Abu Ishaq Al Juwayri wrote:ebrown_p wrote:My contention stands. There is nothing unique about Christianity that makes it any more believable to an objective observer than any other faith. Like any other religion it is based on cultural beliefs.
christianity is unique for several important reasons..... unlike other religions, it is historic and evidential. jesus of nazareth is a historical figure..... he was, of course, born in bethlehem in judea during the reign of caesar augustus and was put to death by pontius pilate, a first century roman governor. ...more important, the testimony of his life, death, and resurrection comes to us by way of eyewitness accounts (1 john 1:1-4). therefore, christianity is a historic faith and its claims can be validated by examining the testimony of history. None of the other religions of the world can claim this kind of historical support.
Mohammed was a historical figure.
There are no eyewitness accounts except what comes from the Bible. As we have already established, these eyewitness accounts are basically heresay. We don't have any documents that they were recorded for 100 after the fact.
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another unique feature of christianity is that its founder claimed to be God (john 8:58). .....of the great religious leaders of the world (buddha, moses, zoroaster, lao tzu, mohammed), only jesus claimed to be god in human flesh (mark 14:62). ........yet far from being an empty claim, his historically verifiable resurrection from the dead vindicated his claim to deity (rom 1:4; 1 cor. 15:3-8). ....other religions, like buddhism and islam, claim miracles in support of their faith, but unlike christianity, these miracles lack historical verification.
This is correct. This is a unique feature of Christianity, although again there we have a problem knowing if Jesus really said this. There are equally ancient documents (including the Gnostic gospels) that refute this. But as far as the modern religion of Christianity, God becoming man is a unique feature.
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finally, an additional feature setting christianity apart from other religions is that it is a coherent belief system. some christian doctrines might transcend complete comprehension, but unlike the claims of many religions, they are not irrational or absurd......also, the christian faith is unique in that it can account for the vast array of phenomena that we encounter in everyday life: the laws of science, the universal laws of logic, ethical norms, love, the meaning in life, and the problem of evil and human suffering...... so to state it philosophically: the christian faith corresponds with the present state of affairs.
"Coherent belief system" is a very subjective term. Different people have different ideas about what is "coherent".
I left Christianity partially because of my problems reconciling the Old Testament God of vengence who ordered His people to commit genocide with Jesus' message of peace, forgiveness and loving ones neihbors. I know the apologetic doctrine that many Christians use to explain this (the new covenant and all that), but to me this doctrine lacks coherence.
The bible also does not account for the laws of science. The creation story is at odds with science. Not only that, raising from the dead, life after death, demon possession etc. would all strike some as "incoherent", especially in light of science.
All religions provide "coherent" (i.e. internally consistant) views on "ethical norms, love, the meaning in life, and the problem of evil and human suffering...... ". Christianity provides a view that is perfectly fine ... but it is by no means unique.
