Hearsay is inadmissible for good reason

Hearsay is inadmissible for good reason

Most of us a supremely interested in self-preservation; it’s an instinct that runs animal deep. Once we feel mortally secure (roof over our head, food in our belly) our attention turns eternal. It is entirely natural to wonder about the great-beyond and whether there might be a way to reach it. And with this in mind religions spring up like weeds at the beginning of winter offering helpful (and sometime very strange) suggestions of how we might cross the river Styx which we intuitively sense ultimately awaits us (one way or another).

Believing the teachings of one or other of the great religions even if old or popular or backed up with a beautifully illustrated book is utterly inadequate – even if you believe fervently (with all of you heart, soul and mind) most religions agree you’ll fall desperately short.

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder (James 2:19)”.

It takes more than nailing your colours to the right mast. It takes more that accepting the right ideology. Who you choose to believe in is more important that what you choose to believe because the “who” makes credible the “what”. You need more than the right view of the eternal you need a path, a way and the means to reach it.

Proof of purchase

Founders of most of the world’s religions have conceived of some kind of afterlife without having the benefit of first inspecting it themselves.

The founder of what we now call Christianity claimed not only that he had been there but that he was from there and was soon returning (offering to take some of us along for the ride). There have been others who claimed similar things but failed to back it up as Jesus did with a substantial body of evidence, for e.g.:

1. Credible miracles witnessed by thousands, including the mass-manufacture of food (loaves & fishes) and quality booze (wedding feast), healing the un healable (lame to walk, blind to see, bleeding to coagulate), spiritual authority (legion and the pigs + ex-fortune telling girl), the raising of people from the dead (Lazarus) and control of weather (lake of Galilee).
2. Jesus’ unprecedented impact across the whole-world lasting 2,000 years achieved after a short three year public tour of roman-occupied Philistine harassed by the Jews and backed by no institutional authority, money, education, writings or good looks (The closest thing we get to a description of Jesus, and it’s prophetic only, is in Isaiah 53:2b, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.” – That is, he was ordinary-looking.). His words and deeds alone transformed the whole world ever after.
3. The not so small act of rising from the dead himself after torture, crucifixion and entombment (guarded by soldier and bolder) followed up with an long-term in-person visit (Thomas puts his finger in Jesus’ side + Jesus eats with disciples on the beach) with many of his followers most of whom went on the proclaim his message even though they knew this would be met (and indeed was met) with terminal force resulting in a number of gruesome deaths.

In my mind these count for compelling arguments when I consider Jesus’ authority to speak on the important matter of salvation. So, consider carefully his claims - which are extraordinary to say the least - and you may, like me, be sufficiently persuaded to take him at his word which will change you life (guaranteed).