Having attended protestant-based churches for my entire life, I have noticed a unifying goal: searching for Jesus. This includes a longing to know him, experience him, glorify him, and share the good news about him with others.
I have found that there is a fundamental difference between seeking Jesus, and seeking truth. I will use Christianity as an example here, but feel free to insert whichever worldview you prefer. My argument should apply to many belief systems.
The first thing many Christian readers will think here is "But Josh! Jesus is the truth, so when you search for truth, you are searching for Jesus!"
Allow me a few paragraphs to explain why I do not think this is the case
1. Someone searching for truth believes things only based off of their true-ness, and devotes their time and energy to examining arguments and evidence. If this person were to end up believing in Jesus based off of evidence, then they believe in Jesus because he is true.
2. Someone searching for Jesus assumes that Jesus is true, and devotes their time and effort to deepening their relationship with him. This person believes in truth because it is Jesus.
It is possible for someone searching for truth to end up believing in Jesus if the evidence points towards him. The logical conclusion of a search for truth that points towards Jesus is to follow him, accept the gospel, and believe (once again, a search for truth could end up with the searcher being an Atheist, in which case it makes the most sense to simply enjoy the one life you have and not bother with silly religious blather). This type of belief in Jesus does not, as I have defined things, made that person someone who fundamentally searches for Jesus. The person is most fundamentally someone who searches for truth, and the evidence just so happens to point towards one specific religious leader (who, in this case, would also happen to be God).
Keep in mind that a search for truth can point in any direction--it does not decide where it is going to end up at the beginning. Instead, it sets up a framework for determining which things are true and which things are false. This means that a searcher for truth could end up believing in anything or nothing, depending on where the arguments and evidence leads. The important thing in searching for truth is the evidence.
It is not generally possible for someone searching for Jesus to end up believing something else. Not caring about evidence, or more commonly, assuming that the evidence overwhelmingly points towards one's own beliefs without ever actually looking at the evidence either way. I have found that this type of belief is based off of social pressure (including parental pressure) or emotional experiences.
Summary:
Someone who follows Jesus based off of evidence is someone who most fundamentally believes in him based off of searching for truth. They believe in Jesus because he is true. This is in stark contrast to someone who believes in truth because it is Jesus.
A final thought. Searching for Jesus lacks distinction. By this I mean that if you pick a religion or worldview for reasons other than evidence, you essentially roll the dice and hope that what you picked it true. Searching for truth has distinction, because it can fairly distinguish between all other kinds of worldviews.
I have found that there is a fundamental difference between seeking Jesus, and seeking truth. I will use Christianity as an example here, but feel free to insert whichever worldview you prefer. My argument should apply to many belief systems.
The first thing many Christian readers will think here is "But Josh! Jesus is the truth, so when you search for truth, you are searching for Jesus!"
Allow me a few paragraphs to explain why I do not think this is the case
------------------------------------------------------.
1. Someone searching for truth believes things only based off of their true-ness, and devotes their time and energy to examining arguments and evidence. If this person were to end up believing in Jesus based off of evidence, then they believe in Jesus because he is true.
2. Someone searching for Jesus assumes that Jesus is true, and devotes their time and effort to deepening their relationship with him. This person believes in truth because it is Jesus.
It is possible for someone searching for truth to end up believing in Jesus if the evidence points towards him. The logical conclusion of a search for truth that points towards Jesus is to follow him, accept the gospel, and believe (once again, a search for truth could end up with the searcher being an Atheist, in which case it makes the most sense to simply enjoy the one life you have and not bother with silly religious blather). This type of belief in Jesus does not, as I have defined things, made that person someone who fundamentally searches for Jesus. The person is most fundamentally someone who searches for truth, and the evidence just so happens to point towards one specific religious leader (who, in this case, would also happen to be God).
Keep in mind that a search for truth can point in any direction--it does not decide where it is going to end up at the beginning. Instead, it sets up a framework for determining which things are true and which things are false. This means that a searcher for truth could end up believing in anything or nothing, depending on where the arguments and evidence leads. The important thing in searching for truth is the evidence.
It is not generally possible for someone searching for Jesus to end up believing something else. Not caring about evidence, or more commonly, assuming that the evidence overwhelmingly points towards one's own beliefs without ever actually looking at the evidence either way. I have found that this type of belief is based off of social pressure (including parental pressure) or emotional experiences.
Summary:
Someone who follows Jesus based off of evidence is someone who most fundamentally believes in him based off of searching for truth. They believe in Jesus because he is true. This is in stark contrast to someone who believes in truth because it is Jesus.
A final thought. Searching for Jesus lacks distinction. By this I mean that if you pick a religion or worldview for reasons other than evidence, you essentially roll the dice and hope that what you picked it true. Searching for truth has distinction, because it can fairly distinguish between all other kinds of worldviews.
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