Why Christianity?

Here is my catechism on “why Christianity” as well as “why have religion at all?” It’s based on reason and not scripture.

Why have Religion at all?

To have religion means to believe in a soul.  If someone does not believe in the soul then they have two choices: to be a complete nihilist and generally duck out of politics (and almost everything else) entirely, living only for their own enjoyments.  Most find that unacceptable even if they don’t believe in spirits or souls, so they go and affiliate themselves with a political ideology that makes quasi-religious overtures.  These overtures are usually a reference to the idea of creating a “heaven on earth” through wealth redistribution.  Wealth redistribution seems easy at first, but if one person grows their share of the wealth while others do not, you eventually have inequality all over again.  This usually results in those want to create a heaven on earth becoming communists or fascists.  These ideologies accept the idea of constant and endless warfare as a solution to the return of inequality.  Their governments don’t seem to stand the test of time; they are prone to corruption and infighting.  They never seem to satisfy themselves as much as other civilizations can, not even if they succeed in expelling their outside enemies and securing their hegemony.  The “revolution” never stops and this failure must rationally draw into question the objective value of their beliefs and goals.

This dilemma is one of the destructions that I believe God heaps upon the unfaithful; that they can never rest and never succeed.

I do believe in spirits or souls; so why not Buddhism?

You could be a Buddhist and believe in the soul but Buddhism has a doctrinal flaw.  This flaw is the idea that you are expected to avoid all “attachments” without exception.  A Buddhist’s own family is considered an attachment to the material world.  This means that Buddhists are encouraged to reject and even leave their own families, as the first Buddha Shakyamuni did.  This anti-family dialogue is probably why Buddhism is declining and is probably also indirectly responsible for the low fertility rates found in east Asian countries.

Why not Islam?

You could be a Muslim but this requires something very difficult and rationally questionable; namely Jihad.  Jihad is the state of endless conflict against the unbelievers and most of all against the fake Muslims.  The warrior Jihadist is said to rank above the non-violent Jihadist in heaven and this naturally means that the conflict will spill over into physical altercations.  Ironically, this makes Islam very similar to communism and fascism in that all of these ideologies result in endless conflict.  Islam is basically a totalitarian ideology (as communism and fascism are) except that Islam believes in a soul.  As with communist and fascist countries, Muslim countries usually lack the peace and prosperity which Christian (or non-totalitarian) countries have due to the infighting engendered by their beliefs.

Why Christianity?

If you’re a Christian, you can strive to do good and even to obtain and distribute communal luxuries.  You can avoid the pitfalls of extreme political ideologies because you believe in the soul; this belief obviates the need for building a heaven on earth.  Unlike with Buddhism, you can strive for (and are encouraged to seek) a large family.  Unlike with Islam, you can forgive and even be kind to those who won’t follow you.  Only in Christ can you find peace.  For me, I studied all of the major religions and decided that Christianity was rationally the best choice.