My Testimony

After much research and deep contemplation, I have come to the decision to embrace Christianity. Here is what I believe.

The World and the Spirit

  1. The World
    The world is governed by worldly laws—those that enable cities, societies, and nations to function smoothly. These include basic moral imperatives found in the Old Testament, such as "do not steal," "do not kill," "do not commit adultery," etc. In the modern world, these laws have their equivalent in the judicial, executive, and legislative branches of government. When I was an atheist, I focused on refining earthly laws to maximize freedom, life, and property in society. In my view, the United States comes closest to a perfect set of worldly laws, with a constitution that guarantees life, liberty, and property. These worldly laws govern us externally, within the material realm.

  2. The Spirit
    Beyond the physical world, there are the laws of the spirit, which come from God—our Creator. Since we are made in God’s image, all humans share a spiritual connection as children of God. This commonality forms the foundation of religious teachings, which aim to guide us in living by spiritual laws. I believe Christ exemplified these spiritual laws most perfectly: to love instead of hate, to forgive, and to live in the spirit rather than the flesh. By following these teachings, we can achieve peace within our spirits and transition from a worldly existence to a Godly one. While the flesh and material things degrade over time, the spirit is eternal, having no beginning or end. By “spirit,” I mean the qualitative experience of our consciousness, which material explanations cannot fully account for.

Who is God?

I believe God is the source of our spirit, the ultimate source of perfect love. God is not a man in the sky, but a spiritual being. Our human existence is a spiritual reflection of Him. The Holy Spirit is how God interacts with the world, and each of us can be filled by the Holy Spirit. Jesus embodied the Holy Spirit so perfectly that He was indistinguishable from God.

I believe that Jesus, through His life and sacrifice, offers forgiveness for spiritual sin. Unlike worldly sins, which are met with worldly consequences, spiritual sins—such as harboring anger or revenge —require spiritual atonement. Jesus is the only one who can forgive these heart-level transgressions.

The Kingdom of Heaven

I believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us, meaning the spiritual world is more real than the physical world. Our knowledge and sensory experiences are indirect, mediated through our senses and thoughts. The only thing we have direct access to is our spirit. The Kingdom of God, therefore, is a place where the spirit can reach if it listens to the teachings of Christ, or follows a similar path of understanding, even in places where the Gospel has not reached.

The Good News

I believe the Gospel is the good news that love conquers hate, life conquers death, and God overcomes Satan. This is a simple truth: to follow God is to be on the side of good, and to oppose Him is to side with evil. You cannot serve two masters. It is a fundamentally optimistic worldview.

The Goal of Christianity

The goal of Christianity is to enter the Kingdom of Heaven by following Christ. This means believing in Him and, in turn, receiving His grace and forgiveness for our spiritual sins. This grace is what allows us to enter the Kingdom, where true spiritual peace can be found. True belief in Christ leads to a natural inclination to do good, so good works are not the means to salvation; they are a natural outflow of faith. No amount of worldly deeds can pay for spiritual sins—only God’s grace saves us. This is why I believe that Catholicism is incorrect for requiring works for salvation, as well as for venerating Mary, countless saints, and the pope. I also believe the Kingdom of God exists in a realm eternal and beyond human understanding.

The Church and Structure

While the Roman Catholic Church has played an important role in preserving Christianity through its structure and institutions, it is not the ultimate authority. It’s evident that the success of Protestant countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom and former colonies, contrasts with the struggles of Catholic nations. However, the true church is not bound by buildings or hierarchy. The church's purpose is to point us toward the narrow path of Christ, and prayer is best done in private, in the “prayer closet,” as Jesus taught.

The Bible

I believe the words of Jesus are the most direct and pure example of God’s will. The apostle Paul’s writings are valuable, but his interpretations, though inspired, may differ in emphasis. The Old Testament, while significant for understanding worldly laws, is fulfilled in Christ’s New Testament teachings, which focus on the laws of the heart. I believe that Jesus’ words are the most essential. After reading Jesus’ words in the Bible, I found that I completely agreed with Him, and so, naturally I was a Christian.

My Historical Perspective on Christianity

Christianity is the foundation of the modern Western world, which has fundamentally changed mankind for the better. Throughout most of history, humans struggled to survive, with populations remaining small due to famine, disease, and natural disasters. From time immemorial, humans were largely at the mercy of nature, with the population rarely surpassing 5 million.

