I am trying really hard to understand the whole Christ thing, and I'm trying to be condescending, but can any

Question

one help me to understand it? I mean, how do we know that Christ really is who he said he was, aside from the Bible, which men clearly wrote. What proof is there? I am not joking or trying to be condescending, I am genuinely trying to understand. I mean, my mother is a minister and I don't get it. What makes him different than any other self-proclaimed messiah? Why should I believe? Please help me to understand.

YES, I meant trying NOT to be condescending. Sorry. Oh, and I am getting exactly what I always get when I ask this question--you don't need proof, gotta have faith, etc. Now, is that what the Christians told the Pagans when they beat them and terrorized and even killed them for NOT being Christian? I am serious. Please, please help me to understand. Thanks.

I DO believe in a higher power--God, Goddess, whatever you want to find it. I am having trouble only with the whole CHRIST thing, not God. Thanks.

Answer 1

These are very good questions. It's good that you are asking these questions to, so that your faith isn't just a hand-me-down, but genuinely your own.

I know that the historian Josephus talks about Jesus and may even call him the Messiah or Christ, but I don't think you'll find any other documented proof. (Well, there might be the Dead Sea Scrolls...)

But let me ask you this: suppose a man (or woman) was stranded on a desert island for a year, and kept a weekly journal of all his activities while stranded? Would you doubt what he said because no one else was there to see him do those things?

I recommend a few steps for you:
1) Pray to God and ask him to show you the truth.
2) Read the story of Jesus in the Bible, and perhaps read what extrabiblical sources say about Jesus. You might also read books of/about other beliefs, too.
3) Go to a church and listen to what they have to say. Since your mom is a minister and you've been hearing her version all your life, it might help you, for a different perspective, to go to a church other than your mom's. If she objects, tell her that you want your faith to be truly yours, and not just a hand-me-down, and for your faith to be real you have to do some studying, including studying outside of her school.

Remind her of what happened to the seed that sprang up too quickly and got burned up by the sun because it had no roots. Tell her your roots have to break through the soil of your doubts. (If this analogy isn't helpful to you, don't use it.)

Good luck and God bless you on your spiritual journey.

Answer 2

You Can't Understand Because You Have Not Actually Received Christ In Your Heart That's The Reason!.....It Doesn't Make Sense To You!(1 Cor. 2:10-16).....Also Read (John 3rd. chapter) And This Will Shine Some Light On Why You Can't Understand!....PS. Talk To Your Minister!.....After That, If You Choose Not To Believe...Then That Will Be You Choice!......You'll See Jesus Different Also After You Read About His Birth, His Death, And His Resurrection!.....That's What Stands Out Among Anything Else Or Anyone Else!

Answer 3

Proof - historians can prove that the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth did exist. He was a Jew of the region and was crucified by the Romans. That's the easy part.

Who exactly is Jesus? - Many Jews (and I believe some Muslims) recognize Jesus as a man of God. Some call him a holy man, some call him a prophet. Christians believe he is the only Son of God. Catholic Christians believe that Jesus is God incarnate, part of the Trinity.

What makes him different? - For his time period, Jesus was a radical in that he was going against cultural bounds and saying that people should love each other no matter the group. He was willing to die for his convictions and teachings on morality and basic goodness. So far, sounds like any ol' prophet, right? Here's the kicker - speaking as a Catholic, Jesus was the Son of God and was in fact God's self-realization as a human being. He was at the same time 100% human and 100% divine. He always had a choice, and yet he chose to allow events to unfold as they did, and God resurrected him, breaking the chains of death. No one else has been resurrected.

Why should you believe? - I can't help you here. For me, the message hits home as truth. Even though I don't understand every bit of it (that human/divine thing is a kicker), it "fits" best with my understanding of good and evil. It brings me comfort. And it's a matter of faith. Faith is believing something that cannot be proven, and struggling to work with that belief. It is NOT blind acceptance - it involved thought and questioning. In fact, you cannot have faith if there is no possibility for doubt.

Answer 4

Concerning the Bible, why do you say, "...which men clearly wrote."?

How did you become so certain of that? Somebody else said so? So you're putting your faith in them, instead. What proof did they offer, other than pure skepticism.

According to Paul in Acts 17:31, the resurrection of Jesus is intended to be all the 'proof' needed by anyone, for all time. Investigate honestly Jesus' resurrection from the dead, and you have your compelling evidence.

It is the resurrection that makes Him different from any other self-proclaimed Messiah. It is because He is risen that you should believe. Disprove the resurrection (or discredit the claim of having been resurrected, as The DaVinci Code fails to do) and you don't have anything to worry about: We're all just bugs on a rock.

Answer 5

Judging you by the fact you claim to be a wiccan (by your previous Q&A's) I doubt you will fully read this. But for the others.

Try considering the alternatives.
Please go to the site below and read the two pages. It was written by a man that believes in Evolution and is a good description what makes up the human body.
After reading if you still don't believe that this world was made by a higher intelligence then continue reading the book's first chapter.
Belief in God takes faith, and there is proof if you're willing to accept the facts.
Try reading it, it should only take you 3 minutes or less.
Is your eternal soul worth 3 minutes of considering there might be a GOD?

