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Chapter 6: Messiah or Not?
6.1. You probably noticed that I have effectively shrunk,
or narrowed, my question. I am no longer trying to evaluate Christianity,
or determine whether Jesus was G-d’s son, or whether one can “go
to heaven” without believing in Jesus, or whether I should take
Jesus as my Savior -- or whatever. Right now, I just want to know whether
(or not) Jesus was the Messiah. (Not that I don’t need to answer
those other questions, just that I probably need to get a handle on this
question first -- before I can effectively address those others. In particular,
I don’t think that I can “take Jesus as my Savior” –
the ultimate target of Christianity -- unless I can find that the rational
and empirical evidence actually support his being the Messiah.)
6.2. And really, I’m just trying to determine to what extent the
evidence supports such a thesis…
6.3. While a positive answer to this question seems not nearly so unlikely
as positive answers to those other questions I just eschewed, it can still
seem highly unlikely to the analytically minded – of which I am
clearly one. In order to suspect that Jesus was the prophesied Jewish
Messiah, one must first suspect that prophecy is real, that the Old Testament
(Hebrew Bible, Tanakh) is prophetic, that it predicts a Messiah (not just
a Messianic age), and that there really is such a thing as G-d. These
are formidable hurdles for the analytically minded.
6.4. And, while my question does not directly address those other questions
just eschewed, it must still address them indirectly, and they still represent
formidable hurdles for a positive answer to my direct question. Jesus
does seem to say that he is G-d, that the only way to heaven is through
him (Jesus) and that those of us who do not believe in him (Jesus), and
take him for our Savior, will go to Hell. Would the prophesied Messiah
say those things? And that’s just the beginning.
6.5. So I still have my work cut out for me, and I had best get started.
(Seems to Work)
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