Question:

I have seen a line of thinking on social media that says “Christianity was made because people fear death/ was made for people who fear death. “ I don’t know if it’s because I personally fear death, but this view is really getting to me. Is there any insight or words you would like to share about this view? Also, do you have any advice/ recommendations for people like me who are questioning their faith to the point where they feel like they have lost it?

Answer:

First of all, people who say that Christianity was begun because of people who fear death simply do not know what they are talking about.  This is mere rhetoric. Anyone who says this clearly does not know the historical background to the Christian movement.  This seems to me to simply be someone stating their opinion without even considering if it makes sense based on the facts.

The reason Christianity exists is not because someone somewhere was fearing death and made up a religion to meet that need. I know this to be true because of the life and ministry, as well as the death and resurrection of the human being we know of as Jesus.  Jesus certainly was a real person.  We know where he was born, where and how he died.  We know the name of his mother, his father, and three of his brothers, as well as the names of more than two dozen of his close friends.  The life of Jesus is reported by non-believing historians such as Tacitus, Josephus, Suetonius and more. 

People legitimately argue over how completely accurate the biblical accounts in the gospels are.  I believe that they are completely reliable because they do not contradict and because those who wrote these accounts were either eye-witnesses (John and Matthew) or who talked to those who were eye-witnesses (Mark and Luke).  The fantastic growth of the Christian religion cannot be explained unless we allow for the fact that Jesus was a real person and that his earliest followers did in fact believe he worked miracles and was raised from the dead.  These men and women all faced death constantly as eye-witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection.  To say that they made up this religion because they feared death is not logical because we know that many of these early believers actually were killed for their faith.  They were fearless in the face of death. The Latin author Galen, a pagan and non-believer, recorded that the Christians had no fear of death.  This is coming from an enemy of Christ.  This makes the statement of these people who claim Christianity is just a fiction, created to appease those who fear death to be a rather obvious falsehood. 

Is there anyone in the world who chooses to “believe” in Christianity, not because of the facts, but out of some sort of misplaced fear? I suppose so, but this is not what you asked, and it is not what people claim. 

I can give you so much more evidence for the truth of the central claims of Christianity.  Can I ask you a favor?  Would you please be willing to buy a copy of my book Reasons for Belief?  It is available at www,ipibooks.com   This book is a collection of hundreds of reasons for us to believe that the Bible is inspired by God and that Christianity is the truth from God.  Please read the book and if you are still having doubts, please send me more questions.  We could even talk by phone if you like.

John Oakes