The story of Jesus- worth dying/living for

If you tell enough people, then it must be true. Take for example the recent photo of a McDonald’s sign charging African Americans an insurance surcharge of $1.50 due to an increased crime rate. It was of course a hoax which sent the fast food giant racing to the press to set the record straight (http://www.news.com.au/technology/maccas-in-damage-control-over-seriously-mcdonalds-picture-hoax/story-e6frfro0-1226074651664). Other tall tales uncovered by the Sydney Morning Herald this week (http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/maccas-jk-rowling-lesbian-bloggers-hoaxers-take-over-the-world-wide-web-20110614-1g127.html) include author J.K. Rowling buying a house in Tasmania (she hasn’t), a woman getting profiles of all her Facebook friends tattooed on her arm (luckily she only had 152) and of course the discovery that the Gay Girl in Damascus blogger is actually (surprise, surprise) a 40 year old male post graduate student in Edinburgh (which is actually quite far away from the Middle East in case you were wondering).

But is something true just because enough people have heard about it? Christians for example are charged with just that: there is no proof that Jesus was a real person who did and said the things He did, but because news of Him got around to so many people, it became true. This is a possibility, except for the fact that for many people, then and now, following Jesus is a life and death decision. Back in those Roman times, following Jesus almost guaranteed a life of hardship, abuse and persecution. Many were stoned (and we don’t mean weed), crucified or fed to animals for amusement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Roman_Empire). Even today, Christians in some parts of the world still have to meet in secret to avoid prosecution. Throughout history, many men and women have staked their lives on the fact that the Biblical story of Jesus is true. Is a hoax worth dying for? Perhaps we are fools for believing in this but if so, we are in good company- John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, and who was made an Officer of the Order of Australia this week is well known for his faith. As Paul says though, if Jesus is all fiction, then we Christians should be pitied more than anyone else in the world (1 Corinthians 15:19).