This. It is exactly why, while I believe in God, I don't believe in religion.
Religion talks about God's "unconditional love" - the same "love" that damns you to an eternity in Hell because you didn't believe that Jesus was the magical, holy Son of God.
No, I believe Jesus was a man - a very good man, who taught us a very good way to live one's life. His miracles? His resurrection? Nah, don't believe in that so much.
If God's love was "unconditional", he wouldn't care whether I believed Jesus was Holy or not. He'd care about how I lived my life - if I was a good person, or if I wasn't.
I want to be judged by -WHO- I am, by the deeds I do in this world, and the truth in my heart behind those deeds. Not whether or not I believed some dude was Holy.
A friend of mine - who is religious - once told me he wasn't a "science project", because I suggested that science and evlotuion could be evidence of God, and his creation. He stated that he was no "science project".
Well at the same time, I am no "pawn", which is exactly what religion says I am to be - a pawn for the church, in God's "name". Sorry, I am not a pawn. I am a living, breathing, human being with my own thoughts, values, emotions, and ideas. If that is something that God can't handle, then I say that is not a God that I want to worship.
I choose to worship a God who truly is loving, and caring, and judges you not on what you believed, but how you lived your life.
Well, we have to realize that we exist because he does... so really nothing is truely ours. The Bible says that entire universe is sustained by the word of his power. Basically, God causes the universe to continue to "be." We didn't cause ourselves to come into being. We are not auto-created or autonomous beings. Our ability to think, our ability to understand that things have value, our emotional capacities and our ability to have ideas are all reflections of who God is. We were created in his His image. We were create with a purpose and that purpose is to worship him. Why do we love to praise things that are valuable like movies, our children, expensive cars or clothes, books, people etc.? Or why are so attracted to big things. Why do we like to see epic movies with breathtaking vistas and big battle scenes? Why do go to the grand canyon? There is something in all of us that wants to feel small and to worship something valuable. This is how God made us.
I think the hardest thing for people who don't believe in Christ is to understand and accept what is called "spiritual deadness." Jesus said to the Jewish teachers of the Bible in his day, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Basically, what he is saying is that we all need to come out of deadness to God and be "born" again. This goes back to the beginning. We have sort of inherited our first parents' (Adam and Eve) rebellion. Sort of the way that you inherit your parents blue eyes or your father's bad temper. This is hard to accept in our culture because we are taught that everyone deserves a chance and that we are all equal...etc. However, this isn't Biblical and if you look around at the world it isn't realistic either.
So we have inherited a sinful "nature" that needs to be cured. In reality, God could and probably should have just scratched this who universe once Adam and Eve rebelled against him. He didn't. Instead he promised them that someday he was going to make everything right by sending a savior.
Moses and all the prophets for the next 1500 years after him were given more and more information about who this messiah would be and what exactly he was going to do. Along comes Jesus, who has existed eternally, who loved God perfectly which translated to him living flawlessly. He goes to the Cross and stands in our place. He is risen from the dead as the first of the coming Resurrection.
I think the biggest "proof" for Christianity is the historicity of it. Take, for example, the 12 Apostles (11 if you discount Judas), after following Jesus for three years and witnesses countless miracles and teachings totally abandon him the moment his is arrested. These are the same Apostles who claimed that they would go with him to the death if they needed to. Yet, they totally abandon him like a bunch of cowards the moment a sign of trouble show its face. Yet somehow, these cowards went on, after his resurrection and ascension into heaven, to all be martyred preaching the Gospel of Jesus around the world. This is all recorded extra-biblically. Every single one of them died this way (except for John). So how did a bunch of cowards suddenly become so bold and courageous? Simple, they saw Jesus come back from the dead, doing exactly what he said he was going to do all along.
Anyway, that is basically the Gospel. I could go on. I don't mind the mocking. But, I hope we can all be civilized here.
