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preyoflove
Guest
How do you respond to someone who ask, “So now you’ve convinced me that there is a God, why should I chose to be a Christian?”
Peace, so be it.
Peace, so be it.
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edwinG
Guest
Hi preyoflove,
In a nutshell. 1) time 2) joy
Everyone will one day have to believe in Jesus.( save yourself some time)
So what sort of life do you want to have between now and then. ( Peace and Joy or clawing your way along)
If you believe in Jesus now, then He will send the Holy Spirit. Imagine that, you ,so much nothing by comparison, can have Him as your personal guide and body guard. And He is continuously,24 hours a day. leading you to joy and away from worry and problems. He loves you and nothing has as much authority as does He. And He is yours, personally, not having to share Him with anyone. I mean what else could you possibly want in life, 100% protection and a guaranteed future.
Seems like an easy choice. Let go of the steering wheel, your way, and seek His way and He will show you. Too easy.
Christ be with youhttp://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
walk in love
edwinG
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mrS4ntA
Guest
In short?
- One God → One Church, One true religion, One Truth.
- Truth cannot contradict Truth.
- Of all world religion, Jesus is the only one claiming to be God, and proved it!
- “And on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” (the Catholic Church, saving souls since 0033 AD and still going…
)
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preyoflove
Guest
Hmmm, I never given much thought to that.
Also, no one has called himself “I am…the Truth…”, either except our Lord Jesus Christ, right?
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RMP
Guest
Why NOT Christianity?
sorry. i just had too…
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twf
Guest
There are many compelling reasons to accept Christianity.
Entire books can be written on each one of these points, but in a nutshell the following constitutes the logical rationale behind my faith:
. That brief list, I am sure, is also far from complete.
God bless.
Entire books can be written on each one of these points, but in a nutshell the following constitutes the logical rationale behind my faith:
- Christianity is based on a historic event…Christ’s death and resurrection. A very convincing historical case can be made that the Gospels can indeed be trusted. I highly recommend Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ” (Yes, this is Protestant, but it is still a good book ).
- Christianity is not a blind faith. It doesn’t say "What do you ‘feel’ is true’. Christianity is based on a firm historical foundation.
- Prophecy. Especially regarding Christ, but on other topics as well, no other faith has prophecies that even begin to compare to Christianity in the accuracy and numeracy of fulfilled prophecies.
- Miracles. Through prayer, miracles have occured throughout history…the fact that they often happen as a direct result of invoking Christ or a saint is evidence in support of Christianity.
- Life-changing power. Think of all the testimonies. From persecutor of Christians, to one of its greatests theologians (St. Paul). Think of all the individuals, from all walks of life, who have had completely life-transforming encounters with Christ…even over night.
- Consistent. No tenants of Christianity have ever been refuted. An adequate response can be given for any charge skeptics and oppoents bring against Christianity, and especially the Church.
. That brief list, I am sure, is also far from complete.God bless.
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RobedWithLight
Guest
To put it simply, here are three reasons:
- Christ is the only founder of a religion to claim to be the son of God and being God Himself. Others merely claimed to be messengers or prophets.
- Christ did miracles which no other founder of a religion before Him ever did and no other religious founder after Him was able to repeat.
- Christ accurately foretold future events (the cock crowing thrice, the betrayal, His own death and resurrection in three days).
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patg
Guest
I actually agree with the person who posted “Why not??”. I think that and “I was born that way” are often the best answers I have heard.
As for the others, here are some things to consider:
As for the others, here are some things to consider:
Anyone can claim to be a god and every religion claims divine origins. AND Jesus is only reported to claim to be God in John’s gospel which is so far separated from the other 3 in time, content, and Christology as to be almost useless as a “historical” record of what he actually said.
In reality, Jesus’ miracles tell us nothing about him except that the authors considered him to be a typical Jewish holy man. The same miracles (and more) are well documented for a wide variety of other Jewish holy people from the same time era.
Its pretty easy to be a perfect prophet when people writing about you many years after your death are trying to convince others you were divine.
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Steve_Andersen
Guest
From a mundane point of view Christianity is one of the few major religious that doesn’t impose dress and dietary constraints on the worshipers.
