Christianity Explained

This essay was written as part of the application proccess to this newspaper my church is trying to get off the ground. The applicant had to write it to be a candidate for the position of writer (all positions unfortunately are unpaid...). Anyhoo, the essay had to answer the question, why should I become Christian? So, here it is. I'm including this in my blogs because all my posts touch on my identity as a Christian.

Christianity Explained

Many people believe that to accept Christianity is to accept a set of moral codes with a corresponding set of viewpoints that influence the actions of people that associate with it. Christianity, according to this assumption is to be followed because it will provide a moral framework for one's life and a set of guidelines to judge one's actions by.

However, Christianity does not answer the question of how to lead a moral life. Its basis is set in the fact that humanity has not lived up to a moral code prescribed by its Creator. God's moral code is stated explicitly in the Ten Commandments. Though one may not have violated them through one's actions, God looks at one's motives. If one had the intention of violating a commandment, one is already guilty of breaking it.

These thoughts or actions that break any of the ten commandments separate ourselves from God because He must separate Himself from anything that is less than His perfection. This separation of mankind from God is the cause of physical death and suffering as well as separation from God after death in a place referred to in the Bible as Hell.

The reunification of mankind with God can only be achieved when the wrongdoings of mankind are paid for. This idea of justice happens many times when a crime is paid for by jail time. However, we can't pay for breaking God's commandments ourselves by acting civilly or by doing acts of charity because we are imperfect and any attempt to pay for our wrongdoings is overshadowed by our predisposition to disobey God's commandments.

Christianity addresses this problem through the solution of Jesus Christ. He was the deity of God in the form of man. This meant that He had all the capabilities of God such as power over nature and power to heal people from incurable diseases. These capabilities were demonstrated through the miracles He performed which were recorded in the New Testament. He also followed the Ten Commandments both in His actions and His thoughts. Thus, Jesus was perfect and all powerful in every way. This perfection allowed Him to pay the fine for us by dying on the cross. This payment was not overshadowed by any imperfection, so the payment was the only valid one God would accept.

Therefore, one should become Christian by accepting the fact that he or she can't pay the fine he or she owes his or her God for their violation of the Ten Commandments, and having the faith that Jesus died on the cross as the only viable way to repay that debt. In this way, one can now be reunited with God both in his or her physical life and after death.