The top 5 reasons why I accept Christianity as true:
1. It is inconceivable to me that the writers of the NT made it up, that they wrote things which they knew were wrong and willfully deceived others. This is inconceivable because:
a) If the NT writers made it up, they would be the greatest hypocrites of all time, as doing such a thing would go DIRECTLY against everything they were trying to teach.
b) I don’t know what gain the NT writers might have had from making it up.
c) The resurrection story is not a likely story to be made up. There were false messiahs in the past, but no one ever said they rose from the dead after the Romans killed them.
d) The caliber of the NT is drastically unlike pagan mythical stories.
2. The multiple eyewitness sources attesting to the resurrection, including:
a) The synoptic gospels
b) Peter
c) James
d) John
e) The 500 Paul mentions
f) Paul (through his vision)
3. The fact that Jesus meets the qualifications of a prophet. If we reject Jesus as a prophet sent by God, then we will have to seriously consider why we do accept all of the OT prophets.
4. The consistency of Jesus’ message with the messages of Yahweh given in the OT.
5. The consistency of the NT teachings with everything I have experienced in life so far. There is no doubt in my mind that the Christian way of life is the best way of life. This to me is evidence that it is also the true and right way of life.
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I said that once I came to a conclusion on Christianity I'm come and make a post about it, so here it is. Nothing groundbreaking, but hey, there's nothing new under the sun. I'm posting mainly to let y'all know where I'm at. I know a lot of you have prayed for me and I am very thankful for that, and you deserve to know the fruits of your prayer.
I have still not reached a conclusion on the Trinity or on following Torah. These things are very important, but I do not feel that, for right now, pursuing these answers is most important thing in my life. I spent the better part of last year doing nothing but studying theology. I gave up all of my hobbies, passed up opportunities to be with (and make) friends, and neglected practically loving my family. I don't want to make that mistake again. Right now I need to just live, and build a foundation on the truth that I do know, namely repentance, faith, wisdom, and godly character.
May we remember our God,
And may He remember us,
Matt
(Oh, and I was browsing some thread before, and man, it's a war zone in here! I'll keep you guys in my prayers.)