From a less prosaic point of view it does offer a pretty clear path to salvation of the soul offered by a God who did something extraordinary.
All religions require that you worship a god(s) and sacrifice to a god but what other religion claims that God sacrificed himself?
The eastern faiths with their theories of endless cycles of reincarnation seem a little impersonal and even hopeless to me
Animist faiths seem a little vague and hodge-podge
Islam and Judaism, while obviously much closer to Christianity, still don’t quite do it for me. In Judaism a lot depends upon whether or not you’re descendant of the right Bronze Age sheep herder and Islam just seems to cook bookish.
From a less prosaic point of view it does offer a pretty clear path to salvation of the soul offered by a God who did something extraordinary.
All religions require that you worship a god(s) and sacrifice to a god but what other religion claims that God sacrificed himself?
The eastern faiths with their theories of endless cycles of reincarnation seem a little impersonal and even hopeless to me
Animist faiths seem a little vague and hodge-podge
Islam and Judaism, while obviously much closer to Christianity, still don’t quite do it for me. In Judaism a lot depends upon whether or not you’re descendant of the right Bronze Age sheep herder and Islam just seems to cook bookish.
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Tantum_ergo
Guest
With respect, I think we need to get to the heart of the matter, which is, either Jesus Christ was who He said He was, or else He wasn’t.
If we believe He WAS who He said–“I am”, “the Son”, “the way, the truth, and the life”. . .then we would be, in all senses of the word, damned fools if we DIDN’T worship and follow Him.
If we believe He WASN’T who He said–all those who claim He is ONLY a teacher, ONLY a founder, ONLY a messenger, or even never existed at all–well, there we have all non-Christians and sadly enough more than a few Christians as well, the ones who pay lip service to being “Christian” yet feel no need to actually believe that anything in the Bible, or indeed organized religion, is necessarily “true”, and that we should interpret things a la the Jesus seminar and other historical revisionists (such as Bishop Spong).
Sadly, there are too many today who simply don’t believe in Jesus. No wonder that, after He told Thomas to “put your fingers into the nail marks in my hands and believe”, and Thomas answered with “My Lord and My God” that Jesus gave us these words. . .“You believe because you have seen. BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND HAVE BELIEVED.”
If we believe He WAS who He said–“I am”, “the Son”, “the way, the truth, and the life”. . .then we would be, in all senses of the word, damned fools if we DIDN’T worship and follow Him.
If we believe He WASN’T who He said–all those who claim He is ONLY a teacher, ONLY a founder, ONLY a messenger, or even never existed at all–well, there we have all non-Christians and sadly enough more than a few Christians as well, the ones who pay lip service to being “Christian” yet feel no need to actually believe that anything in the Bible, or indeed organized religion, is necessarily “true”, and that we should interpret things a la the Jesus seminar and other historical revisionists (such as Bishop Spong).
Sadly, there are too many today who simply don’t believe in Jesus. No wonder that, after He told Thomas to “put your fingers into the nail marks in my hands and believe”, and Thomas answered with “My Lord and My God” that Jesus gave us these words. . .“You believe because you have seen. BLESSED ARE THEY WHO HAVE NOT SEEN AND HAVE BELIEVED.”
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Annunciata
Guest
Annunciata
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MichaelTDoyle
Guest
Love as evidenced in the Passion and the meaning behind His Passion. Knowing that how can anyone not become Christian?
Peace of Christ with you
Peace of Christ with you
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patricius
Guest
I think the thing to point out is that the presence of Jesus in the Christian conception of existence answers the deepest longings of our hearts: we want to preserve what is good and joyous in this world, but separate ourselves from what is evil and painful.
Buddha understood that we need to escape pain, but as far as I can tell the way he accomplished that was by theorizing an end to existence. (Is this wrong? Anyone care to correct me?) Because of this, Buddhism doesn’t have much of a sense of joy, or of “the good,” which is such an essential part of human experience.
