A story explaining Christianity

I felt this was worth sharing, hope it's posted in the right forum.
There are those that are not fanatics but do choose to believe, this is for those that choose to believe and those that are on the fence.
I do not seek debate, just to share this story, but all are free to respond.


There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States .

Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution.
Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.

"How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time"

"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300
push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to
tell me you can do it," said the professor.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it."

Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday.. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

"Sure!" Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk.
Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship..

When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?"

Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Dr... Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.

Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Dr.. Christianson said, "Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts.
Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr.. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Sternly, Jenny said, "No."

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?"

Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No!" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks..

Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut.
There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row.. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room.

He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to
come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?"

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut."

Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now.

Jason, do you want a donut?"

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room..

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help
him?"

Dr Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not.. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten. "

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are
preached in words."

Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His Only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid."

"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

Share this with someone. It's bound to touch their heart and demonstrate Salvation in a very special way.

only thing i got from this story is that the teacher is a jerk and so is your particular god...

small "g" intended. i only capitalize proper nouns.

Originally posted by CaDreamer
only thing i got from this story is that the teacher is a jerk and so is your particular god...

small "g" intended. i only capitalize proper nouns.

edit on 26-5-2011 by CaDreamer because: (no reason given)

and so it
begins

Jesus final words where....."My God, My God, why have you forsaken me," (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34). ...even he gave up guess he would have only been good enough for 349 push ups.

Yay! awesome post..
nice to read something like this

If Jesus did exist, which he didn't, I know of a lot of people who have sacrificed much more for much less.

reply to post by OLD HIPPY DUDE


Man, this old parable is so old and hackney, it's just a horrible representation and complete treacle. Such a bad comparison and just makes me want to puke up donuts.

This is an interesting story, though I think the perspective is a bit... undefined.
Steve is still Yeshu, but the Professor is Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνή, Jason represents Judaism,
Scott represents Paganism, and Joe is a perfect stand in for Christianity.

Don't understand what I mean? Re-read the story.


S&F to the op, for the story does bear a strong message of faith.

Your forgetting a part of the story though

Steve, getting up and staggering to his seat looked and was glad...some, seeing the sacrifice steve made, picked their donut up and ate of it.

Steve smiled...then the professor smiled at steve and, as negotiated, gave steve not only the gratitude of a job well done, but a chain of donut stands, a ferrari, and a golden house and kingship over the land.


Sorry mate, there was some big stuff in it and he knew flat out he was going to get all sorts of treasures before making his one time "sacrifice".

Jesus came to earth and took a beating in the end...yes, its sad, horrible...however, unlike the rest of us knuckle dragging schmucks, he knew absolutely without any doubt due to personal knowledge that not only is there a heaven, but he would be king there.
he had no faith...he didn't need it, he was shown it, he was doing miracles, etc...he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt, knew more than I know my keyboard won't turn into a cat, that heaven was real, that he would be richly rewarded, and simply had to suffer a few hours of pain and humiliation by some primates...sort of like stubbing your toe before entering your kingdom.

The sacrifice is flawed...had he been just like any of us, just hopeing it was real, hopeing that there is something...but with no absolute knowledge, then yes...the sacrifice would have been great...but he knew.

Steve knew he would inherit a chain of donut shops, be filthy stinking rich, and have anything he wants..and all he had to do was 350 pushups.

Give me that option...I will not only let myself get crusified for you lot, hell...they can cover me in fireants...if I know 100% through absolute proof that not only am I going to heaven, but I am going to rule...such matters are laughably trivial.

Excellent. I enjoyed reading this.

reply to post by OLD HIPPY DUDE

I have fixed the OP's story, for accuracy.

******

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States. One day, Dr. Christianson called his class together and told them he had something important to say.

"Kids, I have to tell you about Steve. Who is Steve? Well, he's another student, just like you, although he's special. See, Steve is perfectly kind, perfectly wise. He's never made a mistake or gotten a single question on a test wrong, ever. And he's never done anything bad to anyone.

