Why investigate Christianity?
Why is Christianity worth investigating? Why think about the questions of religion or God at all?
Benefits of Christianity
Do you have peace when you think about yourself, your past, your future, your death? Do you want to know what the purpose of your life is? Do you want to be a better person? Do you want to be fully loved and fully understood? Do you want to have a friend who is always there, who is able to help you in any situation; a teacher who knows everything and knows the best way to teach you; a hero who always does what is right, who is capable of bringing about justice, who will never disappoint you by doing wrong?
If you have a desire for any of these these things, it is well worth your while to investigate Christianity, for Christ can and will provide you with all of them (see Do atheists need God?).
Intellectual integrity
You may have decided that Christianity is false or that there are no gods. How did you come to that conclusion? If you decided that the notion of God existing was silly or that Christians are stupid and/or hypocrites, you've judged a book by its cover. We as a society have learned that one shouldn't judge people by their accents or skin color, but by who they are - which can only be done by talking to people and getting to know them. Likewise, there's no way of knowing if Christianity is true or not unless you investigate its claims for yourself by reading the Bible, praying, etc.
How much are you willing to bet on your current beliefs?
Some Christians use Pascal's Wager as an argument for becoming a Christian: if God exists and there's an afterlife, it's best to be a Christian and enter heaven rather than hell; but even if there's no God, nothing is lost by becoming a Christian. While I don't view this as the best reason for becoming a Christian, Pascal's Wager does serve to raise the question of how much we are willing to bet on our beliefs. The questions of the existence of God and truth of Christianity are not merely abstractions or matters of opinion. If the Bible is correct (or if Judaism or Islam are correct, for that matter), there is a God and an eternal afterlife, and our eternal state depends on the choices we make while we're here - including the choice of whether to investigate Christianity or ignore it. |
