Expert: Vincent M. Wales - 12/27/2010

Question
Ok, I guess I would be described as an "atheist in progress" or something of that sort right now. I have been a Christian for nearly all my life, and although I have always had my doubts, I stuck with it and tried to strengthen and trust in my "faith". But, recently, I've really begun to question not just my religion, but all of them. My biggest fear (which is probably also true for many other religious people out there) is to be wrong and burn into nonexistence, or suffer an eternal hell. I have tried, but I have never been "in love" with God or Jesus because I have always felt that they were restrictive and that something was wrong with the whole picture (the Bible, Christians, Satan, etc.). I have recently decided to pursue a degree in a field which requires a lot of science, math, and critical thinking. I want to apply that to all the areas of my life, especially spirituality because I have always cherished it the most. I am not a perfect person, by far, but Christianity is confusing and ambiguous. I am constantly striving to be "good" and "perfect" but at the same time I have supposedly already been saved, and all I have to do is ask for forgiveness for my sins. I am trying my best right now to be as objective as I can with deciding between atheism and theism of any kind. I would like to go more in depth, but I don't want to make this too long, so here are my biggest questions:

Was Jesus a real historical figure, and is there any reliable proof for it?

Did Jesus really fulfill all the prophecies about him in the Old Testament? Christians say that the prophecies he didn't fulfill while he was on earth he will fulfill when he returns (but that sounds suspicious and awfully convenient. Besides, didn't Jesus say that he would return quickly? And what about Matthew 16:28, stating "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Was he referring to Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit supposedly poured out over Peter and all and they began speaking in tongues?)

How can we deal with death if we are not sure there is anything after (I personally find that being here for a relatively short period of time overall is depressing. I have a hard time accepting becoming permanently nonexistent sometime in the future).

Besides that, I will have a very hard time "coming out" to my family, who are split between Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists (I was actually a SDA for about two years, and it was actually after that experience that I really started questioning, coincidentally).

Why doesn't God pitch in and help more with evil? It's an age-old question, and I've heard answers such as "It's our fault for choosing to disobey God in the first place", "God is in a war with Satan to show us and the rest of the universe His goodness and the effects of rebelling against a perfect law (Satan's pride and rebellion)", and my all-time favorite, "God doesn't punish all the evil because he is merciful. Don't you do evil? Would you like Him to punish you without giving you a second chance?"

A lot of questions, I know, but as I said before, I am at a point in my life where I am tired of being tied by religion and having "faith". Many religions, or even sects of religions, claim that they are the "only way" to salvation. I do not thing that faith is reliable as evidence as it is a personal experience that people, good and bad, of all religions and cults have had, and they cannot all be right. I also do not believe that the strength of one's faith is reliable either, because you could as easily believe a lie with your whole heart as believe the truth.

Thank you TONS for answering this bulky question. Any answers or advice would be very much appreciated!

Answer
Hello, Shay...

First, I want to express my empathy for what you're going through.  It's rough, but I'm sure you'll come out of it a stronger person.

So... to your questions.

Regarding the historicity of Jesus...  There is virtually no evidence whatsoever for Jesus having been a real, flesh & blood person.  Outside of the bible, in fact, there's no reference whatsoever to him by historians of the time and place in which he allegedly lived.  The earliest references people point to don't even refer to Jesus, but to Christians who allege that Jesus did stuff.  In other words, hearsay.  And there are plenty of forged documents referring to Jesus, including the oft-quoted passages by Josephus.  So I obviously can't state for certain whether there was a guy around whom the Jesus stories were built, but it's not likely.  The stories told about him, in fact, are so very similar to stories told about earlier "messiah" figures of other faiths.  There just isn't anything solid to go on with him.

Regarding prophecies...  I'm going to let you come to your own conclusion regarding this, but will give you these two tidbits to chew on as you think on it.  1) Jesus himself wrote nothing, and the books of the bible in which he's featured were written by people who didn't know him, decades after his alleged death.  2) The writers of the New Testament had the Old Testament at hand... which would make it awfully convenient to "fulfill" prophecies if you're writing the New Testament, wouldn't it?

My take on death and the lack of an afterlife is basically this:  Yes, it sucks that we have to die.  But that just makes this life all the more precious.  Accept that you will die; everyone does.  But don't dwell on it.  That's a waste of your life.

You're right: the question of evil is a big, big stumper.  To me, it just demonstrates the idiocy of the deity that the Judeo-Christians have invented.  He is self-contradictory.

And yeah... coming out is tough.  I admit that, when I dropped my religious trappings, I kept it from my family.  I know they figured it out on their own, eventually, but I never felt an obligation to tell them up front.  

My answers, I'm sure, aren't going to bring about any grand epiphanies for you, so I recommend you do some reading.  A fantastic introduction to all this is by Dan Barker.  His book is called LOSING FAITH IN FAITH: From Preacher to Atheist.  Dan was, as the title implies, a minister who eventually realized the religion he'd been preaching was a bunch of hooey.  His book is very readable, very interesting, and filled with some really great "sticking points" that should cause any thinking human to question their faith.

Best of luck.