"In fact," continued Dr. Christianson, "Steve is doing something incredible for you even as we speak. See, there's something about this college that you don't know. In addition to all the work you have to do every day, there is another whole set of duties.You see, you don't know this, but in order to graduate from college, the college actually requires each student to do 300 pushups per day."

There were gasps of shock and outrage. 300 a day! How could they possibly deal with it? Dr. Christianson held up his hands for silence, and the murmers died down. "The amazing thing about Steve, see, is that he has taken it upon himself to do all these pushups for you. That's right. While you are sitting here calm and relaxed, Steve is in a little cell doing the required pushups for each one of you, so you don't have to. Think of him in that cell, kids, doing those pushups...for you. Without even having to be asked. Why? Well, Steve is stronger than all of you, so he can handle the pushups...but he's really doing it because he loves you and wants you not to have to go throough that yourself. " To illustrate his point, the Professor put up on the projector a few old grainy photos of a man in a cell, doing pushups. Presumably Steve.

Tears brimmed in every eye. What a noble sacrifice!

"Kids," Dr. Christianson leaned across his desk. "Steve needs your help."

There were cries of horror. "Dr. Christianson, what can we do?" asked one earnest young woman, on the verge of openly weeping.

Dr. Christianson leaned back in his comfy chair and beamed a satisfied smile, as if he'd been waiting for this question. "The answer is simple. You must bring me donuts."

"Donuts....are you going to use them to feed poor Steve?"

The professor cocked his head at an angle. "Nooo....not really. Steve is superhuman. He has no need of donuts. No, the donuts are for me."

"I don't get it," said the girl.

"Well, I'm Steve's representative here, see, and my job is to make people aware of Steve's selfless sacrifice. But all this talkin' sure makes a body hungry. That's why I need donuts. I like Crispy Creme, personally. Original glazed." The prof's smile grew broader.

There was some silence as the class took this in. "But why don't you just buy the donuts yourself?" asked a boy in a slightly bewildered tone.

"YOUNG MAN," thundered Dr. Christianson, "THINK OF POOR STEVE! Think of all he has done for you! Think of all he is doing right this minute! Can you even do ten pushups a day? Imagine having to do 300 each day for yourself! Imagine." He let the class contemplate this. "I don't think a small donut for this selfless man's personal representative is too much to ask, do you?" The boy was embarrassed at his own measly small-mindedness in the face of this heroic sacrifice. He vowed to bring Dr. Christianson at least two, and hopefully three, donuts per day.

By the end of the course, Dr. Christianson had put on a great deal of weight.

There is a book out called memnoch the devil (anne rice). Lestat meets satan and basically views the time satan spent on earth.

The twist is really interesting...basically the story goes (super condensed) that the angels were sent to earth to watch this creation thing god did. first they watched the earth form...they were fascinated with the life springing up, first basic micro organisms, then plants, etc...they became concerned when they started developing faces...sort of freaky, but nevertheless neat
cut forward...man came...at this point, many of the angels were concerned because these beings felt pain and all sorts...some tried to teach them how to be civilized and not kill each other, etc (corruption). Satan pleaded with god to take a firsthand look at the creation he made...he more or less refused for ages...lucifer kept bickering at god to pay attention...guide these people...do something. God comes across as pretty apathetic...and then decides to cast lucifer out to basically watch these creatures..tells him to come back when you stop loving man and start loving god again.

Later on, the messiah is born...he goes to see with his own eyes in the desert, and sure enough,its god...sitting there...he looks like a man, but well, you know
thing is, lucifer becomes concerned...he pleads with him to not just sit like a man if he was here but to live as the king of kings...rejected
then lucifer says if he isn't going to live as a god on earth, then block the knowledge so you can experience what it is to be human, as this is a corrupt way to understand the struggle
he is rejected
So he walks away, and the story of the temptation is over...jesus/god didn't come here to understand us, he came here to spite this talk that he doesn't know the life of man...yet, the sacrifice, the test, the understanding never truely came because the knowledge was never gained...however, due to him not showing his true power, he kept people also in the dark, giving only a few people a show that sparked wars verses saved mankind...

aka, he did more damage than good.

