Christianity Is Different

Whether you are a believer or a skeptic, please don’t fall for the lie that Christianity is pretty much like other religions. It isn’t. Jesus Christ is unlike any other religious leader in what He says and does. And His followers said some pretty unique things as well. To see what I mean, let’s look at some other religions.

Jesus Does Not Resemble Man-Made Gods. When people invent a religion, the gods inevitably think like us and behave like us. Just look at the ancient Greek gods. They were powerful and immortal, but they were also deeply flawed. They fought, killed, kidnapped, and stole. [i] They married, had children, and committed adultery. [ii] They exacted revenge, often without regard to fairness or justice. [iii]

Similarly, the gods of other religions consistently exhibit human failings. When Krishna, the Hindu god, appears in human form, he steals, he humiliates young girls by taking their clothes while they are bathing naked in a river, and he performs many mischievous acts. The Japanese god, Susa-no-wo, wreaks havoc on the earth, while the god, Oh-kuni-nushi, tries to steal Susa-no-wo’s possessions and kidnap his daughter. In Mesopotamian mythology, the goddess Ishtar tries to kill a human, Gilgamesh, as well as his friend, Enkidu, because Gilgamesh would not marry her. The Egyptian god, Osiris, is murdered through the trickery of the god, Set. The Hawaiian goddess, Pele, seduces a young Hawaiian prince, Lohiau, and then leaves him to pine away for her until he dies.

Even in monotheistic Islam, we see these human elements in the Qur’ân’s portrayal of Hell, where Allah exacts eternal, excruciating, and pitiless revenge against unbelievers. Similarly, the Qur’ân’s view of Heaven is decidedly anthropocentric, with a cornucopia of earthly delights such as abundant food and drink, luxurious clothing, and even sex. [iv] Allah caters to human beings in Heaven while acting like a bitter and vengeful human being in Hell.

In each case, it is easy to imagine a human being inventing the religion, because the gods think and behave like humans. In contrast, the Jesus of the New Testament doesn’t seem like anything a human being would invent. What normal person would come up with the strange and eccentric idea that people should pray for their enemies? Or act with mercy, kindness, and forgiveness toward those who mistreat them—as Jesus and His disciples advocated? [v] That is not how a normal person thinks or acts.

The New Testament contains many such counter-intuitive notions. . . .

Beyond Blind Faith is available on Amazon.com.

[i] Zeus and his fellow Olympians came to power by waging war against the Titans and overthrowing them. The Olympians then consolidated their rule by killing the giants who opposed them. Hades, god of the underworld, obtained his bride, the goddess Persephone, by kidnapping her. The messenger god, Hermes, stole cattle from the god Apollo.

[ii] Zeus, in particular, had many extramarital liaisons.

[iii] For example, Artemis changed the unfortunate Actaeon into a stag when he accidentally saw her naked. And Hera struck poor Tiresias blind for agreeing with Zeus in a dispute between the goddess and her husband.

[iv] For more on this, see Chapter 8, “Islam’s Credibility Problem.”

[v] See Matthew 5:38-41, 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-35; Romans 12:14, 12:17-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:8. And on the subject of treating others with mercy, forgiveness, and kindness, see also: Matthew 5:7, 6:14-15, 7:12, 18:21-35; Mark 11:25-26, 12:31; Luke 6:36-38, 9:51-56, 10:25-37, 15:11-32, 17:3-4, 23:33-34; John 8:2-11; 1 Corinthians 4:12-13, 6:7; Galatians 5:22, 6:10; Ephesians 4:31-32; Colossians 3:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; James 3:17-18; 1 Peter 3:8.