the source.

I hope God isn’t mad at me for doubting him.

You wouldn’t be the first, and you are certainly aren’t going to be the last. Whenever I think about what God thinks when I question Him I think of Moses and how he, not once but more than once, questioned God but he was still used by God to do wonderous things. Look at Jonah, he ran away but God found him and still used him. Mary, before she said ‘yes’ to God, questioned Him in how she would have a child without knowing a man (in the biblical sense).

There’s no harm in questioning God as long as you are willing to listen to the answers He gives you…

 

[Singinbeauty]

I don’t know how to edit my first post, so how is it that its not God’s fault for people going to hell? I understand how its a person’s free will and action that can get them there, but still God permits it so it is his fault in a way.

A really good book to read is ‘A Case for Faith’ by Lee Strobel. It answers this and many other questions regarding these issues that you are raising. It definitely helped me when I was in search for some answers.

When a child turns away from their parents they have to let them go. God is the same way, He lets us turn from Him though His arms are always open in case we turn around. But if we make the decision to stay away from Him, why would He force us - in the end - to change our minds? If our desire is to be out of His presence (no matter how much of a bad choice that is) then He respects our choice.

We choose hell, He doesn’t choose it for us…

 

[Charlie_Zeaiter]

I don’t know how to edit my first post, so how is it that its not God’s fault for people going to hell? I understand how its a person’s free will and action that can get them there, but still God permits it so it is his fault in a way.

Maybe God does feel it is His fault, and maybe that’s why He chose to die on the cross for us. :twocents:

God permits it, but that doesn’t mean He likes it. He has given us a way to avoid hell - it just takes love to avoid hell.

 

[Koolerkev]

But why allow it in the first place?

 

[thistle]

But why allow it in the first place?

So you think he should have created robots with no free will??

 

[Deconi]

But why allow it in the first place?

God does not disallow what He has already allowed because He DOESN’T make mistakes! He gave Adam free domain over all creation. Therein lies your free-will.

Just because ‘man’ does things that endangers his soul, does not translate to God “LETTING” him go to Hell. However, since man clearly keep straying from God when left to his own devices, I think you have a point about “God allowing it.” This is probably WHY God also gave us THE ANSWER. And what an ANSWER!

He didn’t send an Angel to tell us, but He, HIMSELF, came down here to teach, show and tell us. ** That is the main difference between ‘us’ and other religions or belief systems.**

I disagree with Singing Beauty. WE KNOW THE ANSWER! Ours is not a BELIEF! A belief has the possibility of a 50% right or wrong! We ‘believe’ the sun will rise tomorrow. The possibilties (belief) may have the Earth hit by an asteroid and spin out of this solar system tonite or something happen to the Earth or sun today or tonite, rendering that ‘belief’ incorrect.

That is NOT CHRISTIANITY! Christ is as REAL as the nose on your face! Punch it if you don’t think it’s real.

The ONLY faith required for Christians is that Jesus Christ is WHO HE SAID HE IS! Catholicism professes that EVERYTHING He said is true. He IS GOD on Earth. God Incarnate. God made flesh. I say Catholicism because they are the only ones who take everything He said as God-Spoken! and have the FULL understanding of what He said…including Real Presence!

Christianity is not a ‘best guess’ until some pieces of evidence confirms it or leads to something else.

Why is it the true religion?
Evidence. On the temporal level, without Jesus Christ, the entire Old Testament could be fiction! Judaism hold to Moses still as the last Revelation from God. You’ve seen what ‘thinkers’ have done with Moses’s deeds and cast doubt upon not only the exodus, but all the miracles God performed through Moses in his time! 40days on a mountain by yourself is plenty of time to carve your own tablets of 10 rules and bring it down and say they’re commandments from God. Mohammed and Joseph Smith did the same!

Jesus Christ cited the OT and taught from it, and added NEW teachings and understandings of it. In other words, He validated the OT and revealed it as being OF God and FROM God. Then He built a church as THE ANSWERS for all enquiries to come. Then left man again to his devices to exercise his free-will, Divinely given to him when he was first made. But the ANSWER is already revealed for any who is interested.

Without Jesus Christ, there is no right or wrong religion. You can believe the sacred cows will lead to everlasting life or better existence in some other realm after here, and it would be fine! Without Jesus Christ, it wouldn’t matter what you believed or not believed.

**“I am the Way, the …” awww you get the picture. It’s not that He dared say it. It’s that He BOTHERED saying it at all. Either He is Who He said, or a raving lunatic! **

Koolerkev, it’s not guess-work. If you must, research and examine everything.