For many people, one of the most difficult things in Christianity is managing to believe in a god that they cannot see. Some want concrete visual evidence before they can have faith. Throughout the religion's history, there have been people who reported sightings of Jesus and managed to strengthen their belief or even to convert to Christianity because of these visions.
Among the earliest sightings of Christ took place soon after the crucifixion. For example, a few days after He was buried, His tomb was found to be empty. He appeared to followers like Mary Magdalene and some of the disciples, including Thomas who at first would not believe that this was indeed Jesus resurrected. The idea of a resurrection became one of the most important premises of the religion.
In the early days of Christianity, several people who had been worshiping other gods had visions of Christ and then converted to Christianity. They include Saul of Tarsus, who was notorious at the time for persecuting the followers of Jesus. After the Son of God appeared to him, he converted and became known as the Apostle Paul, who eventually died for his beliefs.
According to theologians, it's possible that Jesus had made Himself manifest much earlier, before He had become human. For example, during Israel's time of servitude in Babylon, three young men were sentenced to die in a furnace because they wouldn't serve the Babylonian gods. A fourth man was seen in the fire with them and they were unharmed. That man may have been Christ, just as the angel that Jacob had wrestled centuries before may have been the Son of God too.
The Catholic Church believed in some of the visions of Christ and the people who had these visions were sainted. It's also in the Catholic Cathedral of Turin that a very famous object bearing the image of Jesus is displayed. The Shroud of Turin is believed to be the one that Christ's body was wrapped in since it shows markings that look like the body of a man who died on a cross.
In modern times, many people claimed to have spotted Christ in everyday objects. These range from food such as pancakes or tortillas to clothes irons. Christ-like images have even appeared in X-rays and ultrasound photographs.
Advances in technology have even made video recording of Christ sightings possible. People simply have the video camera on their cellphone ready at the moment that Christ seems to appear. You can find these videos online and decide whether you think that these people really saw Jesus.
There is much debate about whether all the sightings of Jesus in fact show authentic images. Many of those supposed visions in objects like grilled cheese sandwiches require quite a bit of imagination for anyone to see something other than a dark blotch. It can become a fun activity to try and see what the mark resembles, almost like looking at the clouds and trying to spot whales, cows or bunnies in the sky. What is certain though is that for some people, those visions have helped to renew and strengthen their beliefs.
Among the earliest sightings of Christ took place soon after the crucifixion. For example, a few days after He was buried, His tomb was found to be empty. He appeared to followers like Mary Magdalene and some of the disciples, including Thomas who at first would not believe that this was indeed Jesus resurrected. The idea of a resurrection became one of the most important premises of the religion.
In the early days of Christianity, several people who had been worshiping other gods had visions of Christ and then converted to Christianity. They include Saul of Tarsus, who was notorious at the time for persecuting the followers of Jesus. After the Son of God appeared to him, he converted and became known as the Apostle Paul, who eventually died for his beliefs.
According to theologians, it's possible that Jesus had made Himself manifest much earlier, before He had become human. For example, during Israel's time of servitude in Babylon, three young men were sentenced to die in a furnace because they wouldn't serve the Babylonian gods. A fourth man was seen in the fire with them and they were unharmed. That man may have been Christ, just as the angel that Jacob had wrestled centuries before may have been the Son of God too.
The Catholic Church believed in some of the visions of Christ and the people who had these visions were sainted. It's also in the Catholic Cathedral of Turin that a very famous object bearing the image of Jesus is displayed. The Shroud of Turin is believed to be the one that Christ's body was wrapped in since it shows markings that look like the body of a man who died on a cross.
In modern times, many people claimed to have spotted Christ in everyday objects. These range from food such as pancakes or tortillas to clothes irons. Christ-like images have even appeared in X-rays and ultrasound photographs.
Advances in technology have even made video recording of Christ sightings possible. People simply have the video camera on their cellphone ready at the moment that Christ seems to appear. You can find these videos online and decide whether you think that these people really saw Jesus.
There is much debate about whether all the sightings of Jesus in fact show authentic images. Many of those supposed visions in objects like grilled cheese sandwiches require quite a bit of imagination for anyone to see something other than a dark blotch. It can become a fun activity to try and see what the mark resembles, almost like looking at the clouds and trying to spot whales, cows or bunnies in the sky. What is certain though is that for some people, those visions have helped to renew and strengthen their beliefs.
About the Author:
The online blog at www.jesusinthemarble.com provides evidence of sightings of Jesus that appear in marble tiles. To show your support, contact the site owner on http://www.jesusinthemarble.com.
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