Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Should We Die For The Sake Of Our Religion? Is Truth Worth Dying For?

            Would sincere Christians sacrifice their lives for the sake of God? Yes, they may. Very minimally, they may proclaim to lay down their lives, although it remains to be seen whether they would sacrifice their lives or not.

            The sacrifice posited in this instance precludes injuring or killing of harmless people i.e. this sacrifice has nothing to do with any form of terrorism. A Christian’s life could be placed in harm’s way either due to active proselytization or persecution.

            This phenomenon of sacrificing one’s life is not merely limited to Christianity, but people belonging to a wide spectrum of religions have, in the past, sacrificed or committed to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their religious beliefs. This prompts us to ask whether placing our lives in harm’s way is appropriate for the sake of our religious beliefs.

            This question gains further credence because every religion contradicts the other. Although each religion posits various truth-claims, they need not be truthful, especially when they contradict each other in vital theological themes such as Godhead, salvation, afterlife etc. Therefore, when two religions contradict each other, both these religions cannot be true. Religion ‘A’ could be truthful or religion ‘B’; alternatively, neither religion ‘A’ nor religion ‘B’ could be truthful, for they may both be false. But both religions cannot be truthful at the same time when they contradict each other.

            If every religion contradicts the other, it is quite plausible to think that there is only one religion that is truthful and one can die for the sake of that religion. Dying for the sake of contradicting religious beliefs is unnecessary and futile.

            Furthermore, it is only reasonable to think that those who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of their religious belief were absolutely convinced of their belief - they believed in the truth and nothing but the truth [of their religious belief].

            But is it possible for anyone to be absolutely convinced (having 100% conviction) that their belief is 100% factual? I do not think so! None of us can ever be 100% convinced of our religious beliefs and on our own accord.

            However, a conclusion that our religious beliefs are unwarranted or irrational cannot be true even if it is predicated on a premise that we cannot be 100% convinced of our religious beliefs. For anyone to be 100% convinced of their religious beliefs, all they need is reasonable answers to the difficult questions that attempt to debunk their religious belief.

            But even the viewpoint that we only need reasonable answers to be 100% convinced of our religious belief could be a very dangerous position. How many of us have reasonable answers to the difficult questions against our religious belief? Only a small minority and these people are often termed as scholars or serious/fulltime religious thinkers.

            Please do not include your pastor in this category. Pastors need not necessarily have all the answers to every difficult question. I am not saying that Pastors need not have the answers. I am only saying that they may not have the answers to every question that plagues your searching and seeking mind. Ideally, they should have all the answers, but sadly, they may not.

            Therefore, if only scholars or serious/fulltime religious thinkers have reasonable answers to every difficult question, how is it possible for an average worshipper to be confident that he/she is 100% convinced of his/her religious belief?

            It is impossible for an average worshipper to have 100% conviction in his/her religious belief because he/she may not have thought through these questions and hence he/she may not have reasonable answers to every pertinent difficult question against his/her religion.

            If this is the case, is it not asinine of an average religious believer to place his/her life in harm’s way when he/she is not fully convinced of his/her religious belief?

            Do not misunderstand me when I say that we need to have reasonable answers to the difficult questions that attempt to debunk our religious belief. I do not mean to say that you and I need to have reasonable answers to all the difficult questions.

            For instance, you and I need to be able to provide an answer to anyone who questions the validity of our religious beliefs. In other words, we need to know and be able to communicate the answer to the question, “Why is Christianity true?”

            Go to any church and ask this question to the leadership and the average worshipper, I am quite sure that a majority of Christians would not be able to offer a rational defense or a reasonable answer.

            If this is the case, how many Christians would be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of God? The answer is quite simple – only a minority (cf. John 6:66). (Please do not think that the leadership of the churches would fill up this minority. The leadership may only fill a few seats in this group whereas the average worshippers, who are sincere in their faith, would form the majority.)

            Does Christianity mandate you to die for the sake of God? First, martyrdom is not an alien concept in Christianity. Christians have been killed for their witness. History is replete with instances of Christians being killed for the sake of their faith. The Bible records instances where God’s people were martyred for the sake of their belief. The stoning of Stephen is one such narrative recorded in the Bible (Acts 7). It’s important to note that not all Christians will die for the sake of God, but some most certainly would be called for.

            Second, those who have suffered and persecuted (martyred) for the sake of Christ are blessed and God is pleased with them (Psalm 116:15; 1 Matthew 5:11-12; 1 Peter 4:14, 16; Revelation 20:4). So suffering and dying for the sake of God is mandated for some people, not all.

            Third, if God is pleased with the death of HIS saints and if some Christians are called to die for the sake of God, then you and I should be ready to die if and when we are called to. This is our most appropriate response to God.

            Finally, what will happen to our family if we are called to die for the sake of God? God, whom we love, honor, obey and worship, will never leave us nor forsake us. HE will provide for our family. Moreover, God’s people - our brothers and sisters – who would have been variously equipped by God, should provide for those families whose members have been martyred for the sake of Christ. 

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