Mohammad understood God’s glory, but had no sense of the world’s need for redemption. (This doesn’t mean that Islam has no sense of right and wrong, just that it doesn’t account for the basic human feeling that evil and suffering represent something fundamentally “wrong” with the world.)
Jesus, by His birth and life as a man and by His offering to live in us, has given us a way for all that is good about us, about our love for each other, and about the world we live in to be preserved forever in the “New Heaven and Earth” that He will inaugurate. By His suffering and death, He has offered us forgiveness and cleansing from sin, from wrong, and even–ultimately-- from pain and suffering themselves. Other religions may say that these things are going to happen, but only Jesus makes it plausible.
Of course, all of this assumes that we’ve agreed on the existence of God as an omnipotent and good god.
Buddha understood that we need to escape pain, but as far as I can tell the way he accomplished that was by theorizing an end to existence. (Is this wrong? Anyone care to correct me?) Because of this, Buddhism doesn’t have much of a sense of joy, or of “the good,” which is such an essential part of human experience.
Mohammad understood God’s glory, but had no sense of the world’s need for redemption. (This doesn’t mean that Islam has no sense of right and wrong, just that it doesn’t account for the basic human feeling that evil and suffering represent something fundamentally “wrong” with the world.)
Jesus, by His birth and life as a man and by His offering to live in us, has given us a way for all that is good about us, about our love for each other, and about the world we live in to be preserved forever in the “New Heaven and Earth” that He will inaugurate. By His suffering and death, He has offered us forgiveness and cleansing from sin, from wrong, and even–ultimately-- from pain and suffering themselves. Other religions may say that these things are going to happen, but only Jesus makes it plausible.
Of course, all of this assumes that we’ve agreed on the existence of God as an omnipotent and good god.
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RobedWithLight
Guest
Can you tell me which other religious founder claimed to be the true Son of God and is God Himself and **proved it **? Zoroaster, Mahavira, Mazdak, Mani, Buddha, Lao-tze or Confucius never even claimed to be God.
The Sermon on the Mount as clearly recounted in St. Matthew’s Gospel (one of the “other” three Gospels you refer to) shows Jesus speaking in the first Person(“I” say to you…), which indicates His unearthly authority, in stark contrast to the Old Testament prophets who all spoke in the second Person(“The” Lord says this and that…) when relaying God’s message to His people.
Jesus accepted worship, which would have been unthinkable for any God-fearing Jew then as well as now (unless you want to be stoned to death) to accept, or even for angels, unless Christ Himself is indeed divine.
**Matthew 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, . . . **
**Matthew 9:18 . . . there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, . . . **
Can you provide direct citations to substantiate your claims ?
Gerry
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WBB
Guest
Hmm…One word. Resurrection.
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mayra_hart
Guest
**Is There a God?**No one can prove to you the existence of God, as in a mathematical proof. But you still might be able to be certain of His existence:
First of all, just ask Him.
Now we are assuming that you are satisfied that everything in the universe just sort of always has been there, for all eternity, and that no one had to actually start it up or make it. And that you are satisfied with the prospect of spending your entire life learning, and doing good deeds, and maturing as a unique individual, only to be snuffed out like a candle at death and simply cease to exist, which is not much of a crowning glory for a lifetime, but you’re happy with that, right?
So in that case, belief in God has to be a gift to you. There is no physical proof. Entire books have been written about how the U.S. space program has been faked by the government. All you have to do is set the standards of proof high enough, and absolutely nothing can be proven, not even your own existence.
Then we are talking about a gift from God. As with all gifts, you can’t demand it. As with many gifts, you may not even think that you want it, that you have always gotten along quite well without it. But it is a good gift indeed, one that will provide you with comfort and happiness in this world, and usher you into an eternity of happiness in the next. Once you receive it, you will wonder how you ever got along without it. And since it is a gift, you pay nothing for it, so what is the downside to “trying it on”?
The catch is, you must ask for it. Not in an adversarial way, but in the way you would ask for any gift of great value. Go to the house of the giver, cap in hand so to speak. Go into a church and kneel down. Talk to God about your life and troubles. Just take our word for it that he will hear you. Very sincerely ask if he does indeed exist. If you are fortunate, he will let you know. Not with actual words, or a clap of thunder, or anything like that. Maybe not even at that time. Maybe not until you are on your deathbed. But if you are sincere, and if you are essentially a good person, he will give you the gift of faith, more precious to you than all the money in the world.
