Continued from The Ouroboros & Philosophy (I) & Reason Enough (II)

What good reasons did I have for accepting Christianity in the first place? Of course, I have more than one reason, but I’ll start with this: Christianity is the faith of many martyrs.

A Faith of Martyrs

What initially piqued my interest in Christianity was its history of martyrs. The Greek word for martyrdom does not simply refer to the act of suffering death or torture for a belief, but can actually mean to “give witness” or “testimony” to something. I asked myself, “What would compel these people to die these horrific deaths?” In this case, their testimony was clear: whether or not it would result in their death, many Christians would profess that Jesus Christ is the son of God and was resurrected from the dead. Giacomo Casanova wrote in his autobiography that “Une connaissance qui coûte la vie coûte trop chère.” (Translation: “Knowledge that costs life costs too much.”) That so many were willing to pay such a price led me to believe that their beliefs were at least sincere, and must have some reason behind them.

Of course, many will point out that plenty of other people have died for their beliefs and religions. Why should this set Christianity apart? I can give you a very good reason, and my reason is this:

Christianity is a story that seemed to end in embarrassment. What reason would anyone have to lie about it? At the time of his death, he was mocked by onlookers. It was embarrassing for Christ, and embarrassing for his followers. For the Apostles who were present, I can only imagine what a test of faith it was. Peter—chief of the Apostles—even denied knowing Christ in the time even before Christ was crucified. But the miraculous thing is that not long after, this same man would profess Christ’s resurrection even to the point of death.

As for Christ himself, if he had sought only worldly goods and influence, it would make little sense to pursue them even to the point of death. He himself must have been convinced of his divinity, either because it was true or because he was mad, if you consider the trilemma of CS Lewis. Reading the Gospel accounts from a purely neutral perspective, in the actions of Jesus and in the actions of his disciples, one cannot make an honest case for wilful deception. They were not liars: what they did, they did with sincerity.

From a historical point of view, there is little that is more certain about the life of Jesus of Nazareth than his crucifixion, and for Christ to carry his cross and for so many to profess his resurrection to the point of death led me to believe that for so many—including the religion’s founder (a denotion which, in fact, falls short of who Jesus is according to the claims of Christianity)—to pay this ultimate price for what at least seems true in their minds gives us some reason to take their claims seriously.

This is, of course, not a complete proof for the claims of Christianity, but it offered me a starting point in my conversion by giving me good reason to ask with an honest desire to consider the question Jesus put to Peter:

But who do you say that I am?

Matthew 16:15

To be continued…