When Sadhu Sunder Singh was asked what was in Christianity that was not there in other religion, he said, " Jesus Christ". Rightly said. Christian religion stands or falls with Jesus Christ. Remove Jesus Christ, and there is nothing that's worth being a Christian. Did not the philosopher Bertrand Russel once uttered that historically it is quite doubtful that Jesus existed, and if he did we know nothing about him? Similar line was mentioned by Richard Dawkins in his book God Delusion. Well, sometimes even intelligent people make unintelligent remark!
But what makes Jesus Christ so central in Christian faith? Why not have the abstract theological reflection without the person? It is so because Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the anointed One, the Lord and God of the universe. If indeed Jesus is Lord, then nothing else can take his place. But if he is not Lord, then he is just an ordinary person; just that he is more famous than most people. Nothing worthy for which he deserves worship and allegiance. But it is said Jesus is Lord because it is believed that he is risen from the dead. And as the person who has conquered death, he is the One who gives life to those who come to him.
The question of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead in time and space i.e in history, is key to Christian religion. If resurrection is a fiction, Christians are deluded; if resurrection is true, others are missing out in knowing the most unique person ever walked on the earth. And since resurrection is an event that is believed to have happened in history, it can be empirically verified, so to speak, using appropriate tool. It is not just an abstract theory that cannot be falsified. So the invitation is there for every serious seeker to explore and verify for oneself!
Attempts to portray Jesus Christ different from what the Gospel writers portrayed would surface from time to time. Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code will not be the last novel/movie to portray Jesus as devoid of divine character. After all a human person who has such a huge number of followers the world over is an intriguing character. And if one could prove that this person is just a mere human person, then that person who led to such discovery deserve Nobel Prize, if there is any for such category! But until such time arrives Jesus Christ will continue to draw people from all over the globe to himself. And unfortunately for those who wait for such time to arrive, it will never arrive. Prove me wrong, if you would!
Interesting
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