Jesus Christ, A Necessary Idea

Can a society function optimally if everyone is allowed to set their own standards of truth and morality? Do individuals need a higher moral code than one that is subjective, conditional, and personal to achieve a fully actualized life? Are we inherently good and capable of self-determination? Are creatures of finitude capable of making the best choices and decisions for life without our Creator's input? Can we find happiness and satisfaction without God?

According to data from a 2021 survey, the majority of those surveyed believed that having faith matters more than what type of faith you have; that all religions are of equal value; that the belief in karma - what you sow is what you reap - is a universal judicial principle that regulates human behavior; that there is no such thing as absolute truth; that human nature is inherently good; that success is whatever produces happiness and satisfaction; and that the sacred and secular should be kept separate.

Beginning with Adam's choice for self-determination, the author shows that when a supra-human objective moral code is traded for personal and subjective standards of behavior, the result will be moral anarchy and the loss of the very freedom that self-determined behavior hopes to achieve. He claims that sin has contaminated human nature beyond human finitude and limited its ability to make optimal choices for a happy and fulfilled life. Unless the sin question is dealt with, the quest for a meaningful life is impossible. And the sin question is what makes Jesus necessary..