While teaching a year 6 scripture class a few years ago, one of the kids told the class that while he definitely believed in God, he didn't believe in heaven and hell, and he certainly didn't believe that Jesus actually died and rose again. I responded by asking him if he thought you could just choose what you want to believe and then call it true? If His teacher was introducing the class to 12 x tables, and this bright spark put up his hand and said “Miss, I can cope with 12x1 and 12x2, but there is just no way in the world that I can believe 12x3=36, I'm sure his teacher would be upset with him for being so arrogant and tell him that you can't change what is true just because you don't believe it. Truth is truth, all we get to do is discover it.
My great ambition in life is to follow Jesus with all my heart and to help others do the same. My parents feel exactly the same, and I've always deeply admired that about them. Growing up in their house, I saw how real their faith was and wanted that for myself. But what If I was born in a remote village in Pakistan and my parents were devoted Muslims, would I now be a religious leader teaching the way of Islam?
So then if all religions claim to own “the truth” how do we decide which one is right? Are all religions basically the same? If you are in the market for a new religion, how do you know which one is best? Is it just about personal taste or preference like choosing cereal from the supermarket? Can you just choose the best bits from each of them?
Karl Marx said “Man is incurably religious.” People feel the need to be seen doing something to actively work towards their own salvation and to try and keep the God's happy. Yet I think our basic problem is that no amount of self control, hard work, and good deeds can ever make a person clean and new. We do actually need someone to help us, maybe even to save us from ourselves.
Look I don't know everything, but If someone were to ask my advice, I would always say that although Christians don't have a monopoly on truth or on God, there is only one savior and that is Jesus, so if our basic problem is that we do actually need rescuing its probably going to be a good plan to trust Jesus to save. I'm not going to tell anyone to trust in Buddha or Mohammad, not because they are dodgy blokes, but just because they never claimed they could save anyone
Whether you grow up in a Christian culture or a Muslim one, the question remains 'Do I blindly follow a religious system of beliefs and practices, or do I seek, ask, search, for what is real and true?' God is not insecure, He promises that if anyone really goes looking for him with their whole heart, they will find Him.
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That's awesome Jaemin.
ReplyDeleteRelating the mythology and narrative of christianity to facts like multiplication tables is illogical.
ReplyDeleteYes we all know and can prove that 12*2=24, but that christ was ressurected in the way that orthodox, catholic and protestant christians claim is not a fact beyond dispute.
The facts are miracles do not happen and the ressurection story is shrouded in myths and lies.
Stuart, Goulburn
Hi Stuart,
ReplyDeleteJesus never forced his stuff on anyone, He always gave people every opportunity to carry on living just how they wanted to. Every time He spoke to groups he did so in the form of stories and parables so that if you had no desire to receive anything from him, then what he said just sounded like a nice story, yet for those who deeply hungered for something that really satisfied, they would have to ask questions and pursue Jesus to find out what he really meant.
Jesus always said What you seek is what you'll
find.
There a obviously a lot of people who would agree with you in saying that the resurrection never happened. And the more reading a research they do into the matter just confirms what they want to hear - it's a big made up story and everyone who believes it is living in fairy land.
Yet there are also millions of people who have genuinely sought to find God, who have discovered that Jesus is alive and is the only one with the power to save them.
Jaemin