It is fashionable to think that all religions are pretty much the same. They teach people to be good and spiritual and make the world a better place right? Wrong. There are basically four types of religion: 1. Paganism 2. Moralism 3. Spirituality 4. Improvement.
Many folks think that Christianity is basically a combination of all four. Different Christians emphasize different ones of the four, but all four are sort of bundled together into the popular form of Christianity which is, “Pray, obey the rules, make the world a better place and God will look after you.” This is not Christianity. This is a perversion of Christianity. Full Article
Instead Christianity is based on a simple, historical fact that cannot be refuted. It is called the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Over here the philosopher Peter Kreeft takes apart the various arguments against the resurrection of Christ. Christianity says, “Jesus Christ rose from the dead and that changes everything. Jesus Christ is still alive and active in the world through his church. If you believe and trust in this astounding truth, then you are called to participate in this event through faith and baptism. Through faith and baptism you enter into Jesus Christ and he enters into you. You enter into his church and become part of his body.
Your primary mission is not to attempt to please God by giving him stuff. It is not to obey all the rules and regulations to try to please him. It is not to pray more, be spiritual and so rise above this world’s problems. It is not to be a good boy or girl and try to make the world a better place.
Christians might do all those things, but that is not the core of their faith. It is the result of their faith. They do those things as the musician plays music or the athlete plays his sport. They do those things because they are talented and it gives them joy. So the Christian does these good things because he has been filled with the Spirit of the risen Jesus Christ and he does those things with joy because he wants to.