There is a great difference between “belief” and “knowledge.” Belief is a notion that is not backed by verifiable facts, while knowledge is fact that is backed by empirical evidence.
Human religions of all creeds are belief systems that thrive entirely on fairy tales, which are embellished and reinforced by dogmatized arrogance and ignorance. Human religion stands openly opposed to knowledge and genuine human enlightenment because it feeds on people’s ignorant fear of the unknown. Science, on the other hand, espouses knowledge and goes to great lengths in helping modern humans to identify and define reality with empirical evidence.
Incidentally, Jesus Christ assures that it is only by knowing that humans will find salvation for their captive spirits. Jesus Christ stands out in human history as the Great Teacher of Divine Knowledge. It goes to say therefore, that the Jesus that religious people ‘believe’ in is essentially different from the true heavenly Christ that true disciples of Jesus Christ ‘know.’
One of my brilliant cousins found it difficult to accept the idea that modern human beings evolved from primitive anthropoids. But the fact that human beings evolved from the family of ‘great apes’ is not a religious belief but a knowledge that is supported by ample empirical evidence. Indeed, various species of hominines (humans) had lived and died out in the past, while modern species of humans only started evolving about 300,000 years ago.
The ‘sixth sense’ manifests as ‘functional mind’ and ‘the conscience’ in human beings. That makes the marked difference between humans and their closest wild cousins.
Science classifies humans as mammals, belonging to a subgroup called primates. Humans are also classified within a unique subgroup of primates called the ‘Great Apes’ family of hominines, whose distinguishing features include large brains and complex hands. The ‘Great Apes’ family includes gorillas, orangutans, bonobos (pigmy chimpanzees), chimpanzees, gibbons, and humans. But chimpanzees, bonobos, and humans are closest relatives because they descended from a common ancestor that walked the earth about 7 million years ago. In fact, humans and chimpanzees share 99% of the same DNA. They also share identical family set-up with humans, where the male is the official head of the family and work in consort with the female for the upkeep and protection of their young ones.
Studies have shown that all anthropoid apes possess highly developed brains; a feature that may have seemed exclusive to humans and the so-called gods. Both anthropoids and some other species of animals have also demonstrated ability to show emotions; they feel grief, pain, joy, fear, love, etc. And since these are well-known attributes of human spirits, it follows without doubt that these animals do not only possess brains but are also redeemable spirits.
But my cousin wondered why all monkeys and apes have not yet become humans, and that was like wondering why all species of dogs have not become Border Collie, which is the most intelligent of all dogs. Humans are a unique species of great apes with a documented account of their sudden evolutionary upgrade. Their exact point of departure from outright apelike animals was clearly captured in the fateful events of Eden. All animals are naturally endowed with only five sense organs. That applied equally to the original Edenic humans. The divine encounter between the primitive Edenic humans and the redeeming Spirit of Knowledge suddenly imported the ‘sixth sense’ into the genetic makeup of human species. That accounted for the 1% difference in DNA between humans and chimpanzees.
The ‘sixth sense’ manifests as ‘functional mind’ and ‘the conscience’ in human beings. That makes the marked difference between humans and their closest wild cousins. Although anthropoid apes and other animals are fallen spirits and possess brains and minds of their own, they do not possess functional minds and conscience, which are necessary for evolutional advancement and spiritual refinement. The ‘sixth sense’ is a spiritual essence and was clearly imported into the primitive human situation by a superior external influence or force that transcended the primordial blueprint of the material world order. That external force was none other than the redeeming heavenly Christ who manifested to the ignorant Edenic humans as Divine Spirit of Knowledge in Eden and later to all human beings on earth as Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Needless to add that any human being that loses his ‘sixth sense’ automatically reverts to his original state of uncultured animal. We generally refer to such individuals as ‘senseless’ or mad people. That many such people dwell amongst us today is not a religious belief.
Jesus Christ: Myth or Reality
Jesus Christ is the miraculous author of humans’ outstanding mental, physical, and spiritual metamorphoses. But some people say that they do not believe in Jesus Christ, as if believing or not believing in him detracts from the reality of his glorious impacts on true humanity. Some argue that he is just a figment of human imagination. Others say that he was not a real historical person because his life and activities were only mentioned in the religious books of the Bible and the Quran and not in standard history books. Some further argue that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God because they believe that Jehovah or Allah is God of our earthly world and never said or implied that he has a wife or a son. Some even argue that Jesus Christ was merely a myth invented by the Jewish people to help them dominate the world, not minding that even the Jews themselves do not also believe in Jesus Christ. Well, if Jesus Christ is just an invention of human imagination, then he exists and is perfectly real because the human mind cannot imagine anything that does not exist.
What people cannot ‘disbelieve’ though, is the fact that there are two opposed forces acting for and against humans’ overall well-being within the earthly human situation—the forces of good and evil. One is pro-knowledge, enlightenment and spiritual well-being of human beings, while the other openly opposes knowledge, genuine enlightenment, and spiritual refinement for humans. Whether people believe that Jesus Christ is real or not, his precepts elicit a way of life that encourages goodness, love, peace, and true humanity. The facts are as real as reality can be. The God of human religions, on the other hand, represents the force of evil; his own precepts inspire a loveless way of life that encourages fear of the unknown, mutual distrust, hatred, religious antagonism, wars, and disunity amongst human beings. The facts speak for themselves.
So, believing or not believing in Jesus Christ is entirely meaningless. True disciples of Jesus Christ do not ‘believe’ that he is real; they ‘know’ that he is. And while it is more likely that people who endeavor to ‘know’ the true Jesus Christ will obtain greater values from his spiritual inspirations and guidance, those who ‘believe’ that he is just a myth are absolutely entitled to their beliefs and self-denials. In fact, they owe no one any explanation.
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