Is it better to be a Christian even if Jesus’ resurrection is not true?
Some believers say that it is, and begin to tabulate the blessings that Christianity has wrought upon the world—advancements in science, law, education, technology, health, etc.—as proof. All of these have had an undeniable impact upon civilisation, but do they really constitute “the stuff” of Christianity?
The apostle Paul emphatically disagrees that the Christian life is ‘still worth it even if it is only for this world.’ He says that those who have this temporary trust in Christ are to be felt sorry for:
“If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
Too many Christians swim in this sea of half-belief; it can’t be anything other than depressing. But it is not hard to work out where it comes from. Christian educators, from the pulpit to the lecture hall, have been less than robust in their defense of the Gospel. They have accepted that the world’s view of Christianity is somehow ‘come-by-honestly,’ and its influence upon Christians is unavoidable.
You don’t have to think about the implications of this—we are living it!
Fundamental beliefs about creation, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, the authority of the bible, the spiritual role of the church, one’s own body being the temple of the Holy Spirit and the sanctity of life (to name but a few), have all been dismissed as being “anti-science” in one form or another.
However, lest my point is missed: The problem sits with those in the church who give themselves over to those who rip the heart out of the Gospel with there half-hearted beliefs.
“But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).
John Staiger
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