Reader Question- So Why Christian?

Why Christianity? As in, why did you chose to be a Christian instead of , say, a Buddhist or Hindu or Baha'i?- Krista

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Good question, Krista, and thanks for asking it!

I guess it's pretty interesting that I've answered a question on why I'm such a big geek, but not on why I am Christian, specifically. I did talk a bit about my perspective on other religions here but that still doesn't really answer why I chose Christianity. So here we go!

For starters, I cannot discount the fact that I was raised Christian. I've mentioned before that I am the son and the grandson of pastors and so that family connection cannot be denied. I am also a white guy raised in the US in the 21st century, if I was inclined to be religious (which I think we can all agree I am) then Christianity was always going to have a great shot.

I've described faith to you before as a sense, and senses get trained. My spiritual sensitivity is trained to connoisseur levels when it comes to Christianity, so that was always going to be my default, which makes it a legitimate question whether or not I actually "chose" Christianity at all. This is the sort of thing I often see more skeptical Nerdfighters refer to as indoctrination, though thankfully rarely to people of faith they actually know.

There was an element of choosing however, because as I have said before I wasn't always a believer. There was a period of time when I was an atheist, and then eventually came back to the faith. The experience was a personal one, an interaction with God. So I did choose to come back, but it's not like I did research to see what other options there were. I had interacted with the Christian God. So that was the direction my new found faith was going to take. My research went into what form of Christianity I was going to try to follow... and while I stayed Presbyterian, that at least was an informed choice based on research and experimentation with alternatives, but that experimentation never went beyond the bounds of Christianity.

Even reading this, I know my atheists are going to be a bit (or a lot) skeptical about it and that is your right. I mean, it's faith I'm doing here so it's not like I can prove anything, and if you assume that faith is bogus, the above just looks like indoctrination or brainwashing.

Could I have had an equally powerful reaction elsewhere? Possibly. I have prayed with Muslims, Jews, Native Americans, Buddhists, and Hindus, felt the presence of God with them, and had I been doing so when I had my faith moment, maybe faith would have been flavored that way from then on. I can't say with any definiteness because I honestly don't know.

But when you have that strong faith tugging, it's not the sort of thing that calls you to check alternatives. It makes you want to know more about that faith, specifically, to research your options within it and learn how best to follow it. Any other reaction is not an attempt to educate your newfound faith, but rather an attempt to break or distance yourself from it.

You should, of course, be aware of and responsible for your own actions. If people try to use that faith impulse to, say, get you to harm yourself or someone else, then you need to look for answers elsewhere. But if/when you feel the tug of faith, a spiritual spark that you can't otherwise explain? Follow that thread, at least for awhile, rather than grabbing at others.