Maybe odd question - why so bizarre?

[lambOpeace]

I have recently renewed my fire for the faith but I have one nagging question on my mind. Why did God have to come up with such a bizarre story for our salvation? A virgin birth to a woman who was immaculately conceived announced by an angel? A crucifixion? A Bible describing only some parts of Jesus’ life written hundreds of years after His death? Descending into Hell then rising from the dead then being assumed into Heaven? Why did He have to die? I get that He died for our sins, so that we might have a chance at everlasting life - I just don’t see why God had to make the story so complicated and unbelievable. Why didn’t God just make it more clear what was going on so that people would have faith? I wish it were simpler so that more people could understand and believe.
It is hard to defend such an outrageous story to people who say it’s too “out there” to be true. It makes me sad for those people!!

 

[Lion_of_Narnia]

“…renewed your fire for the faith…”???

Really. “One nagging question” and you ask a score.

I suspect a troll.

 

[Skeptic92]

I have recently renewed my fire for the faith but I have one nagging question on my mind. Why did God have to come up with such a bizarre story for our salvation? A virgin birth to a woman who was immaculately conceived announced by an angel? A crucifixion? A Bible describing only some parts of Jesus’ life written hundreds of years after His death? Descending into Hell then rising from the dead then being assumed into Heaven? Why did He have to die? I get that He died for our sins, so that we might have a chance at everlasting life - I just don’t see why God had to make the story so complicated and unbelievable. Why didn’t God just make it more clear what was going on so that people would have faith? I wish it were simpler so that more people could understand and believe.
It is hard to defend such an outrageous story to people who say it’s too “out there” to be true. It makes me sad for those people!!

The New Testament was written 50-100 years after the death of Jesus, all the books of the NT were written in the 1st Century, this was probably a requirement for the Councils deciding the Canon…

It’s not really “out there” when you really think about it, read some of the books of the OT (written up to thousands of years before Christ), they can be hard to accept as historically accurate, but it is as God wills it.

 

[Garyjohn2]

The universe is simple in design, but intricate. So are we. So is God. Christ died for our sins, saving us. This is simple…but the deeper you dig the more intricate and beautiful it becomes. Anything else would not be from God, in my opinion!

Learn more about these things, seek a greater understanding of all the mysteries and questions that you posed. With greater understanding, it will become more clear and straightforward. It still might not be easy to share with “outsiders”, because the nature of the questions they ask often require complex answers…but it will increase your faith, and you will be able to address “outsider’s” questions as they come up, piecemeal.

Study, and pray. Research those questions one at a time…there is a reason for everything.

 

[wild_thing]

If God spelled everything out for us, then our belief and hope in Him wouldn’t be called faith, would it?

Yes, creation and salvation are a spectacular story. Do you expect anything less from an all-powerful, all-loving God?

 

[TomD123]

I have recently renewed my fire for the faith but I have one nagging question on my mind. Why did God have to come up with such a bizarre story for our salvation? A virgin birth to a woman who was immaculately conceived announced by an angel? A crucifixion? A Bible describing only some parts of Jesus’ life written hundreds of years after His death? Descending into Hell then rising from the dead then being assumed into Heaven? Why did He have to die? I get that He died for our sins, so that we might have a chance at everlasting life - I just don’t see why God had to make the story so complicated and unbelievable. Why didn’t God just make it more clear what was going on so that people would have faith? I wish it were simpler so that more people could understand and believe.
It is hard to defend such an outrageous story to people who say it’s too “out there” to be true. It makes me sad for those people!!

The fact that in some ways the story is outrageous demonstrates that it is more likely not a man made fictional story, it really is true !

 

[kimbari]

It sounds okay to me.

