What makes Christianity different from other religions? Part 1 Christianity – The Claim of All Claims
Part 1 Christianity – The Claim of All Claims
Having spent a number of years in Sweden, I am very familiar with its famous smorgasbord. Being a picky eater, I like buffets. I appreciate that I can just take the foods I like and leave the foods I don’t like. While this may be an acceptable restaurant model, I find it quite inadequate when it comes to faith. It is popular today to see spirituality as simply picking and choosing what feels right for you, seeing faith as something subjective (a matter of opinion) rather than objective (a matter of fact). However, when we look at the central claim of Christianity, we not only see that it is based in historical fact, but also how it stands out among all the other options.
The Central Claim – Jesus Died and Rose Again
You might be surprised to hear about “the” central claim of Christianity. This is especially the case for those who have a buffet-view of faith, seeing Christianity as merely a group of teachings and rituals from which you are free to pick and choose. However, the Apostle Paul spells out very clearly in 1 Corinthians 15 that Christianity stands or falls on the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (verse 3-4).
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (verse 17, cf. 14).
Furthermore, Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God was confirmed through the resurrection (Romans 1:4), our righteousness through faith is granted through the resurrection (Romans 4:22-25) and the future resurrection of believers is based on Jesus having already been raised (1 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 4:14). I recommend taking some time to read through these passages and think about their profound implications. The death and resurrection of Jesus is truly an amazing claim at the very heart of Christianity.
Not an Empty Claim – Historical Evidence for Jesus’ Resurrection
As amazing as the claim is, one might say that it is no more valid than any other religious claim. In other words, the Christian faith is just one belief among many and there is no way to distinguish between beliefs. Well, what makes the claim even more amazing (if that’s possible) is that a strong case can be made that the best historical explanation of the events surrounding Jesus’ death was that He was physically raised from the dead. In their book, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Gary Habermas and Michael Licona take what they call a minimal facts approach. They describe five facts that are so well grounded in historical reasoning that these facts are accepted by the vast majority of New Testament scholars, even particularly skeptical scholars. This means that these facts rest not merely on personal belief, because some of these scholars don’t even believe in God, but rather on good historical evidence. Now, those scholars that are Christians would believe a lot more than the minimal facts, but the case is not dependent on that. So, the evidence is there for whomever will listen, regardless of their theological beliefs. What are these facts, you might ask? That will be the subject of Part 2.
Written by Matthew Lefebvre