Its a good book, somewhat relevant to different perspectives of what the true nature of the biblical christ did...and just as valid as Steve.

Originally posted by unicomsol
Your forgetting a part of the story though

Steve, getting up and staggering to his seat looked and was glad...some, seeing the sacrifice steve made, picked their donut up and ate of it.

Steve smiled...then the professor smiled at steve and, as negotiated, gave steve not only the gratitude of a job well done, but a chain of donut stands, a ferrari, and a golden house and kingship over the land.


Sorry mate, there was some big stuff in it and he knew flat out he was going to get all sorts of treasures before making his one time "sacrifice".

Jesus came to earth and took a beating in the end...yes, its sad, horrible...however, unlike the rest of us knuckle dragging schmucks, he knew absolutely without any doubt due to personal knowledge that not only is there a heaven, but he would be king there.
he had no faith...he didn't need it, he was shown it, he was doing miracles, etc...he knew beyond any shadow of a doubt, knew more than I know my keyboard won't turn into a cat, that heaven was real, that he would be richly rewarded, and simply had to suffer a few hours of pain and humiliation by some primates...sort of like stubbing your toe before entering your kingdom.

The sacrifice is flawed...had he been just like any of us, just hopeing it was real, hopeing that there is something...but with no absolute knowledge, then yes...the sacrifice would have been great...but he knew.

Steve knew he would inherit a chain of donut shops, be filthy stinking rich, and have anything he wants..and all he had to do was 350 pushups.

Give me that option...I will not only let myself get crusified for you lot, hell...they can cover me in fireants...if I know 100% through absolute proof that not only am I going to heaven, but I am going to rule...such matters are laughably trivial.

Yeah...what this guy said.

It would be a lot easier to believe in God if he was your daddy...or yourself...or whatever the hell Christians believe Jesus really was.

All I know is, I was raised to be a Christian, and when I started to lose faith, I asked God to just show me a sign. Needless to say, he never did. Now I am an Agnostic Ancient Astronaut Theorist.

You would think that an all powerful, all knowing deity would think of a more efficient way of saving his creation than incarnating his only son to live a life of torment, betrayal, and eventual merciless death at the hands of his people. And you would think an all powerful, all knowing deity would be able to actually prove his existence whenever called upon. I don't think it would be all that stressful of a job being all powerful and omnipresent.

You know...the odd thing is, the more agnostic-atheist I became, the more spiritual I became.
losing faith brought me closer to understanding my "soul" (for lack of a better word). hows that for irony...once I dropped the shackles of religion, I was able to actually connect to the universe.

Now, I respect the fact that many people require religion to basically be good people. I look forward to the day when its unnecessary, as people are good people not because they fear god, but because they simply love fellow man...I think it may be awhile before we as a civilization reach that however.

Looks like alot of you folks don't want to eat your free donut , oh well, thats your choice !

Originally posted by OLD HIPPY DUDE
Looks like alot of you folks don't want to eat your free donut , oh well, thats your choice !

Donuts make you fat and unhealthy
I would rather do push ups

Originally posted by soldita
If Jesus did exist, which he didn't, I know of a lot of people who have sacrificed much more for much less.

People may disagree about what Jesus was about...
...but only an ignorant person would believe he never existed.

I think that story is a good representation.

how can some of yall be so nasty. I have a solid heart and this story breaks through.

and you weak emotional hearts crap on an emotional story.

how pathetic.

Originally posted by TarzanBeta
I think that story is a good representation.

how can some of yall be so nasty. I have a solid heart and this story breaks through.

and you weak emotional hearts crap on an emotional story.

how pathetic.

Whats your thoughts then about my first post in response to the thread? I think its a pretty valid counter, don't you?

Would you get a papercut for a billion dollars and eternal youth?

Originally posted by CaDreamer
only thing i got from this story is that the teacher is a jerk and so is your particular god...

small "g" intended. i only capitalize proper nouns.

edit on 26-5-2011 by CaDreamer because: (no reason given)

Sadly, what have said makes you seem very childish...
Vicky