I suppose that could be true--but what if it isn't?
Obviously, we can't all be right. If Christians say that the only way to heaven is through Jesus and Muslims believe that the only way to heaven is to follow the teachings of Muhammad--well somebody has it wrong. The Jews are God's chosen people. Catholics follow the Papacy along with the Bible. Mormons follow the teachings of Joseph Smith. There are Scientologists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians. There are monotheists, polytheists, pantheists and atheists.
Isn't it more likely that we have all got it wrong?
What if we were to take a critical look at our own beliefs? What if we were to examine what we believe as if it was on trial? What if we took the stance that what we believed was being challenged as being all wrong and we were in need of proving that it was right? If you were to debate your beliefs against another, how would you do? If the object is to win a debate, would you choose to defend your beliefs or pick another one that you think could win?
The Bible teaches that we should always be prepared to give a defense for what we believe. Whether you are a believer in the teachings of the Bible or not, are you prepared to defend your beliefs?
In the end, nobody wants to be wrong--especially if eternity hangs in the balance.
Are you eternally comfortable with your beliefs?
The other day I posted a quote from Dave Barry on my Facebook status--
"People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them."
That's not the case here. Feel free to share what you believe and why. And feel free to wonder--What if you're wrong?
John
7 comments:
This is a very interesting and perceptive question that leads to (or, at least, SHOULD lead to) serious thought and discussion. You ask, "What if we were to take a critical look at our own beliefs? What if we were to examine what we believe as if it was on trial? What if we took the stance that what we believed was being challenged as being all wrong and we were in need of proving that it was right?" The real question here is, how do you prove the unprovable? You, as a Christian, absolutely believe what you believe, but if you were to try to prove it in court, you couldn't. All religious beliefs depend, in the end, on unquestioning faith in a set of beliefs that we learned from our parents or from some other person we thought was persuasive enough to convince us. But proof...real, courtroom-quality proof? Not likely. In his book, "The End of Faith," Sam Harris does a masterful job of addressing the discontinuity between faith and that which we can observe and prove. It's not a topic on which true believers in any religion can (or would ever want to) agree, but it's really worth thinking long and hard about. Thanks for teeing up a great topic!
IF I'm wrong, then I'm just a body in a box! BUT, because I'm right, I'll be singing with the Saints! Probably not the response you were looking for, huh?
I have some things to say here but don't have time right now. I will make a comment here tomorrow
From Bilbo - "I think the whole concept of monotheism is a gift from the gods." (Emo Philips)
From Joy (Bilbo's friend) - "God has no religion" (Mahatma Gandhi)
From Mike - Wv: malable - What people are.
The words believe, beliefs, religion, etc. are just words. Satan believes and knows there is a God but does not ACCEPT the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior.
With that in mind I will state my case for Christianity.
It's so logical to me to accept it as truth. It was outlined throughout the Bible. This means you have to accept through faith that the Bible is the inspired word of God. It's there, outlined and each individual has to make a choice whether or not to ACCEPT it.
It's so obvious to me that God created the heavens and the earth. Did He do it with a big bang? That may be, but he created it. There are so many things around us that are phenomenons that can't really be explained. For example, we take a seed, plant it and water it, and it comes to life. What other explination can you come up with other than it was part of God's perfect plan.
Throughout the Old Testament there were "types" of Christs or deliverers. Moses is a good example of one who delivered the Israelites. These were all signs that God was sending His Son to earth. By the way, many will tell you that there was alot of symbolism in the Old Testament. I believe that it is a historical account of actual events that took place.
Let me speak about blood. Jesus shed his blood for the remission of sins. The Old Testament had the shedding of animal blood to cover sin. It was an atonement for sin. But animal blood could only cover sin, not wash it away as the shed blood of Christ does. PETA would go nuts today if there was a religion that sacrificed animals. The blood line goes through the man. That is why the virgin birth was necessary. God's perfect blood line. It's logical to me. Can I explain how God dit it? Of course not. Jesus' shed blood removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. That's infinite. North and south isn't.
That brings us to a perfect, sinless man. All man and all God.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father accept through me." (John 14:6)
Then Jesus had to die. Why? To rise again and be victorious over death....for us who accept Him; that we, through Him will also be victorious over death.
It's all logical to me. A perfect plan.
Prophecies. Here are a couple of examples. The nation (homeland)of Israel was non existent for thousands of years. Then all of a sudden in 1948 look what happened. The Bible predicts that the Battle of Armegeddon will take place over the nation of Israel. Does that look logical today? It does to me. God said that the 1st time He destroyed the earth with water but the next time it will be with fire. Wow. The earth is a big place and 2 3rds of it is water. We have some great firefighters. HMM? I wonder how God can destroy the earth with fire?
Do I understand all of this? No. Do I accept it and think it is all logical? Yes. That's all Jesus asks of us; to accept Him through faith.
I just spent a while on a comment and it may have been lost after I tried to publish it. I hope not.
Actually, it came through twice, Bandit.
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