kate4christ03 wrote:ash i think i may have responded on the importance of the resurrection to you in another post, but i am not sure. If so, then sorry for basicly posting the same thing.
The resurrection is essential to christian doctorine. Christ had to die, according to biblical teachings, to save us. But, without the resurrection, he would have been proven to be just another martyr for a cause and a liar. He told the pharisees and his disciples that when he died he would raise again in three days. If he hadn't, all would have been for naught. His resurrection showed us several important things; 1. He is God 2. He is not a liar 3. He conquered sin and death.
OK thanks. I'm not sure if he would have been a liar, mistaken seems more accurate. I think I'm right in assuming you believe he had foreknowledge right? If he hadn't been resurrected and you feel this would have shown him to have not been God, this would also imply no such foreknowledge existed and he would have believed in a resurrection instead. What I don't really get is why some people are so devoutly Christian or Muslim or X, Y, Z. Let me expand, for instance, why is it so important that Jesus is God? I realise this is fundamental to Christian tradition but I'm talking in the sense of personal faith. Why is it important? Another question which might illuminate this is, which is more important, peace on earth or submission to god? Do we become part of a religious tradition because we sense a goodness, a truthfulness or integrity within said tradition, because we want to use it as a tool to promote happiness around us. Or do we become part of a tradition, do we develop faith because we are unsatisfied with the world around us and we want to believe in something more? Do we want eternal paradise because this world is too cruel? Regardless of the reason I don't want to pass judgement but if it is the latter in some way, an eternal justice that is not yielded in this existence, I think we run the risk of valuing an otherwordly ideal in higher esteem than our fellow man, in so doing, we cannot surely expect people of no faith to be intrigued by what ideas we have to offer.
On the other hand, if we genuinely want to promote well being and happiness around us, these incredibly specific beliefs about who Jesus was, what he was capable of, they're all irrelevant. This can be no more easily illustrated if you look at the truly peaceful existence of persons of no faith, in Christianity for instance. You could look at atheists even but what about another religion altogether like Buddhism and the way of life Buddhists lead. I
believe the kingdom of heaven is within, I also
believe that we can be a light unto ourselves. I think when people feel closest to God, they are closest to reality, the individual moment. The Kingdom of heaven is a state of mind, a perspective, I'd like to say it's open to us to rest in, each and every moment. I don't feel grasping to "ultimate" truths and arguing with others about right and wrong is important, what seems important is being a reasonable person, in this sense, talk of whether Jesus was God or "conquering" death is all besides the point, what matters is what we take from Jesus' actions & words, for ourselves.
The resurrection seems essential to Christian doctrine because someone, somewhere, created an idea and wanted this idea to be used to control people, as opposed to because such an ultimate "truth" leads to a peaceful world. Arguing over such truths that we have aligned ourselves with doesn't promote happiness, we need to be more embracing surely? What could be more imporant than a peaceful world, even in God's eyes? If a specific tradition or school of thought had the only key to peace, this might be different of course.