 

[josephback]

I have recently renewed my fire for the faith but I have one nagging question on my mind. Why did God have to come up with such a bizarre story for our salvation? A virgin birth to a woman who was immaculately conceived announced by an angel? A crucifixion? A Bible describing only some parts of Jesus’ life written hundreds of years after His death? Descending into Hell then rising from the dead then being assumed into Heaven? Why did He have to die? I get that He died for our sins, so that we might have a chance at everlasting life - I just don’t see why God had to make the story so complicated and unbelievable. Why didn’t God just make it more clear what was going on so that people would have faith? I wish it were simpler so that more people could understand and believe.
It is hard to defend such an outrageous story to people who say it’s too “out there” to be true. It makes me sad for those people!!

I think it was Augustine that said “If you understood, it wouldn’t be God.” If you think about it though, the virgin birth was very similar to Sarah’s conception of Isaac. Sarah was WAY past menopause, while Mary’s womb had no sperm involved. The prophets foretold it all. Is it really so unbelievable?

Good for you to answer God’s call. It is He who renewed the fire of your faith!

 

[josephback]

“…renewed your fire for the faith…”???

Really. “One nagging question” and you ask a score.

I suspect a troll.

This isn’t nice! People have questions. It doesn’t make them trolls.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

“…renewed your fire for the faith…”???

Really. “One nagging question” and you ask a score.

I suspect a troll.

I wonder myself. What sort of questions are those? Why is the story of Salvation so hard to believe?

 

[zach_dunn]

It is hard to defend such an outrageous story to people who say it’s too “out there” to be true. It makes me sad for those people!!

I’ll go through point by point I suppose:

1. Why did God have to come up with such a bizarre story for our salvation?

Hopefully my answering of your questions will show that it isn’t really that, as you say, ‘bizarre’.

1. A virgin birth to a woman who was immaculately conceived announced by an angel?

To pay for the infinite price of our sin, Jesus Christ had to be sinless. In order to do this, Jesus could not contract Original Sin which is, I believe, traditionally believed to be transmitted through the father of the child. Through the Virgin Birth Jesus would not contract Original Sin. Now, I believe that the Immaculate Conception is not something that *had *to take place, per se. But it was fitting and prophesied in the Old Testament. It is said that only a sinless (pure) vessel could possibly contain the Word of God. That’s why the Ark of the Covenant had to be made so specifically. The Ark of the Covenant is a “type” of Mary. And as for the angel . . . it had to be consensual; also, she had to find out somehow!

1. A crucifixion?

Again, a crucifixion wasn’t necessary; it was necessary, however, for Him to die. If He didn’t die, our debt could not have been repaid. A crucifixion was fitting because it was among the worst ways to die at the time (and is a worse punishment than anything we have to day) and, as such, befits man’s sins: it is what we deserve for our sins against God, but Christ took it upon Himself.

1. A Bible describing only some parts of Jesus’ life written hundreds of years after His death?

First things first, they New Testament was written within 100 years of death. It is estimated that the last book of the New Testament (the Gospel of John) was written around the year 100 A.D. And, as John points out in his Gospel:

John 21:25
But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

At that point in history, it was simply impractical for an extremely detailed biography for anyone to exist. Also, what the Gospel writers chose to include in their biographies were the highlights and important teachings of Jesus. They emphasized His fulfillment of prophecy and the new teachings that differed from the Judaism that He claimed to be completing.

← continued in next post →

 

[zach_dunn]

← continued from previous post →

1. Descending into Hell then rising from the dead then being assumed into Heaven?

I cannot explain Christ’s descent into hell better than the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was “raised from the dead” presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection.[sup]478[/sup] This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ’s descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.[sup]479[/sup]

633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, “hell” - *Sheol *in Hebrew or *Hades *in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.[sup]480[/sup] Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into “Abraham’s bosom”:[sup]481[/sup] “It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell.”[sup]482[/sup] Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.[sup]483[/sup]

634 “The gospel was preached even to the dead.”[sup]484[/sup] The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is the last phase of Jesus’ messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ’s redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.

