If They Found the Bones of Jesus (Part 2)

Further thoughts about why I would cease to call myself a Christian if the bones of Jesus were found:

Christianity is not a system of morals.

Let me be very careful here.  Christianity does have a moral component.  There is no doubt about that.  We are called to live a certain way individually and corporately.  We are called to a high standard of living with one another.  Jesus outlines this very, very clearly.

But much of what Jesus taught was not new.  Even the command to love one's neighbor as one's self was quoted from the Old Testament and is found in some form or fashion in just about every world religion and culture.  Many of the great moral teachers taught the same thing as Jesus.  In fact, this is one of those arguments used by atheists to diminish the Christian worldview.

If Christianity were just one more attempt to teach the world morality, then if they found the bones of Jesus, I could easily continue to call myself a Christian without any sort of intellectual problem.

But Christianity goes much further than simply being a moral system.  It goes much further than simply being a system of justice.  Christianity is about God's reconciliation of the world unto Himself.

Without the resurrection, the proclamation of Christianity falls short.  There is no reconciliation.  There's just one more dead wanna be Messiah.

Without the resurrection, we are still under the Old Covenant with its legal code.  Either become Jewish and work to follow the law or one is screwed.  And then those sticky questions arise as to whether or not one can be a gentile convert to Judaism or if one can only be a "God-fearer."

Without the resurrection, grace is essentially null and void.  It's right back to works/righteousness.  And hey, I've already figured out, I don't even come close.

Without the resurrection, I'm toast.

Might as well enjoy what I can.

But if Christ is raised from the dead...

Well, that changes everything.