"There's nothing after this life. You just get squashed like a bug and that's it."
Belief in God is mocked. Faith in the unseen is often considered insane.
But, while it seems that we in the Western World are losing our faith, turning to so-called "Science" and the worship of materialism, the scene is different elsewhere.
Statistics say that there are 2.1 billion Christians in the world. That makes Christianity the largest religion in the world today. Yes, folks, Christians are actually in the majority! (Now, that's not to say that all those who call themselves Christians put their faith into practice.)
The number of Christians around the world has nearly quadrupled in the last 100 years from 600 million in 1910 to 2.1 billion today.
So, how do the other religions fare? I'll lay it out for you:
- Christians - 1.9 to 2.1 billion
- Muslims - 1.6 billion
- Judaism - 14.5 million
- Agnostic/Atheism - 1.1 billion (if you call that a religion)
- Hinduism - 950 million
- Chinese Traditional - 400 million
- Animists - 306 million
- African Anglicanism/disporic - 110 million
- Sikhism - 23.5 million
- Juche - 19.4 million
- Spiritism - 15.2 million
- Baha'i - 7 million
- Jainism - 4.2 million
- Shinto - 4 million
- Cao Dai - 4 million
- Zoroastrianism - 2.5 million
- Tenrikyo - 2 million
- Neo Paganism - 1.1 million
- Unitarian Universalism - 800,000
- Rastafaris - 625,00
"But do you really expect people to believe that a man died, was put into a tomb and then on the third day after his death, suddenly rose from the dead?"
Yes!
In the Hebrew court, the evidence of at least two witnesses was required for convicting the accused. The convicted false witness bore the same penalty that would have been inflicted upon the accused.
There are not two, but four testimonies written by four witnesses who claim to have seen and heard the amazing events that took place in Israel when Jesus began his ministry. Four different accounts tell of miracles of healing, of sight being restored to the blind, of the lame rising to walk, of the dead being raised to life, of lepers being healed of their leprosy and of water being turned to wine, among other things.
Four separate testimonies tell of the crucifixion, the piercing of Jesus' side, the darkened sky, the earthquake at the time of his death, the placing of His body inside of a tomb and the stone that was rolled in front of the door of said tomb.
But it is the testimony of what happened on the third day after Jesus Christ's death that is of paramount importance. It is this testimony on which the Christian faith hinges.
Because, if this part of the testimony is not true; if these four testimonies do not agree, "we are of all men most miserable", as Paul said in I Corinthians 15:19.
If that third day, Jesus did not rise from the dead; if Mary and Martha did not find an angel sitting in the tomb where the body of Jesus had lain; if there was no Resurrection, we are lost in the dark, doomed to suffer for our sins and plea bargain with God for a shot at Eternal Life.
If Jesus did not fulfill all of the 300 prophecies about Him, He is not the Messiah. If all four of these witnesses were lying, we are followers of a false religion. If a Roman soldier came and took the body of Jesus out of the tomb, this whole story is a cheap joke, a childish prank meant only for entertainment value and anyone would be crazy to follow such a man.
As it turns out, there were not merely four witnesses. The twelve disciples of Jesus not only witnessed His life, but were endowed by His Spirit after His death. Jesus was seen after His death and walked on the earth for 40 days! Countless witnesses saw and heard Him.
There are 2.1 billion people today who call themselves Christians. A Christian is a follower of Christ. Many of these can testify to knowing Jesus by faith. They can testify of miracles in their lives and of receiving the miraculous gift of Salvation.
Don't take our word for it. Find out yourself what is written. Find out yourself whether Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies written in the Old Testament. Read for yourself in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to see if their stories match up. Do they all agree that Jesus indeed was crucified and that He rose again on the third day after His death?
If they all tell the same story, it's a viable truth that would hold up in any court of law. Ask yourself this question,
"What reason would they have to lie?" Do you think they would risk the punishment of being crucified? That would have been their punishment if they'd been tried in a Hebrew court and any of their stories didn't match up.
Every Christian is a testimony of what Jesus did for them. We tell our children if they are in trouble and need help, "Just ask a Policeman." So, my advice to anyone who needs spiritual help is, "Just ask a Spirit-filled Christian." They should be willing and able to give you a reason for the hope that is in them.
P.S. I welcome your comments. You can email me at: brenleephillips@gmail.com
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