> Tim Rhodes wrote:
> >
> > On Fri, 17 Oct 1997, chardin wrote:
> >
> > > Prof. Tim wrote:
> > > > If the prophecies were all wrong, and the future was not
> > > > "revealed" in the bible, and there was not Christ (this is
> > > > hypothetical, remember), would you still be a Christian? Why
> > > > or why not?
> >
> > > I could not possibly be a Christian as you hypothesize.
> >
> > Too bad. Your reasons for believing are the same as the ones you
> > say are the errors of science. You believe as a security blanket
> > rather than because it is the "right" way to live your life. That
> > is sad. There is no differnece between you and the scientists you
> > deride. You just have differnt colored blankets to hold as you
> > suck your thumb in the darkness.
> >
> > Very sad indeed.
> >
> > -Prof. Tim
>
> Geez Tim, you are on a warpath today. I do agree however with my
> origianl comment a week and a half ago. Faith is based on fear of
> the unknown. Whether it is deliberate or not. I would probably make
> a good Christian because I do think many of the things Christ is
> supposed to have said are good. Love, compassion, affection,
> forgivness - all of these are values I hold dear. But I like them
> because I see the benefits they bring and the emotional response my
> mind rewards me with, not because someone told me to. If it weren't
> for the divine part, if Jesus were just a philosopher like Socrates,
> then I would probably convert.
>
> Sodom
Sodom, I think your reasoning is correct, if Jesus is not what is
claimed of him, then you would be foolish to convert. We can get
good "ethics" from all sorts of places and even people who have never
heard of the Christian message do, by nature what their conscience
tells them and very often have a conviction of what is right or
wrong. If Christ is not God in the flesh, I would not want to follow
him. What is reported of him is that he went around forgiving people
of their sins, healing the sick, raising the dead. Now, if he did
not do those things, then was a lunatic, a liar, or a misunderstood
Jew--but can we just pick 'n choose what we want? I suppose that is
one way but if we doubt part of the message, then I suppose we ought
to doubt the authenticity of it all.