Good question. I have been asking myself that a lot lately especially since I have encountered several people over the last few months who have "found Jesus" and had the void in their life filled.
It's even more strange to me because once I un-discovered Jesus, I felt like a new person.
I believe these people are sincere in their life-changing experiences with Jesus. So why is it that they find comfort in finding Jesus, when I find comfort in finding that Jesus is a myth?
Part of the issue is that they believe they have become involved in something greater than themselves. They have found the winning team and are comforted in believing that all they have to do is join the team and they can never lose.
That is a comforting thought and I WISH it was that easy. But things I see in the everyday world testify to the fact that the Jesus story is just that: a story.
For example, I've never seen anyone walk on water. Since it can't be done, the Jesus story is not true. Since it's not true, Jesus' claims are not true.
But in the Christian mind, Jesus is a type of super hero. Super heroes do things that regular people can't... like walk on water. So it is not irrational to believe that it's all true.
Yet it is irrational. Are there any real super heroes? No. They only exist in movies and in the minds of the imaginative. In fact, lately Hollywood is coming out with dozens of superhero movies. Have you noticed?
But since superheroes aren't really real, then believing in them as if they literally exist is stupid. But that's exactly what believers in Jesus do. They believe in a superhero. Just like Superman goes flying around saving people, so does Jesus.
Anyone who feels that they have been saved by their hero, are naturally going to believe it, even if it makes no sense at all. People who find Jesus literally think they have been saved. They think that because it feels good to be on the winning team, it must be true.
The human mind is easy to manipulate. Just try it. Walk into a group of people and start humming or singing a song. Do it as if you've just heard the song and are singing it because you like it. It doesn't have to be loud. You'll notice that several people in the room will unconsciously start to sing or hum it too, some without even realizing it.
Or give someone a nickname. You will find that most people will also start calling that person by the nickname.
So if you suggest to people that they need to be saved, they will believe it. People think that if it feels good, then it is good. Since being saved feels good, Jesus must be real. It's completely irrational, but yet the human mind isn't always rational. The mind believes anything it hears. Since most of us grew up in a society that believes in Jesus, it doesn't seem irrational at all to believe in him too.
But if you suggest to this group that a different saviour exists, many of them will boo you out of the room. This saviour can have exactly the same attributes as Jesus, except a different name. All of a sudden, the idea becomes extremely irrational, and the mind rejects it immediately.
People believe in Jesus because it is socially acceptable. That's the bottom line. Our society generally dictates what we should believe. If you were born in China, I'd bet $1,000 that your parents would die if you announced that you are Christian. Over in China, Jesus is not socially accepted, so few or no one believes in him.
That is why a person like me, who does not believe in Jesus, is almost viewed as an enemy. How dare I not believe in the social norm? How dare I start using my brain and thinking for myself?
My first step towards enlightenment was the discovery that superheroes like Jesus aren't real. That statement sounds dumb, right. Duh! Of course superheroes aren't real. Everyone knows that superheroes aren't real, and yet they turn around and believe in one! Go figure.
There are no superheroes, except for Jesus, and I know it's true because this really ancient book says so.
Like I said, people believe irrational things all the time! Irrational can be made to sound good, and if it sounds good, then it is good.
2 comments:
I'm sure there are many people that have argued with you over this fact. And I'm also certain that these arguments have become circular at some point. The fact of the matter is that if you don't believe that there is anything "supernatural" or any way that anything outside the physical universe exists, then you have every reason to deny that Christ was anything more than a nice guy who repeated the same general moral principles that people before and after him said. I personally do believe that there is a spiritual realm, but if you don't then it makes sense that you felt relief when you admitted to yourself that it was all a sham.
Also, I do concur that much of what any religion does is psychological for it's members, most gangs also serve the same purpose in people's lives.
Yes, more than one person has challenged me on this idea, and if they didn't, then something would be wrong. I totally expect people to challenge me, and in some cases, I have had to amend my position on a particular issue because they presented valid arguments.
I too believe in some type of spiritual realm. I don't believe in the Christian god, but the idea that everything we are came from nothing does not make any sense either. We are here, alive, and highly sophisticated. It couldn't have come from nothing or random chance.
I highly appreciate your insite and would like to know more about you.
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