Why be Christian?

I was invited to the rectory of Mary Queen of Peace parish last Sunday to offer a talk to a group of young adults (they have a group that meets about twice a month). It started with a delicious dinner and a warm mug of tea, and then we proceeded to the living room to chat about the topic “why be Christian?” When I had spoken with the pastor of the parish a bit earlier in the day he jokingly answered, “Why not?”

Jokes aside, of course, it is a little more than that. In our world of increasing pluralism people are coming in contact with other religions and philosophies at an increasing rate. A question like “Why be Christian?” probably would not have even been asked by most people in the Middle Ages, for example, who lived their whole lives in a single village. While the *qualitative way* a person lived their religion might have seen a lot of variation, the actual *fact* of “being Christian” was probably rarely questioned. Not so any more.

Behind the question of “why be Christian” is really the question “what makes Christianity different from other religions, and why do those differences matter”. And behind these questions is another issue: are the religions of the world really different from each other at all? Some people, for example, have bought into the silly notion that “deep down, all religions teach the same thing”. What I find amazing is that this is actually an empirical statement — you can actually do the research to find out if this claim is true — but that most people who make this statement have never really done the research. All they’ve done is put their faith in someone else who made the statement, making it a kind of creed, the basis of their own “religion”! Let me also add, on a personal note, that I *have* done extensive research on the various religions of the world, and I can *assure* you that NOT all religions are fundamentally the same. They all ask the same questions, but they don’t give the same answers, and therefore no one has the right to give themselves permission to be lazy when facing the question of religious belief.

Now with regards to what makes Christianity special, let me offer just one obvious example: Christ. And not just Christ as a good man or a prophet, but Christ as the only-begotten Son of God, Christ as the Word of God incarnate. And once we accept that Christ is God, we are immediately led to affirm the Trinity as one God but in three Divine Persons, who live in an eternal relation of mutual love. Behind the teachings of the Incarnation and the Trinity is a fundamental statement about the nature of God: that God is Love. Not simply that “God is loving“, but that God *IS* love, he is made out of love, love is his core subtance and nature. NO OTHER RELIGION IN THE WORLD SAYS THIS.

Once we see that the Christian Christ (and is there really any other?) is actually part of the Trinity, we still need to ask ourselves if it really matters. And yes, it does. If the Word of God was able to become incarnate as a true human being, like us in all things but sin, it implies that we, in turn, can be raised up to enter into a communion of love with the Trinity. In other words, we can become like God. The Christian Christ, in his very being, is a statement of the glorious salvation God wants to share with us. By his resurrection he showed that death is not the final end. That being said, heaven is not simply going to be some sort mere garden of perfect (but earthly) pleasures; nor is it going to be the annihilation of the self in some kind of disincarnate nirvanna experience. No, my friend, Jesus didn’t just rise, he rose *as himself*, keeping his true personality intact; and he ascended into heaven (and is there now) *as himself*, including in his human nature.

The bottom line: if you compare the different religions, you will see that Christianity offers the most complete understanding of salvation. It offers a vision of salvation whereby we become sharers in the divine nature, without losing the essence of who we are and without diminishing the grandeur of God. It also offers the means of attaining this salvation, through commitment to Christ. Without taking anything away from the good things found in other religions, and without denying the ways in which Christians themselves have not lived up to these high ideals, there is simply no other religion that measures up to these promises. Accept no substitutes!