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From: christian@topaz.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Questions on Christianity
Message-ID: <9257@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Sun, 15-Feb-87 14:54:53 EST
Article-I.D.: topaz.9257
Posted: Sun Feb 15 14:54:53 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Feb-87 22:47:17 EST
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Approved: christian@topaz.UUCP

>		"And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching
>		 vain and your faith is also vain."
>				---I Cor. 15:14
>
>  [...List of people besides Jesus who rose from the dead]
>
>  All of these
>people ascended from death and all did so before Jesus.  So why 
>attribute so much importance to the event? 

Because Jesus made some pretty big claims.  He claimed to be the Son
of God making himself to be divine.  If he were lying, he would be
guilty of blasphemy.  He claimed to the the Messiah or God's annointed
one.  If he were lying, God would surely have not raised him from the dead.  

Jesus promised great things for his believers after he would rise from
the grave.  He said that because he lived, his believers would live.  
He claimed that if we believed in him, we would live forever and ever through
out eternity with him and his Father in his glorious kingdom where there
is no pain or sorrow or weeping.  Can you imagine the extreme joy of
finding out that what Jesus said was true?

Jesus also promised great things for his believers during their life on
earth.  For all those who would receive him, he would give them the
power to become children of God.  He will give them a new life and make
them a whole new creation.  He promised that he himself would come to
them and dwell *within* them.  He promised that a "river of life" would
flow from within their inner being.  Now you can see how much was depending
on His resurrection.

>In fact, what did Jesus ever do that had not already been accomplished? 

He was the only one ever to live a sinless life and thus *earn* his
salvation.  And because God loved those he created so much,  he allowed
Jesus' victory over sin to be victory for those who believe in him.
Think of it, God only required that *one* man ever live without sin.
Jesus earned salvation for us.

John Emery                                        __|__ 
ARPA: fluke!emery@uw-beaver.ARPA                    |   My Boss was a
UUCP: {uw-beaver,sun,allegra,sb6}!fluke!emery       |   Jewish carpenter