First of all, just ask Him.
Now we are assuming that you are satisfied that everything in the universe just sort of always has been there, for all eternity, and that no one had to actually start it up or make it. And that you are satisfied with the prospect of spending your entire life learning, and doing good deeds, and maturing as a unique individual, only to be snuffed out like a candle at death and simply cease to exist, which is not much of a crowning glory for a lifetime, but you’re happy with that, right?
So in that case, belief in God has to be a gift to you. There is no physical proof. Entire books have been written about how the U.S. space program has been faked by the government. All you have to do is set the standards of proof high enough, and absolutely nothing can be proven, not even your own existence.
Then we are talking about a gift from God. As with all gifts, you can’t demand it. As with many gifts, you may not even think that you want it, that you have always gotten along quite well without it. But it is a good gift indeed, one that will provide you with comfort and happiness in this world, and usher you into an eternity of happiness in the next. Once you receive it, you will wonder how you ever got along without it. And since it is a gift, you pay nothing for it, so what is the downside to “trying it on”?
The catch is, you must ask for it. Not in an adversarial way, but in the way you would ask for any gift of great value. Go to the house of the giver, cap in hand so to speak. Go into a church and kneel down. Talk to God about your life and troubles. Just take our word for it that he will hear you. Very sincerely ask if he does indeed exist. If you are fortunate, he will let you know. Not with actual words, or a clap of thunder, or anything like that. Maybe not even at that time. Maybe not until you are on your deathbed. But if you are sincere, and if you are essentially a good person, he will give you the gift of faith, more precious to you than all the money in the world.
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mtr01
Guest
Hi Gerry, you make very valid points here. May I in addition suggest a few more practical-oriented replies?Can you tell me which other religious founder claimed to be the true Son of God and is God Himself and **proved it **? Zoroaster, Mahavira, Mazdak, Mani, Buddha, Lao-tze or Confucius never even claimed to be God.
The Sermon on the Mount as clearly recounted in St. Matthew’s Gospel (one of the “other” three Gospels you refer to) shows Jesus speaking in the first Person(“I” say to you…), which indicates His unearthly authority, in stark contrast to the Old Testament prophets who all spoke in the second Person(“The” Lord says this and that…) when relaying God’s message to His people.
Jesus accepted worship, which would have been unthinkable for any God-fearing Jew then as well as now (unless you want to be stoned to death) to accept, or even for angels, unless Christ Himself is indeed divine.
**Matthew 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, . . . **
Matthew 9:18 . . . there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, . . .
Can you provide direct citations to substantiate your claims ?
Gerry
First, it makes absolutely no sense that a group of believers would subject themselves to such utter persecution and martyrdom for a lie. The Church Fathers put their lives on the line to spread the Gospel, and did so not only willingly, but gladly.
Second, when was the last time you heard of a hoax based on a lie lasting for 2,000 years, completely intact and adhering to the same doctrines as the earliest believers? Empires and nations have risen and fallen during that time, but the Church has remained.
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GaryZak
Guest
WISDOM can be found in incredible depth sometimes, it’s amazing!
By SHOWING THE CONVERSE, the opposite can easily be proved! I can show what MOTIVATES and is NOT GOD!
What’s WRONG with this, HOW DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL?
You STINKING, WORTHLESS, SLOTHY, LAZY, PIECE of ANIMAL CARCASS, I loathe U! I wish the wild ANIMALS would eat YOUR INTESTINES with the INSECTS, while little children chuckle…
That’d be ,“THE ABSENSE OF LOVE,” for you! Can U feel that? Do you REALLY WANT TO FEEL THAT? Would you to KNOW WHAT THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE IS? Is the OPPOSITE OF LOVE REAL or what?
TAking that postulate and moving on:
JN 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1JN 1:8 If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
The TRUTH NEEDS TO BE DEFENDED BY NO MAN!
