It is the world’s main religion, which is itself a great mystery. A Christian, as any real one will tell you, is an absurd and paradoxical thing to be.
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Many faiths are perfectly logical. All is One, for instance, satisfies the intellect completely. All is One which is the mind of God which is infinite. This has been my metaphysics before and as I say it is sound. But it’s a bit boring. It’s not much of a story.
Christianity, on the other hand, lives in an incomprehensibly bizarre cosmos. It’s easy to accuse it of anthropomorphism, but quite impossible to prove that it is not the other way around. Either we are made in God’s image or we make God in our image–that there exists a family resemblance can be concrete evidence for neither claim. At the end of the day, it must be a matter of preference. We do choose what we want to believe.
At first glance, this may seem an arbitrary choice, having more to do with aesthetics than anything else. But it is also an ethical question. All agree that this reality is fractal. Our beliefs about the ultimate reality reflect how we choose to live within it. The Christian believes that the universe is all about love and growing toward evermore perfect union with God, who is Love. And so we live. There is a harmony between the aesthetic, the ethical, and the metaphysical.
Others believe that God is infinite bliss of the self, and this is what they strive for.
Still others believe that the universe is probably some kind of computer simulation, and sure enough they spend all of their time on the computer.
Indigenous people all around the world live in harmony with nature, and their cosmology emphasizes the interconnectivity of all.
There is a two-way relationship between your metaphysics and way of life. Both are lately up to you, but there is still some influence from your culture. Those who inherit a dead lifestyle and uncritically accept it are prone to take refuge in nihilism, because nihilism is consistent with their way of being in the world.
The mystery is how on Earth Christianity won. Nobody could have seen this coming. They were one little band of crazies against the greatest empire in history. When Jesus was crucified, Rome was at its apex and seemed unassailable. Yet the seed was planted and nowadays Rome is first and foremost a Jesus-place.
How did anyone get converted? This is really one of the strongest pieces of evidence for Christianity because to convince someone of such an absurd and paradoxical thing is a miracle, and it is a documented fact that this miracle has been performed over and over again in the most unlikely of places and to the most unlikely of people. At some point, the presence of the Holy Spirit becomes the most sensible explanation. And surely that critical mass has been reached.
As for me, I love Jesus and I believe his spirit is present in the world. I would like to become a Christian…but this is not something to take lightly. It is probably the hardest thing in the world. No matter how you slice it, it involves submitting one’s will to God absolutely, accepting one’s conditions unconditionally, and braving infinite suffering steadfastly.
And loving everyone. Dorothy Day said “I only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”
And striving for perfection - not only striving for perfection but holding oneself accountable to this object. Christianity understands that God loves us unconditionally, and allows us infinite grace - yet it is because of this that we must strive for sinless lives, for excellence, for union with God. “Be perfect, as your father in Heaven is perfect.” I have no interest in the infantilizing brand of Christianity in which we emphasize our total worthlessness compared to Jesus. That shit’s easy. Saint Augustine spending the last week of his life in his room alone, prostrate before his sins, while his community was under attack, and his congregation could surely have used some nourishing wisdom - that shit’s easy, man. The light of the divine does indeed reveal your shadow, but should you turn from that light to gaze at your own darkness in pious shame, you miss out on the illumination of the Other, which is much more interesting than your sins. Better by far to choose the world and focus on becoming the best version of yourself, in service to others.
Jesus to me is like a big brother who holds me accountable. He has infinite compassion and love but also expects the best of me.
“Be perfect, as your father in Heaven is perfect.” This for me is the essence of the matter. Jesus was a divine avatar, in my opinion, but God’s my father too - it’s some kind of paradox. In Eastern Orthodoxy, to my mind the most attractive denomination, they call this Theosis. “God became man that man might become God.”
See also: Becoming a Christian