What's the best question to ask about #easter? #easter2022 #eastersunday #easterbunny #eastereggs #easterbasket
"Is it true?" makes sense to persons who already believe the biblical story.
"Is it right?" might be a better place to start for persons who are not certain if it is true.
#ItSeemsToMe...
by Phil Mgilioratti @ The Reimagine.Network
"True" indicates the claims of the Bible about Jesus of Nazareth correspond to reality; the story is correct.
"Right" indicates the claims of the Bible seem "in accordance with what is just, good, or straight;" In other words, it sounds plausible.
Rather than asking me to first believe the story really happened in history, ask me to consider the reasonability of the basic tenants of the story:
- If a just and righteous God exists, is it reasonable God would do something to rescue humanity of our brokenness, the scourge of evil, the finality of death?
- Even though all religions ask for human sacrifice to God (infant sacrifice, good works, vow of poverty, etc.), is it plausible for God to decide to make the sacrifice? ("Here is the way God loved the world—God gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life." John 3:16)
- If God is the initiator of and subject making the sacrifice, is it credible to consider the claim "that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world" (2 Corinthians 5:19) when Jesus was crucified?
- Could Jesus of Nazareth be human but also inhabited by God at the same time? Could that be a one-of-a-kind expression of personhood, beyond simply being inspired by God or appointed to speak on God's behalf (such as a prophet)?
- If God created humanity with a plan for life after death, is it reasonable for the resurrection of Christ to be real; the foreshadowing of the eternal (endless, limitless) life?
I believe the story of the Gospels is true (accurate and authoritative) but it is not true because I believe it. It is reliable because it is straight, right-in-line, with a rational explanation of what we would expect to take place based on a reasonable description of how God might act on behalf of the world God created.
People may choose to reject the biblical descriptions but not because it could not have taken place.
I think I will #SayALittlePrayer...
Comments
G - God ... God is good, grand, great
O - Our ... Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient
S - Savior ...God was in Christ; our Rescuer, Redeemer
P - Promised - Procured - Provided
E - Eternal: Endless, Limitless
L - Life