For the TRUTH EXISTS:
EX 3:14 God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.”
LK 22:70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied to them, “You say that I am.”
JN 8:12 Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
JN 8:24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins."
By SHOWING THE CONVERSE, the opposite can easily be proved! I can show what MOTIVATES and is NOT GOD!
What’s WRONG with this, HOW DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL?
You STINKING, WORTHLESS, SLOTHY, LAZY, PIECE of ANIMAL CARCASS, I loathe U! I wish the wild ANIMALS would eat YOUR INTESTINES with the INSECTS, while little children chuckle…
That’d be ,“THE ABSENSE OF LOVE,” for you! Can U feel that? Do you REALLY WANT TO FEEL THAT? Would you to KNOW WHAT THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE IS? Is the OPPOSITE OF LOVE REAL or what?
TAking that postulate and moving on:
JN 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1JN 1:8 If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
The TRUTH NEEDS TO BE DEFENDED BY NO MAN!
For the TRUTH EXISTS:
EX 3:14 God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.”
LK 22:70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied to them, “You say that I am.”
JN 8:12 Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
JN 8:24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins."
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RobedWithLight
Guest
A 2,000 year old “hoax” isn’t a very good hoax, and therefore must be the** truth. 
**
Gerry
**Gerry
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George2
Guest
Here is my two cents from a former Protestant:
If some one agrees that there is one God, I would ask them to consider reading the Bible right to left, that is New Testament first and Old Testament second.
I would also suggest it be a Catholic study Bible with explanatory footnotes and that they have a copy of the 1983 Catholic Catechism too.
The reason for this is that so many of the world’s religion’s make truth claims against Christianity and Catholicism makes the claim that it is the original and ongoing Church of Christ - One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
So if they are going to study world religions to see what is the right and proper way to worship God and decide for themselves which teaching, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism is superior, it would be best to study the religion which has undeniably had the most influence on the history of the world - Catholicism.
Lastly, I would ask them to imagine themselves as God. Which version of the truth would he want people to learn? The Koran, The Bagavad Vita or Christ’s message of tolerance, love, forbearance and compassion as recorded by the gospel writers and kept alive today by the Church?
Would a sane God want two competing Christian Churches if He was serious about how we should all worship and live?
Would he want over 20,000 Churches - all claiming to be the genuine article? Not a sane God, not a kind God. That would be a cruel cosmic joke. No, I think we did that to ourselves. Our own arrogance and hubris brought that about and the Church has apologized for its part in that but it is time for all Christians to be united.
To not proceed from Catholicism backwards would be like embarking on a comprehensive study of the best way to hit a baseball by studying the swings of lifetime .200 hitters first and scrutinizing Ted Williams last.
cheers,
George
If some one agrees that there is one God, I would ask them to consider reading the Bible right to left, that is New Testament first and Old Testament second.
I would also suggest it be a Catholic study Bible with explanatory footnotes and that they have a copy of the 1983 Catholic Catechism too.
The reason for this is that so many of the world’s religion’s make truth claims against Christianity and Catholicism makes the claim that it is the original and ongoing Church of Christ - One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
So if they are going to study world religions to see what is the right and proper way to worship God and decide for themselves which teaching, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism is superior, it would be best to study the religion which has undeniably had the most influence on the history of the world - Catholicism.
Lastly, I would ask them to imagine themselves as God. Which version of the truth would he want people to learn? The Koran, The Bagavad Vita or Christ’s message of tolerance, love, forbearance and compassion as recorded by the gospel writers and kept alive today by the Church?
Would a sane God want two competing Christian Churches if He was serious about how we should all worship and live?
Would he want over 20,000 Churches - all claiming to be the genuine article? Not a sane God, not a kind God. That would be a cruel cosmic joke. No, I think we did that to ourselves. Our own arrogance and hubris brought that about and the Church has apologized for its part in that but it is time for all Christians to be united.
To not proceed from Catholicism backwards would be like embarking on a comprehensive study of the best way to hit a baseball by studying the swings of lifetime .200 hitters first and scrutinizing Ted Williams last.
cheers,
George
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