The advent of agriculture increased food supply and reduced dependence on hunting and gathering. This could support large populations. Then kings provided protection in exchange for servitude. This was an age of slavery and war. People were used as instruments, slaves and prostitutes for whoever was stronger. Talented people were conscripted into service for the lord or master. In times of peace, limited freedom was available, but at all times, there was a king or emperor which could do as they pleased, with whomever they pleased. There were laws, but they were from man, namely the king. Therefore the laws bent to the man. There were many gods, and therefore the king could pick and choose which god favored him, and change laws accordingly.

Then the Old Testament established laws from God. This was the first important step in returning man to God. This fundamentally changed the order from king above all, to laws above king. Cities could run smoothly as evidenced from Rome. However, the people were still in servitude, including subjugated provinces like Israel. Personal morality was still relative and everyone believed wildly different things about right and wrong. The Pharisees invented many loopholes to do bad things while still technically following “the law of the land.”

Then Jesus came and showed all that we come from the same spiritual father and that the nature of humanity was love. This laid the foundation for the West. All could understand that Jesus was good and there was something unjust which happened to him. It was the mere fact that all could see this plainly that was a complete revolution. There was a moral yardstick, and that was Jesus. (0 AD) Jesus revealed “the law of the heart.” Monotheism, following one God, is akin to the advent of moral absolutism from a dark age of moral relativism.

Constantine (300 AD) converted after God allowed him to win the succession of Rome. Then Christianity propagated throughout the empire. Eventually Rome fell (500 AD) and the Roman Catholic Church took up the mantle. So, they are mostly of Rome and somewhat of Christ. Catholics converted Clovis, father of Charlemagne (800 AD). Charlemagne conquered Europe and Christianized it. William the Conqueror conquered Britain (1000 AD) and built many cathedrals.

Crusades occurred (1100 AD) to return Jerusalem to Christendom. Mongols (1200 AD) destroyed Muslim enemies and brought paper, gunpowder, from China. Mongols also forced many learned men out of the Middle East, bringing ancient Greek math texts to Europe. Miraculously, Genghis Khan died and forced Mongols to retreat before entering mainland Europe. Therefore now, all the stage was set for Christian thinkers to develop the modern world.

However, the Catholic Church became corrupt and worldly (more so), selling indulgences, using money to pay for sin. Martin Luther (1500s) started the Protestant Reformation to get back to the word of Jesus and translated the Bible so that regular people were able to ascertain this truth for themselves. Germany turned Protestant and King Henry (1500s) started England on this path. Holland’s opposition to Spain turned them Protestant as well. This made available the word of God to the regular people of those countries for the first time.

Renaissance (1500s) and Enlightenment (1700s) all made use of technology and math, combined with the Christian worldview that God was omnipotent and could see the “true” reality. Most scientists making huge discoveries at this time were from the Protestant countries. The mere fact that Christians believed in one truth, one reality, was a complete revolution and wildly out of sync with other beliefs. We take this for granted today but at all points in history there was no such truth as “one truth,” “one reality.” Most people believed in many gods and had no coherent sense of any such reality. Christians, through belief in one God, collapsed a wavefunction into a coherent worldview, which could be discovered by scientists. Scientists could only have come out of such a worldview.

And so they did. All modern inventions, science, and technology have come out of scientists. Electricity, running water, heating, cooling, internet, logic, calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, rocket ships—all in the modern form come from the unique Christian worldview that there is “one truth.” Moreover, the fact that these technologies were used for the improvement of regular peoples’ lives instead of the king, is a testament to the Christian worldview that all are created in the image of God. Africa, China, Native American, Mongol cultures have been around since time immemorial and none have done anything like this. Not even close. Only Christian nations banned slavery out of their own free will. In the USA, slaves were used for not 70 years in a handful of southern states before it was banned (through civil war - at a cost of over 600,000 American lives).

There is a danger of losing sight of this, and falling into moral relativism again. It is synonymous with falling into paganism. I believe all who believe in the West and science and progress are Christians, whether they profess it or not.

After seeing all of this and long thought and contemplation, I have come to the conclusion that the survival and propagation of Christianity has brought about a good world. I had previously spent a decade wondering what was good, and ended up merely with worldly laws which dictated what “not” to do. I felt like a Pharisee, like Paul. Committed to the law, but not being fulfilled, since worldly laws cannot fulfill the spirit. Marxism is a prime example of this materialist “false” religion. Jesus provided the laws, of what “to” do. Namely, love and forgive, and be in the spirit, not of the flesh. This is the true religion from the spirit of man.

So, I converted and now am on the side of Christ.