In Defense of Christianity

In this thread, I will defend Christianity, give reasons why people should believe in Jesus, and provide clarity on topics within the Christian faith.

Christianity is, really, about love. It has always been about this.
People, throughout time, have tried hard to misrepresent the faith. A common accusation is that it’s nothing
more than primitive fear-mongering, something to keep people in line, so they are more easily controlled.
This is so far from the truth. When one, truly, understands the beauty of God and the profundity of His love, that person will realize that living a righteous life is something that springs forth from a free-flowing, passionate heart.

While it’s true that people have twisted the faith, misusing it in order to exploit others, one should remember that just because someone professes to be a Christian, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are one. “You shall know them by their fruits”. One of the central teachings of Christianity is to love others. If one is exploiting other people, then that is not loving them, that is not following the teachings of Jesus Christ, hence that person is not really a Christian in the first place and people should not even point at that individual or individuals and say, “Hey, look how Christians have behaved throughout the ages”.

The love that Jesus had within him was a very fierce sort of love that never gives up, that remains ablaze forever.
This kind of love is not coerced - it is free-spirited, passionate, and very profound; it is the fuel of the hero, and Jesus Christ is the most epic hero and greatest warrior of all time. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

What makes Christianity different from other religions?
With essentially every other religion, one has to work one’s way to Heaven.
But in Christianity, salvation is obtained when one accepts the sacrifice of Jesus Christ into their heart.
Good works, in Christianity, do not save the individual. The only thing that saves someone is the sacrifice of Jesus. Good works are merely evidence that one, truly, has faith in Christ’s sacrfice. When one, really, believes in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, they will naturally live righteous lives and perform good works. But, as previously stated, these good works do NOT save the person; the good works are simply evidence of one’s genuine faith in the shed blood of Jesus. This is true Sola Fide (Faith Alone).

It’s also imperative to understand what the sacrifice of Jesus is about.
There are some differing views on the nature of the atonement. But I will state my view. I admit that I do not fully understand the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and, to be honest, I don’t think anyone fully understands; it’s too powerful and beautiful for anyone to totally comprehend. But we can have a sufficient understanding of it. Christ sacrificed himself, because he had intense love within his heart for fallen humanity. He did not want anyone to experience suffering. He willingly laid down his life, on his own accord, because he had tremendous empathy and compassion for lost souls. The destruction, that was heading towards sinners, he took upon himself - because he loved them dearly. People do not fully understand just how serious their sins are. People have enough of an understanding to know what is right from wrong, but they don’t see just how grave their wicked deeds actually are. Christ, when he was upon the cross, prayed to God, the Father, saying “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even though people reap what they sow, Jesus understood that people can change for the better and that they are worth redeeming. Christ’s sacrifice brought justice to the spiritual problem of sin. And his sacrifice was absolutely beyond-words beautiful. The love that he had within his heart was so profound and intense; it was the ultimate manifestation of God’s love and beauty. As he underwent the scourging, carrying of the cross, and crucifixion, his heart was beating to a warrior’s rhythm. He would let out loud roars, like a lion, as tears of love streamed down his face. He was determined to accomplish his mission. He had eyes of holy fire.

Any human judge, if they beheld even a glimpse of the glory and beauty that was within Jesus’ heart, as he underwent his sacrifice, they would fall to the ground, drop their gavel (judicial hammer), and cry a river of tears, due to the sheer power of Christ’s sublime love.

There are some pretty serious problems here.

The Reality of Good and Evil

Good and evil are not mere human-contructs; they are spiritual realities.
We recognize their reality through our emotions and also our intellects.
Unfortunately, philosophers and other intellectuals have this tendency of
downplaying emotion, but this is a serious error. Emotion is a form of intelligence.
There is a reason why people feel empathy for others who experience much suffering,
such as children who are abused by their parents. We recognize that there is something
fundamentally wrong with such things.

This is not pavlovian conditioning, but rather something essential to beings of higher consciousness.
God created us so that we are able to know what is right from wrong.
So, we come to the question of what exactly are good and evil? The good is anything that promotes
peace, love, health, beauty, and well-being; the bad, on the other hand, is anything that promotes destruction, hatred, strife, toxicity, and suffering.

God is the source and standard of what is good.

True Royalty and Nobility

People who are truly noble and royal are those who embody the spirit of God. When someone is filled with love for God and other people, it is aesthetically pleasing, it is very beautiful. When you are in-tune with God, the source of all things, you are crowned with true royalty and glory.

The fuel or motivation of the hero is his intense LOVE for those he is saving. You see, love and kindness are NOT forms of weakness; they are brilliant power.

Jesus embodied this brilliant power. He is the greatest hero of all time.

True nobility is not discriminatory in the sense of “Well, this person does not possess the same level of intellect as I do, therefore I will not extend my empathy to them.” True nobility seeks to bring up those who are on a lower level, so that they can be on a higher level.

When someone is cold or discriminatory, in the way I mentioned above, it is actually very un-aesthetic or ugly.
If someone were to reflect that sort of discriminatory energy at you, you would realize how toxic and ugly it really is.

God is the highest being in all reality, yet he does NOT coldly or pompously discriminate against other people, just because they are of lesser intelligence than He is. He extends His love to all people, recognizing that each person is a unique individual who has feelings.

True royalty is to embody the spirit of God.