Would you still consider Christianity good even if there was no heaven, no salvation or even any actual Jesus?

Question

If it was not for the fear of hell or the hope of salvation would you still bother to follow the rules?

I could also ask if the rules make sense without the fear factor on top of it. Like the part about women keeping their yaps totally shut in church

I think from the answers that only one or two of you have ever even read the books you claim to believe in.
Most of the responses are none answers.
I was not asking if you were a believer without any original thoughts.
I was asking about your opinion of the new testament rules if you were not motivated by your hope of rewards.

So slavery is good, If you see a woman with her hair uncovered you should grab here and cut it all off. Rules like that.

Answer 1

Just for "Mr. Yesterday", no "Old" Testament law isn't like Islamic law as far as an eye for an eye, etc.

In Judaic law back then (as now) an eye for an eye didn't mean that if someone put out another person's eye then their own must be taken out. This is pure Christian misinterpretation of Jewish law, most of which they haven't a clue about.

It meant that the person whose eye was put out must be MONETARILY compensated. Just like today you'd take someone to court for damages, same as back then.

As well, there were many steps to go through before a wife was "put away", and PROOF had to be there, and the benefit of the doubt was ALWAYS there.

Unlike Islamic law where if a woman is even suspected she is just taken out and killed as an honor killing, or battery acid thrown in her face.

PLEASE do not compare the two so ignorantly like that.
Judaic law does the utmost to be fair and humanitarian, and Islamic law is utterly barbaric.

I'd suggest asking the Orthodox religious Jews what their laws mean, instead of taking the misinformation from Christianity about them.

There are many examples in the Torah of laws like "if your son is disrepectful you must take him out and stone him." Guess what, this was NEVER done, there is not one instance of it being carried out in any records anywhere in Judaism - humanitarianism was (and is) always the rule, and amendments and conditions were made so as to avoid such a sentence for a child.

First of all, children under 13 are not responsible for their actions as an adult would be, in Jewish law. So they are not held to adult standards or punishments - this is just ONE example of how "the rest of the story" behind Jewish laws is unknown by most non-Jews.

This is the problem with Christian interpretations of the Jewish bible, they have NO clue of the explanations of those laws, how they were carried out, what degrees of crime merited what punishment, etc.

All of this is in the Jewish Oral Torah, (which Christians disallow) where every single law is discussed, every possible means of finding the best outlook on any person was found, etc., So this denial of the Oral Torah by Christians does cause a problem with misconceptions, like what you wrote.

Where do you think Jesus GOT his "wise loving words", he was a Jew!

(Actually I don't believe in Jesus myself, but since you do, let's follow the logic there.)

Answer 2

In theory - YES - I would follow them because they are just plain and simple common sense. That's why when the rest of Europe was dying off due to the plague, the Jews were generally okay because they were following the health and dietary laws of the Old Testament.

No one argues that the 10 Commandments are a good idea, do they? I mean, do we want stealing and murdering and adultery, etc. in our society???

As far as the Levitical laws - some I would keep and others I would not. Clean meat - yep. Animal sacrifice? Nope. If there were no Jesus, there would be no point to sacrifice.

Answer 3

It is important to separate the entity of organized Christianity (created by Rome) and the actual teachings of Jesus. These are two separate philsophies and approaches. I don't usuallly call myself a Christian, because the predominate connotation is to associate that with the organized religion which I cannot be a part of.

The teachings of Jesus however, are good, it is the teachings that are the true salvation for they change they way you think and behave. But they have nothing to do with church or the Bible, or a deified Christ figure.

Heaven is created by our behavior, right here, right now. Same with hell.

I don't think that one should belong to a religion based out of fear of the unknown and fear of death. This doesn't make sense to me

Answer 4

I would consider Christianity good with out heaven or salvation. However without Jesus you would have no teachings so nothing would be left to be good or bad.

EDIT: do not confuse cultural rules with Christian teachings. and the head thing is not a RULE

Answer 5

There wouldnt be any Christianity if Jesus was not real. There also would not be a heaven or a hell or salvation and matter of fact there would be no people. Being He created people, heaven, salvation etc

Answer 6

Jesus' spoken and recorded thoughts would clear up every problem in this world, even if he had never existed. Old Testament law is a lot like current Islamic law as far as "an eye for an eye" and "putting your wife away if she is unfaithful to you" that kind of thing. Jesus, on the other hand, is pure Love. Take what he said, purely as the sayings of a wise and loving man, and even an atheist would have to love it.

---World Peace Through The Teachings Of Jesus Christ–-

Answer 7

If there never was a Jesus, there would not be Christianity. See, for CHRISTianity, you need CHRIST.

So no, if there was no Heaven, no salvation, and no Jesus, the Christ, I would not consider Christianity good. I would not consider it at all, for it would not exist.

However, there is a Heaven, there is Salvation, and there is Jesus, the Christ. Thus, I consider Christianity to be good, for it brings me, through Christ, to Heaven, by method of His Salvation.

Thank you.

Answer 8

I would for the most part, because most of the rules in the Bible try to make the world a more peacefull place. But then some of them are kinda hard to follow.

Answer 9

Christianity does not exist without Jesus the Savior!

Answer 10

I believe in the humanity of Jesus, not his divinity. However, he was a really great guy, and his life is a good example to follow.

Most organized religions are more self-serving than God-serving, so Christianity itself (in the modern sense) is not inherently good.