Christianity is inconsistent.

Thank you for coming to tonight's debate. In tonight's debate, I will be defending the claim that Christianity contains an internal inconsistency. I will do so by making two arguments. The first argument takes the following form: 1. If Christianity is true, then Judaism prior to and up to the instigation of Christianity was true. 2. If Judaism prior to and up to the instigation of Christianity true, then Christianity is false. 3. Therefore, if Christianity is true, then Christianity is false. Or, in other words, Christianity is a self-refuting religion. The second argument is based on a contradiction in the Bible that concerns a fundamental teaching of Christianity. There are two passages in the Bible which exclude any future resurrection, but there are other passages in the Bible that promise a future resurrection. Resurrection is absolutely central to Christianity, so this contradiction cannot be ignored. I am a Christian myself, but I will be playing devil's advocate in this debate. I decided to do this because I wanted to bring up an argument against Christianity and see how my opponent will respond to it. Since I am going first in this debate, I'll post my conclusion in the second to last round. In the last round, I'll simply say, "This space intentionally left blank." That way we will have an equal number of posts. THE FIRST ARGUMENT Let's begin by defending the first premise. The first premise, I suspect, will be non-controversial. Christianity presupposes the truth of Judaism. Jesus was Jewish. He quoted frequently from the Jewish Tanakh as if it were the word of God. He identified his God with the God of the Old Testament. He claimed his own Father was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He stood by the Mosaic Law and expressed confidence in the prophets. He observed Jewish pilgrimage festivals and various other Jewish laws and traditions. Christianity is a religion about Jesus, especially the claim that Jesus is the messiah promised to David and all the prophets of the Jewish scriptures. Christians are followers of Jesus. To follow Jesus is to believe what he believed and taught. If Jesus endorsed Judaism prior to and up to his coming, then so should Christians. Now let's defend the second premise. According to Christianity, Jesus "does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself" (Hebrews 7:27). Jesus' death completely did away with any further need for sacrifices. He was the final sacrifice that accomplished what previous sacrifices could not. However, according to Judaism, sacrifices will never end. Although Jews don't sacrifice today because there is no Temple in which to do so, the prophets say sacrifices will be restored. In Malachi 3, it says that when he comes, the "messenger of the covenant" will purify the Levites so that they can "bring offerings in righteousness" (Malachi 3:1-4). In Zechariah 14, it talks about how God is going to punish all the nations that fought against Jerusalem, and in verse 21, it says, "Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them." In Isaiah 56:7, it says that at the time when the house of the Lord is called a house of prayer for all nations that "their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my alter." There are also other passages in Ezekiel about sacrifices in the new age, but I think I've said enough to establish the point. If sacrifices continue into the eschaton, as the prophets say, then it cannot be true that Jesus was the final sacrifice, so Christianity is not true. THE SECOND ARGUMENT Here are the passages that exclude a future resurrection. Ecclesiastes 9:3-6 "This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead. For whoever is joined with the living, there is hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Indeed their love, their hate, and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun." If there were a future resurrection, then there would be hope in what is done under the sun in the future. But Ecclesiastes says that once you're dead, there is no more hope and you will have no share in anything that is done under the sun. So this passages excludes resurrection. This next verse is Job speaking. Job 7:7-10 "Remember that my life is but breath, my eye will not again see good. The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more; Thine eyes will be on me, but I will not be. When a cloud vanishes, it is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up. He will not return again to his house, nor will his place know him anymore." Job says explicitly in this verse that those who go to Sheol (i.e. the grave) do not come back up. In other words, there is no resurrection. These two verses contradict other verses, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament that affirm a resurrection of all the dead. Here are some examples. This verse is an angel talking to Daniel. Daniel 12:2 "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt." This next verse is Jesus speaking. John 5:28 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgement." This next verse is Paul writing to the Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 "But we do not want you to be uninformed, bretheren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." Notice what Paul says about hope. He claims that Christians have hope because they have the promise of a resurrection to eternal life. That directly contradicts Ecclesiastes 9:3-6 which says the dead have no hope. And there are many more. CONCLUSION So that's it. I gave two arguments showing that Christianity is inconsistent. It's inconsistent because it's internally self-refuting, and it's inconsistent because it simultaneously denies and affirms a general resurrection of all the dead.