HopeFul Reflections

I was thinking about something which recently piqued my interest. The nature of the way the Christian faith began seems to have been in such a way that did not serve to benefit the creators. Jesus and His disciples lived ascetic lives and wished for no fame nor wealth. In fact, Jesus spoke of how we must not idolize wealth.

“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” – Matthew 19:24

Even after the crucifixion, the followers of Christ kept spreading the message and did so at great personal risk. History tells of the gruesome fates they met as a result of being persecuted for speaking of Jesus’ message. Now there’s something important here.

First, Christianity is not an origin story for the world. Judaism already covers the creation of the world. It is a lot easier for a religion to form as a creation story than to assert new rules. There is still skepticism about such belief in the creation story, but the skeptic can say the motive is simply for the people to make sense of their world. Now, Jesus’ message was about how to live in this world and, more importantly, how to prepare for the next. The skeptic can say, “Okay, what is his angle? What is he hoping to gain?” Well, it appears it wasn’t about gain; it was about love.

Next, the skeptic can ask, “Okay, well, how about his followers? Surely they sought fame, fortune, and power.” This is also not seen. It would have been much easier to obtain such things by contorting the story for their own benefit or abandoning it entirely as their lives were being threatened. They easily could have claimed that Jesus made them next in line to be some king, or they could have demanded money for spots in Heaven. I am aware this happened centuries later, but not in the early founding days. Again, this non-creation story religion had nothing to gain from its inception. However, there are other non-creation story religions which would appear to have provided benefits to their creators and immediate followers. I think this is a point that should be considered by all people.

When judging the world’s religions, consider the central messages and utilize a healthy amount of skepticism to seek the truth. I have my faith, and truth brings me closer. Encourage your neighbor to embrace their skepticism and read about Jesus’ life. We know He was good. We know His teachings were good. We know his opposition could not fault him. We know he had nothing to gain.

-JKG