Answer 6

I've touched more souls than Jesus Christ......, and he had a two-thousand year head start. He was just a man if he existed at all. The only place to find him is the bible, an earmark of mythology. Think about it. Raising the dead, walking on water, feeding the multitude miraculously, and all was seen by thousands of people, and yet not a single document by a common everyday citizen has ever surfaced to give witness to the accounts. Remember....., Jesus said in the bible that he was with the "Magi". In fact it was the Magi that brought the gifts, otherwise known as the three wise men. Magi later became known as "Magic". For all we know he was the David Copperfield of his time.

Answer 7

There is no easy answer. That there was a Jesus is known from writings of comtemporaries other than apostles and evangelists. A couple of roman writers made brief comments about Jesus and that he was crucified.

A couple of points: There is the religion OF Jesus and the religion ABOUT Jesus and they are not necessarily the same. You have received answers from two camps at least; the pros and antis, so to speak. They have their own agendas. Try reading the gospels with fresh eyes. Note what Jesus said and did - the nature of it. Remember, times were different then and customs were different and beliefs were different. There was no science as we know it, nor history as we view history today.

Faith is different than belief, Alan Watts said. Belief is a "holding on to." Faith is a "letting go." Faith implies trust. Speaking personally, faith needs no doctrine or dogma. Does what you read "speak" to you? Do you find richness, understanding of human beings and their search for the divine in your reading of the Bible? Remember there is everything human there: the good, bad and the ugly. Read particularly the letter of John. It's short, but it says it all And also 1st Corinthians and what Paul says about Faith, Hope and Love.

And don't stop with the Bible. See if you can find a copy of "The World Bible," a collection of readings from all of the major religions. And don't stop there either. The story of our human search is fascinating.

Make up your own mind and heart about Jesus and what he means (or not) to you. Whether he actually lived or did all of the things attributed to him is kind of beside the point. SOMETHING happened to that small band of Jewish followers and something blossomed. That it later grew thorns as well as flowers is simply what we do with most anything we latch onto. Something similar happened several hundred years earlier with Gautama (the Buddha) in India.

Trust yourself. Good luck.

Answer 8

I can't answer your question. I nor anyone else can tell you what you want to hear. Faith, is what it is. The awesome relief of knowing that something is out there, with your well being, in mind. That there is an Omnipotent being (God if you will) that truly cares for you.
God had given you "free will". He/She, did this so that you and you alone must make up your mind. Do you believe? Do you not?
this is truly for you to decide.
Jesus Christ, whether you believe in the word that God has
decreed or believe that man is fallible, was in fact here on Earth.
This was proved, even in, the American Justice system. He was a benevolent man. His sole desire was to save YOUR soul.
He endured great hardships and pain to gain YOUR salvation.
Even if he was not the direct son of God/Yahweh/Jehovah (spelling?) He was at least proof that there is a God. Because
as I have learned, in my own sordid and sinful past. Without a
God and a reckoning, there are NO good men. Without God
we are merely animals, whom hunt, kill, and breed. With little or no regard for anything else other that ourselves.
So again I say I can't answer your question. Neither can anyone
else. Only you can decide to believe or not to believe. I hope you luck on this difficult journey.

Answer 9

If the bible was even remotely true, Jesus is Satan.

According to the bible:

Satan is:

1. Godlike (he was God's right hand man);

2. Wise (in a sneaky way, like a serpent);

3. Is a deceiver; (Christians resort to lies to promote their faith, it is built on lies)

4. Is the author of confusion; (the bible is the most confusing book ever written)

5. Wants to be God; (Christians claim Jesus is God)

6. Can perform miracles. (self-explanatory)

and,

7. His only purpose is to persuade people to worship him as God. The idea that he is "evil" or "malicious" is just another one of his lies. He is neither evil nor malicious. He is sweet, loving, generous, and kind. All he wants is a person's soul, he doesn't care what they do otherwise, good or bad.

There is no other conclusion to be reached. Constantine made the adversary (Satan) the savior (Jesus) as an insult to Hebrews.

The bible is a book of mythology, so it doesn't really matter.

Answer 10

Islam holds Jesus to have been a messenger and a prophet of God and the Messiah. According to the Qur'an, he was one of God's most beloved messengers, and was sent to guide the Children of Israel.

Muslims reject the mainstream Christian belief that Jesus was the Son of God. The Qur'an states repeatedly that Jesus was only a human messenger sent by God and not divine.

Like Judaism, Islam holds that sin is an act and not a state of being and therefore it does not admit the idea of an Original Sin inherited to the descendants of Adam, so the Islamic meaning of Messiah is different from the Christian view of a 'Redeemer'. Islam does not accept any human sacrifice for sin. The Islamic understanding of forgiveness is that it is made on the basis of divine grace and repentance. According to Islam, no sacrifice can add to divine grace nor replace the necessity of repentance.