In the book, Five Sacred Crossings, author Craig Hazen weaves a philosophical argument through
a fictional story. His argument is that a thoughtful person, one who is open to
exploring all the religious options available, would obviously start their
exploration with Christianity.[1] Why would Dr. Hazen make such a claim? He gives five reasons why you should begin
your search by investigating the Christian Faith.
Reason #1 - Christianity is testable.
The strangest passage in
all of religious literature is 1 Corinthians 15: 12-19. Paul says that if it isn’t reasonable that
Jesus rose from the dead, then you should reject Christianity! Paul is not alone in his claim that
Christianity can be tested – in fact many of the biblical authors encourage the
use of evidence! 1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to test everything; 1 Peter 3:15 tells us
to give reasons and make a defense. In Acts 2:14-41 Peter recounts all the physical evidence in his defense of the
risen Christ, while in Acts 17:16-34 Paul is found explaining, proving, and
reasoning. Even Jesus provided tangible, physical evidence to show who he was.[2] The
Bible teaches that we are to use reason, look for proof, test our ideas, and
find ways to explain Christ to others; never are we required to believe without
evidence! The gospel of John is an argument with physical evidence, which ends like this, “Now Jesus did many other signs
in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these
are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ…”[3] The entire faith is based on evidence and is rooted in
history. Most of the authors, especially
Luke, painstakingly put historical cross-hairs on all their claims! If you want a religion that is spiritual and
unfalsifiable, then Christianity is not for you. As Craig Hazen writes, “…
Jesus parts company with other religious people who make untestable spiritual
claims.”[4]
Reason #2 - Salvation is free.
Hinduism requires that we deliver
ourselves from the world through devotion, works, and knowledge. Buddhism
requires us to stop having desires. Islam requires obedience to the law. All of these require our own human effort
without assurance that we have done enough. The kind of grace that is described
in Romans 3:20-24 and Ephesians 2:8-9 is unique: salvation given freely simply
for trusting in a God that cared enough to provide a way for us to be in a
right relationship with Him. The father
in the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is a great picture of the Christian
God saving us without requiring us to do anything other than to trust in Him
and accept what He freely gives us.
Reason #3 - With Christianity you get a tremendous world-view fit.
Christianity makes sense of the way
the world actually works. Evil, pain,
and suffering quite often are used as a “proof” that Christianity can’t be
true. As it turns out, Christianity rationally
explains why evil exists and is the only religion that deals with it head on! Eastern religions call evil an illusion. New
Age religions say that you control your own life, that you are your own god and
when you are fully “illuminated” you will no longer struggle. Neither of these views match well with our
actual real-world experience. Instead of pretending that evil doesn’t exist, Christianity
acknowledges evil and suffering and then steps up to face them. Christians have been the main people group
throughout history that have continuously tried to ease the suffering of people
in need and Christian doctrine contends that God is working to bring an
eventual end to evil, pain, and suffering.
Science also fits very
neatly into Christianity. God, according
to Christianity, is rational and created a neat and ordered universe; science
began because of this belief! Science
and Christianity have historically complemented each other. Christians see God
as a Lawgiver, as a rational mind, and as the Creator. Because of this, the
world must be rational, must follow prescribed laws, and must have a reason for
its existence. Science is the way we study the world, the laws, and the reasons.
Christian theology also teaches that man was created
in the image of God, so we also have the ability to comprehend God’s laws and reasons.
Therefore, science arose only once: In Christian Western Europe in the
17th century.
Reason #4 - In Christianity, you get to live a non-compartmentalized
life.
Christians get to use reason, along
with their minds and their rationality in their worship. Naturalists must take
anything spiritual and remove it from their rational mind to an “upper story” of
thought that can’t be discussed or rationalized with physical evidence. For
Eastern religions, reason is actually thought of as an impediment to spiritual
progress; our everyday reasoning cannot cross over into religion for the Hindu
and Buddhist. “Christianity provides a solid basis for human rationality, while
these other positions [of naturalism, postmodernism, and pantheistic monism]
struggle to make sense of human cognitive faculties.”[5]
Reason #5 - Christianity has Jesus at the center and every major
religion co-opts Jesus into their system!
J. Warner Wallace summarizes:
Jews believe Jesus was
Mary’s son, was a teacher (Rabbi), had many disciples, was respected, performed
miracles, claimed to be the Messiah and was crucified on the cross. They also
acknowledge His followers reported Jesus was raised from the dead.
Muslims believe Jesus was
born of a virgin, is to be revered and respected, was a prophet, a wise teacher
who worked miracles, ascended to heaven, and will come again.
Ahmadiyya Muslims believe Jesus may
have been born of a virgin, was a prophet and wise teacher, worked miracles,
and was crucified on a cross.
Bahá’í believe Jesus came
from God, was a wise teacher who had a divine and human nature, worked
miracles, and was crucified and resurrected as an atonement for humanity.
Hindus believe Jesus was a
holy man, a wise teacher, and is a ‘god’.
Buddhists believe Jesus was an
enlightened man and a wise teacher.
Jesus is the greatest universal
religious figure in history; no other leader/founder of a religion is co-opted
into every other religion!
A thoughtful person would begin their
exploration of religion by investigating the claims of Christianity. It is testable, it is free, it fits well with
our everyday experiences, it explains reason and rationality, and the founder
of the religion is part of every other major world religion!
[1]
Craig J. Hazen, Five Sacred Crossings,
Harvest House Publishers, 2008
[3]
John 20:30-31
[4] Hazen,
Five Sacred Crossings, pages 69-70
[5]
Kenneth Richard Samples, A World of
Difference, Baker Books, 2007
[6] J.
Warner Wallace, Cold Case Christianity, http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/who-is-jesus-according-to-other-religions/
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