Still Believing in Jesus

[_evangelinewest]

Although I haven't believed in the other teachings of the LDS Church for a very long time, I still believe in Jesus. This makes me counter-cultural among a lot of former Mormons and in contemporary society in general, and that's okay. However, some people like to claim that belief in Jesus is due to gullibility. I disagree for some specific historical reasons.

The Roman Emperor Nero died in 65 AD after persecuting many Christians in brutal executions in the public arenas. We know this, not only because Christian tradition tells of the deaths of Peter and Paul at this time, but due to the secular historians Josephus and Tacitus. (Keep in mind that this would easily have been in the lifetime of the apostles, since 65 AD is about sixty-five years after the birth of Jesus, not His death. Secular records could hardly be expected to record the names of individuals executed at this time, so the absence of references to Peter and Paul is not surprising.) This means that people who heard the preaching of the apostles were willing to die for Christianity very early in the history of the movement.

Today we live in the time when the People's Temple movement, with Jim Jones, and the followers of David Karesh clearly show what happens to religious movements that experience tragedy early on. They die out. Nobody jumps on board the burning bandwagon.

Christianity obviously didn't die out; we're still talking about it two thousand years later. People knew what was happening to the Christians, and the movement didn't die out. It grew. Murderous persecution continued in the time of Pliny the Younger, and it didn't die out. It continued to grow. Over time, Christianity has survived persecution, neglect, contempt, and indifference. There continue to be millions of us who would rather die with Jesus than live without Him.

Think again about those first martyrs. Do you suppose they believed that Jesus really existed? I'm guessing they did. Do you think they loved stories of miracles which they expected were fiction? I doubt that. Their behavior makes sense only if they really expected to live again in heaven with a divine Savior. The behavior of their contemporaries makes sense only if the martyrs exhibited grace and hope at the end. You may believe in Jesus or not, but the historical record is freakishly strange if those early Christians didn't really believe. And they were a lot closer to the events than we are.

Just a little something to think about. For the record, I deeply respect skepticism for the love of truth, and I know that love of truth is what a great deal of skepticism is about. I just want to encourage you to keep an open mind and be willing to consider all the options.

[_Dr. Shades]

That's an interesting perspective, evangelinewest. Thank you for sharing.

[_Fence Sitter]

Wouldn't your reasoning also apply to any of the world religions? Have you kept you option open regarding Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Jainism, or Sikhism?

[_evangelinewest]

I would indeed agree that these other faiths have had many followers who sincerely believed in their religions. Furthermore, I think that all of these have elements of truth (although in the case of Hinduism I must confess that I harbor very negative feelings about the traditional caste system and the traditional low status for women). I also feel that Christianity is the fullest and best expression of spirituality. I like the teaching that God dealt with the evil of the world by entering into creation as one of us, taking on the worst we could dish out, and coming out of it in triumph.

Christianity has also given us some good music, art, literature, and architecture. Which is also cool.