Origin, Meaning, Morality, Destiny
It has been a long while since I last posted. Hampered by the lack of access to a laptop, all I can do in the meanwhile is to wait for my brother to avail his laptop to me, or go to school to use a computer, which is what I am doing now. Other than using a computer/laptop, I can only entertain myself through some guitar practises, and playing outdated PS2 games. Aside from that, the lack of laptop access has also allowed me some time to think about critical issues in life, not that I normally have no time to think about them, but it gives more of them. It also gives me more time to read up on books and think about other issues as well, so gave me the autonomy to meet up with friends and share with them the love of Christ.
The most forefront issue that I faced recently, while sharing with my friends about Christ and also a result of watching too much Taiwanese variety shows and dramas, is that there seems to be a constant competition between Buddhism and Christianity for answers to life's question. Buddhism, perhaps, offers one of the world's most appealing answer to meaning and destiny of life, compared to Christianity. In fact, for Chrsitianity, the picture is never that rosy. Claiming that every man has sinned and that we need to be reconciled with God through Jesus, the Bible has also told us, again through the words of Jesus, that we have to take up the cross and deny ourselves. It teaches that as Jesus died for us on the cross, our lives are not our own anymore. Certainly, for a 21st century 'educated' generation, the prospect of giving up what we want to do and follow Jesus isn't exactly an attractive option in the light of personal success, glory, and fun. Of course, I'm not saying that one has to give up everything and become a hermit seeking Jesus in order to be saved from his sins. The issue here is quite obvious: every human has to make a choice before the end of their lives what they want to believe in. The world offers us at least a dozen of options: atheism, agnosticism, gnosticism, hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, New Age religions, cult-like ideology, alien beliefs, Christianity and last of all (my favourite) DIY religions. We simply have no lack of choices. But amidst of so many choices, how do we choose? For some, it's just what feels right, for some, it's a matter of questions and answers, for some, it's because of the lead figure, for me, it's just Jesus.
For me, it's just that Christianity has to make more sense than other religions. As a historian in training and an entrepreneur in practice, I cannot deny the historical evidences of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Bible. How much I would like to point the middle finger at people who thinks that teh bible is just a bunch of myths and legends and also at people who deny the historical evidence even though alternatives fare much more worse. But I am a Christian, showing grace to people is my utmost priority. And yes, I cannot deny the historical reality of Jesus and His claims. The implication comes as such, if history does corroborate with the records of the 4 gospels in the Bible, it has to mean that God has really walked among us before. The pivotal resurrection did take place. My take is that if history accepts the consequences of what exactly has transpired during WWII, WWI, the French Revolution, the fall of the Roman empires, the founding of the United State of America, then it is on the onus of history to accept the consequence of the historical imprint of Jesus's footstep. At this point, I would not be bothered with proving this point in my post. Scholars and writers have written millions of literature on this, of which I deemed unnecessary to quote in this blog. However, by saying this, I'm putting myself at the chopping board, running the risk of being dissected should these claims be false. (though I'm quite confident that the risk level is 0%).
Historical evidences have offered me a big reason why Christianity and not others. Unfortunately for most people, historical evidences mean little to them, and I have to concede that not everyone is as fascinated by history as I am, all thanks to the MOE and the teachers we have today in our society, who make the decision to make history the most boring subject in the world, so that they can conspire to do what they want to do with the past (I'm just joking there). However, Christianity offers one most important evidence for people who want to believe in Christ. Before Jesus ascended back to heaven, He promised that He will send to earth His Holy Spirit and all of those who believe in Him will receive this gift. The implication of this promise lies in that everyone who believe in Jesus is able to enjoy and experience an intimate relationship with God. This is the experiential evidence, and the final piece of the puzzle left for seekers. The bible does ask its reader to taste and see that God is good. That is the evidence that I believe people are looking for, though I see that the committment to the relationship often hampers people to take that step.
Ultimately, I can only conclude that in the face of comparison, evidences prove too strong for me to reject Christianity, even though at times, it seems a viable option. Dun be fooled, it's never a viable option. 5 sec after we die, we will be able to test the accuracy of our beliefs. I have faith that I'm not going to be wrong...
The most forefront issue that I faced recently, while sharing with my friends about Christ and also a result of watching too much Taiwanese variety shows and dramas, is that there seems to be a constant competition between Buddhism and Christianity for answers to life's question. Buddhism, perhaps, offers one of the world's most appealing answer to meaning and destiny of life, compared to Christianity. In fact, for Chrsitianity, the picture is never that rosy. Claiming that every man has sinned and that we need to be reconciled with God through Jesus, the Bible has also told us, again through the words of Jesus, that we have to take up the cross and deny ourselves. It teaches that as Jesus died for us on the cross, our lives are not our own anymore. Certainly, for a 21st century 'educated' generation, the prospect of giving up what we want to do and follow Jesus isn't exactly an attractive option in the light of personal success, glory, and fun. Of course, I'm not saying that one has to give up everything and become a hermit seeking Jesus in order to be saved from his sins. The issue here is quite obvious: every human has to make a choice before the end of their lives what they want to believe in. The world offers us at least a dozen of options: atheism, agnosticism, gnosticism, hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, New Age religions, cult-like ideology, alien beliefs, Christianity and last of all (my favourite) DIY religions. We simply have no lack of choices. But amidst of so many choices, how do we choose? For some, it's just what feels right, for some, it's a matter of questions and answers, for some, it's because of the lead figure, for me, it's just Jesus.
For me, it's just that Christianity has to make more sense than other religions. As a historian in training and an entrepreneur in practice, I cannot deny the historical evidences of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Bible. How much I would like to point the middle finger at people who thinks that teh bible is just a bunch of myths and legends and also at people who deny the historical evidence even though alternatives fare much more worse. But I am a Christian, showing grace to people is my utmost priority. And yes, I cannot deny the historical reality of Jesus and His claims. The implication comes as such, if history does corroborate with the records of the 4 gospels in the Bible, it has to mean that God has really walked among us before. The pivotal resurrection did take place. My take is that if history accepts the consequences of what exactly has transpired during WWII, WWI, the French Revolution, the fall of the Roman empires, the founding of the United State of America, then it is on the onus of history to accept the consequence of the historical imprint of Jesus's footstep. At this point, I would not be bothered with proving this point in my post. Scholars and writers have written millions of literature on this, of which I deemed unnecessary to quote in this blog. However, by saying this, I'm putting myself at the chopping board, running the risk of being dissected should these claims be false. (though I'm quite confident that the risk level is 0%).
Historical evidences have offered me a big reason why Christianity and not others. Unfortunately for most people, historical evidences mean little to them, and I have to concede that not everyone is as fascinated by history as I am, all thanks to the MOE and the teachers we have today in our society, who make the decision to make history the most boring subject in the world, so that they can conspire to do what they want to do with the past (I'm just joking there). However, Christianity offers one most important evidence for people who want to believe in Christ. Before Jesus ascended back to heaven, He promised that He will send to earth His Holy Spirit and all of those who believe in Him will receive this gift. The implication of this promise lies in that everyone who believe in Jesus is able to enjoy and experience an intimate relationship with God. This is the experiential evidence, and the final piece of the puzzle left for seekers. The bible does ask its reader to taste and see that God is good. That is the evidence that I believe people are looking for, though I see that the committment to the relationship often hampers people to take that step.
Ultimately, I can only conclude that in the face of comparison, evidences prove too strong for me to reject Christianity, even though at times, it seems a viable option. Dun be fooled, it's never a viable option. 5 sec after we die, we will be able to test the accuracy of our beliefs. I have faith that I'm not going to be wrong...
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