> > To put it bluntly: if Christ did not arise from death, then my faith is worthless.
>
> No, your faith wouldn't be pointless. Even is Christ was just a carpenters son, and a wise Rabbi, his leasons still hold true 2000 years later.

Wolf is right. If Christ wasn't the Son of God and rose from the dead, her faith is useless, and so is mine. Christianity is a religion that is grounded in what we believe is historical fact. His "philosophy" -- the sayings, parables, etc -- are certainly good pointers for how one should live one's life, but these things outside the context of a God that exists in the form of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that WAS on the cross to die for our sins, that WAS resurrected from the dead, achieving victory over death and the devil, are all comparatively trite. If Christ were just a man, maybe it's still worth heeding his advice on life, but it certainly doesn't make him worth *worshipping*, committing one's *life* to, and putting the whole trust of one's eternal security into.

And it gets worse. If Christ *isn't* the Son of God, then he's not a wise philosopher either but a liar, a blasphemer, and a fake. Sure, he said, "Turn the other cheek" and "Love thy neighbor." He also said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me." He repeatedly claimed his divinity, his status as the only Son of God. He repeatedly accepted worship from others that he himself said it was idolatry to give to anyone but God. And according to the most fundamental aspect of Christianity, its very essence, one must FULLY rely on what Jesus Christ *did* for us on the cross, and NOT rely on anything else (our own works, other gods, whatever), to be saved from having to pay for our sins ourselves.

So I don't understand it when people take the position that Christ wasn't the Son of God and wasn't resurrected from the dead, but yet he was still a good person, role model, someone who said things we should live by. It doesn't make sense. He's the Son of God, or he's a liar and a blasphemer. If Christ didn't rise from the grave, Wolf and I are wasting our time. Our lives, even.

For my part, I'm not the least bit worried. But, yes, that IS how much is at stake.