Theoretical physics coming to the aid of faith - why we need Jesus Christ?
I once heard an interesting commentary to Dan Brown's famous novel: that finding Jesus's grave would be a deadly blow for Christianity.
The foundations of Christian faith would thus crumble and nothing could stop the decline of the religion.
Yes, this could be the case. However
Theoretical physics is a discipline which creates new ideas and laws. These are addressed with the appropriate mathematical apparatus and then verified in experiments. And if everything goes well the law is accepted as a fact. Let us employ this principle to Jesus Christ. Let's assume that he is a fully fictional character, invented by the masses in power in those times. That nothing in the New Testament had ever taken place. For how are we to verify it? Anyone could have invented a story and written it down in a book. A historian could have become intoxicated or suffered from schizophrenia or other ailment that changed the way he saw the world.
But no, this is a bad argument. If it were true, Jesus's grave would have never been discovered as Jesus would have never existed. And so let us assume that Jesus lived. That he was the son of a carpenter and was involved in a secret plot - employed by the man who ruled those lands, who wanted to pull the Jews by the nose - as a wandering actor. His task was to play a missionary. He played his role so convincingly that he allowed himself to be crucified and was about to theoretically rise from the dead on the third day - when it turned out that his wounds were deadly and our protagonist died. Since he died it became necessary to discretely steal his body - which later turned out to be a "bull's eye" - and now all that remained to be done was make a new grave, so no one would ever find him, and create a new religion by creating redemptive books.
Well... maybe that is how it was.
Who can tell?
But does it hold any significance for Christianity?
Catholics view Jesus as the Son of God but his role is not limited to only that. He was also, or maybe foremostly, a teacher. Let us not forget that. He showed us the path: showed us how to live, what matters and what is meaningless. This is Jesus's great accomplishment. More importantly, the Nazarene taught us: love thy neighbor as thyself. Is it not a wonderful concept? Yes, it is beautiful but damn hard. The world is not yet ready to live with the love that Jesus taught. And this also applies to Christians.
Unfortunately.
We can see this clearly after every mass when people leave the church. They come across people begging; one person, two, three, sometimes more. And they usually pass them by without even a second glance. I once witnessed a scene where no one, I repeat: no one, gave a single dime to a woman with a small child in her arms. Shame! Shame! Especially since those participating in the mass were mainly young, in a good financial position, for whom giving a dollar or two did not pose any problem. I could tell by the clothes they were dressed in and the cars they drove home. Did they even understand the concept of Christianity? Why do they even go to church? Only to "mark off" another mass, or do they get anything out of it?
I know of a certain small church where the faithful support the needy quite frequently (about one out of 5 or 6 people), and it's mainly the elderly (especially after the 8am mass), though every penny must be an important part of their retirement pension.
Is this all right?
It shouldn't be like this!
/Matthew 25/
41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
And let everyone, after reading these words of the New Testament, ask themselves: what do I, through my actions or inactions (practically the same thing!), have to gain, and what do I have to lose? Only that. One does not have to be a sage to reach the one right conclusion.