635 Christ went down into the depths of death so that “the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”[sup]485[/sup] Jesus, “the Author of life”, by dying destroyed “him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.”[sup]486[/sup] Henceforth the risen Christ holds “the keys of Death and Hades”, so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”[sup]487[/sup]

Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . “I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead.”[sup]488[/sup]

[sup]478[/sup] *Acts *3:15; *Rom *8:11; 1 Cor 15:20; cf. *Heb *13:20.
[sup]479[/sup] Cf. 1 Pet 3:18-19.
[sup]480[/sup] Cf. *Phil *2:10; *Acts *2:24; *Rev *1:18; *Eph *4:9; *Pss *6:6; 88:11-13.
[sup]481[/sup] Cf. *Ps *89:49; 1 Sam 28:19; *Ezek *32:17-32; *Lk *16:22-26.
[sup]482[/sup] Roman Catechism I, 6, 3.
[sup]483[/sup] Cf. Council of Rome (745): DS 587; Benedict XII, Cum dudum (1341): DS 1011; Clement VI, Super quibusdam (1351): DS 1077; Council of Toledo IV (625): DS 485; Mt 27:52-53.
[sup]484[/sup] 1 Pet 4:6.
[sup]485[/sup] *Jn *5:25; cf. *Mt *12:40; *Rom *10:7; *Eph *4:9.
[sup]486[/sup] *Heb *2:14-15; cf. *Acts *3:15.
[sup]487[/sup] *Rev *1:18; *Phil *2:10.
[sup]488[/sup] Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday: PG 43, 440A, 452C; LH, Holy Saturday, OR.

He had to rise to destroy death, otherwise death would continue to reign over mankind. Again, I would refer you to the CCC.

1. Why did He have to die?

Paul tells us:

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Only God could repay the price for sin, the price was infinite and only an infinite being could completely pay the price for our sins.

I just don’t see why God had to make the story so complicated and unbelievable. Why didn’t God just make it more clear what was going on so that people would have faith? I wish it were simpler so that more people could understand and believe.
It is hard to defend such an outrageous story to people who say it’s too “out there” to be true. It makes me sad for those people!!

Hopefully my analysis has shown that it really isn’t that outrageous a story! I don’t think it is anyway.

 

[Byzman]

“…renewed your fire for the faith…”???

Really. “One nagging question” and you ask a score.

I suspect a troll.

Yes this dude is a troll…look at his other posts…he seems like he is making this stuff up to get us to become scandalized.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Ain’t workin’.

 

[Lion_of_Narnia]

Yes this dude is a troll…look at his other posts…he seems like he is making this stuff up to get us to become scandalized.

Indeed–I didn’t look up the OP’s prior posts but I’ve seen this pattern of “I’m a believer BUT…” followed by a barrage of questions that are thinly veiled attacks. I refuse to bite anymore.

 

[zach_dunn]

Indeed–I didn’t look up the OP’s prior posts but I’ve seen this pattern of “I’m a believer BUT…” followed by a barrage of questions that are thinly veiled attacks. I refuse to bite anymore.

I wasn’t sure if they were a troll or not, but I suspected they might be. In any case, questions like these tend to scandalize lurkers who are looking into the faith. I answer for them

 

[rebeccanew]

God has provided us with the greatest love story that ever was, is, and will be. This wonderful adventure of life is not bizarre. See if changing your mindset helps, and please consider a Bible study group. Sometimes the things we don’t understand seem scary and strange. Keep the torch burning!

 

[Spirithound]

I suspect a troll.

If this guy’s a troll, he’s seriously the most benevolent troll ever. Which actually disqualifies him from trolldom. Do you have any idea the garbage the mods clean up from this site? I, for one, would welcome more of this type of troll.

 

[FaustinaClare]

If this guy’s a troll, he’s seriously the most benevolent troll ever. Which actually disqualifies him from trolldom. Do you have any idea the garbage the mods clean up from this site? I, for one, would welcome more of this type of troll.

I agree. Sometimes people get confused or discouraged. I know a guy who will accept the idea that aliens from outer space exist and visit us but can’t believe in God or Jesus b/c he thinks it is just too far fetched :doh2:

It takes all kinds of people. I’d rather not just assume someone was a troll if they are really looking for answers.